You want fries with that? Connie Mack campaign finds the funny spot. At Whataburger

The other day, Connie Mack's Senate campaign got a little too huffy and puffy over the story about Republican rival George LeMieux for the way he went about getting an interim Senate appointment in 2009 (story here).

Today, Team Mack got a sense of humor, playing up the details of a high-stakes meeting that LeMieux and other insiders had at a Tallahassee Whataburger at 1 a.m. The image is depressing: The cruel flourescent lights, the grease in the air, the late hour in a town that had hit REM sleep hours before. But the Mack press release is pretty funny:

What-a-tale – It’s What’s In the Whataburger George?

What Legitimate Business Warranted George LeMieux Demanding and Getting a 1:00 AM Meeting with Former RPOF Chair Jim Greer and Charlie Crist's Chief of Staff, Eric Eikenberg?
 
MIAMI – Startling revelations revealed over the past four days by the Tampa Tribune and the Times/Herald that George LeMieux allegedly exerted significant – and as of yet unexplained – significant pressure on Charlie Crist to appoint him to Florida’s vacant U.S. Senate seat.
 
The latest revelation came today, when the Tampa Bay Times / Miami Herald reported, “LeMieux was adamant that he deserved an interview, however, and met with Greer and Crist's chief of staff, Eric Eikenberg, at 1 a.m. at a Tallahassee Whataburger.”
 
Based on this new information, Mack Deputy Campaign Manager David James stated that a few simple questions should be asked of LeMieux, Crist, Eikenberg and Greer:
 
“Just exactly what was discussed at the 1:00 AM meeting at Whataburger, why were they there, who all really was there and what deals were made?”
 
Floridians may not know the full details of the meeting until the July trial of Jim Greer, which will likely feature George LeMieux sitting in front of the jury, but as Jim Greer said this week, "There's a lot more to this story and I'm not ready to tell it.”

Sen. Tom Coburn endorses George LeMieux for Senate

From a press release endorsement by U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla:

"I am proud to endorse George LeMieux in his election to return to the U.S. Senate. I served with George and have seen firsthand his commitment to reducing our national debt and stopping Washington's out-of-control spending. During his time in the Senate, George was a proven leader. He passed necessary legislation to prevent Medicare fraud and offered the 2007 Solution, a roadmap to balance our budget. America is facing a difficult time and it is imperative we elect people like George LeMieux to go to Washington to make the difficult decisions that will save our country for future generations."

How George LeMieux's fellow Rs got shived for him to become interim Senator

George LeMieux is an old hand running political campaigns, but he wound up in the U.S. Senate by ferociously campaigning for just one vote: Gov. Charlie Crist’s.

How LeMieux pulled it off — tapped to serve a vacant Senate seat in 2009 by a governor who had reservations about his former chief of staff — speaks volumes about LeMieux’s ambition, savvy and knack for bare-knuckle politics that’s again playing out as he campaigns to unseat incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson.

"He really wanted to do it. So he was going to do everything he could," former Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp said. "He really, really wanted to do it."

Kottkamp had been told he would be picked. Other top contenders included former Secretary of State Jim Smith, U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young, former U.S. Rep. Clay Shaw and Board of Education member Roberto Martinez.

University of North Florida President John Delaney was told he could start looking for a place to live in D.C. The job was his.

But then LeMieux allies created an anonymous website attacking Delaney. It noted that when Delaney was Jacksonville mayor in 2008, he had publicly opposed a property-tax initiative promoted by Crist. The Senate offer was promptly yanked.

It was a tactic repeated again and again as potential picks gained steam.

"I’ve got to salute him. He was playing politics, and the rest of us weren’t," Delaney said of LeMieux. "We were playing by Marquess of Queensbury rules. He got what he wanted."

More here

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/22/2812589/george-lemieuxs-aggressive-campaign.html#storylink=cpy

OUTRAGE ALERT!!! FROM CONNIE MACK'S CAMPAIGN!!! Again.

OH MY GOD! ANOTHER OUTRAGE! SENATE CANDIDATE GEORGE LEMIEUX USED "PRESSURE" ON FORMER GOV. CHARLIE CRIST TO GET AN INTERIM SENATE APPOINTMENT!!!!

THIS MIGHT BE A CRIME!!!!

Pardon the ALL CAPS craziness, but Republican Rep. Connie Mack's Senate campaign has once again notched it up to 11. It actually is calling for a federal investigation into LeMieux's appointment, saying it smacks of "extortion" or "bribery"

But there's no real evidence of any attempt to extort or bribe Crist by LeMieux.

Who says? The guys who spilled the story about LeMieux's manuevers: Former Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp and former Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer (who's under indictment in what appears to be an ever-weakening fraud case that he bilked the GOP).

"No, I don’t believe he committed a crime. I don’t believe he committed one," Greer said. "If a guy comes in and says hey I want an appointment remind him of all the things I’ve done for him – some he’d like to forget, some he’d remember – is that a crime? I don’t know...

"George had very strong points –all the things he had done for the governor. He felt confident if he got an interview with the governor, he was confident he’d get the appointment. He got the interview. And he got the appointment."

Here's Kottkamp when asked if he believed anything illegal happened: “I doubt it. I doubt it…. I don’t know what they talked about.”

It's official: Dave Weldon to run for U.S. Senate in Florida

Former Florida Congressman Dave Weldon announced Friday that he will join a crowded field of Republicans seeking to unseat incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson.

“We are at a time in our nation’s history where we the people have to make tough choices that will determine our national direction for the next 4 years ... choices that determine America’s direction for decades,” Weldon, who represented the Space Coast from 1994-2008, said in a written statement.

Weldon’s entrance in the race comes as Congressman Connie Mack is solidifying his spot as the GOP frontrunner, having received the endorsement this week of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

US Chamber of Commerce to bash Bill Nelson in TV ads

Associated Press:

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is launching ads in Florida, Missouri, Hawaii and Ohio as Democrats struggle to hold Senate seats and their slim majority. The Republican-friendly lobbying group is also targeting 17 House races from New York to Minnesota....

The chamber declined to say how much it will spend in this round of advertising. Ad buys earlier this year in eight Senate races and 12 House races was estimated at $10 million.....

In Florida, two-term Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson has raised more than $9 million while his Republican foes, Rep. Connie Mack and former Sen. George LeMieux, have struggled in attracting significant donations for a state with 10 major media markets, including expensive Miami. The chamber advertising is certain to fill in the gap for the GOP which won’t settle on a nominee to challenge Nelson until Aug. 14.

Marco Rubio or Gulf Coast oil spill deal? George LeMieux chooses the crude cash

U.S. Sen. candidate George LeMieux has been campaigning more and more as the Tea Party candidate these days. But then he appeared on 1620 AM radio yesterday in Pensacola.

LeMieux, a former interim U.S. senator, was asked if he would have voted for the so-called "Restore Act," which would have allocated BP oil-spill money to the Gulf Coast. Or would he have voted against it like Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, the only Gulf Coast senator to oppose the act because it allowed for oil-spill money to be spent in unaffected states?

LeMieux chose the act.

"I would have voted for it, in all due respect to Marco," LeMieux explained. He noted that, when he was in the Senate, he helped ensure that the money would be directed to Gulf Coast states.

LeMieux's answer is probably good for a general election. But for a Republican primary, it might be toxic. Conventional wisdom says a conservative candidate needs to say two words over and over again to win the GOP race: "Marco Rubio." LeMieux's stance, even though it might be well-intentioned, could be held against him because the Senate's Restore Act was a product of Washington deal-making. And that's something Rubio decried today during a speech Tuesday at the Panama City Beach Chamber of Commerce, where he was asked about his nay vote for a bill that he initially sponsored.

Rubio said the bill became an out of hand "free for all" as Senators began loading it up with goodies for their home states.

“The minute I started supporting that kinds of stuff is the minute I become like them," Rubio said. “That money should not be diverted to other parts of the country. That had nothing to do with the oil spill I know that’s how they cut deals in Washington, but that’s not what I went to Washington to do.”

Rep. Connie Mack, the frontrunner in the GOP primary, had the luxury of voting on a more conservative House plan before it went to the Senate, where it was approved 74-22. The bill needs to be reconciled in conference. But before that happens, expect more politics.

 

Dennis Baxley, Crist critic and Stand Your Ground author, endorses George LeMieux

Forget about Herman Cain's endorsement of Republican Senate candidate George LeMieux. Ocala Rep. Dennis Baxley's probably is more significant. Baxley is a former Florida Christian Coalition head and he sponsored the controversial 2005 Stand Your Ground law. Baxley also carried the Republican legislation cracking down on voter-registration -- a piece of legislation the Democrats say amounts to "voter suppression."

In short: Baxley is a real-deal heartland conservative. Perhaps most significantly, Baxley was a critic of former Gov. Charlie Crist, whose top advisor was LeMieux. Crist's decision to bolt the GOP in his 2010 failed Senate race against Marco Rubio made him one of the most-reviled politicians in the GOP. So, with Baxley's endorsement, maybe (just maybe) LeMieux is shedding the Crist baggage.

Still, he's short on money and name ID when compared to Republican Connie Mack.

The press release:

Battle for the GOP prez also-rans: Herman Cain goes for George LeMieux, Michelle Bachmann for Connie Mack

In Florida's U.S. Senate Republican primary, the once-hot-now-not GOP presidential contenders are making themselves heard. Herman Cain is backing George LeMieux and Michelle Bachmann backs fellow Rep. Connie Mack (who has the de facto endorsement, by the way, of GOP de facto presidential nominee Mitt Romney).

The press releases:

MIAMI - The Connie Mack for U.S. Campaign today announced the endorsement of movement conservative and former Presidential candidate, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-MN).

Bachmann made the following statement regarding Mack's candidacy:
 
"Connie has been a steadfast fighter for freedom, less government and a fiscal hawk together with me in the United States Congress.  For every good proposal passed out of the House, the liberal Senate under Harry Reid and Bill Nelson have stopped it, including Connie's recent proposal to build the Keystone XL Pipeline without Presidential approval.  Senators like Marco Rubio and Rand Paul need other like-minded conservatives in the Senate to stop the liberals from tearing down our nation.  America needs Connie Mack in the U.S. Senate."


Fort Lauderdale, Fla. – Herman Cain Friday endorsed George LeMieux at the Hernando County Lincoln Day Dinner.

“As of tonight, I am officially endorsing George LeMieux for United States Senate,” said Herman Cain. “This is the type of person that we need in Washington, DC. People who are not afraid to challenge the establishment; people who are there to represent the people and not represent politics; people who understand that it’s time that we stop shuffling the chairs on the deck of the Titanic and start solving stuff. That’s the kind of Senator that he is, that’s the kind of Senator that he will be, that’s why I support you, sir.”

“I am honored to receive Herman Cain’s endorsement of my bid to return to the US Senate,” said George LeMieux. “Cain inspired the people of Florida with his showing at Presidency 5 and I am proud to have his support. This is further proof that our campaign is on the rise in Florida.”

Connie Mack Super Pac ad bashes Bill Nelson over Keystone, features Mack's dad

Freedom PAC, the pro-Connie Mack political committee, has announced it'll start running ads hitting Sen. Bill Nelson for backing President Obama over the administration's decision to block construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.

One interesting bit from the ad: There's a shot of Congressman Mack's dad, Senator-turned-lobbyist Connie Mack III. Mack's Republican opponent, George LeMieux, has charged that Mack IV is running a "campaign of confusion" to trick people into thinking he's his dad. Obviously, Mack III has coat tails.