Huckabee rips into NRSC for backing Crist

Former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee (R) on Tuesday lit into the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) for endorsing Gov. Charlie Crist over another Republican in Florida’s open Senate race.

Huckabee announced his official support for former state House Speaker Marco Rubio (R) in a video Tuesday. In an interview with The Hill, he criticized the NRSC for turning its back on a true conservative.

“I’m disgusted that they would take a position in a hotly contested race when you have a quality candidate like Marco Rubio, who was the youngest Speaker in the Florida House,” Huckabee said. “This is not just some nameless, faceless guy that decided to throw his name in, who had no chance and no credibility.”

He continued: “I thought that their endorsement not only was premature, but was outrageous. And they ought to get behind the guy who would do a whole lot more, in my mind, to unite and fire up Republicans, and that’s Marco Rubio.”

Huckabee declined to comment directly on Crist, who has drawn some heat from conservative Republicans unhappy with his support for President Obama’s stimulus legislation and other centrist positions.

But Huckabee did allude to that support in talking about his endorsement of Rubio.

“The establishment Republicans have made this endorsement for the same reason that they’re in so much trouble,” Huckabee said. “They go out there and support stuff like TARP bills and stimulus packages, pork-barrel spending and huge debt, and they wring their hands and act like, 'This is not good, but we don’t have a choice.' "

Crist held a fundraiser at NRSC headquarters Monday. Present were a high number of GOP senators, including Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Jon Kyl (Ariz.), Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), John Thune (S.D.), John Cornyn (Texas), John McCain (Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Richard Burr (N.C.), Kit Bond (Mo.), Olympia Snowe (Maine), Saxby Chambliss (Ga.), Jim Risch (Idaho), Mel Martinez (Fla.), Bob Bennett (Utah) and John Barrasso (Wyo.).
 
Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) recently came out in support of Rubio.

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