Somehow the Florida election is beginning to feel a bit like an episode from the old I Love Lucy comedy. Not only did the Sunshine State hang over election results for four days—and still counting in some races—but there has been forehead-slapping confusion over who won the Cuban-American vote here, by how much, and what it might mean. The confusion has been fueled by a collection of all-over-the-map poll numbers variously cited, depending on the news source, to draw premature conclusions about this unique voting population.
So let’s start with this widely repeated statement by Cuban-American Ricky Ricardo to his wife: “Lucy, you’ve got some ‘splaining’ to do.”
This Obama campaign ad is a counter to a Romney ad that says American auto jobs are being moved to China. In the Obama ad, quote are used from GM and Chryler debunking the Romney ad.
From the Obama ad: "GM calls latest Romney auto ad, 'politics at its cynical worst.'" Chryler calls Romney's assertion "not true." The Obama ad tosses in PolitiFact and the Washington Post for good measure.
In this ad, Mitt Romney's campaign makes a direct appeal to Florida's Catholic voters. In fact, the ad seems to specifically target young Catholics.
The young woman in the ad notes that the 2000 election was decided by 537 Florida votes. She goes on to say "that is less than 2 people in every parish in Florida."
She concludes by saying "let the Catholic vote be heard. Vote for religious freedom....."
Apparently ObamaCare is all Sen. Bill Nelson's fault. This is the newest ad attacking the Floirda Democrat who appears to be in a position to easily defeat his Republican rival, Congressman Connie Mack when voters go to the polls on Tuesday.
South Florida voters can be forgiven if they start to feel a bit confused. Many saw this ad...featuring among others a little girl...suggesting that because of Congressman Allen West, people are being denied life saving research.
Now, there is new ad - and we use that term loosely - that is the same execept for a little picture swap. West is replaced by Republican Adam Hasner.
The ad is by the Democratic House Majority Pac. Both West and Hasner are locked in fierce races with their Democratic opponents. West and Democratic political newcomer Patrick Murphy have had one of the nastiest races in the nation. Hasner and Democratic rival Lois Frankel are not far behind on the stink meter.
In fact, compared to some of the ads their own campaigns have run, this one is pretty mild. Similar ads are being aired by the House Majority Pac in at least six other congressional races around the country.
Republican Congressman Allen West has been in a dogfight with Democrat Patrick Murphy to keep his seat in Congress. West, who has never been shy about saying outrageous things, is having some of his most interesting comments tossed back at him in this new Murphy ad.
Floridians are a bit like Carrie these days, drenched in the blood of relentlessly ugly campaign ads from candidates up and down the ballot. West and Murhpy have been particularly brutal.
Yup, back with another new ad from Karl Rove and American Crossroads. In this little ditty, Rove would like voters to believe that we are bowing to China - you know where all those iPhone are built.
Apparently if you own an iPhone or other item made in China you are contributing to our demise. Start tossing that stuff out.
Most celebrities that you meet during a campaign are very passionate about the candidate or cause they support but frequently don't really have a clue. They tend to be strident and ill-informed. There are certainly exceptions.
They also tend to perform better for a candidate when they have a script. You saw Clint Eastwood at the Republican National Convention without a script. Here you can see him with one. Is he the execption to the ususal celebrity endorser?
This ad comes from the Karl Rove Super Pac - American Crossroads.
Republican consultant Todd Harris appears to be very proud of this ad that, well, goes where few ad have gone before. This is in the hotly contested congressional race between Democrat Lois Frankel and Republican Adam Hasner.
Will this ad help Hasner? You decide.
You might note the product placement in this ad - there appears to be a National Enquirer and a can of Lysol spray in the final scene.
Some Democratic delegates looked like intolerant idiots Thursday during votes on the Democratic platform. If you missed it, this ad by Republican Congressman Allen West pretty much sums it up - and Democrats have no one to blame but themselves for handing their opponents this little gem.
UPDATE: They took down the ad. Hopefully, West will put it back up soon.
American Sunrise is behind a new ad throwing verbal punches at a boxing-glove clad Allen West. In what is becoming an increasingly common tactic, the Republican congressman is being attacked by supporters of Democratic challenger Patrick Murphy - even though West has yet to win his party's nomination.
Clearly the Murphy folks believe West is going to defeat Martin County Sheriff Robert Crowder in the GOP primary. The District 18 race is one of Florida's hottest contests and Murphy, a political newcomer, has a reasonable chance of defeating West if he becomes the nominee.
Speaking of Murphy folks, it turns out that the biggest contributor to American Sunrise PAC is Murphy's dad, Tom Murphy Jr., owner of a Miami-based construction company. Pop dropped $250,000 on his kid. Who says times are tough?
“Looks like daddy is coming to the rescue of silver spoon Patrick Erin Murphy. Murphy may think that South Florida is his own personal playground but hard working Floridians don’t want a representative in Congress who calls a decorated war veteran a coward, verbally abuses law enforcement officers, and has daddy bankroll TV ads supporting his campaign.”
In a new ad targeted to Jewish voters - a key group for President Obama in South Florida - Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney attempts to leave the impression that Obama is not a fan of Israel.
Romney points out that Obama has not visited Israel since becoming president - but that has been common practice among both Republican and Democratic presidents. And Romney again offers his strong support for the idea that Jerusalem should be the capital of Israel
The Obama administration has followed the practice of previous administrations by being more nuanced about the future of Jerusalem
Is the ad a cheap shot? Perhaps, but both campaigns have been guilty of cheap shots. Will it have an impact on Jewish voters? Obviously the Romney camp thinks it will.
Former Florida Congressman David Weldon dropped by a Chick-fil-A this week to show his support for the fast-food chain.
"I personally believe that marriage is an institution ordained by God and spoken of in the Bible as being created by him, and being between a man and a woman," says Weldon in a video taped by his campaign.
Weldon is in a tough race against Congressman Connie Mack IV for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate. Weldon's campaign has been geared toward outmanuvering Mack with an appeal to hardcore conservative voters.
He also concludes that "religious liberties" are being infringed upon and says that "there are certain verses" of the Bible dealing with homosexuality "that are not allowed to be read in Canada...and that is the direction we are going in as a nation."
Not too long along most folks in Florida who pay attention to such thing looked at the weak GOP field in the U.S. Senate race and concluded that this would be a cakewalk for incumbent DemocratBill Nelson.
Not anymore. Most of the GOP established has annointed Congressman Connie Mack IV as their favorite son and Super PACS are pouring big dollars into the race slamming shut the money lead that Nelson once held.
This week Nelson, who has spent most of his adult life in elected office, began airing an ad introducing himself to Florida voters. Now just a couple days later, Nelson has launched his first negative ad against Mack.
Keep in mind, Mack does have a primary opponent - former Florida Congressman David Weldon who seems to be picking up momentum with hardcore conservatives. Nelson's ad could dig into the overwhelming lead that Mack appears to have over Weldon.
Some Democrats have told Crowley Political Report that Nelson has been too slow to react to weeks of negative ads attacking him. Polls suggest they may be right. Apparently Nelson's campaign team has gotten the message.
One thing seems clear - Republicans think they have a shot at winning this seat.
Well this is a cost-effective way to do a campaign ad. Just use one that was used against Democrat Jim Davis when he was running for Florida governor in 2006. This time the ad, largely using the original version, is being use to ask the question - Where is Connie Mack?
Davis was a congressman at the time and the ad suggested he was spending very little time in Washington. Now the same attack, with nearly the exact same ad, is being used to question how much time Republican Congressman, and U.S. Senate candidate, Mack is spending in the nation's capitol.
Here's the Davis ad (follow the moving chairs):
And here's the Mack ad (follow the moving chairs):
Just watching this video can be exhausting. Folks are running - literally - all over the place. And while the video hammers President Obama, it is not until the final seconds of this 90-second video that you find out who the ad is really about.
David Weldon.
The former Florida congressman is still trying to pull ahead of U.S. Rep. Connie Mack in the race for the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate. This week, Weldon received the endorsement of the Tampa Bay Times. To say that the Mack campaign did not take kindly to the Weldon endorsement is putting it mildly.
Mack campaign manager, Jeff Cohen, fired off a lengthy nasty-gram to Times editorial page editor Tim Nickens (he also takes on Times political editor Adam Smith). Some excerpts:
Adam Smith and your newspaper have been waging a tireless campaign against conservatives and Republicans. You always have and apparently you always will. It’s evident in every political story you write.
. . .
Your attacks on Connie are reminiscent of your brutal attacks on his father when he ran for the U.S. Senate. It’s fair to state that former Senator Connie Mack was perhaps the finest U.S. Senator to have ever served, but your Left Wing venom could not be contained then or now.
. . .
It’s your newspaper and it’s your right to cover or manufacture news however you like.
But what people find offensive and intellectually dishonest is your refusal to admit that Adam Smith’s agenda is Left Wing and Democrat, as is your newspaper. You have and will endorse Bill Nelson and Barack Obama in spite of the fact that their records are dismal and they have failed Floridians at almost every level.
. . .
It’s the Tampa Bay Times’ right to be the National Enquirer of Florida politics. And it’s Adam Smith’s 1st Amendment right to attack Connie, so long as he doesn’t cross the line of slander or libel, of course.
But at least Adam Smith and the Tampa Bay Times should have the decency to admit they are Left Wing Democrats whose circulation is declining because their Left Wing agenda is offensive to so many rational conservative voters.
Your readers deserve at least that much.
Gosh, we sure hope the Mack campaign feels better. Although we're not sure we would have recommended using such a pugnacious tone. Perhaps Mack should sound a bit more senatorial.
Meanwhile back to Dr. Weldon (he is a physician). Here's his video. You may need to catch your breath when it is over.
Well here's a surprise, former U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon remains a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate and he even has a new radio ad knocking his Republican rival, U.S. Rep. Connie Mack.
Mack, who drove former interim U.S. Sen. George LeMieux out of the Florida GOP primary by simply ignoring him, is using that same, "I'm the only Republican who matters" strategy with Weldon. So far, Weldon is refusing to go away.
You should listen to his radio ad. You might find it amusing.
The Democratic National Committee has a new video featuring foriegn accents from around the world: Switzerland, Bermunda, Cayman Islands and Luxembourg. The message - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has money stashed in banks around the world and he's keeping it all a secret.
Frankly, the video seems a bit silly. The point is legitimate. Romney should release his income tax statements for the past decade. Not doing so, simply builds on the suspicion that Romney has something to hide. But is this DNC video going to have the desired impact? Doubtful.
Oh my this is getting uglier and uglier. And we haven't seen the worst of it from either presidential campaign. Floridians are about to get hit with a harsh, new ad from Republican Mitt Romney that calsl Democrat Barack Obama a liar.
The ad opens with: "When a president doesn't tell the truth, how can we trust him to lead?"
In another segment, the grim male voice says: "Candidate Obama lied about Hillary Clinton" and then shifts to a Clinton sound bite they have used in other ads: "Shame on you Barack Obama."
The ad concludes with this: "Obama's dish0nest campaign: Another reason America has lost confidence in Barack Obama."
