To Hell With US Sugar And The Orlando Sentinel

[iamjoy]

Damn if we should let them divide us in this governor's race.

OK - so I was backing Smith in the primary (Governor) and I was ranting mad at the Orlando Sentinel for all the negative op-ed pieces they did on him and his ties to sugar. It was grossly unfair and didn't explore Smith's whole record. Time after time they tore him down and refused to post any rebuttal despite the fact that I (and several other supporters) wrote letters defending him.

And US Sugar, well, if those were Rod's friends, he didn't need enemies. All that nasty, negative stuff about Davis. Technically true, but dishonest. Maybe that kind of crap works with Republicans, but it backfires with Democrats. But it was so unfair that Smith got all the heat for his ties to agriculture when Davis, face it, is a "New Democrat" who is cozy with the banking and development interests.

So I was angry at Davis. And I thought no way I would support him in the primary, beyond voting against Crist.

Then I read the Orlando Sentinel's piece the day after saying how Davis' victory proves negative campaigning doesn't work. Well f--k you, OS, where were you two years ago when the Bushies were tearing down Kerry with their Swift Boat Veterans? And even your endorsement of Jim Davis wasn't so much about the ways Davis would be a good governor, you devoted considerable space to trashing Smith, but not to praising Davis. You ignored the fact that Smith has been behind Davis from the beginning, a dark horse who got into the race and did better than any of us could have expected, although not as well as we hoped. Mike Thomas (post primary) writes about how sugar and Smith messed up the general election for Davis. Ignoring Strategic Vision polls taken during the primary that showed Davis losing to Crist even before the negative pieces by Sugar. So, f--- you too, Mike Thomas.

I'll bet the Orlando Sentinel endorses Crist in the general election. And if Davis pulls ahead of Crist in polling, I wouldn't be surprised if we see more third group attack ads, with no response from the media like they did against Smith.

Rod Smith has done the right thing and endorsed Davis, all that negative stuff was water under the bridge as far as he's concerned. That's got to be hard for him. It's hard for me too, but if he can do it, I should too. And maybe my motivation isn't the best, but I say hell if I'm going to let Big Sugar and the media divide us. I think they want us divided so Crist can be our next governor.
Now if only I could get some real passion for Davis...

thanks for letting me vent a little.

[Herman Munster]

1. It's not like Smith had much of a choice

He came from a very small media market in Gainesville and his competition came from Tampa which is the largest media market in the state.

That meant Rod Smith needed money and lots of it to buy name recognition to make it a race.

He did that, but ultimately the main disadvantage was him coming from a small town. It was too much to overcome. He was always a huge underdog and should be very proud of himself he made a race of it.

If we lose in November, I think he'll be in excellent shape to give it a go again in four years for governor or the US Senate seat against Martinez.

[iamjoy]

3. Blue Dog Vs. New Democrat

That's also what this was. Not just the "old" power base of North Florida vs. the "new" power base that the I-4 corrider is shaping up to be, but the "Blue Dog" (represented by Rod Smith) vs. the "New Democrat" (represented by Jim Davis)

I know Rod Smith had a liberal position on abortion & was reasonable about gay rights, but in several other ways he was very much the old style populist - supporting labor unions, having an "A" rating from the NRA, tough on crime, etc. Davis usually voted for free trade, Smith (from what I understand) was against it -hard to say with Smith 'cos such decisions are made at the Federal level, and State leaders can only hope to influence Washington, not directly impact legislation.

Maybe I'm oversimplifying things, but it seemed this primary was about more than just Sugar.

[infogirl]

2. Davis will never beat crist...

even if he did...they would flip the vote for Crist. Jeb is going no where...and that is why Crist keeps saying "im going to to everything just like Jeb". So when nothing changes....people think half the people voted for this shit..instead of change. Jeb will continue to run this state for another eight years...now from where ever he chooses to live. Run it vicariously through Crist. Don't you get it yet? Rod was one point out in the only independent poll done statewide....May 27 Rod was one point away from Davis. Then he just kept going. They lie about the polls...make you think it is a dog fight...then bam...they flip the vote electronically for the cholce. This time it was Davis...cuz Rod would make vote flipping to easy to see against Crist. Now they have two empty suits running...and either could do it...you will never know. It's JEB! folks! Get it! Now send 5.00 to clint curtis so we can expose this electronic vote fixing as now the fake polls have been discovered by the FBI....look at this...

The owner of DataUSA Inc., a company that conducted political polls for the campaigns of President Bush, Sen. Joe Lieberman and other candidates, pleaded guilty to fraud for making up survey and poll results.

Tracy Costin pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Costin, 46, faces a maximum of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 when she is sentenced Nov. 30.

(snip)

FBI Special Agent Jeff Rovelli said 50 percent of information compiled by DataUSA and transmitted to Bush's campaign was falsified, the Connecticut Post reported Thursday.


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[Freddie Stubbs]

4. Without US Sugar's ads Davis would have won by a much larger margin

The race wasn't close until Davis started getting pounded by the negative ads.