Florida’s Fourth Faceoff

Sunshine State Senate candidates address stimulus effectiveness, flip-flopping Crist and immigration fixes in debate Tuesday.

On jobs/stimulus:

Rubio: Says stimulus has stimulated debt, "Jobs are created by everyday people ... who start a business ... or expand an existing business."

Crist: "This has been a tough for years ... it is easy to govern when money is flowing."

Crist: Says 20,000 educators would not be employed, 60,000 Florida residents would be without a job if he did not accept recovery money.

Cut Social Security v. raising taxes:

Crist: "That's a false choice." Says they have to be "smart" and "prudent."

Meek: On Crist's response -- "He said very little."

Rubio: "I would never support any changes to Social Security that would adversely affect" people in his 80-year-old mother's age group.

Health care:

Meek: "Insurance companies are playing chicken with Floridians and Americans."

Meek on Crist using the phrase "ObamaCare": "I wonder if he said that to the president when he was walking with him on the beach."

Crist: "When were on the beach we were protecting Florida."

Meek hits Crist for being for drilling and for standing with Palin. Crist said he was supporting McCain and "I never said drill baby drill."

Crist (addressing flip-flop accusations): "I'm a fiscal conservative and a social moderate."

Immigration:

Rubio: "My platform is that we enforce the laws ... I've grown up around immigration."

Rubio: "We need to have a legal immigration [system] that works."

Crist: "We have ... 11 to 14 million people" here illegally. Says they need a "path to citizenship" as well as a secure border.

Afghanistan:

Meek: "Both of my opponents agree with the approach in Afghanistan and Pakistan."

Meek: Says he's the only one who has actually been to these areas, says "We cant do it alone like we tried to do it in Iraq."