Michael Steele to RINOs: “We’ll come after you”

This one’s a day old but still fresh. Think the chairman got the message from what happened to Scozzafava in NY-23? “You’re going to find yourself in a very tough hole if you’re arguing for the president’s stimulus plan,” he warns purple-state Republicans. Um, isn’t there a rather prominent purple-state Republican running for Senate right now who did exactly that? Ben Smith takes a trip down memory lane:

And indeed, Crist’s own “Florida Recovery” website belies the claim. There, he links a “Dear Mr. President” letter he signed with 18 fellow governors, which begins, “We are writing to express our support for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which passed last week in the House and is under consideration currently in the Senate.”

“We support the objectives of ARRA and welcome the partnership it offers us as governors,” the letter says. “We look forward to working with Congress and your Administration to advance an economic recovery package that puts federal dollars to work in our states in the quickest and most efficient manner as possible.”

I’m not sure where this leaves the party right now vis-a-vis Crist. The NRSC stupidly endorsed him back in May, when arguing for the stimulus was still safe, but now in the wake of NY-23 Cornyn’s vowed not to spend any money in Republican primaries. Does that mean the NRSC endorsement is no longer operative? And what does Steele have in mind when he says the RNC will come after fiscally liberal Republicans? Anything concrete or is it just more self-aggrandizing Steele braggadocio? Exit quotation from Gibbs today, commenting on Crist: “I think he was very supportive of the legislation and supportive of the benefits that it would have and has had for the state of Florida.” Click the image to watch.

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