Free Republic

Washington (CNSNews.com) – Declaring the 2010 congressional campaigns “a referendum on the very identity of the nation,” Florida Senate candidate Marco Rubio brought the crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference to its feet several times during his speech. “People understand that if we get this wrong, there is no turning back,” Rubio said. “They want someone to stand up to the big government agenda and not be co-opted by it.” The conservative Rubio, a former speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, turned a 30-point deficit last year into an eight-point lead in polls against his Republican primary opponent...

Even as Florida struggled with massive budget shortfalls, lawmakers and top state employees have received health-insurance perks costing taxpayers $45 million a year. Top Florida lawmakers are balking at Congress' plans to help more poor people get healthcare, though they've protected an entitlement of their own: free insurance premiums. Taxpayers have been stuck with covering the premiums -- at a cost of about $45 million a year -- even while lawmakers pledged to scrimp as they grappled with three straight years of budget shortfalls. Florida doesn't limit the subsidies to statewide officeholders like Gov. Charlie Crist and Chief Financial Officer...