Sugar-Laced Agency Airs Acrid Gallagher Ad

The Tampa Tribune ^ | Sep 3, 2006 | WILLIAM MARCH and MICHAEL FECHTER

[8mmMauser]

TAMPA - Florida's sugar industry, which has spent millions attacking Jim Davis in the Democratic primary for governor, has now piled in on the other side of the race, helping fund an advertising attack on Tom Gallagher in the Republican primary.

Since Aug. 11, Big Sugar has poured around $800,000 into an organization called "Floridians for Truth and Integrity in Government," which is running the ad against Gallagher.

The ad attempts, with no factual basis, to link an ethics complaint against Gallagher to Florida's crisis in homeowners insurance rates.

The Truth and Integrity committee is linked to and is supported by another committee financed largely by a supporter of Charlie Crist, Gallagher's opponent in the Republican primary.

On Thursday, around the same time its ad began running, Truth and Integrity received $500,000 in contributions from major Florida sugar companies including U.S. Sugar Corp., Flo-Sun Inc. and related companies.

Truth and Integrity had previously received $100,000 from companies associated with Alico Inc., a sugar, citrus and cattle agribusiness, and $255,000 from another committee called the Coalition for Florida Families, an organization funded in part by U.S. Sugar through still other political committees.

Spokesmen for the sugar companies couldn't be reached for comment Friday and Saturday.

[floriduh voter]

If he's a methodist, then I'm a hari krishna.

[floriduh voter]

Campaign stuff to do today. Great find. FV

[Joe Brower]

Ya gotta love it. First it's "big oil", now it's "big sugar".

Makes you want to beat on these jokers just for the irritating way they talk.

Florida Freeper

[GOPsupporterFL]

I'd even take that guy over Crist, but Gallagher has been a reliable conservative for 8 years and a lead advocate of all conservative concerns. Crist is a pro-gay adoptions, pro-civil unions (condecendingly so)and for ridiculous spending measures.

[8mmMauser]

Meanwhile the Dr. Linda story is growing legs. Ping to a thread by LesforLife...

FLORIDA GOVERNOR CANDIDATE CRIST'S DEATH CULT FOLLOWERS

8mm

[coloradan]

If the government didn't meddle in business (in ways unimagined by the framers and disallowed by the Constitution, I might add) then it wouldn't be worth $800,000 to any business group to defeat any candidate. The solution to this problem isn't campaign finance reform, it's to return government to its bounds.

[Dante3]

Both liberals and conservatives would suffer under Crist. He is a creepy guy.

[floriduh voter]

Watch the Crist VS Gallagher Debate online at: http://www.wptv.com/ click on middle of page “Decision 2006 Florida Governor Debate.

I recommend downloading it if you are concerned it might disappear.

[floriduh voter]

Crist friend behind 527 attack ad funding.

[T'wit]

What Big Sugar is really selling is diabetes and heart disease. Sugar products cause more disease, disability and death than Big Tobacco ever did.

[8mmMauser]

Ping to this thread...

"Sorry Charlie" Anti-Crist Signs at Florida Debate

8mm

[T'wit]

Good point, but more easily said than done. As Jefferson (among many others) observed, the tendency of government is to grow. It almost never surrenders power or shrinks in size. I wish there were a magic bullet to get it back down to its constitutional limits, but I know of none, do you?

[MinuteGal]

Perhaps the agricultural sugar industry wants to continue hiring illegals and low-pay immigrants........and that's why mega-bucks are finding their way into Crist's coffers.

Ya think???

Leni

[T'wit]

I don't know enough about the sugar industry to offer an opinion, but what you say makes good sense.

[chasio649]

I wouldn't buy a used car from a guy with teeth and a mug like that.

[T'wit]

Uncle Screwtape ought to teach his yappy nephews that they turn stomachs, not hearts, by sneering at normal folks.

[Sun]

As an aside, I've heard that too much sugar hurts the immune system.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[coloradan]

No, I don't. The only bullets I know about are the regular kind.

[coloradan]

High-fructose corn syrup is worse for health than sugar is... and incidentally, Archer Daniels Midlands lobbies for sugar price supports, causing sugar to be more expensive, which causes soft drink companies to use high fructose corn syrup in their sodas. By astonishing coincidence, ADM makes high fructose corn syrup. I'm just sure the framers intended business to influence government in this way, to their own financial advantage.