By FNC Reporter Steve Brown

Charlie Crist laughed.

Conservative activists ... those Tea Partiers ... may not find the chuckles from Florida's Republican Governor very funny.

In an interview Monday in Ft. Lauderdale, I told Crist conservative grassroots activists ... emboldened by their impact on the special election in New York's 23rd congressional district had announced Crist was among their top targets for 2010.

That's when Crist laughed.

I jumped in and said, "I'm glad that you can keep your sense of humor about this."

"Oh, I do", Crist answered.

"They think they can do what they did  Scozzafava."

Done laughing, the Governor explained, "it is interesting I think. There is a lot of intrigue going on. Really when it gets down to people voting on Election Day what's  important is what you have done, what you stand for and what you believe in."

Crist believes it's hard to get to the political right of him. He rattles off his positions: pro-gun, pro-death penalty, a tax-cutter AND a budget cutter. He had other advantages. Crist is a very good fund-raiser. ($6M cash on hand at the end of September.) Few candidates work a crowd ... ANY crowd as thoroughly and enthusiastically as Charlie Crist. And remember, he's Governor...which proves he can win a state-wide campaign.

But for his conservative detractors, like Everett Wilkinson, the state for the Florida Tea Party movement there is the federal Stimulus package.

Wilkinson calls the 787-billion dollar spending package "generational theft"...and clearly out-of-bounds for anyone who calls themselves a conservative."

"He came out in February and supported the largest spending plan ever... and that has been a complete failure where he should have stood," says Wilkinson.

What was Wilkinson and his fellow activist prepared to do about Crist crossing the line to endorse the Stimulus package? They aim to drive Crist from the Republican primary set for next August.

The man who stands to benefit from any Sunshine State conservative up-rising would be Marco Rubio...Crist's main challenger in the primary.

Rubio trails Crist by wide margins in cash-on-hand ($6M to less than $1M for Rubio) ... in statewide polling and in name recognition. What Rubio has...is an ability to draw an impressive array of conservative supporters. Karl Rove self-reported his donation to Rubio. There was also the cover story on National Review two months ago.

The former Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives is just 38-years-old. Still, Rubio will not be deterred by those who've told him he should wait for another year and another seat. And Rubio sees Republicans disappointed by Crist's perceived departures from GOP doctrine as an avenue for him to win.

" This country already has a Democratic party. It doesn't need two Democratic parties," says Rubio.

Silent in all this is Florida's most influential Republican, former Governor Jeb Bush. He has not endorsed any candidate in this race.

For Florida's Tea Partiers, they believe in the end ... they'll be the ones smiling.

Says Wilkinson, "I think the tea party movement has just begun and we're gonna continue to grow and wake America up."