Posted on 10/19/2006 11:07:44 PM PDT by unspun
With just 20 days left until the election, more big names are getting behind candidates hoping to replace disgraced congressman Mark Foley.
On Wednesday, it was Republican National Committee Chariman Ken Mehlman visiting Punta Gorda to campaign for Joe Negron.
Republicans claim Foley's scandal is not the reason the party's heavy hitters are in the area.
RNC chairman, Ken Mehlman, says he only makes visits to political races where he feels the candidate has a strong chance to win.
The Republican party is using all the money, resources, and powerful faces it can to secure Negron a seat in congress, but denies the Foley scandal will impact voters, although the "timing" of the announcement is troublesome.
“If Joe Negron had been our choice six months ago, if people knew about this, none of us would be down here and there wouldn't be a competitive election here,” said Mehlman.
Republicans want to retain control of the House. They admit they wouldn't be here if Foley was still running.
“Probably not, no question,” said Mehlman. “That's the point. The voters in this district were going to vote for a Republican. The Republican in question did something that was outrageous, wrong and terrible.”
Mehlman says Foley received the "political death penalty" but defended Republicans still in office regarding their knowledge of the scandal.
“There's a factual disagreement,” said Mehlman. “I know Denny Hastert pretty well. He's an honest guy, so I believe what he said.”
Negron says he's not frustrated by all the "Foley talk," as he focuses on his last-minute race.
“I think voters can hold two thoughts in their head at the same time,” said Negron. “Thought one is, Mark Foley did something very bad and paid the price for it. And thought two is, we don't want Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the house.”
In just weeks, all Republicans will know just how big an impact Foley's scandal will have on the party.
When asked, Mehlman said he "wouldn't speculate" on whether Republicans in power should lose their jobs if the investigation reveals other politicians knew about the e-mails and text messages.
From an earlier article in NewsMax.com:
Negron said he’s "not taking anything for granted,” but left no doubt he wants the nomination. Negron, a Cuban-American, is a no nonsense conservative Republican. Unlike Foley who took a pro-choice position on abortion, Negron is a social conservative as well.
“I think voters can hold two thoughts in their head at the same time,” said Negron. “Thought one is, Mark Foley did something very bad and paid the price for it. And thought two is, we don't want Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the house.”
All Ken and the RNC has to do is to put out some ads with the Foley lever, pull it and you get Joe!
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