FL-13-- A Special Election All About Hypocrisy

The DCCC and NRCC have already spent over half a million dollars in FL-13 smearing, respectively, NRCC candidate David Jolly and DCCC candidate Alex Sink. The DCCC spent $288,151 last week and the NRCC put in , $220,049 last week (bringing their total to $353,419). Two other especially sleazy outfits have jumped in, one on behalf of Jolly, (the Allen West Guardian Fund- $36,930) and one on behalf of Sink (EMILY's List- $15,264). As of last month, Sink reported having $1,054,488 on hand and Jolly, who just finished a bruising and expensive primary, reported $141,891 cash on hand.

The Alex Sink ad up top is a really good one. It's completely truthful and it hits Jolly as being a slimy lobbyist. And remember, being a lobbyist in the only profession Americans view even less favorably than being a member of Congress-- no really; it was polled. The one weak link in Sink's attack is that sophisticated voters might ask her if she's willing to take a pledge to not see lobbyists, not take money from lobbyists and to never herself become a lobbyist if she were elected. If she took that pledge-- she won't-- I would even consider voting for her if I lived in Pinellas County.

Of course, hypocrisy is hardly the sole domain of DCCC type Dems like Sink. The NRCC and their candidates are at least as repulsive. Yesterday, the Tampa Bay Times reported that the NRCC ad attacking Alex Sink on stimulus spending was something that their candidate Jolly lobbied for! This is what voters in Pinellas County were reading last night:

Republican David Jolly is campaigning for Florida’s Congressional District 13 as a fiscal conservative, and a new ad against rival Alex Sink revives a favorite target of a few years ago: the federal stimulus.

The ad was created by the National Republican Congressional Committee but has not yet aired (and suddenly disappeared when the Tampa Bay Times asked about it this week). It casts Sink as another stimulus-loving Democrat.

The 30-second spot deems the stimulus a Barack Obama failure and “wasteful spending” that “drove up the debt.”

But Jolly himself sought stimulus money as part of his work as a Washington lobbyist.

It’s the latest example of Jolly's past profession causing problems for his campaign to replace his former boss, the late Rep. C.W. Bill Young.

Records indicate Jolly lobbied for several clients wanting a piece of the stimulus, formally called the American Recovery and Revinestment Act of 2009. His clients ranged from the the interest group Coalition of EPSCOR States, the University of South Dakota, and on behalf of Jesssie’s Law, aimed at increasing funding for U.S. marshals to go after sexual predators.

Jolly, unlike other instances in which his campaign message has collided with his lobbying, did not deny he went for the money.

Every inch on the 13th district is in Pinellas County (west across the Bay from Tampa). Pinellas gave Obama a 238,966 (52%) to 213,192 (47%) win over Romney in 2012. In 2008, voters there chose Obama over McCain in the R+1 district 51-48%. Polls show a close race. Polling completed last month before the primary, showed Sink beating Jolly 49.3- 36.3%. Polling by partisan Republican firms that just skewer numbers to please their clients, show Jolly winning. According to an interview for Politico's Alex Isenstadt, Jolly acknowledged he's the underdog

“Listen, we knew we were going to be outspent. No question,” he said. “But we’re going to win this race on the issues.”

“I promise you,” he added, “in the coming weeks, I will close the gap with Alex Sink.”

Not all Republicans, however, think painting Sink-- who served as Florida’s chief financial officer before narrowly losing to now-Gov. Rick Scott-- as a left-wing lackey of President Barack Obama is going to work.

“She is popular. She is not perceived as a liberal,” said Fred Piccolo, a Republican consultant in the state and a former congressional chief of staff. Republicans are “going to hang Obamacare around her neck-- and rightfully so-- but she’s not a liberal.”

Other concerns are cropping up for Republicans. This month, the Tampa Bay Times published an article revealing that Young had kept a secret second family for more than two decades. In the 1980s, the paper reported, Young deserted his wife and three children to wed his 26-year-old secretary, Beverly. Young had been a revered figure in Florida politics, known for securing federal funds for the state’s defense industry, but some Republicans worry that the piece could take some luster off his name as the special election approaches.

Republicans will also have to find a way to deal with Lucas Overby, a Libertarian candidate whose presence on the general election ballot could siphon GOP votes.

Election day is March 11.