Are you Kidding Me? Attack mailer out on Rachel Waterman

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An attack mailer hit my mailbox today. I knew that we couldn't survive without someone resorting to sleaze. It seems to be always the Republicans that do this better than anyone else but some Democrats have learned the trick as well.

Today it comes from a group called Voters Response out of Tallahassee. Voters Response has predominately paid Republican operatives and everything on the mailer is factually incorrect as far as what Waterman stands for and what she has said even down to the chickens. In truth, the MAILER IS ONE LIE as far as what Waterman is for. This is a Group famous for attack ads and even if you asked campaign managers about the attack mailers, you would get denial after denial. Everyone wants to distance themselves from any admission. It's not nice to be known as a bully. Why do they want to do that? Because they do not want to hear any explanation from the candidate they are attacking. That is not their mission. In war and in politics it is to attack and destroy.

There are always plausible and real explanations that make sense when people got hurt due to the downturn in our economy caused by Banks, Realtors, and mortgage brokers. There are a million stories. But electioneering committees are only used by those politicians in business to bring the other guy down. We saw this in some past elections but no side ever came out attacking an opponent who has suffered because of this housing bubble that burst...real people with families that had to do everything to survive when they lost their jobs and eventually their homes.

From the Dan Gelber campaign: More than half of its money (Voters Response) was spent on Data Targeting, a Gainesville direct mail company whose Republican clients have included Senate President Jeff Atwater, Attorney General Bill McCollum and the Republican Party of Florida.

Voters Response also paid Bascom Communications, a Republican consulting firm used by state GOP Chairman John Thrasher and incoming Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island. State Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Sarasota, has also worked for the group.

Voters Response is run by Republican attorney Dave Ramba, a Tallahassee lobbyist whose clients include Callery-Grove L.P. and the Seminole Tribe of Florida. Ramba also played a role in a race-baiting mailer sent by another political committee in 2008 to Jacksonville Republicans that juxtaposed images of President Obama and black marchers and warned that Black Panthers and "armed thugs" could intimidate voters.

Voters Response also worked for a Democrat who ran for county commission as well as Dave Aronberg who ran against Gelber. In spite of its money bags, Dan Gelber beat Aronberg for State Attorney General but lost to Pam Bondi in the general election. I believe that Joe Abruzzo also had help from this Electioneering Committee.

Folks, you need to follow the money...connect the dots... discard the mailer in file 13.