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Charlie Crist In His Own Words "I'm running as a Republican"
This interview with Chris Wallace occurred on March 28th, 2010. On April 29th, 2010, Crist flipped and became an Independent Candidate. Was he lying then? Or is he lying now? View the rest of Charlie's videos here
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August 21, 2014 cartoon by Jake Fuller
Tom Lee's anti-Crist robocalls target of complaint
August 21, 2014 | posted on Miami Herald Naked Politics Blog
Those recent robocalls to Democratic voters, featuring the voice and the conservative views of then-Republican Charlie Crist, have prompted Democrats to file a formal complaint with the Florida Elections Commission. Their target: Republican Sen. Tom Lee of Brandon.
Lee engineered what he said were about two million robocalls to voters, using the same calls Crist used in his successful 2006 Republican campaign for governor, in which he called himself a pro-life, Ronald Reagan Republican who opposed same sex marriage and supported public display of the 10 Commandments -- views now starkly at odds with his Democratic philosophy.
Lee has taken responsibility for the robocalls and used an electioneering communications organization (ECO) called The Conservative, headed by Stafford Jones, a Republican activist from Gainesville, and there's also a site featuring many of Crist's re-robo'd audio clips at www.charlieinhisownwords.com.
Sen. Tom Lee is behind those 'conservative Charlie Crist' robocalls
August 14, 2014 | posted on Tampa Bay Times by Adam Smith
State Sen. Tom Lee hosted a fundraiser for Charlie Crist at his Brandon home in 1998 when Crist ran against Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Graham. When Lee joined Crist in the Florida Senate in 1996, he says, he admired Republican "Chain Gang Charlie's" gift for public relations and public speaking. Crist introduced Lee to Grover Norquist, the antitax crusader, and tried to persuade his fellow Tampa Bay Republican to sign Norquist's pledge never to raise taxes.
Today, however, Lee lambasts Crist as the embodiment of why the public distrusts elected leaders. And he is leading a campaign to make sure hundreds of thousands of Democratic and independent voters in Florida hear Crist in his own words tout his rock-ribbed conservatism.
More than 1.2 million recorded calls have already reached voters across the state featuring old recordings of Crist when he was a Republican.
This year's Democratic gubernatorial nominee can be heard touting his opposition to gay Floridians adopting children, his support for allowing the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public buildings. The "pro-life Ronald Reagan Republican we can trust" is leaving voicemail messages telling Democrats about his admiration for Sarah Palin and reminding them to vote for him "and the entire Republican ticket."
"I can't think of a place in modern American history where someone has attempt to make such a mockery of the political process through total transformation like this," Lee said of Republican-turned-Democrat Crist. "This guy was either lying to us Republicans when he was encouraging us to support him or he's lying to Democrats now, and somebody needs to hold him accountable."
Conservative group uses Charlie Crist to attack Charlie Crist
August 14, 2014 | posted on CNN by Sean Kennedy
Charlie Crist is robo-calling Florida voters, talking about his conservative values as he wages another campaign for governor.
The only problem is Crist is now a Democrat, and the recorded phone message is actually from 2006, when he was a Republican.
Republican state Sen. Tom Lee is resurfacing Crist's old campaign comments to remind Democratic voters of Crist's past words and highlight his party switch.
Lee's Group – "The Conservatives" – is paying for the robocalls across Florida. This particular call is the same one Crist used in the 2006 governor's race to sway Republican primary voters.
The robocall, one of four that Lee's group is producing, ticks off a list of conservative stances Crist once held but has since rejected:
"Hi, this is Charlie Crist calling to set the record straight. I'm pro-life. I oppose amnesty for illegal immigrants, I support traditional marriage, and I have never supported a new tax or big spending program. It's sad that in his fourth try for governor my opponent has resorted to distortions and untruths…Floridians need a consistent, conservative governor that they can trust. I would appreciate your vote on Election Day"
Segment on Crist Robo-Calls
August 14, 2014 | aired on CNN New Day
John King: This one will be for Berman and Kate. If you remember Florida politics at all, Charlie Crist was a Republican governor. He is running now for governor as a Democrat and a Republican wants to make a little mischief found an old Charlie Crist recording when he was trying to win a Republican primary. Listen.
Call: Hi. This is Charlie Crist calling to set the record straight, I oppose amnesty for illegal immigrants, support traditional marriage and I have never supported a new tax or big spending program. Floridians need a consistent conservative governor they can trust. I would appreciate your vote on election day.
John King: Mischief but fair mischief, right?
Jackie Kucinich: The entire campaign, you see the Rick Scott people doing this.
Josh Kraushaar: The governor has spent tens of millions of dollars attacking Charlie Crist. Robo call will be effective
John King: He can say, wait, I've changed. But life and politics, not fair sometimes. Ouch.
Anchor: Not fair. It's always tough when your words come back to bite you.
Anchor: Record can be a very difficult things sometimes. Appreciate it, my friend.
Fla. Dems go nuts! Robo-call of Charlie Crist ‘smearing’ himself in his own words is brilliant
August 13, 2014 | posted on BizPac Review by Tom Tillison
When “Independent Charlie” decided he would run for governor of Florida as “Democratic Charlie,” one of his biggest challenges was going to be avoiding “Republican Charlie.”
Just as the “Ghost from Christmas Past” haunted Ebenezer Scrooge, former Republican Gov. Charlie Crist, now running as a Democrat, is being stalked by his own nemesis, in the form of a robo-call that touts his conservative bona fides to Democratic primary voters.
It’s a closely guarded secret that Crist has a primary opponent. Pesky Nan Rich, a true “progressive” candidate who excites the base, has struggled to garner the attention or finances to compete with Crist, but is still in the race.
And this is where a robo-call of Charlie Crist smearing Charlie Crist enters the fray. The call features a voice from campaigns past that is confusing some low information Democratic voters who have little grasp of history.