Rubio On Crist On Defection And Deceit

FOX News is carrying Rubio’s comments on Hannity about Crist’s decision to abandon his principles and try to save his political career. Hannity leads with a flashback to Crist’s promie to run as a Republican:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS WALLACE, HOST, “FOX NEWS SUNDAY,” MARCH 28: Here is your chance to dispel all the rumors. Are you willing to pledge right here, right now that you will run in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate and not run as an independent?

GOVERNOR CHARLIE CRIST, R-FLA.: I’m running as a Republican in November.

WALLACE: Are you ruling out that you will file as an independent by the April 30th deadline?

CRIST: That’s right. That’s right. I’m running as a Republican.

WALLACE: You will run, not for governor, you’ll run for Senate and you will run as a — in the Republican primary?

CRIST: Chris, I’m running for the United States Senate. I know that our country needs help. I’m running as a Republican.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

Hannity then asked Rubio, reminding him that Crist had said he’d run as a Republican and that he’d support whichever Republican prevailed in the primary, what Rubio made of Crist’s decision to run as an Independent. Rubio responds:

More after the jump…

Well, he wasn’t telling the truth when he said that or obviously he’s changed his mind because of self-preservation.

You know, as far as I’m concerned, it doesn’t change the race at all. When I got in this race I got in this race because I didn’t see anybody else running that would stand up to Barack Obama’s agenda and offer a clear alternative. And that’s still the case

.

So I’m running against two candidates, Kendrick Meek and Charlie Crist, who support the Obama agenda. I didn’t realize I’d be running against both of them at the same time. I thought there’d be a primary and then a general. But that’s fine, too.

You know, Sean, the things we believe in — limited government, free enterprise, that the world is a better place when America is the strongest country in the world — these are mainstream American positions that are shared by the vast majority of Floridians.

We’re going to win this election because we’re on the right side of the issues.

And, in my personal opinion, Crist is on the wrong side of them. Wrong because he suports the Obama agenda, and wrong because he’s willing to give up everything he says he stands for in the name of…as Rubio put it…”self-preservation.” Florida voters are smarter than that.

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