My name is Jennifer O'Malley and I am the campaign manager for the
Jim Davis for Governor campaign. Yesterday morning, Senator Max Cleland held a press conference with Jim to discuss the Republican special interest attacks attempting to "swiftboat" Jim by inaccurately representing his record on a myriad of issues. He wrote the following note, which he asked me to share with all of you. As strong Democratic activists, I am sure you will be as outraged as we are.
Dear Friends,
I am writing to you today to bring your attention to some very disturbing news from Florida. Jim Davis a loyal Democrat who has spent over 17 years in public service working for the people of Florida is now the subject of a disgusting smear campaign financed by Republican special interests aimed at electing Jim's primary opponent.
The US Sugar Corporation, one of the worst polluters in the nation, knows that Jim Davis, if elected governor, will no longer allow them to use the "Everglades as a toilet." He has a long record of standing up to special interests in defense of the environment. It is that commitment and record that earned him the support of the Sierra Club.
US Sugar's smear campaign started with the creation of "Florida's Working Families" and the "Coalition for Justice and Equality," two "independent" 527's that are financed 100% by contributions from US Sugar and their wholly owned subsidiaries. These two groups have...
- Mailed fliers to voters in heavily Jewish areas all over south Florida accusing Jim Davis of failing to condemn the Hezbollah attacks in Israel
- Mailed fliers, made phone calls, and aired radio ads targeted at African-American voters accusing Jim Davis of having a "record of shame" on racial issues
- Aired ads on television accusing Jim Davis of opposing minimum wage increases - an accusation so false, that the ad was pulled from a television station
...and according to Florida law, they are allowed to coordinate directly with the Rod Smith campaign - something their campaign has admitted to doing.
The fact of the matter is, these attacks are blatantly false, and are obviously intended to smear a good Democrat in order to protect the environmentally detrimental business practices of the US Sugar Corporation.
How badly do they want to destroy Jim Davis's reputation? US Sugar has spent nearly $2 million in their attack campaign. As a matter of fact, according to the latest financial reports, Rod Smith's campaign only has $75,000 cash on hand 17 days before Election Day. If it were not for US Sugar's millions, there would be no Rod Smith for Governor campaign. They would not even be able to pay their staff, much less run attack ads on television.
These attacks are disgusting when they are perpetrated by Republican special interests on behalf of Republicans. But, it is unforgivable for a Democrat to allow Republican special interests to "swiftboat" one of our own.
What can you do?
- Call Rod Smith's campaign at (954) 797-7727 or (850) 893-1000 and let them know this is not how a Democrat is supposed to act.
- Call "Florida's Working Families" (813) 254-3369 and "Coalition for Justice and Equality" (954) 552-5162 and ask them to stop distorting Jim Davis's record.
- Call US Sugar (863) 983-8121 and tell them their days of controlling Tallahassee are over - no matter how much money they spend for Rod Smith.
Too many good Democrats have lost too many elections because of these dirty, underhanded swiftboat style attacks. But, for one of our own to stoop to this level in a primary, is just unacceptable. Republican special interests have no place in Democratic primaries.
Former US Senator Max Cleland
There were a number of editorials and articles about Sen. Cleland's appearance in today's papers. You can read them here:
Orlando Sentinel: Not so sweet
St. Petersburg Times: 'Slime' attacks outrage Cleland
Tampa Tribune: Cleland lambastes anti-Davis messages
Herald Tribune: Davis rips Smith over US Sugar's donations
Lakeland Ledger: Davis: No sale for primary