THE US REPORT

Commentary by Kay B. Day

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) talked to Neil Cavuto about the Florida Senate race. DeMint heads up the Senate Conservatives Fund. The SCF endorsed Marco Rubio as candidate in the GOP Primary.The latest Quinnipiac University Poll shows former Speaker of the Florida House Marco Rubio topping Gov. Charlie Crist. According to the poll, Rubio is “leading 47 - 44 percent and topping Gov. Crist on trust, values and conservative credentials, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.”

The news release header at the QU poll website said ‘Rubio edges Crist.’

The header on an Associated Press writeup said the GOP Primary is a ‘tie.’

Does the AP routinely call an edge a tie? The story announcing Rubio’s ‘edge’ is one of the first I’ve ever seen where the AP allows for the margin of error of 3.8 percentage points in the header. I can understand the margin being referred to within an article. But remember the presidential elections when polls were close? I don't recall any 'ties' being announced in headlines then regardless of the margin of error. As a matter of fact, media obsessively touting those polls during the presidential race gave Democrats the edge, in my opinion.

Should we conclude the AP doesn’t like fiscal conservatives? Because that is what Rubio pushes, above all other issues, and it’s what he should push because fiscal conservatism should be the heart of the GOP platform.

The larger the government, the more fragile your individual rights. And the direct pathway to growing government is via the wallets of the governed.

I hear conservatives described as moderate even though they voted for Cap and Trade. A gong should sound when somebody makes a statement like that. You cannot vote for a bill like Cap and Trade and call yourself a moderate anything.

As we rumble towards November, the race between Rubio and Crist will sizzle. Of that we are certain. Rumors about Crist dropping out of the Senate race have floated around the blogosphere. But Crist told a leftwing paper there was ‘zero’ chance he’d drop out.

Rubio has waged a solid campaign of grassroots perseverance. Watch him speak and you will come away telling yourself he is definitely presidential material. I recall a columnist in some leftwing publication saying people gush over Rubio. They most definitely do.

The charismatic former speaker was born to the podium. But he has the convictions to match the rhetoric. He is a rare candidate who knows government needs to be reformed. Besides, Rubio still believes in the American dream because he saw his parents who were immigrants achieve it. That alone is refreshing in these anti-American times.

Rubio has the endorsement of the Senate Conservatives Fund and influential conservative writer and radio talk show host Mark Levin, among others.

In  May, shortly after we interviewed Rubio when he spoke to Jacksonville’s Republican women, we noted a headline in The St. Petersburg Times—Crist was ‘crushing’ Rubio said the paper. The US Report ran a column; after all, we were one of the first in the blogosphere to write about Rubio. And we projected the following: “Rubio’s numbers will rise as his brand navigates for recognition.”

So thumb your nose at the AP header and take the stats for what they are. Rubio’s numbers most definitely have risen. The QU poll shows Rubio topping Crist in the battle to be the GOP candidate for the US Senate race in Florida by 3 percent. It’s a good feeling sometimes to be able to say we got that one right.

The QU poll didn’t show a tie, in the media scheme of projecting news headlines. The headline should've been written 'Rubio’s topping Crist. ' Period.