Much of the analysis in the media about yesterday's Marco Rubio-Charlie Crist debate on Fox News Sunday was spent on Rubio's "slush fund," as the governor put it. But among the other jabs thrown by both sides: that Crist has appointed liberal judges to the Florida Supreme Court.
The attack comes at 1:55 in the video above, when Rubio says, "You appointed liberal supreme court justices to our Supreme Court." Crist called the assertion "astounding."
Is Rubio telling the truth? Not unless you're a far-right activist. And your memory is
short.
During the debate, Crist asked Rubio to explain his
attack, and Rubio pointed to Justice James E.C. Perry. When Crist
appointed him a year ago, the governor was quick to point out Perry was
originally a Jeb Bush appointee to a state appeals court. Liberals called him a moderate, but right-wingers like the
Florida Family Policy Council tried
to label him as a liberal supported by abortion groups and gay
activists.
Truth is, nobody found rulings by Perry to support
either side, and GOP activists fought him mostly because they wanted a
clear conservative choice, not out of fear of his politics. Bruce Rogow,
a Nova Southeastern University law professor, told
the St. Petersburg Times that it's unclear which way Perry
will lean on the high court. "I think it's so important for everybody to
wait and see," Rogow told the paper.
Besides, Rubio said
"judges," and Crist's record there is to the right. In 2008, Crist
appointed Justice Charles T. Canady, a former Republican congressman
and state legislator. Crist later named him
chief justice. As a state legislator, Canady was credited with coining
the term "partial-birth abortion" and is famous for this quote:
"The only difference between the partial-birth abortion and homicide is a mere three inches."
Whether Rubio really had a "slush fund" may still be up for debate, but on the matter of Crist appointing liberals, Rubio, it seems, had that one wrong.
