What a lowdown dirty campaign trick!
Democrat primary voters in Florida have been receiving robo calls from someone purporting to be gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist taking positions antithetical to the beliefs of most liberals. Obviously this was designed to harm Crist and many Democrats on the receiving end of the call complained that it must have been an imposter on the line. Fortunately, Tampa Bay Times Political Editor Adam C. Smith investigated and was able to discover the unethical cur who claimed to be Crist. The results of his investigation are below but first listen to the robo call voice that is undercutting Crist's campaign:
"Hi, this is Charlie Crist calling to set the record straight. I'm prolife. I oppose amnesty for illegal immigrants, I support traditional marriage, and I have never supported a new tax or big spending program. It's sad that in his fourth try for governor my opponent has resorted to distortions and untruths. … Floridians need a consistent, conservative governor that they can trust. I would appreciate your vote on election day. Thank you so much and God bless you, and God bless Florida."
Naturally this call sparked outrage from many Democrats. Here are a few examples of their outbursts:
"It had someone who sounded like Charlie Crist, saying, '… I stand for traditional marriage, I'm prolife, I'm against amnesty for illegal immigrants,'" said one caller on our voice mail. "That seemed clearly like fraud."
On a website tracking unwanted callers, "gd" wrote: "just received a call with edited snippets of Charlie Crist or some voice imitater designed to make him appear conservative. Despicable conservative GOP tricks; would not expect any better from Gov Scott the Medicare rippoff felon."
At the Miami Herald which also carried Smith's report there was the same complaint from another outraged Democrat:
“I was shocked. I wondered if it was somebody that sounded like him, because I know those are not his views,” said Debra Schlact of Tampa, who speculated the calls were fraud.
So who was that voice in the robo calls? Here is the conclusion of Smith's investigation:
Actually, the only thing nefarious about the call is its source, which is kept from anyone receiving the call. A woman at the end of the recording saying it was paid for by "The Conservative" and includes a phone number — (727) 350-9348 — that when reached gives calls the option of being removed from a call list. This appears to the connected to a political committee run by Stafford Jones, a Republican operative and Alachua party chairman, who enjoys making mischief in Democratic primaries.
The recording itself is indeed Charlie Crist — circa 2006, when he was campaigning against fellow Republican Tom Gallagher for the gubernatorial nomination.
Yup. That voice on the robo call actually was Charlie Crist. Charlie Crist 2006 "smearing" Charlie Crist 2014 who is trying to curry favor with Democrats.
