Florida Republican and U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio (NR coverboy) on Gov. Charlie Crist tapping aide George LeMieux to fill retiring senator Mel Martinez’s sea (h/t Hotline):

This is a disappointing appointment for Florida. George LeMieux is a talented political operative and the governor’s best friend, but that doesn’t make him the right choice to represent Florida in the Senate. Governor Crist had a wealth of consistent and principled conservative candidates to choose from, all of whom would have been a reliable check and balance on the excesses of the Obama-Pelosi-Reid agenda.