response from Crist campaign on the negative ads by Gallagher. Passing it on.
Message from Chief of Staff George LeMieux
Dear Friends,
Today, Tom Gallagher violated his pledge to run a clean campaign in the spirit of Ronald Reagan's 11th Commandment by launching an attack ad full of false and misleading statements. Mr. Gallagher's violation of his oath, however, is not surprising in light of the recent finding of probable cause by the Florida Ethics Commission that Tom Gallagher broke Florida law by illegally trading stocks of insurance companies he regulated as Insurance Commissioner.
As Mr. Gallagher awaits trial on his ethics violations, his campaign is failing, his consultants are quitting and he is badly behind in the polls. These desperate times have unfortunately led Mr. Gallagher down the path of desperate measures much like it did in 1994 when he attacked Jeb Bush's business dealings and compared him to Fidel Castro. The people of Florida are too smart to believe Mr. Gallagher's deceptions.
While our opponent goes negative, we must stay positive. We must continue to chase absentee ballots, knock on doors and encourage our friends and family to vote for Charlie Crist and his positive message of hope, safety and opportunity.
Several conservative leaders also responded to the attack ad:
Statement from Speaker Allan Bense:
“I am extremely disappointed that Tom Gallagher would go back on his written pledge to his fellow Republicans and flagrantly violate Ronald Reagan's Eleventh Commandment by attacking Charlie Crist. Despite what Mr. Gallagher would want you to believe, Charlie Crist is a principled, conservative leader with a strong moral compass who will keep Florida headed in the right direction.
“Charlie Crist is also a man you can trust to keep his word, which in my part of the world means a lot more than being able to put together a slick political attack ad.
“I'm confident that Republican voters will see through Mr. Gallagher's negative smoke-screen and vote for Charlie Crist based upon his solid record of Republican leadership, his steadfast support for Governor Jeb Bush's innovative reforms and his courage in the face of such baseless, negative campaign tactics.
“Mr. Gallagher should be ashamed of himself.”
Statement from Senator Mike Fasano:
“This attack from Tom Gallagher is shameful. Not only does he wrongly attack Attorney General Crist, but he seeks to mislead the public into believing he himself is a conservative. Tom Gallagher is no conservative. He has been a pro-tax, pro-choice, pro-gambling, anti-Second Amendment liberal his entire career. His recent attempt at an “extreme makeover” into a conservative will not fool the voters.”
Statement from Senator Mike Haridopolos:
“Tom Gallagher is the first Cabinet Officer in Florida history to have the distinction of facing a full-blown ethics probe by the Florida Ethics Commission with a finding of probable cause that he broke Florida law by illegally trading stocks of insurance companies he regulated as Insurance Commissioner. Now, Tom Gallagher is breaking his clean campaign pledge that he made to the voters of Florida. Mr. Gallagher has launched a desperate attempt to restart his failed campaign. Frankly, we expected better from the CFO and would respectfully ask that he remove this false and misleading ad.”
Statement from Representative Joe Negron:
“Today is a sad day for all Floridians, especially Republicans. Instead of abiding by his pledge to run a clean campaign, Tom Gallagher has issued a desperate, negative attack against Charlie Crist. I call for Tom to take down this negative and misleading ad. His negative attacks can only hurt our chances in the general election.”
Despite these negative attacks by our opponent, Charlie Crist will continue talking about the issues that matter most to Floridian's – providing world class education opportunities to our students; ensuring the safety and security of our children, families and communities; and providing relief for our state's tax payers and businesses. His vision is resonating with Republican Primary voters.
Nineteen Days to Victory!
George LeMieux
Chief of Staff
I don't think it is NEGATIVE to compare the positions of TWO candidates side by side.. in doing so a voter is not told HOW to vote.. it is just giving information to compare two candidates.... if Crist wants to make an issue about the flyer I suggest he come out and make a REAL statement, saying that an ad is MISLEADING is not a REAL statement, dispute the content with specific statements.. personally I would like to hear Charlie Crist state the following.
1. I WILL OPPOSE SAME SEX MARRIAGE.
2. I will SUPPORT an constitutional ammendment defending Marriage as ONE man and ONE woman.
3. I will OPPOSE amnesty for those who violate our immigration laws.
and a few others..
Tom Gallagher is campaigning on the FACTS. If Crist doesn't like FACTS, it's to be expected. Crist doesn't like to answer QUESTIONS either.
Crist's ad with the police unions may be in violation of Florida's Election laws. Fact check that. The police are employees of his. It is improper and probably a violation that they appear in his tv spot.
Did you know that Crist is going to OBSTRUCT any bills from the legislature if he is elected until they pass his anti-murder bill? Crist would OBSTRUCT the legislature for an anti-murder bill that has no support. It is is probably a bill to protect law enforcement and grow a police state bureaucracy, not to protect the people.
If Charlie Crist was anti-murder, he would not have stood idly by while Terri Schiavo was being tortured to death.
Look at this chart: Who is PRO-LIFE? It is TOM GALLAGHER.
***Crist is PRO-JUDGES,PRO-UNIONS,PRO-EUTHANASIA and PRO-TRIAL LAWYERS, PRO-CASINO GAMBLING and most of all PRO-CHARLIE. CRIST is also the king/queen of coverups. Your candidate is a disaster waiting to happen.
Crist can write as many letters as he wants. It won't make him qualified to be governor.