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Crist tries to change stance on stimulus

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The Associated Press

Published: November 6, 2009

TALLAHASSEE - In a heated race for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination, Gov. Charlie Crist keeps moving away from his support of President Barack Obama's stimulus package that the governor called "fantastic" and "remarkable" when lobbying for its passage.

Faced with an increasingly difficult primary challenge from former House Speaker Marco Rubio of West Miami, the governor now claims he didn't endorse the $787 billion economic stimulus that included a generous contribution for Florida.

"It seems to be the president's answer to almost every challenge that's facing our country is to spend more money," Crist said Thursday.

On a national cable news show Wednesday night, Crist said he saw the stimulus more as Florida taxpayers' dollars coming back to the state and that he didn't endorse the Obama plan.

Hardly what the governor said earlier this year

"I think it's fantastic, are you kidding me?" Crist said Feb. 20. "It'll help Florida do our job market. It's remarkable."

The governor was only too happy to accept Florida's share, joining Obama for the stimulus rally in Fort Myers where he hugged the president.

"We know that it's important that we pass this stimulus package," Crist said on that day in February. "We need to do it in a bipartisan way. This is not about partisan politics. This is about rising above that."

Rubio's campaign released a video with excerpts showing several examples of Crist praising the president's plan.

"Unfortunately for Charlie Crist, the evidence of his stimulus support is on video," Rubio campaign spokesman Alex Burgos said Thursday. "By denying he infamously supported the stimulus, Charlie Crist is hoping he can reinvent his record and that voters forget he once embraced it."

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