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Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Wednesday's Maddoxgate coverage: Strike 3 for Maddox?

SpTimes Editorial

http://www.sptimes.com/2005/06/30/Opinion/The__Debbie_did_it__d.shtml


AP Story

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/florida/MGBCF3SKIAE.html

38 comments:

Anonymous said...

When the heck are you guys going to give up. All of this amounts to slander of a perfectly good man's name. Unlike Jeb Bush and the Republicans Scott Maddox has been accountable for his actions and unlike Jeb Bush who the media and blogs give a pass to, you gys pile on and try and ruin his life. SHAME ON YOU!

Kartik said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Kartik said...

The new Florida Insider poll conucted by Matthew Towery has Bill Nelson with a 49-41 lead over Katherine Harris in the Senate race, and Jim Davis leading the Democratic Governor's race with 27% of the vote. Scott Maddox is at 9% and Rod Smith at 7%.

Anonymous said...

I agree with the above posts that this story has gotten way out of hand. Thankfully the July 4th weekend is coming an the press will take a hiatus from this mindless pursuit of finishing off an already bleeing politician when the liar in chief gives such a b/s address to the nation and no critical analysis is given.

Anonymous said...

I think the point here is that Maddox continues to put the short term interests of his ego before the long term interests of his party.

For every day he continues to press on in his already discredited campaign for Governor, he continues to provoke another days coverahge of his lingering problems which not only cast a pall on his doomed candidacy but over our Democratic party.

Scott could still salvage his reputation and long term political ambitions by gracefully removing himself (and his problems) from the discussion, but he stubbornly insists to defend the indefensible and that is why the coverage in the press and on this and other Democratic blogs continues.

As Democratic fundraising giant John Morgan put it in one of the aforementioned articles,

"It's over for Scott. I just don't think he knows it's over yet."

Indeed.

Anonymous said...

Kartik,

STOP THIS S%^& ! We need to stop eating each other and allowing Bush and his buddies in the media to divide and conquer us. The GOP wants Jim Davis or Rod Smith to be the nominee badly. They are going to get their wish, unless you quit this or someone else gets in this race.

Anonymous said...

Now, according to today's Tallahassee Democrat, Maddox doesn't pay his property taxes!!

Whose fault was that Scott?!!?

Get out already so that we Democrats can have a fightin' chance!

Anonymous said...

Strike 3 for Maddox? How about Strike 3 for the Democrats. It would be wise if you guys backed off and let this thing play out and not bring any more publicity to the woes of the party or our onetime leader.

Anonymous said...

Call it Maddox Fatigue. I think we are getting tired of this even though we don't excuse Maddox's actions.

Anonymous said...

Maddox raised $130,000 at an event? I guess the donors don't buy into this scandal!

Anonymous said...

Kartik,

Keep the stories coming. We need to take out the trash in our party which is currently a super minority in the State of Florida. The same people that claim you are dividing the party with this blog are the same folks who behave like we are a majoirty party and that our leadership who has failed to understand the pulse of the voter in this state is outstanding and deserves deference on every decision.

Maddox fans, do you want the Democrats to come back to power in your lifetime? Dump your candidate and use your advocacy and positive energy to formulate a new beginning for Florida Democrats, and stop whining!

Anonymous said...

If you Maddoxites are getting squeamish with this, you think you can handle the GOP machine?

Maddox fatigue is a load of BS. Anyone that's been around Tallahassee knows these stories have been waiting to come out for a while.

This is only the beginning of the tragic, beautiful, and justified end of Scott Maddox's career.

Anonymous said...

Here's a bright idea:

Why don't we all chip in to help the party get over this story and stop feeding it. Instead let's take all this negative energy that is being directed on these blog sites that I firmly believe is in fact feeding the newspapers to go after Jeb Bush and George W. Bush instead.

Anonymous said...

Maddox is still in the game according to a recent poll. The breakdown is 24 for Davis 16 for Maddox 9 for Smith

Anonymous said...

Maddox seems to have mistakes all related to one person whose shirking of responsiblity he is paying for. Maddox deserves more of a pass for this- obviously the woman's husband is very ill and he has provided her with a job and place to live because of her financial and mental state. this is in direct contrast to the Governor who failed to even show in court to support his own daughter when she was arraigned on drug charges or failed to support his youngest son when he was caught in the back of the car having sex with a young girl who was underage. Bush is a bad parent and a bad man. Maddox is a compassionate man who made a bad decision about someone. BIG DIFFERENCE.

Anonymous said...

Maddox made a bad decision about whom to hire. A real leader will grow from this poor decision and I believe Maddox will. I am supporting Rod Smith for Governor because I firmly believe he will win the counties in North Florida which we have not been winning and we need to nominate a person who can win GOP leaning areas. However, Maddox is not the anti christ everyone seems to be describing these days.

Anonymous said...

Kartik,


You are someone with a reputation throughout this state for being brainy and somewhat witty. This blog of yours started with much promise: one of our brightest minds in the party commenting on issues of the day, and you held up your end of the bargain until this Maddox story broke. Now your blog is essentially a daily rag of gossip and talking points provided by the Smith and Davis camps. You need to quit this before you lose your credibility which you have spent years building.

Take this from me, a friend of yours who has chosen not to identify myself so you don’t get angry with me. Move on to something else, the stuff you promised your readers last week but have dropped in favor of gossip mongering and personal vendettas.


Your friend

Anonymous said...

Posting links to stories in dialy papers isn't gossip mongering or publishing a rag. What the heck are you talking about?

Anonymous said...

Let this sick puppy die!

Anonymous said...

So our choices are a whore of the Sugar industry who also votes with the NRA (Rod Smith) or someone who has sold out American jobs to foreign countries and votes with big business in Congress. (Davis). And you wonder why we keep losing? Scott Maddox wasa flawed figure: an egomaniac and shameless self promoter. Unlike his opponents though, he was a pure Democrat. I'm torn over all of this. I know Maddox is slime, but at least he is our slime and since slime keeps winning elections in this state why not him?

Anonymous said...

Maddox people: Realize that this story is perpetuating itself because your Kool Aid Man is not good at dealing with negative press.

HE has the power.

AP: Poll: Maddox's candidacy in trouble over financial problems
By BRENT KALLESTAD
Story last updated at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 29, 2005
http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/apnews/stories/062905/D8B1EBPG2.shtml

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Former Tallahassee Mayor Scott Maddox's gubernatorial
bid is being damaged by reports of financial problems during his term as
chairman of the state Democratic Party, a poll released Wednesday indicates.

Maddox, who had support of 22 percent of the Democrats questioned in a
similar poll in April, fell to 16 percent in the survey by Quinnipiac
University Polling Institute taken June 22-26. Pollsters went into the field
a day after the story broke that the Internal Revenue Service had slapped a
lien on the Democratic Party's last $98,000 for unpaid social security and
payroll taxes in 2003 when Maddox was its chairman.

"You have to conclude that it is beginning to hurt him," said Clay Richards,
assistant polling director for Quinnipiac.

The party is also trying to resolve a $900,000 bookkeeping discrepancy on
its balance sheets for the 2003-04 years. A former party bookkeeper said
earlier this week that the problems were caused by her mistakes and that she
had never informed Maddox.

But Maddox has also acknowledged he only recently paid overdue Leon County
property taxes of $2,632.47, another potentially embarrassing situation for
a candidate seeking to sell his management skills as an administrator to
voters.

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Jim Davis held steady in the new poll with support of
24 percent of the 423 Democrats interviewed while state Sen. Rod Smith,
D-Alachua, dropped to just 7 percent from 16 percent two months earlier.

"It is the kind of situation that provides an opportunity for some other
candidates to jump into the race," Richards said.

Half of the Democrats sampled said they either didn't know who they'd vote
for.

The sample on polling of Democratic voters carried a margin of error of plus
and/or minus 4.8 percentage points.

On the Republican side, Attorney General Charlie Crist was favored by 43
percent of the 477 registered GOP voters questioned to 31 percent who said
they supported Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher.

"It is very early in that race and there's nothing that would make a big
difference at this time," Richards offered. "That's still going to be a
horse race to be fought out next year."

Only 5 percent of the respondents said they'd want to see someone else in
that race to vote for.

In an early look at the U.S. Senate race in 2006, voters indicated they have
doubts about U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, but the poll showed him ahead of any of
the present Republican hopefuls - including U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris.

However, Nelson would have a slightly more difficult time against Harris
than either state House Speaker Allan Bense or Senate President Tom Lee, who
decided last week to opt for a Cabinet post instead.

Quinnipiac surveyed 1,248 registered voters for its Senate survey, which has
a margin of error of plus and/or minus 2.8 percentage points.

Quinnipiac's snapshot of that race some 14 months before the primary showed
Nelson favored by 55 percent of those asked to 26 percent for Bense. Lee,
who is now out of that contest, actually fared a bit better, trailing Nelson
53-30.

Nelson was favored by 50 percent compared to 38 percent for Harris, who may
get a challenge from Bense, a wealthy Panama City developer being courted by
the White House and Gov. Jeb Bush to get into the race.

But winning the primary could be a problem for the lesser known state
lawmakers.

Harris would easily defeat either GOP challenger if an election were held
now, the Quinnipiac survey indicated.

She was favored by 54 percent of the Republicans surveyed to Lee's 10
percent and just 6 percent for Bense.

After nearly five years in office, Nelson's support is lukewarm, even among
Democrats. He received a 46 percent job approval rating from those
questioned and even 36 percent of the Democratic respondents said they'd
rather see someone else in Nelson's job.

"Those wavering Democrats come scurrying home, however, when Harris is
Nelson's opponent," Richards said Wednesday.

Harris is still remembered, unfavorably by some, for her role as Florida's
secretary of state in the 2000 presidential election recount although 44
percent said it would make no difference on how they'd vote.

Florida's newly elected U.S. Sen. Republican Mel Martinez of Orlando,
received a 45 percent approval rate compared to 29 percent who disapproved.
Another 26 percent said they didn't know. Martinez was elected last year.

Anonymous said...

It is critical that we move beyond this NOW. We need to reunite our party and this is no way to do it.

Anonymous said...

The sooner the Democrats rid themselves of the toxic candidacy of Scott Maddox, the sooner we can unite behind the other two outstanding candidates, Jim Davis and Rod Smith either of whom would make an excellent nominee for Governor.

Anonymous said...

Kartik's not fueling the fire...we all are by commenting on it...he's just giving us the news.

Scott Maddox can't admit he's done anything wrong...he blames everything on someone else, like the post office, for example.

Wake up, people! I'm not thrilled with any of our choices right now, and yes, we are destroying ourselves internally...maybe some of you will join me after the Primary with a Democrats for Crist blog?

Anonymous said...

Maddox is mortally wounder. Give it up, guys!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Pleeeeeeze Maddox fans, hold your fire.


Your candidate is dead. He allowed the organization he headed which happened to be OUR party to have an IRS lien placed on it. Then he blamed a staffer. He cooked the books. Now he he didn't pay personal property taxes. What the next shoe to drop.

If you don't like Jim Davis or Rod Smith, learn to like one of them. One of them will be our nominee next year.

Anonymous said...

March onward Maddox soldiers. The truth will come out soon!

Anonymous said...

Scott Maddox is a man of great honor and leadership. He has taken full responsibility for the problems at the party despite the fact that a staffer made a terrible mistake. It is about time for Democrats to stop eating Democrats.

Anonymous said...

I have learned that the results of the audit to be released today we clear Scott Maddox of all wrongdoing. My source tells me a simple computer glitch created the accounting problem

Anonymous said...

If we keep Picking Candidates who are just like Charlie Crist "a likable moderate"
why would anyone back our Republican lite Candidate
the DLC branch of our party better WAKE UP
if we keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect a diffrent out come= "INSANITY"

by the look of the last week the Right Of our Party are prepared to feed our young to the wolfs for there own agenda
Allen Boyd and his "Farm Team' may hand all of the Statewide offices right back to the GOP
leaving us only Nelson as a elected Democrat



Traditional Democratic stalwarts helping Crist

http://tinyurl.com/dl6by
Several trial lawyers - a favorite target of Republicans - are hosting fundraisers for the GOP gubernatorial candidate.
By ADAM C. SMITH, Times Political Editor
Published June 30, 2005


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Some of Florida's top trial lawyers, long a backbone of the Democratic Party, are helping Republican Charlie Crist in the 2006 governor's race.

"God forbid there has to be another Republican governor, but if there is I think the one that's most reasonable is Charlie Crist," said Pensacola trial lawyer Fred Levin, who this week hosted gubernatorial fundraisers for Crist and Democratic state Sen. Rod Smith of Alachua.

"At least I would know there's someone in there I could talk to," Levin said.

In Orlando on Wednesday night, Crist raised money at the home of John Morgan, one of the state's high-profile personal injury lawyers.

"He's disappointed me a lot through the years, but at least he's always been even-handed," said Morgan, who is also supporting Smith in the Democratic primary.

Compliments from plaintiffs' lawyers are not something to boast about in a Republican primary, and the gubernatorial campaign of Republican Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher eagerly noted that.

"It's a signal that they've chosen their preferred candidate who will be least supportive of lawsuit reform," said Brett Doster, Gallagher's campaign manager. He said many Republicans are backing Gallagher because they see him as more likely to clamp down on lawsuits.

Republican leaders routinely vilify "greedy trial lawyers" for driving up medical and insurance costs with frivolous lawsuits. Gov. Jeb Bush and President Bush have struggled to pass tough restrictions on lawsuits, including caps on damages.

Gallagher supports capping damages and noted in a phone interview that restricting lawsuits is a top priority.

He said he would not criticize Crist for attending a fundraiser hosted by trial lawyers. "That's for the voters to judge."

In Orlando, Morgan noted that he has hosted multiple fundraisers for Gallagher over the years, starting with Gallagher's 1986 campaign for governor.

"I'd tell Tom Gallagher to remember sitting on my back porch having a whiskey drink with me (after a 1986 fundraiser). Tom Gallagher didn't have a problem with it then," said Morgan, suggesting that Gallagher is merely trying to align himself with the most conservative wing of his party.

Crist said he wants to curb frivolous lawsuits, but "it would be unconscionable to take away the rights of individuals who have been aggrieved to have appropriate compensation."

"I'm the chief legal officer in the state," he said. "I would be pretty disappointed if at least some lawyers in the state didn't help me, and I'm grateful some of my father's colleagues have been helping me too."

Crist's father is a St. Petersburg doctor. Doctors and trial lawyers often butt heads in Tallahassee, and Crist said he's glad to have support from both sides. Likewise, business leaders such as Florida Chamber of Commerce CEO Vern Buchanan are backing Crist.

"On any industry debate, if you go to the extreme on either end it's probably not good public policy," Crist said.

A Crist fundraiser in Tampa last week underscored his point about diverse support. Among those joining George Steinbrenner on the host committee were the chief of surgery at St. Joseph's Hospital, Dr. Joseph Diaco, and one of the state's prominent trial lawyers, Steve Yerrid.

"I am firmly convinced that Charlie Crist is the right candidate at this time," said Yerrid, a Tampa Democrat who, despite a friendship with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jim Davis, expects to back Crist in the primary and general election. "We need somebody on the Republican side to be more of a unifier."

--Adam C. Smith can be reached at 727 893-8241 or adam@sptimes.com

Anonymous said...

Today, Scott Maddox will be cleared of all charges related to this accounting situation. I have recieved confirmation of such and am very much relieved.

This attempt by the right wing of our party to bring down Maddox in order to continue the business as usual insider mindset in our party has failed. The group of Democratic leaders based out of Tallahassee who consistently lose elections for our party will be exposed.

Rod Smith's campaign I am told has been feeding these stories. Besides being the most conservative person to seek the Democratic nomination for Governor in a generation, Rod Smith is handpicked candidate of the lobbyists as well as special interests such as sugar and the NRA. His campaign is being run by a group of people who have had their finger at the controls during the Democrats demise in this state. It is imperative we send a message that we are tired of losing elections!

Anonymous said...

Jeff,

What will today's audit show?

Anonymous said...

Maddox may be cleared in the audit but that does not explain the mess with the IRS. That still needs to be ironed out.

Anonymous said...

I do not believe that Maddox will recover from these constant hits. He needs to get out of the race now. He can still preserve himself for the future if he does that. It's not like any of the Democratic statewide candidates are likely to win anyway. It may work out for Maddox long term.

Anonymous said...

I think everyone needs to know the real truth about Jeff Tinsley - the Jeff who posted above.

Jeff is an active supporter of the Maddox campaign. On the day that Maddox announced his candidacy for governor, Jeff sent out a vicious attack email, blasting Congressman Jim Davis and Senator Rod Smith, Maddox's two opponents in the primary. While Jeff's original email had merit and did raise legitimate concerns about Davis and Smith, it is somewhat hypocritical for Maddox supporters to complain about their candidate getting hit hard with mud when it was the Maddox campaign that lashed out first at its opponents.

Last night, Jeff sent out another email to Maddox supporters asking them to bombard the blogosphere and post comments to make it appear as if the majority of Democrats support Maddox's run for governor and reject the latest scandals. The tactic that Jeff has endorsed is commonly known as "freeping" and is used by right-wing activists to rig online polls and discussion boards.

Below is the email sent out last night by Jeff Tinsley, a Scott Maddox operative:

----- Original Message -----
From: jefftinsley2000@yahoo.com
To:
Sent: Wednesday, June 29, 2005 5:14 PM
Subject: Blogs: getting our message out.

I am organizing, independent of the Maddox campaign, an effort to correct the record about skewed anti-Maddox propaganda appearing on blog sites throughout the state. The two sites I have been monitoring are www.floridapolitix.blogspot.com, a website run by James Haywood a notorious hater of Scott Maddox. Also being monitored is www.kartiksworld.blogspot.com, which is website run by Kartik Krishnaiyer a paid political operative supporting one of Mayor Maddox's primary opponents. Kartik Krishnaiyer, has also been directing reporters from the St Pete Times to his blog site in order to help feed the Times continued hatchet job on Scott Maddox. I would like to get as many friendly posts on these blogsites as possible to let everybody know where we stand. Also, any information on other blog sites would be helpful. I understand Derek Newton another Democratic operative hostile to Scott Maddox has his own blogsite as well. It is important that we monitor any of his postings as well, though I have failed to find his blog. Also please post on Josh Hicks excellent website, http://maddoxforgovernor06.blogspot.com/. Josh is one of the finest young leaders our party has and it is important to support his efforts as much as we possibly can.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Jeff Tinsley

Anonymous said...

Busted Jeff!!!

Nice work anonymous!!

Kartik said...

I also thank the above anonymous poster. For the record I am not the source of these allegations against Scott Maddox. In fact, the print media in this state has been covering this story quite well and what we are simply doing on this website is allowing active and concerned Democrats to post their views about the continuing firestorm. While it is true that many reporters around the state regularly check my website, we do not create news, we merely give opinion about already published news stories.

Also, it is certainly very true that Scott Maddox is not preferred candidate in the race for the Democratic nomination. However, I do not wish him any ill will and any injury to his personal reputation or political career from this scandal has little to do with the opinions expressed on this website by those of us who are concerned about the party’s future. Thank you for your continued patronage and readership of this website.

Kartik

Anonymous said...

The audit is now completed & the conclusions are in... read it & weep:

MADDOX IS TOAST!!

Posted on Thu, Jun. 30, 2005

Report: Democrats financial problems caused by Maddox

BRENT KALLESTAD
Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Investigators found no fraud, but blamed an accounting scandal at the Democratic Party on poor hiring decisions by former state chairman Scott Maddox, who is seeking the party's gubernatorial nomination.

"The comptroller ... was in over her head," said former statewide prosecutor Melanie Hines, who was hired by new Democratic Party Chairwoman Karen Thurman to investigate how the party missed federal tax payments in 2003 and lost track of more than $900,000.

Maddox, the investigation found, played no direct role in the mistakes, but was also unaware of the problems despite pleas from the comptroller for help.

The chairman's chief of staff, longtime aide Paige Carter-Smith, was told by outside accountants about the failure to pay the Social Security and payroll taxes during two quarters in 2003, but didn't remember the conversation, Hines said.

Carter-Smith and Maddox, however, were criticized for their hiring choices.

"We know that the responsibility for the management of the payroll system was assigned to an individual who had no prior experience in that specific task," Hines said. "And who appeared not to have been trained in that duty" with only a "rudimentary understanding of the process."

Hines said the comptroller, Debbie Griffin-Bruton, repeatedly told her managers about her concerns about her ability to handle the job.

Maddox said he was not aware of the problems before last week's disclosure by Thurman, who only became chairwoman in May.

Thurman said the party has paid off its obligation of slightly more than $200,000 to the Internal Revenue Service, which included interest and penalties. She said the party had about $80,000 in its account Thursday.

Thurman also offered a new five-point plan she said would restore confidence among Democrats in the party's business operations and pledged to find "excellent, credible candidates for every public office."

She would not, however, say whether she believed her Maddox remains a credible gubernatorial candidate in the aftermath of the bookkeeping mess she inherited from him.

Maddox scheduled a press availability later to talk about the findings and his future. Griffin-Bruton issued a statement this week accepting blame for the problems.

The state Republican Party, which operates with a larger staff at its Tallahassee headquarters, has raised close to $5 million already this year as it readies for the 2006 campaign cycle highlighted by races for governor and the U.S. Senate.

ON THE NET

Florida Democratic Party: http://www.fladems.com/


© 2005 AP Wire and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.tallahassee.com

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I am the host of the Major League Soccer Talk and EPL Talk Podcasts and am frequent guest on other (world) football shows. I am also the publisher of various other websites including this one. I work in public/government relations in addition to my soccer work and have a keen interest in history, politics, aviation, travel,and the world around us.

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