Oh, you have to love those Repuglican thugs at the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel. On a night where MILLIONS of American voters expressed their DISENCHANTMENT (to put it mildly) with the Bush administration and Rethuglican Congress, the Reactionary-Right Scum-Sentinel managed to put a Republican win on the front page headlines. (And their other headlines also downplay, indeed barely mention, Democratic wins.)
Even more revealing is this article by Sun-Sentinel writers Linda Kleindienst and Mark Hollis. Here's the (literally) money quote:
<< Winning a statewide battle to replace Bush involved prodigious amounts of campaign contributions, much of it from special interests who have a stake in how things are run in Tallahassee. Crist was a hands-down winner in the race for cash, OUT-RAISING Davis by a MORE THAN THREE-to-ONE ratio. >>
GOT THAT?! The ONLY way that the Scum-Sentinel got their "REPUBLICAN WINS!" headline, is because Republican Charlie Crist (ATTORNEY GENERAL Charlie Crist, at that) GOT THREE TIMES AS MUCH in CORPORATE, LOBBYIST FUNDRAISING as his Democratic opponent.
THREE TIMES AS MUCH!!
And, of course, Democratic candidate Davis has to hand over most of his campaign-funds war chest DIRECTLY OVER to the very media corporations who DOWNPLAY and MINIMIZE his campaign in the first place!
Democratic candidates: ENRICH Republican-leaning media companies (like the Scum-Sentinel), who then (via their Tallahassee lobbyists) HAND MUCH OF THOSE PROFITS RIGHT BACK TO THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE!
So, on the SURFACE it is a THREE-TO-ONE disadvantage for the Democrat... BUT IN REALITY, it is FAR worse than that!
Counting the Republican-owned media's propensity to DOWNPLAY Democratic themes and campaigns, and HEADLINE Republican campaigns (and smear attacks against Democratic candidates), we are looking at at least DOUBLE the "three-to-one" advantage for the Republican candidate, making it a SIX-TO-ONE advantage that helped put Charlie Crist in the governor's mansion.
THAT is EXACTLY how the craven, cowardly, and corrupt Sun-Sentinel WANTS IT: the OLD method, government OF, BY, and FOR the wealthy, the connected, those who got TAX CUTS from the Republican state-house and legislature, as FLORIDA VOTERS GOT THE SHAFT with huge Jeb Bush BUDGET DEFICITS.
In addition, Dem. candidate Davis ran a rather anemic campaign. Indeed, we have hardly seen "FLORIDA's BUDGET DEFICITS!" in the news or in campaign ads, though one can bet that had a Republican been running against a Democratic administration that had racked up those (Florida's current) deficits, they would be on the FRONT PAGE, and leading every TV ad, 24/7.
Which just goes to show, when Democrats go up against Republicans, they MUST GO ON THE ATTACK to ACCENTUATE THE DIFFERENCES and to minimize the DISPARITY in fundraising.
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<< Winning a statewide battle to replace Bush involved prodigious amounts of campaign contributions, much of it from special interests who have a stake in how things are run in Tallahassee. Crist was a hands-down winner in the race for cash, out-raising Davis by a more than three-to-one ratio.
According to the latest campaign finance reports, Crist raised at least $19.6 million, compared with the $6.8 million raised by Davis. And that's not counting money from the state political parties or in-kind contributions. In the last two months alone, the Republican Party of Florida raised $40 million, much of it spent on Crist, while the Florida Democratic Party brought in $14.7 million.
The big cash advantage helped Crist dominate the television and radio advertising war, helping to create a positive public image. It also helped insulate him from Davis' allegations that he is too closely tied to special interests, especially insurance companies, which poured about $8 million into this year's election.
Crist used his monetary advantage to vilify Davis as a traditional tax-and-spend liberal who missed votes in Washington while campaigning for governor the past 18 months.
"Unfortunately, money has become the deciding factor in Florida politics," said Andy Ford, president of the Florida Education Association, the state's largest teacher union. >>
(click on our headline link or paste url for the full article by the Scum-Sentinel)
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