RPOF Marks Crist-Obama Hug Anniversary With Mock Card

The Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) looked to link former Gov. Charlie Crist -- the favorite for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination to challenge Gov. Rick Scott despite spending most of his political life as a Republican -- to President Barack Obama on Monday, marking the fifth anniversary of the then-governor appearing with the president in Fort Myers to back the federal stimulus. Crist will be in Fort Myers on Monday to promote his new political memoir.

"Five years ago today, Charlie Crist, the self-crowned prince of political opportunism, greeted President Obama in Fort Myers with an enthusiastic embrace of his binge-spending policies, said Lenny Curry, the chairman of the RPOF, on Monday. It was the 'hug heard round the world.' Five years later, he's come back to Fort Myers to sell his fiction novel in an attempt to run away from his failed record as governor. Now that Crist has embraced Obamacare -- a law that kills jobs, raises the deficit and caused 300,000 Floridians to lose their health insurance plans -- it's becoming more clear to voters that they can't afford another four years of Charlie."

The RPOF is gathering signatures for a mock card marking the anniversary.