ORLANDO – Marco Rubio got the frontrunner treatment in a combative U.S. Senate debate Wednesday night, with both his rivals attacking him as an extremist out of step with Florida.
“It’s abundantly clear that there’s an extreme right faction in the Republican party,” said said independent candidate Charlie Crist. “I’m the only candidate that can both win in November and crash that tea party in Washington.”
“You want to take us back to Dick Cheney days,” said Democratic U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, describing Rubio as a “radical” who won’t stand up for middle class Floridians.
Rubio, the former state House Speaker from Miami, held his own and cast the race as a choice between two status quo candidates or a Republican who will stand up to the agenda of Barack Obama.
“If you like Obamacare, if you like the stimulus plan, you can vote for Charlie Crist or Kendrick Meek. I’m probably not your candidate,”Rubio said.
Rubio is comfortably leading Crist in recent polls, and his basic goal over the next four weeks is the run out the clock and avoid significant mistakes. He didn’t make any in the first prime time televised debate, but he also took some sharp jabs over his own record as a fiscal conservative and on hot button issues including abortion and Social Security.
This was the first high profile televised debate broadcast live with Crist, Rubio and Kendrick Meek. The debate is being television on ABC stations in Florida and was moderated by Good Morning America co-anchor George Stephanopoulos.
Full story: Kendrick Meek, Charlie Crist battle Marco Rubio in U.S. Senate debate – Political Currents – MiamiHerald.com.