Florida paper rescinds GOP Senate nomination after personal attacks

[rawstory]

From the liberal alternative to Drudge, http://rawstory.com

McCollum for GOP
The Mel Martinez campaign's unprincipled attacks on Bill McCollum show Martinez to be unworthy of support in Tuesday's Republican Senate primary.

A Times Editorial
Published August 30, 2004

The Times originally recommended former U.S. Housing Secretary Mel Martinez to Republican voters in Tuesday's U.S. Senate primary, but that was before Martinez took his campaign into the gutter with hateful and dishonest attacks on his strongest opponent, former U.S. Rep. Bill McCollum. The Times is not willing to be associated with bigotry. As a result, we are taking the almost unprecedented step of rescinding our recommendation of Martinez.

We take our political recommendations seriously. Taking back a recommendation is an even more serious action, and we do so with regret, and some embarrassment. However, failing to act in response to Martinez's cynical attacks would risk damaging the trust we have worked to build with readers over the course of hundreds of election campaigns.

No matter what else Martinez may accomplish in public life, his reputation will be forever tainted by his campaign's nasty and ludicrous slurs of McCollum in the final days of this race. The slurs culminated with Martinez campaign advertisements that label McCollum - one of the most conservative moralists in Washington during his 20 years as a U.S. representative - "the new darling of the homosexual extremists" because he once favored a hate crime law that had bipartisan support. A few days earlier, the Martinez campaign arranged a conference call with reporters in which a group of right-wing Martinez supporters labeled McCollum "antifamily." Why? Because McCollum supports expanded stem cell research to find cures for deadly diseases - a position that is identical to those of Nancy Reagan, Connie Mack and many other prominent Republicans.

http://www.sptimes.com/2004/08/30/Opinion/McCollum_for_GOP.shtml

[Misunderestimator]

1. Good for the Times! Rescind, rescind... they are indeed the most hateful

attack ads we're being subjected to right now.

[realFedUp]

2. Where is the money Mel?

and is former Jeb Bush Chief Counsel Frank Jimenez
still working on your campaign. Brothers in voter
purging?

http://www.whereisthemoney.org/hotseat/melmartinez.htm

[MidwestTransplant]

3. He obviously learned those tactics in the White House.

[realFedUp]

4. Actually he learned them in Florida

or maybe Cuba?

[Tempest]

5. Not LBN

This is an opinion piece and doesn't belong here.

[Moderator]

6. Not Latest Breaking News

This is an opinion piece.