11 county Republican straw polls — 11 wins for Marco Rubio over Charlie Crist.

But this one was different.

The fact that Crist lost in Pinellas County, which he represented in the state Senate and where he’s lived nearly all his life, can’t be a good sign for Crist.

This is another in a string of positive events for Marco Rubio. Nearly unknown and trailing significantly in the polls just a year ago, Rubio’s conservative message has energized party faithful and impressed those less politically aware.

One common, if anecdotal, theme is that Rubio stands out because of his beliefs, but also because of how genuine he appears to be.

Good morning, and welcome to 2010! The old meme for the new year used to be how long would you be writing 2009 on your checks. In 2010 the question is, do you still write paper checks?

One conversation at work yesterday was about not just how quickly 2009 went by, but how it seems like such a short time ago that we were welcoming 2000 (when we weren’t worried about Y2K bringing the world to an end).

2009 was a very interesting year in many ways. Of course the biggest story has been the year of the unprecedented presidency. Why it’s been one historic moment after another. Then you remember that the Hindenburg and Little Big Horn were also historic moments and hope that 2010 can fix some things.

Politics, of course, will be a big part of 2010. The mid-term elections, and the primaries preceding them, will interesting to watch (and blog about). In addition to following the national races, I am going to watching the Rubio-Crist race here in Florida very closely.

One very important story here in the very first moments of 2010 is will Fox and Brighthouse/Time Warner resolve their dispute?

The negotiations between Fox and Time Warner Cable were extended a second time early this morning.

The original midnight deadline first was pushed back to 3 a.m., then a second time to 7 a.m. The two parties are negotiating in Los Angeles.

As of 8:44 local time Fox is still on. Why is this important? For many people it’s today’s Sugar Bowl between Florida and Cincinnati and Tim Tebow’s last college game. Beyond that, for me at least, is the fact that Season 8 of 24 starts in just 2 weeks, 2 days, 11 hours and 11 minutes. I need Fox so I can continue to contribute to Blogs.4Bauer.com

So, what are my blogging plans for 2010?

• More, and more regular, posting here at bRight & Early. Sure, I make this a goal every year, but this year I’m going to do it.
• I’ve posted over the past few days about The Regiment. I’m going to work very hard to develop the site as a great social network and resource for conservatives.
• Reclaim Conservatism also deserves some attention.
• FloridImagine.com is my hosting reseller site. There’s no excuse to neglect an opportunity to generate some revenue.
• I’ve made some halfhearted attempts to get Blog News Co-op off the ground. Perhaps a wholehearted attempt is what’s needed.
• Aside from working on the various sites I contribute to, I absolutely have to be a more active visitor and commenter on my friends and favorite blogs. Like:
  • Support Your Local Gunfighter
  • Sister Toldjah
  • No Runny Eggs
  • Common Sense Political Thought
  • Flopping Aces
  • Ace of Spades HQ
  • Pirates Cove
  • Brian Pickrell
  • Michelle Malkin
  • Hot Air
  • Right Wing News
  • Confederate Yankee
  • The Jawa Report
  • And so many more that I shouldn’t have even started a list like this.

And, to make this a Rule 5 post remember that 2010 is the year the Danica Patrick joins NASCAR.

Happy New Year!

2010 image by freeimageslive.co.uk – christmashat

Florida Senate candidate Marco Rubio is going to be the keynote speaker at CPAC.

CPAC Director Lisa De Pasquale made the announcement on the conference’s Twitter feed.

“We chose Rubio because he is an upcoming leader. He is someone that a lot of people are excited about,” De Pasquale told POLITICO. “His name keeps getting brought up and we decided that he would be a good keynote for 2010.”

He is an excellent choice. As Allahpundit said at Hot Air:

It’s an easy pick because there’s no pol in America aside from Sarahcuda whom the base is more excited about, and he needs this exposure a lot more than she does. It’s essentially a huge, free advertisement for his Senate campaign with all the earned media that goes along with that. And of course it’s a great advertisement for conservatives too: He’s young, charismatic, and a minority, which makes him almost the polar opposite of the standard media caricature of right-wingers.

My guess is that the crowd at CPAC is going to love this choice. He is extremely popular with party activist, going 12-0 in straw polls, winning most by huge margins.

The race between Rubio and Crist is being touted as an indicator of conservative sentiment and power. CPAC may give Rubio the name recognition he needs, and then the real test can begin.

Senate candidates Charlie Crist and Marco Rubio appeared at the Alachua County Republican Party’s 7th Annual Ronald Reagan Black Tie and Blue Jeans BBQ. Laura Ingraham was the keynote speaker.

Rubio gave the event’s invocation, but first made comments along his campaign theme of being the race’s true conservative.

“It’s very simple: We already have a Democratic Party in America,” he said. “We do not need two Democratic parties in America.”

Crist gave a speech running through a long list of positions to prove his conservative bona fides, from support of gun rights to tax cuts. But he received a less enthusiastic greeting than Rubio from the grassroots activists in attendance, even getting a small smattering of boos.

This scenario, minus the candidates, has been playing out at county events all summer. Rubio’s support, at least as indicated in straw polls held among party activists, has been outstanding. On possible reaction to the NY-23 special election may be for the NRSC to stay out of this critical primary.

One can only hope.

Larry Thornberry writes about the Florida U.S. Senate primary between Governor Charlie Crist and Marco Rubio saying, “Marco Gets It.” He had the opportunity to sit down with Rubio. Here’s a taste:

His answers to my questions give a feel for what kind of a conservative he is.

Larry Thornberry – The American Spectator: Why do you think your campaign is increasingly successful, both in collecting money and in better poll numbers?

Rubio: I think it’s because my candidacy offers Floridians the opportunity to decide that we don’t want to be the party of cap and trade, that we don’t want to be the party of stimulus, that in fact we want to send people to Washington who will stand up to the direction this administration is taking our country and offer a clear alternative. We already have a Democratic Party. We doesn’t need two Democratic parties.

The base is enthusiastic about our candidacy. An authentic center-right message, an authentic limited-government message is where the mainstream of American politics is. The extremists in American politics are the ones who want government to take over our economy. The extremists are the ones who want government to dictate energy policy. The extremists are the ones who want America to become more like the rest of the world and less like the exceptional country that we know and love. Those are the ones who are out of touch with everyday Americans. Those of us who believe government shouldn’t spend money it doesn’t have, who believe the government shouldn’t become so involved in the economy that it becomes impossible to open a business in the spare bedroom of your home, we’re in the mainstream of American thought.

Do read the whole post. The Rubio campaign website is here. You can follow @MarcoRubio on Twitter.

Govenor Charlie Crist has made his choice to replace Senator Mel Martinez, who is resigning.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist announced Friday he will appoint George LeMieux, his former chief of staff, to succeed Sen. Mel Martinez after the Republican incumbent resigns his seat in early September.

LeMieux, who ran Crist’s successful 2006 campaign for governor, currently serves as the chairman of the law firm Gunster, Yoakley & Stewart, which has offices in major cities across Florida.

I don’t know anything about LeMieux, but I’ll be looking. If you know anything about the appointee, please leave a comment.

I hope, and will be working to ensure, that Marco Rubio will be replacing LeMieux in 2010. You can follow @MarcoRubio on Twitter. For anyone in the Lakeland area of Central Florida, Rubio will be speaking at a luncheon in Lakeland on September 2nd. I will be there. Will you?

UPDATE: LeMieux is reported to have remarked that he, “is a Charlie Crist Republican” following the announcement of his appointment. Well that’s not good news.

UPDATE II: Rubio calls the choice “disappointing.”

“This is a disappointing pick for Florida. George LeMieux is a talented political operative and the governor’s best friend, but that doesn’t make him the right choice to represent Florida in the Senate. Governor Crist had a wealth of consistent and principled conservative candidates to choose from, all of whom would have been a reliable check and balance on the excesses of the Obama-Pelosi-Reid agenda.”

Sphere: Related Content

It’s a trend that has been repeating itself, in spite of the “official” position of the state party. Senate candidate Marco Rubio has been winning county REC straw polls by impressive margins. The latest was in Bay County.

Mirroring the sentiment established by Republican Executive Committees statewide, the Bay County REC overwhelmingly gave their informal support to Marco Rubio in his bid to replace U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez during a straw poll at their Monday meeting.

Rubio got 23 votes; Gov. Charlie Crist received two votes, and two members voted for none of the above. Despite having the formal endorsement of the Republican Party of Florida, Crist has not faired well in REC straw polls statewide, a possible indication that he has not won over the party faithful.

In one of the most recent straw polls, for instance, Highland County’s REC voted 75 to one in favor of Rubio.

I need to roundup all the REC straw poll votes I can find. If you know of any results, please let me know in the comments.

You can follow Marco Rubio on Twitter.

Florida Governor Charlie Crist is expected to announce that he will be running for the Senate seat being vacated by Mel Martinez. According to a Politico article,

But while Crist is a brand-name recruit with sky-high approval ratings and bipartisan appeal, his path to keeping the seat of retiring Sen. Mel Martinez in GOP hands has at least one significant roadblock: Sunshine State conservatives.

Despite Crist’s widespread popularity, he faces a primary in which he will have to make his case to a restless GOP base dissatisfied with his high-profile advocacy for President Barack Obama’s stimulus and his handling of the state’s budget woes.

I have to admit that I voted for Governor Crist. I’ve been less than pleased by the results. His “moderate” stances on a myriad of issues are quite disappointing and they are not what a revitalized GOP needs.

Crist will be facing conservative opposition in the primary. Former Florida House speaker Marco Rubio has announced his run:

(h/t Gordon Cafe/@conservateacher)

More from Politico:

Florida GOP operatives believe that Rubio has the potential to be a formidable opponent, if he can raise the millions of dollars necessary to compete against a governor with a wide fundraising network in Tallahassee.They acknowledge that knocking Crist off would be very difficult, with public polls showing the governor with approval ratings in the mid-60s and support from Democrats and independents that most Republicans can only dream of.

But they also point to a growing undercurrent of mainstream conservative dissatisfaction, beginning with Crist’s decision to appear at a February rally alongside Obama to raise support for the stimulus. Over the past several months, The Wall Street Journal editorial page has railed against Crist over his plans to control property insurance premiums and his support for higher government spending.

“Crist doesn’t represent a right-wing philosophy or a left-wing philosophy. He represents no philosophy,” said Ana Navarro, a leading GOP fundraiser in Florida who has been one of Crist’s most outspoken Republican critics.

It is going to be an interesting primary. I am sure both the primary and the general election are going to attract national attention. And national money. The Dems would love to pick up this seat. Barring that they would love to see another Dem Lite Republican holding the office. That’s not what we need. It is time to stand on conservative principles. The GOP primary is going to be a battle.