Posted on 04/13/2018 6:07:09 AM PDT by Basket_of_Deplorables
A new attack ad against DeSantis has links to the bare knuckled political operative
-------------snip--------------- Today an outfit called National Liberty Federation began airing about $290,000 in ads on radio and Fox News TV stations across Florida hammering Republican U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis:
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The National Liberty Federation is run by a Palm Beach County resident named Everett Wilkinson, who used to call the group the South Florida Tea Party. Wilkinson for years has worked closely with Roger Stone, hosting a 2011 Boca Raton Trump rally that served as a harbinger of his presidential campaign, vocally supporting more casinos in Florida, another Stone cause, and serving as the press contact promoting Stones latest book about the Trump campaign. In 2015 Wilkinson helped Stone fight a plan for the South Florida Water Management District to buy 46,800 acres of U.S Sugar land to help restore the Everglades.
So why would Stone want to tear down Ron DeSantis, when DeSantis has the support of Trump, Stone's longtime friend and onetime client?
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Anyhoo one of Stone's most longstanding clients is U.S. Sugar. The sugar industry has reason to worry about DeSantis, since the northeast Florida conservative opposes taxpayer subsidies like those the sugar industry depends upon, and he voted against the farm bill.
The sugar candidate in the governor's race is clearly Adam Putnam. Agriculture commissioner Putnam is so closely aligned with the industry he would be comfy wearing candy wrapper suits.
DeSantis is the main threat to Putnam winning the Republican nomination. So what's the best way to defeat DeSantis?
(Excerpt) Read more at tampabay.com ...
If anyone can find more sources, let's please do it. DeSantis would be a great governor, and Big Sugar has ruled this state forever. They are not on his side.
Not sure who deserves to replace Rick Scott. I do know that his recent cave to anti-gun interests has dampened my enthusiasm, although there is still no contest between him and Nelson.
Adam Putman is owned by Big Sugar aka The Mob .
Sadly , I believe it .
Who needs democrats to destroy republicans when we have other republicans?
Ahhh! This may explain all of the negative DeSantis ads on the local radio lately. If the s is the case (Putnam is in bed with “big sugar”) then it will help DeSantis in the end. Nobody is perfect but DeSantis would be better than anyone else to take over from the weak-knee Gov. Scott of recent gun control infamy. As for voting for Scott for Senator, the campaign for which is already underway, it will be another “vote against” for Scott. Bill Nelson is simply a classic Democrat Senator. In other words, I’d vote for a pineapple before I voted for Nelson.
Thanks for posting that, Ive been wondering who is behind these ads.
Graham plays middle of the road enough to win. She was my Congresswoman and was able to win in a pretty Conservative district. It’s going to be interesting.
Those ads came out of the box against desantis. I contributed to his campaign and will do it again. Putnam hopefully falls flat. Scott hopefully can unseat Nelson as that is a key pickup.
“Who needs democrats to destroy republicans when we have other republicans?”
Bingo. And, the sad thing is Republicans don’t learn that this behavior has cost them elections....and money.
“Who needs democrats to destroy republicans when we have other republicans?”
Bingo. And, the sad thing is Republicans don’t learn that this behavior has cost them elections....and money.
Many people follow the Reagan rule of Reps should not attack each other .
Those ads are over the top and so vicious it makes you wonder about
Who is behind these ads .
Once I read that Putnam was the person behind it and the so called Big Sugar aka the Mob is the bankrolling it .
I met this Putnam decades ago .
Sort of sad .
Even if the pineapple were on the Dole?
OK, I'll be Sirius. Putnam took over Charles Canady's seat in the House over 20 years ago when Canady decided to term limit himself. (Full disclosure: Canady went on to marry one of my students, and later awarded my son as an 8th grade essay contest winner on an essay about the Constitution.)
The one time I met Putnam we discussed some of what then-Speaker Gingrich wanted to accomplish in the House, and he impressed me as a traditional conservative but also a consummate politician, so it wouldn't surprise me that Putnam has been spending the last generation or so preparing himself for this moment. DeSantis will have to have a Trump-like disruptive quality in order to kick Putnam out of the race, and there are very few people who have that quality.
Moreover, the Dem opponent could well be John Morgan of Morgan & Morgan ("for the people") fame, and he'll get a chunk of votes on name recognition alone, since he's been advertising himself on FL television and radio for decades, and also is the face of medical marijuana, which will garner him votes from the low-information crowd who otherwise wouldn't care about the race.
Lord help us if Morgan should win, which I don’t think he really has a chance of doing. He did spend millions of his own money on the marijuana initiative, so he may get some of the doper vote, but he’s just too unlikable, even on TV and radio. I don’t know a lot about Putnam other than is an eternal State government bureaucrat. I’ll be looking into him, though.
If true, it sounds like DeSantis is worth supporting (at least regarding that issue). In any event, those who support corporate welfare have a lot of nerve calling themselves The National Liberty Federation.
So, for those of us in Rio Linde, who’s who?
DeSantis is Trump’s man too of course.
DeSantis is Trump’s man too of course.
Morgan is not even running so no worries there. The one to watch is Gwen Graham, Bob Graham's daughter.
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