(Update)Although she's already been the target of sharply worded press releases from the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), Alex Sink hasn't seen anything yet, as most of the energy in the CD13 race has been concentrated on the Republican primary election taking place next Tuesday.
Come next Wednesday it will be all-out warfare between the NRCC and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) all the way up to the March 11 general election. In preparation for what she believes may be assaults on her record as Chief Financial Officer (2007-2011) and previous campaign pledges, the Sink campaign today announced a new website called"The Alex Sink Truth Team."
“Pinellas residents are tired of the partisan name-calling and finger-pointing in Washington that’s standing in the way of solutions — we need to bring Republicans and Democrats together to break through this gridlock and get Congress focused on solving the challenges that matter most,” Sink said in a press release. "But the forces of dysfunction are going to do everything they can to try and get in our way by spreading false and misleading attacks, and we need to be ready to fight back with the truth. Our Truth Team will be a terrific resource for folks in Pinellas to get the facts, debunk the spin, and learn about our campaign's commitment to putting Pinellas over politics."
There are four so-called myths that the website attempts to answer. They are 1) Did Alex hurt Florida's pension system; 2) Does Alex support more debt; 3) Does Alex support more taxes; and 4) Is Alex partisan?
Almost Immediately the NRCC hit back:
“It’s a telling sign that Alex Sink has to have a make believe ‘truth team’ because her record as CFO in Florida was so controversial. It’s also interesting that Sink’s ‘Truth Team’ refuses to address Obamacare, the number one issue of this campaign. It’s obvious that her team can’t figure out how to cover up her strong support of the law which is already causing over 300,000 Floridians to lose their health care coverage.” (Incidentally, that 300,000 figure has been debunked as "mostly untrue" by PolitiFact).
No doubt the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare if you will, will be the number one attack hurled by the Republicans post-Jan. 14. Coming in second may be Sink's lack of history with CD13, a district that she just moved to after announcing her candidacy last November.
Regarding the lack of information on the ACA, the NRCC's press release sarcastically asks, "Could the 'Truth Team' not think of a witty enough way to cover up Sink’s support of a law that caused over 300,000 Florida families to lose their health care?"
Also weighing in is David Jolly spokesperson Sarah Bascom. In a statement given to CL she writes,"This is a great feel good idea, but time will tell if the Sink Campaign will focus on their version of the truth or whatever version suits their interests. It would also be great to know if the Sink Campaign will embrace or condemn the DCCC already sending out slanderous news releases against the Republican front runner. How does their claims of not wanting ‘finger pointing and name calling and the spreading of misinformation’ fit in with their partners up at the DCCC launching malicious and knowingly false accusations for days."
Bascom adds, "Come on. This sounds like lip service from a career politician and their DC campaign machine.”
The DCCC issued out a statement earlier this week accusing Jolly of lyingwhen he said that he had never lobbied for offshore drilling interests. Jolly and his team forcefully replied that while he had done lobbying with the particular company in question (Free Enterprise Nation), he had never lobbied for offshore drilling interests.