Hecklers at picnic

At a Miami Dade DEC labor picnic, Rod Smith gave a short speech, ending on the issue of Davis vote against compensating Pitts and Lee, contrasted with his work on Martin Lee Anderson. As he began, two Davis supporters who work with Democracy of America started yelling out: "Don't go there!" And the group's president, Wendy Sejour, who is black, yelled, "Don't race bait!"

After Smith answered "I am going there," group spokesman Simon Rose yelled, "You lost my vote." Rose later said he was a Davis supporter. Sejeur, who was wearing a Davis sticker, again yelled during Smith's speech that "racebaiters don't get votes."

And Smith answered, "I never meant to quote Ronald Reagan, but this is my microphone right now." He invited her to talk with him afterwards and explain "why you wouldn't support compensating Pitts and Lee."

Sejour was unwilling to talk to reporters after the episode, saying she was "too emotional, too angry."

Smith disagreed that the issue was race baiting and called it a legitimate issue that contrasted the two candidates.

-- Jennifer Liberto

Comments

It's funny that Rod was accused of race baiting and the first thing that came to his mind was to quote Reagan.

[RodSmithFan]

Not surprised, Reagan was one of the greatest presidents of the 20th Century - bringing us sweeping deficits, trickle-down economics and other sundry great changes in our country. Why would you disparage him?

[JimDavisFan]

You have no idea what Jim went through. Making those kinds of decisions, there may have been many reasons why he chose not to compensate Pitts. Immediately going for the race card, that is disgraceful.

[whome?]

not that hard, its clear davis is an anti semite who cares little for blacks

It is really sad how this campaign has degenerated into such mudslinging...hard to see how either candidate will fare well against Crist after being dragged down like this.

It's clear Davis is an anti-semite who doesn't care for blacks?

Try Jim is supported by the 2 Jewish Congresspersons in Florida for his support of Israel. Try he is supported by John Lewis, a Congressman from Georgia who marched with MLK. Try he is supported by Congressman Alcee Hastings and Congresswoman Corrine Brown

If what you said is clear to you, you're blind, my friend.

You should mention what Bob Graham said as soon as Rod finished race baiting for votes...

Im going to break the code for you sanctimonious Davisistas out there.

Jim Davis voted against Pitts and Lee because he was supporting Peter Rudy Wallace for Speaker (by sheer coincidence Wallace also voted against Pitts and Lee) and was set to be in Wallasce's inner circle. The north Florida Dems in the caucus made this an issue, said if Wallace and Davis didnt support them on Pitts and Lee then they would support Wallace's run for speaker or Davis' run planned soon thereafter -- plain and simple, hardball politics and Davis failed the test of courage

It was a vote of cowardice and political expediency that's all it was . . . and now Jim Davis has to pay the price

now back to your play world

Mudslinging?

Which of these is untrue?

Jim Davis voted to deny compensation for Pitts and Lee

Jim Davis did not show up for work the day the Congress voted on the condemnation of Hezballah.

Davis can run but he cant hide

[Pablo Gomez]

At least it's not Snakes on a Plane.

Man, I am tired of them...

Rod Staffers to do list?

Pay last month of lease

Print resumes

I hear that they need people in the sugar cane fields.

Jim Davis does not care about black people.

and a 90% rating by the NAACP is not caring. A grand father who fought for civil rights and was a major influence on his life.

My grandfather raised chickens, does that mean I care about chickens? It's not that Davis made a mistake, it's that he's simply not a leader. He's a great guy with no leadership abilities at all. He'd be a great guy to have on your team, just not leading your team.

2:58...you're a blogger. You don't know what you're talking about, so keep it closed until you start discussing facts. Are you Wallace or Davis? Then YOU DON'T KNOW.

3:41...I hear the Davis office is going to need you to knock on doors on Wednesday for them. Probably should get some rest.

Rod Smith is done.

FACT -- Peter Rudy Wallace was runningfor Speaker in 1990

FACT - Jim Davis ws supporting Peter Rudy Wallace's run for Speaker in 1990

FACT - Jim Davis was in line for a key position should Peter Rudy Wallace become Speaker

FACT - Jim Davis considered running for Speaker after Peter Rudy Wallace

FACT - No white North Florida Democrats supported compensation for Pitts and Lee

FACT - Many North Florida Democrats urged opposition to Pitts and Lee compensation in 1990

FACT - North Florida Democrats in the House get to vote for their party's nominee for Speaker

FACT - 2 of the 3 Democrats who voted against Pitts and Lee were Jim Davis and Peter Rudy Wallace

That enough FACTS for you 3:44

[Ron Mills]

Now Chalrie shouldn't you be getting back in that Tom Gallagher supporters plane
veroom veroom

[gatordem]

Why no mention about what Bob Graham said after Rod was done race baiting????

[Imadashell]

We just recieved a call here is Broward from a Fake Rabbi(Actor) sponsored by Smith and US sugar.He gave a 30 second prerecorded speech about Jim Davis being a Jew Hater...Rod Smith is a DISGRACE.As a member of the Jewish faith I feel I have been Faith Baited ...Imadashell Im voting for Jim..You Rodsters that support this kind of conduct need to be ashamed of your candidate..Obviously the focus of these calls was the seniors who may not be informed about the TACTICS OF THIS cAMPAIGN.

Imadashell - now you're doing exactly what you're accusing Smith of doing.

You do know Davis sponsored the resolution that condemned Saudi Arabia for its radical education system and he issued a statement four days before Congress even started discussing Hezbollah condemning the attacks - right?

3:55 - you're full of shit.

Wallace "St. Peter" was speaker in 1994-96. Meaning he was "running" for speaker in the campaign of 1992-94 where he would have "Speaker Designate" In March of 1990, when the Pitts vote took place, Peter Walace was a mid-level leader - two years from being the designate and a full four years from being Speaker.

And if that's not enough for you, how would anyone with half a brain run for Speaker of the House in a close Chamber (as it was at the time) by pissing-off black members?

In other words, even if it were true that Davis voted this way to help Peter Walace - why would Peter Walace want such a thing?

It's BS.

Sadly, you're on the right track but on the wrong train. Jim's vote on Pitts and Lee was a vote to toe the line with the Speaker-designate that year - Mr. Bo Johnson. Johnson, if you know your history, was a north Florida conservative Democrat (much like Rod Smith) who had no problem overlooking racial problems in Florida.

Davis, keeping his leadership credentials intact, voted as the incoming Speaker of the House asked him to. As did another House leader who took the same vote at the same time -- Rod Smith supporter Ron Saunders.

So, Rodities, riddle me this...where's Rod's condemnation of Ron Saunders? Ron Saunders, you may know is also running for office this year. Does Ron Saunders hate black people too? Will Rod Smith go to Ron Saunders' district to denounce him?

Doubt it.

Kinda proves this has nothing to do with Pitts and Lee and everything to do with Jim Davis.

[gatordem]

I understand that Bob Graham made some remarks at this picnic that surely would be considered newsworthy. Why is there no mention from the Rod Smith Times about Bob Graham's remarks?????

Dunno.

Someone who was there said Bob Graham said people should be very worried about Big Sugar spending $5 million to elect Rod Smith.

Once again, Graham is right.

If Big Sugar steals this election it will be a disaster we'll be paying for for 20 years.

Rod Smith = Political Terrorist

Is it so difficult to believe that the Agriculture industry would support Smith, he comes from a farming family, he was Ag Chair in the Senate, Agriculture is the second largest industry that supports Florida's economy. Why does everybody have to put a negative on the fact that they support him? Rod Smith is the best Candidate for Governor. Jim Davis may be a nice guy, but he is cut from the same cloth as the lefty Dems that have consistently lost. Your only hope is Rod. He connects with far more people than Davis. Davis cannot beat Crist, Rod can.

Rod Smith will denounce Ron Saunder's vote on Pitts and Lee as soon as Jim Davis Denounces Bob Graham's Everglades Policies while he was a Senator.

Didn't the Everglades Trust call Bob Graham "The Everglades' Worst Enemy"?

[gatordem]

5:47
It would still give me pause if Big Sugar had spent $5 million FOR Rod Smith. However, that is not what they have done. They have spent the money AGAINST Jim Davis. Your point was that it makes sense for an Ag interest to be pro Rod. OK, why aren't they spending their money on pro Rod ads????

The real problem is the inordinate amount of influence this one industry is having on the PROCESS. You would think that even Rod should be worried about that.

5:08

Ron Saunders voted in favor of compensation you dumbass

And PR Wallace was running for speaker by running for Speaker Designate in 1990, moron

Those are the Facts bud-- Deal with it

Someone should alert Rod that 24 hours from now he'll be out of a job. Maybe he should get that face smoothed out then look for a job...nobody wants to hire a dirty old man!

Smith by 3 - book it.

are you giving smith 3 for the spread

7:53...are you Rain Man? Say something else. Back it up. What poll does that reflect?

7:53 phone banking for Jim on Thursday...book it.

6:52- I'm pretty sure Rod is smarter, better educated and has a stronger work history than you. The proof? He's wealthy, he's eloquent and he doesn't spend his time on blogs.

[D.S. Hardcastle]

gatordem- you, who have spent so much time complaining of Rod being a "Sugar Daddy" are now saying that the money is only being spent against Davis? Welcome to the rest of the group. Jim Davis put his foot in his mouth early on, and now he's paying for it.
The process is a concern, but when one candidate asks for it, you have to assume that the company is going to act. Jim denounces sugar and the everglades pollution, Jim gets attacked. Simple cause and effect.

Rod Smith a racebaiter? When heck freezes over. Rod's not bringing race into it, he's addressing an issue. The real racist is the one who interprets it as a racist comment. Just like the real pervert is the one who says "that's filthy" after a dirty joke.

nice pic you guys put up of Davis on your web home page. not biased at all. yeah. that's what i thought.

then again, maybe you should have put one up of Rod, it'd be the last cover he'll get.

[gatordem]

DS

Apparently the folks mentioned in this article know race baiting when they see it and they said so. Not mentioned by the Rod Smith Times here, Bob Graham saw the race baiting and he said so too. So - you just called these people racist. But I disagree with your argument. You do NOT have to be racist to recognize race baiting when you see it. Unless you are blind.

And 5:47 was trying to put the same naive spin on the Big Sugar money that you are. Big Sugar is NOT pro Rod, they are Anti Davis. Because they know that Davis WILL hold them to account for their polluting ways. Finally you acknowledge the process problem here. The Fl Dems have already recognized this and they are not as naive as 5:47. They are going to show that by making Jim Davis their nominee for Governor tommorow.

Jim Davis does not care about black people.

11:44- To interpret something that was not inherently racial as a racist slur does make you a racist. Someone who isn't a racist wouldn't have made the connection. DS was right. It's just like that old joke.
A girl gets asked by a professor, "what body part, when stimulated, grows to 10 times its normal size?"
The girl says " I'm sure I don't know, and who are you to ask such a thing?"
"I'm speaking of the human pupil. This tells me three things. 1) You didn't do the assignment. 2) you have a dirty mind. 3)You're going to be disappointed in the future.

If you laughed, you're not a clean person. Nor if you scorned it.

[gatordem]

12:00 AM

How appropriate. Midnight post. Well, midnight for Rod Smith should come sometime around 9 PM tonight. Y'all have gotten so sugar blinded that you don't even recognize race baiting when you see it. Notice Al Sharpton didn't make any personal appearances. He would have been heckled out of the state, just like Rod will be by the voters of FLORIDA today!!!!!

..and still Davis sees nothing wrong with the way he voted.

gatordem- either your name is shared by more than just you or you're bi-polar. Perhaps your brother. Either way, Rod won't get heckled out of the state, at least not by someone like you.
Rod ran a race that might not win, but at least made him a serious candidate for governor, which is more than any of the people on this blog can say. Feel free to criticize him, as long as you realize that he is someone who started at the bottom and worked his way up, which means he is better than you.

[gatordem]

9:57

Since you don't know athing about me, I do not take offense at your feeble attempt to belittle people suffering from bi-polar disorder. In the Democratic Party, we generally try to be more sensative to people with disabilities than that.

Also since you know nothing about me,you don't know wether or not he could be heckled out of the state by me. But I know that there are a huge number of people in the Democratic Party in this state about ready to run Rod out on a rail. To acquiesce while a REPUBLICAN company pumps up his campaign is a disgrace. To race bait like Rod has been doing is shameful.

But don''t take my word for it, ask Bob Graham. I don't believe anybody is BETTER than me, and I try very hard to not believe I am better than anyone else, even if I also worked my way up from the bottom to where I am today.