Rick Scott for Governor: Setting the Record Straight
We would like the opportunity to address the email you received from Chairman Thrasher yesterday. We realize the Chairman has been a longtime ally of Bill McCollum’s and he has chosen to no longer be neutral in this race, but the facts are facts and should be made available to every Florida Republican.
First, Florida’s newspapers, most notably the St. Petersburg Times, have noted Bill McCollum’s reticence to investigate Jim Greer and his defense of Greer’s action to keep party records secret is not a matter of factual dispute.
Chairman Thrasher is understandably trying to put the Greer saga behind the state party and move forward – but denying facts to paint a better picture of Bill McCollum is the wrong way to do it.
In regard to Chairman Thrasher’s defense of the financial state of the Party, it is an indisputable fact that the Party has been funneling money to Bill McCollum’s campaign. In fact last week alone the Party handed over $750,000 to Bill McCollum’s campaign for a total of nearly $4 million dollars. This is unprecedented in a contested primary – and it threatens the party’s ability to fund a Get-Out-The-Vote program to benefit the entire Republican ticket in the fall.
Now, let us set the record straight on the specific attacks on Rick Scott set forth by Mr. Thrasher.
1) That Rick is looking to distract from his own troubles. Nothing could be further from the truth. Rick has been upfront with voters and accepted responsibility for any mistakes that were made on his watch. Taking responsibility is something career politician Bill McCollum has been unwilling to do. If anyone is trying to distract voters’ attention it is Bill McCollum, as he has been funding his negative campaign with the biggest special interest money laundering scheme in Florida political history.
2) That Rick should run a positive campaign and should enunciate a plan for his administration. Rick Scott has indeed run a positive campaign running thousands upon thousands of positive campaign ads. Additionally, he has crisscrossed Florida detailing his very specific 777 Plan to create 700,000 jobs in 7 years. This stands in stark contrast to Bill McCollum who put this race in the gutter. In fact his campaign has run a purely negative campaign with the exception of one positive ad. The most recent ad by McCollum’s supporter was rated “false” by Politifact. It not only impugns Rick Scott but it falsely attacks a great Florida company that creates jobs for Floridians.
We beg to differ with the Chairman when it comes to what is damaging our Party. It is in fact the mentality of protecting a few at the expense of our principles that has hurt our Party. We believe that primaries are healthy for our Party, it allows us to remain true to our founding principles of limited government, low taxes and more freedom.
We are in need of a governor who would protect and fight for those principles instead of the interests of a powerful few. A governor who recognizes that the strength of our Party lies outside of Tallahassee with the grassroots who have built this Party and enabled our many sucacesses over the past 15 years.We believe that person is Rick Scott. And we know that the only way to put the scandal of Jim Greer behind us is to elect an outsider who will open the books, clear the air and get about the business of rebuilding our Party from the grassroots up.
Please join us in voting for Rick Scott on Tuesday, August 24th. It is time for a fresh start.
Sincerely,
Senator Paula Dockery
Representative Juan Zapata
Representative Mike Weinstein
Representative Baxter Troutman
Representative Paige Kreegel
Former Speaker Johnnie Byrd
