The ad wars continue - new Davis spot

Jim Davis isn't limiting his ads to the Internet. A few hours after launching the Web spot, his campaign said it was going on TV with this one. It takes some big swings at Crist.

Comments

More lies and stretching the truth from Jombo.

Jim wouldn't have to be so defensive now if he'd actually shown up for work in Congress then.

NEW RASMUSSEN POLL

http://www.pollster.com/governor.php

Check out the side area with the latest polls. Its not posted on Rasmussen or Real Clear Politics yet, but it has been completed.

Crist 52%
Davis 41%

Gene and liberals, do you see the writing on the wall yet?

the dems get more desperate as more polls show them... WAY... down!!

Rasmussen has the gap at 11 points!

Jim is going to lose!!

[the shadow]

eat it gene. let's fight!

that is a terribel ad. too busy, too loud, too much. The senior citizens can't follow it.

other than the partisan hacks on this site, do they really think that ad makes sense to anyone? pitiful - what are you people doing with my money?!?!?

[concerned]

NATIONAL NEWS

Opponent outs GOP candidate for Fla. governor (Gay)
Crist has denied rumors, opposes gay marriage

By PHIL LAPADULA
Friday, October 20, 2006

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — In 1985, Max Linn participated in a three-month program called Leadership St. Petersburg that focuses on grooming future leaders in business and politics. One of his classmates in the program was Charlie Crist, who is now Florida’s attorney general and the Republican nominee for governor.

Linn, who is running against Crist on the Reform Party ticket, said there were only about 20 people in that 1985 class.

“So you got to know everybody,” he said.

According to Linn, during the course of conversations with Crist he learned that the future attorney general is gay. The two talked about “what would happen if [Crist’s sexual orientation] comes out” during a political campaign, Linn said.

Linn kept quiet about Crist’s supposed gay secret for more than 20 years until he launched his third-party bid for governor. Then, on Oct. 11, National Coming Out Day, Linn outed Crist on WFTL, a South Florida radio show.

“Charlie, come out, come out from wherever you are,” Linn said on the radio show.

Crist has repeatedly denied rumors that he is gay. When Miami radio host Jim DeFede asked Crist if he is gay in July, Crist responded, “The point is, I’m not. There’s the answer. How do you like it? Not that there’s anything wrong with that, as they say on Seinfeld. But I just happen not to be.”

In January 2005, Crist denied rumors that he is gay during an interview on WQYK, a country music radio station based in Tampa. During the interview, Dave McKay, co-host of WQYK’s “Randy and Dave Show,” asked Crist, “Are you a homo?”

Crist responded, “No man. No, I love women. I mean, they’re wonderful.”

Crist, 49, was married for seven months in 1979, but otherwise has lived a single life.

Repeated calls to Crist’s campaign headquarters late last week and early this week were not returned.

In an interview this week, Linn stood by the statements he made about Crist on the radio show. He said he was a registered Republican for 20 years before recently switching to become an independent. Linn said he contributed money and did volunteer fund-raising for two of Crist’s past campaigns, including his unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate in 1998.

A matter of ‘honesty’

Linn said he has no problem with gay candidates running for office, but he thinks they should be open about their sexual orientation. The recent Mark Foley affair and the scandal involving former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevy have highlighted the dangers of running in the closet, he said.

“When you lie about it, that opens you up to extortion and bribery,” Linn said. “That’s what happened with McGreevey.” He referred to McGreevey’s book, in which the former New Jersey governor detailed how his closeted life made him vulnerable to an extortion attempt.

Linn said it’s also “a matter of integrity and honesty” for a candidate to disclose their sexual orientation to voters.

Linn claimed that Crist’s sexual orientation is an open secret in Tallahassee, much like Foley’s was.

“In my opinion, it’s widely known throughout the Republican Party that Crist is gay,” Linn said.

Josh Earnest, communications director for Crist’s Democratic opponent, Rep. Jim Davis, said the Democrat has no plans to make Crist’s sexual orientation an issue.

“We believe the most important issues relate to Crist’s public record and his failure to fight for lower property taxes, lower property insurance rates and better schools,” Earnest said.

He also compared Crist’s record on gay rights against Davis’, noting that Crist supports a state constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage while Davis opposes such an amendment.

In the post-Foley political landscape, more people are arguing that exposing the truth about closeted gay politicians is in the best interests of the public. For example, in an Oct. 13 opinion piece published in the Los Angeles Times, gay columnist Michelangelo Signorile blamed the media for not outing Foley.

“The media enabled a man overwhelmed by the destructiveness of the closet to ultimately implode in the halls of Congress,” Signorile wrote in the column.

Will the Foley fallout cause more voters to have doubts about Republican candidates who are even rumored to be gay, regardless of whether or not they are?

Andy Eddy, communications director for the Broward Log Cabin Republicans, doesn’t think so. First of all, Eddy questioned just how “closeted” Foley was, noting that the former congressman was known to attend gay events with his boyfriend.

“When [Foley] accepted the Gold Medallion award from the People With AIDS Coalition of Broward, he was there with his boyfriend and made it clear to everyone that it was his boyfriend,” Eddy recalled. Furthermore, Eddy noted that Foley was identified as gay by several publications including New Times, the Advocate and the Washington Blade during his aborted Senate campaign in late 2003 and early 2004.

Eddy said he thinks the Foley scandal will be “temporarily counterproductive for gay Republicans.” But he thinks voters will eventually realize that Foley’s inappropriate behavior with teenage pages “had nothing to do with his sexual orientation.”

Eddy questioned Linn’s credibility and motives in outing Crist in the governor’s race.

“He seems to be doing it for political gain,” Eddy said. “If someone is outed because they’re attacking the community, that’s a different story. But to out a person for any kind of personal or political gain, I think is wrong.”

Eddy thinks Crist may be telling the truth when he says he’s not gay.

“He could be bisexual,” Eddy said.

In a written statement, Patrick Sammon, executive vice president of the national Log Cabin Republicans, said the group is opposed to outing.

Despite persistent rumors about his sexual orientation that date back to his first campaign for elected office, Crist easily defeated Tom Gallagher for the Republican nomination in September and has since opened up a big lead over his Democratic opponent, Rep. Davis.

Recent polls have shown Crist with a substantial lead. He led Davis 54 to 38 percent in a Rasmussen poll of 500 likely voters that was released Oct. 2. A Survey USA poll released Oct. 12 has Crist ahead of Davis 54 to 41 percent.

Most of the polls have not included Linn. Poll figures were not available since Linn outed Crist.

Foley scandal changes
political dynamics

A Florida political science expert thinks that the Foley scandal has changed the political climate for closeted gay Republicans or, in Crist’s case, for a candidate whom many people believe to be closeted.

“The Foley scandal is likely to cause a demand for purity from the ‘theo-cons’[religious conservatives],” said Tony Smith, an assistant professor of political science with the University of Miami. “They are going to say, ‘You can’t be one of our standard bearers and be gay,’”

But the ultimate effect that the “outing” of Crist has on the governor’s race will depend on whether or not the mainstream media picks up the story, Smith said. As of press time, no major newspapers or TV stations had reported on Linn’s latest assertions about Crist’s sexual orientation.

“If the mainstream media doesn’t pick it up, voters will say that it’s just nastiness because the poor man can’t find a wife,” Smith said. “If it doesn’t get brought to the forefront of people’s conversations, then it’s still just an unproven rumor. But if the social conservative groups believe it, he’s dead in the water.”

Michael Albetta, president of the Florida GLBT Democratic Caucus, said he doesn’t think Crist’s sexual orientation is a legitimate issue in the campaign.

“A person should be judged on their job performance and not their personal life,” Albetta said.

Albetta said gay voters should compare Crist’s record on gay rights to Davis’. He contended that Crist is “two-faced” on gay rights, giving different answers on questions about his positions depending on who’s interviewing him.

Crist record on gay
issues a mixed bag

In fact, Crist’s record on gay rights issues appears to be a mixed bag. He opposes gay marriage and confirmed in an interview with the Florida Baptist Witness newspaper that he had signed a petition to place an anti-gay marriage amendment on the 2008 election ballot.

But during an interview with radio talk-show host Jim DeFede in July, Crist said civil unions for gay couples were “fine” with him. In the same interview, Crist said he was undecided about whether or not to repeal the state’s ban on gays adopting children.

“Haven’t taken a position yet,” Crist told DeFede.

But in his Oct. 12 interview with the Florida Baptist Witness, Crist was asked, “Do you support repealing the ban on homosexual adoption?”

Crist answered, “No.”

When the Baptist Witness asked Crist if he supported civil rights protections on the basis of sexual orientation, Crist responded, “I support civil rights protections on the basis of people. I believe that we need to fight discrimination that is based on race, sex, creed, national origin…” But he never mentioned sexual orientation.

In a follow-up question, the Baptist Witness interviewer asked Crist, “To be more precise about it, the homosexual lobby is pressing for civil rights on basis of sexual preference or sexual orientation, they would say. Do you support that agenda?”

Crist answered, “No, it’s not an agenda item that I support. But I support civil rights to fight discrimination.”

Crist has come out in favor of anti-bullying legislation that includes specific protections for gay students. He is also a strong supporter of hate-crimes laws.

John Marble, spokesperson for the National Stonewall Democrats, said it’s important to point out that Crist has not acknowledged being gay.

But, he added, “It’s always a disservice to voters for candidates to run in the closet. It underscores a certain level of dishonesty that they think is OK with their constituents. I think the gay question is a fair question for reporters to ask a candidate. I don’t think reporters should be afraid to ask the question.”

Washingtonblade.com

stupid ads, even more stupid articles...

the Dems are DESPERATE!

Davis is running out of money and is swing for the fance with this ad. What a time to find out your broke, 10 days to go and little money to get your message out.
Davis and his people are trying to whip up anything possible to get some attion so they won't have to spend any money.

Just saw the empty chair roll by again. Where is Jim Davis, he dosen't even show up in his own ads!

4:38 looks like they jumped the gun, don't see the Rasmussen Poll at the location indicated, maybe they weren't supposed to release yet. I don't see can you tell me if I'm looking the right location.

5:17

Look at the scrolling portion at the right, titled "Most recent polls", scroll down to governor, its there.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2006/governor/fl/florida_governor_race-54.html

Now its on Real Clear Politics.

Crist 52%
Davis 41%

Hey "concerned" if you don't quit posting that long piece of crap post on every thread, we're sending Gene, Shadow and Terminator over to kick your butt. either that or we'll give Arza your cell number!

LOOK OUT, HERE COMES THAT EMPTY CHAIR.

MAN IS THAT THING DANGEROUS. I HOPE IT DOES NOT MAKE IT TO TALLAHASSEE.

wow, they stuff a lot of stuff in that 30 seconds.

They have to stuff a lot of things in the ads, they are running out of money.

[James]

If Charlie Crist is elected on November 7, 2006, and is then "publically outed" sometime between then and November 2008, like what happened to New Jersey's Governor last year? Because that would most certainly happen. Then the Evangelical voters in Florida would become so disgusted with the Republican Party that they would stay home on election day in 2008. Thus Hillary Clinton takes Florida's 27 electoral votes and the Presidency. So the question is- would you prefer Jim Davis be elected Governor of Florida in 2006, or Hillary Clinton be elected President in 2008? Also, what about all of Crist's flip-flops? Charlatan Crist has flip-flopped more in the past two weeks than John Kerry did during his entire Presidential campaign. Crist is also a career trial lawyer, as is his running mate Jeff Kottkamp, and Crist flunked the Florida Bar Exam twice before he finally passed. Is Crist qualified to be Governor of Florida?

James moving to the 2008 elections now to try and scare people? Just give it up Charlie is going to win no matter how much pointless babble you post.

James, you are late to this party. All your little snipes have been thrown around this blog for months to no avail. But keep working on it and maybe by 08 you'll be a blog force to be reckoned with - until then, stay in the sandbox with the other kids.

[Gene Smith]

Charlie wants to stay the course. What's wrong with that, you guys?

According to you, everything in Florida is going just great, isn't it? Jeb Bush has been the best Governor since George W was Governor of Texas, right?

So what if Charlie doesn't have a plan for property insurance other than "pay, hope and wait"? So what if Charlie doesn't have a plan that provides real property tax relief to small businesses and rental properties? So what if we are 49th in the country in graduation rates and SAT scores?

Everything is great in Florida, right? So having an empty shirt like Charlie Crist as governor is no big deal, right?

Gene -- exactly -- we need a governor who will do what CLinton did -- stay out of the way and let the good times roll!

Charlie is an optimist. The right woman will come along any day. If he gets married in the Gov mansion right after the election, that's the end of the rumors. Then can be a happily married Gov just like Jeb.

[James]

There is a 90% probability that Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic Nominee in 2008. There's a 90% probability that if he's elected Governor, Charlie Crist will be publically outed as being gay before November 2008. And if that happens, there's a 90% probability that most of Florida's Evangelical voters will stay home on election day 2008 and Hillary Clinton will ride Florida's 27 electoral votes into the White House. Assuming you went to college and took Statistics, you should know that to find a Conditional Probability you must multiply all of the individual Probabilities together.
Thus for this question we take:
.90 x .90 x .90 = .729 = .73
So there is a 73% Probability that Hillary Clinton will win the Presidency in 2008 if Charlie Crist is elected Governor of Florida in 2006.

It's not about who is the best fit to lead Florida. It is about who can get their mug smacked up in those areas that have the most traffic so as to offer an enticing and sublime image to impact potential voters. Out of sight out of mind...that's the way the average voter thinks these days as a reason for eliminating a competitor. They would rather not invest in educating themselves about the candidates, unless of course there is an entertaining scandal to offer some diversion. Then perhaps they may be apt to change their minds. Anything can happen on any given day in the next 2 weeks. Foley is slipping from mind quickly, Darth & Karl are scheming as the Iraq death toll keeps mounting. Remenber desperate people do desperate things.

Crist's mega-sized campaign sign ploy will backfire and his entire campaign will collapse very soon. A friend of mine who works for The Miami Herald told me they will be running an expose into Crist's questionable personal life in the Sunday, November 5 edition.

James has got his math working bigtime. I don't give a damn if Hillary is elected President in 2008. It won't change my life in Florida. Crist will be our Governor, and life will go on. Now if you are really poor, maybe Hillary will help you. But she can't hurt what is going on down here.

[Odysseus]

Sign your name 9:17. Then we'll be able to beat you up big time when it doesn't happen.

[Bigmack]

1. Jim Davis is married for years, has beautiful children and goes to Church. Hear that Family Values Voters?
2. Charlie Crist? Well go to Google and search under "Charlie Crist Gay"
and see what you get. Do the names McGreevy and Foley ring a bell?
Ha! OH.. and if Charlie marries that banker woman who lives in Tampa (and will stay in Tampa).. how Convenient!

bigmack

I figured this is all you liberals have left now, Crist is gay, vote for Davis!!! Funny, everyone has heard the rumors, no one cares.