Because of documents subpoenaed by the Florida Commission on Ethics and released to the public Tuesday, the citizens of Florida now have learned that Democratic gubernatorial nominee Andrew Gillum is a pathological liar.
And when confronted with anything against him, Andrew will ALWAYS play the race card.
It’s his modus operandi.
According to a story reported in the Tampa Bay Times Tuesday afternoon, Andrew’s former college buddy, campaign treasurer and former Tallahassee lobbyist Adam Corey revealed the Broadway tickets to “Hamilton” were a “gift,” a/k/a bribe, from an FBI undercover agent:
“The text messages show that, contrary to what his campaign has said, Gillum knew the tickets came from 'Mike Miller,' who was an FBI agent posing as a developer looking into city corruption."
"'Mike Miller and the crew have tickets for us to 'Hamilton' tonight at 8 p.m.,’ Corey texted Gillum on August 10, 2016."
"‘Awesome news about 'Hamilton,' Gillum replied, according to the records. The texts appear to refute what Gillum’s campaign said just days after his unlikely win in the Democratic primary for Florida governor.”
The newspaper story goes on to recite what happened in the national television debate: “During Sunday’s debate, DeSantis asked Gillum about the tickets. ‘Did you pay for the Hamilton tickets?’ DeSantis asked. Gillum avoided directly answering the question.”
The cheapest tickets for Hamilton are $452 and can go up to $1,399, depending on where you sit.
By the way Andrew, where did you sit?
And then Andrew played the well-worn race card.
In the Tallahassee Democrat Tuesday morning, Andrew responds “... that at every turn, I was paying my own way or was with my family, for all trips, including picking up tickets from my brother Marcus ... but this isn’t about a Broadway show. ... The goal is obviously to use my candidacy as a way to reinforce, frankly, stereotypes about black men, Gillum said.”
What stereotypes about black men, Andrew?
No one is suggesting anything about black men, we’re suggesting you are a liar and a crook. It’s about you, not your race. You just happen to be black.
But, Andrew can’t help himself, because if he can convince the mainstream media he’s being victimized because of his race, then he can obfuscate about the truth.
“'First of all, I am a grown man,’ Gillum replied. ‘My wife and I take vacations and we pay for our own vacations ... I don’t take free trips from anybody. I’m a hard-working person. I know that may not fit your description of what you think people like me do (emphasis added), but I’ve worked hard for everything that I’ve gotten in my life.'”
Wolf whistle anyone?
There’s no question in my mind that, indeed, Andrew has worked hard, but he’s worked hard at being corrupted by his lobbyist friends and living the high life.
The trips to New York City (yes, the Soros group paid for his travel to and from, but he stayed on and lived life to the fullest as an elected official being wined and dined by the FBI), the Middle East, and, of course, the infamous trip to Costa Rica that regular people wouldn’t ever get.
Please note that I didn’t say a black elected official, because Andrew’s corruption isn’t because of the color of his skin, it’s because of the lack of moral upbringing by his parents or in the alternative, his willingness to be corrupt so that he can enjoy the good life.
The trip to Costa Rica is suspect, as it always has been.
Gillum, ever the master of “bait and switch,” and “hook and crook,” always will say just enough to sound like he’s being forthcoming, but unfortunately for him, the facts never back him up.
So, let’s go back and dissect his statement above about him and his wife: “... we pay for our own vacations ...”
Technically, he did, since he says he gave his bud Corey $400 for the Costa Rica trip.
Except that Mr. Corey claims he never received any money from Andrew. Huh?
And to make matters worse, who in their right mind except Andrew and some Democratic apologists believe $400 would cover the cost for him and his wife to stay in a $1,400-per-night suite for four days and three nights?
Only Andrew and his coterie of corrupt lobbyist friends who underwrite his trips so he can feign ignorance about the true source of the money:
FBI, lobbyist, whatever.
As I said in a recent column in Sunshine State News about Andrew, it doesn’t matter if his brother gave him the money, his wife, or even his mother.
Andrew, if the money came from the FBI, it’s a bribe.
And, if you purposely don’t ask where the ticket came from, or who paid for the boat ride around Manhattan, or who paid for your hotel stay in a different NYC hotel, then you’re not only guilty of corruption, but stupidity as well.
And those ain’t great attributes that I want to see in the Governor’s Mansion.
You see, this is what happens when an underdog in the Dem primary skates through without anyone really digging and looking at your past as they do the frontrunners.
Wolf whistle.
I’m going to come out and say just what I think as a former executive director of the Florida Democratic Party and a lifelong Democrat.
Andrew, you’re a compulsive liar, a conniving, sniveling, self-victimized, race-baiting, mooching human being who has reached the epitome of the Peter Principle.
Am, I sugar-coating this too much?
Oh, you dress the part (Soros money, most likely).
You’re a suave, smooth talker who has convinced Tom Steyer and George Soros and those other pitiful liberal billionaires you’re worth the investment.
Except this time that pesky FBI thing is still hanging around your neck like an albatross.
Next, Andrew will, of course, re-direct the attack at his accuser, Adam Corey, but he can’t do anything about those texts.
The only question now is, will the mainstream media dig deeper and ask the really hard questions of Andrew, and the much-needed follow-up questions, so we can learn if Andrew is going to dig a deeper hole for himself or come clean?
My bet is on the former.
You see, an un-reconstructed liberal never has to admit guilt. All he has to do, if he's a minority, is play the race card and say he's being victimized, and the media will give him a bye.
They must, because all the state’s newspapers have endorsed him, and they certainly can’t admit they’re wrong now.
Not just two weeks before the election.
Again, let me be clear.
Andrew is guilty, not of being black, but of thinking that all the rest of us would swallow his glib, smooth-talking antics and savoir faire, that we’re soooo stupid we would elect him despite his disqualifying flaws, his lack of honesty, his failing morals, his willingness to say and do anything to get elected.
Barney Bishop III is a conservative Democrat who served as executive director of the Florida Democratic Party in the early 1990s.
