GOP leaders say Social Security rolls would swell if Crist is elected

By Christine Show, ORLANDO SENTINEL

2:58 p.m. EDT, October 22, 2010

THE VILLAGES — Florida House Speaker Larry Cretul and state Senate President-designate Mike Haridopolos told a small crowd of retirees today that Gov. Charlie Crist's plan for Social Security would put the program in jeopardy.

The two GOP officials spoke against the U.S. Senate hopeful's plan to about 30 people at the Republican headquarters in this megaretirement community. They said Crist, who is running as an independent, would allow undocumented immigrants a pathway for citizenship, which would increase the number of people that would receive Social Security.

"If anything is going to change, it's going to change under the Charlie Crist plan," Cretul said.

Cretul called Crist's Social Security plan a retirement program from undocumented immigrants.

"There's no question that legal immigration — and participants in the Social Security program — is good," he said. "But to give citizenship through the back door is the wrong way to do it."

Cretul and Haridopolos advocated for Crist's Republican opponent, Marco Rubio, and spoke in favor of other Florida Republicans seeking office in the Nov. 2 election, including Rick Scott, the party's nominee for governor.

"This is a great year for Republicans," Haridopolos said. "I've never seen a tailwind like this."

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