In an apparent response to rival Marc Rubio’s reported criticism of his orange skin tone, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist on Monday took aim the leader of the pack in the GOP Senate primary race in Florida for using a party credit card to pay for a haircut — and possibly other services.
“He’s trying to pawn himself off as a fiscal conservative,” the former governor told Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren. “And yet just in recent weeks, two weeks ago it has come out in news accounts he had a Republican Party of Florida credit card that he charged $130 haircut, or maybe it was a back wax — we are not sure what all he got at that place.”
He had the gall to go on Neil Cavuto’s show and said it was his money. It was a credit card from the Republican Party. It was party donors’ money,” added Crist. “The detachment from reality is stunning to me. And to try to say that you’re a fiscal conservative, yet you spend $130 for maybe a haircut and maybe other things, I don’t know what you do at a salon when you are a guy.”
Crist, who is behind Rubio by over thirty points in the polls, insisted that Carl the barber only receives $11 for cutting his hair. And though Rubio has since paid the GOP back for his sexy salon adventure, Crist still isn’t satisfied.
“He paid it back after he got caught,” Crist said.
Via PPP:
Rubio now leads Crist 60-28, including a staggering 71-17 lead with conservatives. Crist has a 49-36 advantage with party moderates, but they account for just 31% of likely primary voters compared to 65% who describe themselves as conservative.
Rubio is benefiting from a widely held sentiment among Florida GOP voters that Congressional Republicans are too liberal and that Crist would add to the problem. 41% of them think that the party leadership in Washington is too liberal, and with those folks Rubio holds an 83-10 lead. 50% think that Crist himself is too liberal and with those voters Rubio’s advantage expands even wider to 90-5.
It also looks like it’s too late for Crist to audible and make another run for Governor. GOP voters say they’d prefer likely nominee Bill McCollum over Crist by a 49-35 margin. In fact Republicans generally just want Crist to go away- 56% say they’d like him out of office a year from now to 19% who’d like to see him continue as Governor and only 14% who want him in the Senate.
Crist’s biggest problem is that 56% of Republican primary voters disapprove of the job he’s doing as Governor to just 29% who approve. Any time that disapproval figure goes over 50% it means you have to actively change voters’ minds about you to have any success, and that’s a tall order.
(No Ratings Yet)
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