Crist says he ‘misspoke’ on healthcare
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (I) is walking back comments he made in an interview earlier today about the recently enacted healthcare law.
Crist is mounting an independent bid for Senate against Republican Marco Rubio and Democratic Rep. Kendrick Meek.
Crist told a local TV station Friday that he would have voted in favor of President Obama’s healthcare proposal were he in the Senate. That was a reversal of his previous position against the healthcare law.
“I would have voted for it,” Crist said in the interview. “But I think it can be done better, I really do.”
But now, Crist says he “misspoke” in that interview. His campaign sent out a statement Friday afternoon clarifying Crist’s position on the healthcare law.
“If I misspoke, I want to be abundantly clear: the health care bill was too big, too expensive, and expanded the role of government far too much,” Crist said in a statement. “Had I been in the United States Senate at the time, I would have voted against the bill because of unacceptable provisions like the cuts to the Medicare Advantage program.”
The campaigns of both Rubio and Meek are having an absolute field day with Crist’s flip-flop.
The Rubio campaign blasted out an e-mail with the subject line, “Crist flips for sixth time on Obamacare!” The headline on an e-mail from the Meek campaign reads, “Breaking: Governor Crist diagnosed with political amnesia.”
For Crist’s opponents, this feeds right into the narrative both have been pushing about the independent governor — that he’s willing to shift his positions in whatever direction the political winds are blowing.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed..