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Crist, Rubio duel in conservative mag—Crist’s sharpest attacks yet

Posted Mar 4, 2010 by William March

Updated Mar 4, 2010 at 12:41 PM

Marco Rubio blasted Gov. Charlie Crist in a National Review Online interview yesterday, and Crist struck back today with his sharpest attacks yet on Rubio, calling Rubio’s claims to conservatism a fraud.

The exchange in the online version of the conservative journal, an intellectual trendsetter for the right, takes the battle between Crist and Rubio to a new level.

In an article yesterday, Rubio blasted Crist for saying there might be parts of President Barack Obama’s health care proposal that are worth saving, and that the nation’s health care system needs reform.

“Again and again, from tax hikes to runaway government spending, my opponent has demonstrated he cannot be trusted,” Rubio wrote. “His recent comments, in which he broke ranks with Republicans and said he would not scrap the health care bill and process, is just the latest example.”

Today, Crist shot back, saying Rubio’s claim to be a conservative is the “greatest fraud perpetrated on people,” and citing recent revelations about Rubio’s use of a Republican Party credit card for apparently personal expenses as proof.

“When this guy calls himself the real conservative in the race, I’ve got to point out that it’s the opposite,” Crist said. “If you look at the expense reports from his GOP credit card, it is easy to see that he’s not conservative, but one of the most irresponsible spenders I’ve ever seen.”

While blasting Rubio, Crist denied he’s going negative—“that’s not my nature”—but said he’s “going accurate and honest.”