(CNN) - Two of Florida's three Senate candidates are out Tuesday with their first television ads of the general election.
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who was elected as a Republican but is running as an independent candidate, literally walks the line between Democrat and Republican in his 30-second spot entitled "Best of Both."
"As an independent, I will take the best ideas of Democrats and Republicans to get things done," Crist says, as he picks up red and blue block letters spelling out the names of the two parties and rearranges them to spell "Americans."
The National Republican Senatorial Committee responded Tuesday to Crist's ad, which they call "hypocritical."
"If Floridians have learned anything from Charlie Crist's politically opportunistic policy shifts and empty rhetoric, it's that he's willing to say or do anything in an attempt to get elected," NRSC spokeswoman Amber Merchand said in a statement. "Charlie Crist only cares about his own interests, and his misleading claim to 'put people ahead of politics' simply does not match reality."
The NRSC is backing Republican candidate Marco Rubio.
Democratic Rep. Kendrick Meek's new ad features him in the Everglades, the Gulf of Mexico and on a public bus as he distances his politcal accomplishments from those of his challengers.
In the ad, entitled "Only One," Meek lists off eight things that he says he's done for Floridians but his opponents have not.
"With three of us running, you should know what makes me different," Meek says.
A Quinnipiac University poll conducted August 11-16 showed Crist leading Rubio by a 39-32 percent margin. Meek registered at 16 points in the survey.
Crist, Meek and Rubio will face off in a live, nationally televised debate on CNN just 10 days before Election Day. The Oct. 24 debate will be held on the University of South Florida's Tampa campus. CNN Chief Political Correspondent Candy Crowley will serve as moderator and it will air at 9 a.m. ET on "State of the Union with Candy Crowley."
From CNN Politics
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Where is the republican plans? Do they have any?
Meek's campaign ad is straight forward and to the point. No slander whatsoever. I wish all campaigns were run this way.
The rich keep getting richer, and the rest of us are left to stuggle to survive. Peter ought to go visit some homeless shelters and see the real America. As long as corporate america keeps running the country into the ground, we will not have a recovery
I would much prefer Crist's rhetoric to Rubio's lies and corruption....the NRSC cannot stand Charlie because he has a mind of his own not one of the SHEEP like Rubio.......Charlie accepted the stimulus funds because it was good for the people of Florida, saved a bunch of Teaching jobs, Police and Firefighters…..He had the guts to stand up and accept the funds….Unlike the Repub cowards that condemned the stimulus and then quietly accepted them….Wake up Florida .....Rubio is a disaster………..
Here's a great new idea for a political add.
Now get a glance at this.
"Did you ever notice how much prettier and smarter female
conservative candidates are than female liberal
candidates ? "
Rubio just wants to be the president of Cuba someday,two casinos on every corner and free chickens to all.
"Charlie accepted the stimulus funds because it was good for the people of Florida, saved a bunch of Teaching jobs, Police and Firefighters"
Okay... I've asked this several times without receiving an answer with merit. All the left says when it comes to federal spending is "teachers... blah, blah... police... blah, blah.... firefighters... blah, blah" ad nauseum. Since when do teachers, police, and firefighters get paid with FEDERAL dollars? For that matter... STATE dollars? The fact is that these public sector jobs are paid for with LOCAL revenues garnered from porperty and excise taxes.
The federal government has NO BUSINESS with the funding of teachers, police, or firefighters. PERIOD.
Wow, all it takes is erasing that R from in front of your name and apparently you turn into a completely different person. The fine honorable man of Monday becomes the lowlife scum on Tuesday. Doesn't that make people wonder if anything that the Republicans say is true? When they can reverse positions on a persons character overnight?
GOP PLAN:
According to Michelle Bachman, investigate, impeach, et.c.
The ONLY plan the GOP has is to destroy President Obama's presidency, that has been and is their mission.
I ask: What have the Republicans done for Americans in the last 10 years?
I await an answer.
i like meek iwood vote for him
Americans first ahead of partisan politics–Go Crist!
How in the world can any republican call Crist hypocritical when they have totally fulfilled the meaning of the word??
I just cannot understand any American following, supporting this party who has become a disgrace to our political system and our country with their actions. Their priority is to win this next election, regardless of the consequences to us and our country.
We cannot allow this party of Wall St and the rich regain power.
It would be a diaster for our country.
hey charlie, how about telling all of us florida voters why you spent $750,000 of our tax dollars taking your fiancee to venice on a boondoggle, you corrupt, hypocritical political opportunist!
Charle Crist Before this Summer was a Member of the GOP and until the Republican Tea Party was formed was the Darling of the Bush Republican Party because he was the Governor of a important swing state. Now that the Nut Jobs on the far right have their Man. He is now the Independent thinker , Pure BS I will vote for MEEK and so will the rest of the DEMOCRATS in FLORIDA .
Crist is a bold faced liar. He looked directly in the eyes of Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday and said if he lost the republican primary to Marco Rubio, he would bow out of the race. Words are meaningless apparently to politicians these days as the seduction of power is almost impossible to resist for them.
I saw Rubio's ad about a week ago. Same old, same old. In other words, nothing but Republican rhetoric. Having said that, both of the above candidates have delivered concerning their 'style' of governing, should they become elected. (I like that) I would have a somewhat difficult choosing between the two (above). I like Crist's approach a little better. He's what I define as a across the isle tempering mechanism that is needed in Congress.
Christ is a proven self-thinker, unlike Rubio, the republican "puppet-on-a-string".
We don't need politicians that "TAKE IDEAS" from other people.
I don't respect those that steal the intellectual property of others. I want leaders that are smart enough, inventive enough to FORMULATE THEIR OWN IDEAs ... to be able to EXPLAIN and DEFEND them.
This is what's wrong with corporate and government management ... we PROMOTE people that couldn't think their way out of a paper bag.
I like Crist but it is telling that he thinks that Americans no longer value the "smart" guy. It's long overdue to put the smarts back into American leadership.
Given the choices Crist IS the best of both worlds. At least he has a mind of his own, and is more apt to act on behalf of Floridians FIRST.
I live in Florida and I have seen how "this" state has suffered during these bad economic times...
This is a Seasonal work state where during the winter it used to have enough of a boom to run the local residents through the summer months until the next season... Now we have little if any season in a lot of areas and unemployment is one of the highest in the country here...
I can only imagine what the economy of this state would be like if Charlie Christ hadn't gone against the Republican party and took the Obama stimulous package...
While it hasn't turned things around it has at least gave us a chance to keep more people above water in these tough times...
Why is it that the Party Ploiticians can't seem to understand it isn't about Democrat vs Republican, it is about the American people and what is best for them FIRST...
Charlie Christ has done a good considering the turn of events since he got originally elected...
Working together and taking the right things from "all" sides is the only way the people of this state and this country will ever get back where we need to be...
Crist has shown signs of breaking from the GOP group mind think, and that got him in trouble with the GOP. But he's still a Republican at heart. Vote Meeks.
Award a cigar to the blogger that stated last week that Rubio would indeed re-schedule to debate too close to the actual election to make a difference!
"Since when do teachers, police, and firefighters get paid with FEDERAL dollars?"
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. That should be all the answer you get. Now do your own research. Most states, especially and overwhelmingly RED states, have such horrifying budget problems that the federal gov't has to help them pay for their civil service employees...and myriad other things. Since 1960, federal subsidies to states and local governments have grown almost 1,200%. HAHAHA...and you thought the federal government hadn't already superceded states in every pracitcally meaningful way as a matter of necessity...hilarious.
That's what happens when you run moderates out of the party. get used to it.
It will be refreshing to have neither a democrat or a republican in as governor of Florida. However, how does a governor with no party support get things done?
The federal government has NO BUSINESS with the funding of teachers, police, or firefighters. PERIOD.
****************************************************************************Right
So IF the State does not have the funds and your house is burning but the Fire Department could use the Federal $$ to put out the FIRE you'd let it burn.....VERY SMART THINKING............
Notice that of both words, Democrat and Republican, only two letters are needed from the word democrat to form the word American. Does that mean Republicans are more American?
To steven harnack:
Actually, Charlie hasn't changed his positions very much at all since taking that R from in front of his name. He ALWAYS was a moderate Republican. It's just that now the extremists have taken over the Republican party (aka the Tea Party) and have forced out all semblence of moderation from their ranks.
Charlie changes his views everytime the wind blows. He hugged Obama and then ran from him. He ignored Florida while he chased McCain for the VP slot going so far as to get married to squelch the gay rumours.
He was for Obamacare until now when the polls show people do not want ti,now he is against it....
He lied to Fox news when he said he would NOT run as an Independent and 2 weeks later he takes al lof his Republican mone yand does just that.
He is not in this for Floridians – its all about Charlie and it always has been.
"GOP PLAN:
According to Michelle Bachman, investigate, impeach, et.c."
Indeed, altho she's the craziest one there. Cantor and others, who can claim to be slightly less crazy, have already LITERALLY confirmed that their first step will be to try to pass an appropriations bill that defunds the HCR Bill and several other major portions of the federal government in order to force Obama to veto it. They'll do so under cover of reducing the debt and deficit and being fiscally responsible (last I checked, "responsible" doesn't include making promises then defunding them, and you can bet your bippy that SS and Medicare/caid will be in their crosshairs as well). They want a do-over of 1995-1996 after losing the same battle with Clinton.
Why is this important? Because it shows just how little the GOP cares about any of us in the middle-class. This plan of their will result in a complete disaster...hundreds of thousands of FURLOUGHED (that means NO PAY) federal employees, a complete shut-down of several major agencies and their investigations and enforcement actions (BP will no doubt be quite pleased) and further recession and increases in unemployment....ALL OF WHICH THEY WILL ATTEMPT TO BLAME ON OBAMA. They see this as an opportunity to destroy him AND destroy the federal gov't, which they"ve wanted destroyed since at least 1964 for obvious reasons. And you thought the Civil War was over lol
Nice Add. He hast to quit back peddling.
What Crist forgot to say is "and don't forget, I will sell my mother for a vote and sell my children if a poll tells me it would be a good idea". Charlie Crist is nausiating in how he has no morals or character. Of course since he DOESN'T have any morals or character he will fit in well with the Democrat Party!!
For LacrosseMom(the real one), who said:
"I ask: What have the Republicans done for Americans in the last 10 years? I await an answer."
What have the Democrats done for Americans in the last 10 years? Neither party has 0 interest in the common, hard working Americans, trying to support their families and make it day by day. To find any one political party to be solely at fault, is to only identify half of the problem.
Florida leans Republicna and Crist is a moderate. He would be the best match for Florida and the Senate
How can the Republican party call anybody hypocritical. They are hypocritcal from A to Z. The glorification of ignorance of the republican party continues unabated
Rubio for President anytime then the one we have! Yeah that's sounds like a tea partier slogan...LOL...what a bunch of NUTS!
@jeff all beauty and no brains, thats what conservative women are. take u guys darling lil palin, i mean damn 5 colleges and 6 yrs to get a journalism degree lol. She couldnt hold water to hillary clinton. U cons are too funny
Wow! Who is doing Crist's ads? That's the best I have seen this year.
Hey Jeff, you have been posting this same old comment several times now. Me thinks you need to get laid.
You wrote:
jeff, alabama September 7th, 2010 12:16 pm ET
Here's a great new idea for a political add.
Now get a glance at this.
"Did you ever notice how much prettier and smarter female
conservative candidates are than female liberal
candidates ? "
Charlie is no more a democrat than Rick Scott is an honest business man.
I think FL politicians should be focusing on the deranged pastor in Gainesville with his Koran burning plan. And he calls himself a Christian-what a joke,
republicans don't need plans. They just need to WIN IN NOVEMBER and throw out all the DIms and their leader Barry the Muslim
No Florida Cubans in the Senate. Talk about single issue candidates!!
Gov Crist...you deserve to be taken seriously. It would appear that you have the interests of Floridians at heart...not the step and repeat stuff that seems to principally infiltrate your former political party and it's neo-con philosophies that put the state...and the country...in the crisis condition they left us in in 2008. Gratefully we are successfully finding our way out of it in spite of their obstructionist policies. Please continue your good work.
A good ad for the democrats is to show clips from the 2008 collapse of the economy and at the end of the commercial ask Americans if they want to return to the party that caused the collapse.