Jeb Bush: Florida Gov. Charlie Crist's Support of Stimulus 'Unforgivable'

So much for the "11th Commandment." Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush says that current governor and Senate candidate Charlie Crist's support for President Obama's stimulus bill last year was "unforgivable."

Bush made the remark in an interview with NewsMax, a conservative publication. "I know I'm supposed to be politically correct and I said I was neutral (in the primary) and all that," Bush said. But "I've got a problem with that."

Bush, brother of one president and the son of another, has kept his distance from the Republican primary battle between Crist and former Florida House Speaker Mario Rubio, who made a splash last weekend with conservatives at the CPAC convention in Washington.

But both of Jeb Bush's sons, Jeb Jr. and George P., have endorsed Rubio, who has criticized Crist for backing the stimulus package, considered by some to be Obama's signature accomplishment in nudging the economy toward recovery, Politico said.

Crist, in a visit to the White House with other governors on Monday, held firm on his decision to support the recovery bill and accept the federal money it authorized for Florida. He has been under attack from conservatives in the party since he came out for the plan in 2009.

That used to be regarded as bad manners in the Grand Old Party. Before he became president, Ronald Reagan embraced the so-called 11th Commandment, which is attributed to former California GOP chairman Gaylord Parkinson: "Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican."

Jeb Bush said he still likes Crist, despite his "mistake." Crist, he said, is "about the nicest guy I've ever met in politics."