Florida Governor and independent Senate candidate Charlie Crist launched an attack ad on Republican Senate candidate Marco Rubio — saying Rubio wants to raise the retirement age and cut benefits for seniors.
“Rubio wants to raise the retirement age so you’ll work harder and longer for your money,” the advertisement says.
Rubio’s camp said the ad shows Crist will “say or do anything to win an election,” and that he wouldn’t even consider cutting benefits for current retirees or those who will be retiring soon.
“Charlie Crist’s new ad is not only false, it also shows there’s no voter he won’t pander to and no senior he won’t scare just to win votes,” Alex Burgos, a Rubio campaign spokesperson, said in a statement. “Charlie Crist used to crusade against the senior scare tactics liberals used against Jeb Bush, but now that he’s trailing in the polls, desperate and lacking a serious Social Security plan, he’s adopted the same despicable tactics that are meant to deceive seniors and ultimately threaten Social Security’s future.”
WATCH: CRIST AD ATTACKING RUBIO OVER SOCIAL SECURITY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FK4i27Dswjg
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush chimed into the debate as well on Rubio’s side, referencing when Crist came to his defense in 1995 against similar attacks.
“Charlie Crist should be ashamed of his false attack against Marco Rubio on Social Security,” Bush said in a statement. “Charlie Crist is purposely trying to scare seniors in order to win votes.”
The Crist campaign told The Daily Caller that Rubio has shifted his focus on Social Security when he discovered his position may be too “extreme” for Florida.
“Marco Rubio may have changed his position on privatization of Social Security when it became clear that he was far too extreme for Florida, but he has always been consistent in his support for raising the retirement age and cutting benefits,” Crist spokesperson Danny Kanner said in an e-mail to TheDC. “The facts are the facts.”