Rubio and Crist go mano a mano with Fox News' Chris Wallace

Former Speaker of the Florida House Marco Rubio spoke at the Duval County Republican Women's meeting in May. He packed the house. [Photo by Kay B. Day]Former Speaker of the Florida House Marco Rubio goes mano a mano with The Sunshine State’s Governor Charlie Crist in a debate on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace.

Rubio and Crist are locked in a duel to determine the GOP nominee for the US Senate seat vacated by Mel Martinez.

The race has galvanized grassroots conservatives drawn to Rubio’s limited government message and it has surprised GOP insiders who initially assumed Florida’s popular governor would be a shoo-in for Martinez’s seat. 

Aside from messaging, Rubio has a level of charisma conservatives sometimes lack. An energetic, spontaneous and engaging speaker, Rubio draws crowds and pleases them by pledging fiscal conservatism. That is the one issue all conservatives who are true conservatives place at the top of the agenda.

You cannot call yourself a conservative if you do not endorse fiscal conservatism regardless of numerous other debatable issues.

Fiscal conservatism automatically nurtures smaller government because only by expanding government reach at the expense of the populace can government grow.

Crist has served with a popularity level many governors would envy.

In May, 2009, The St. Petersburg Times ran a story with the header, ‘Crist crushing Rubio.’ The US Report took issue with that and predicted Rubio’s rise after watching him in action at a crowded meeting held by the Duval County Republican Women.

Despite Crist’s popularity, however, Florida is facing record unemployment rates and the Cap and Trade bill, HR 2454, if passed, will impact the state severely in terms of increased costs for energy. That points to a significant contradiction because like other Southern states, Florida is forested and if reality counts, likely has enough forested areas to mitigate carbon emissions leftwingers blame for everything from hurricanes to tsunami despite evidence to the contrary.

Polls have shown Rubio gaining ground since being the first to announce his candidacy, with a March 23 Rasmussen poll showing Rubio with a 56 percent to 34 percent lead over Crist.

Another Rasmussen poll shows both Republicans with “double digit leads” over frontrunner Democrat nominee Kendrick Meek. But here’s the most telling result from that March 24 poll: “Even in a three-way match-up with Crist running as an independent, Meek comes in second with 25% of the vote. Rubio leads with 45% support, while Crist earns 22%.”

The Sunday debate guarantees good viewing. For one thing, Wallace is a veteran journalist whose impartial, objective style rises far above any other journalist on TV today. For another, the Rubio-Crist exchange should be lively and spirited, without the dull, watered down nature of debates shown during the presidential election. Those debates are so stringently managed, with mostly canned responses, they divulge very little about the candidate.

Viewers should check local listings for the Rubio-Crist debate. In Jacksonville, if you’re a Comcast subscriber, Chris Wallace’s show airs at 2 p.m. and again at 6 p.m.

Rubio and Crist are sure to fire up the airwaves with a debate that will help determine the Republican candidate for the vacant US Senate seat in the nation’s fourth largest state.

[Disclosure: The editor supports Marco Rubio and has donated to his campaign.]