The Florida Democratic Party unveiled a new television ad on Tuesday which hits Gov. Rick Scott on education. The new ad claims Scott has cut education funding, raised tuition for higher education and hampered the middle class.
To build Floridas economy of the future, our public education system must be the best in the world, said Joshua Karp, a spokesman for the Florida Democrats, on Tuesday. But Rick Scott just doesnt get it. He cut public schools by $1.3 billion and hiked tuition at 11 public colleges in order to pay for even more tax breaks for wealthy special interests. A quality, affordable education is the best path to the middle class for millions of Floridians, but Rick Scott keeps the doors of opportunity closed. Thats why Floridians just cant trust Rick Scott. Floridas children deserve better than Rick Scott -- they deserve a governor who will be on their side.
This is the second ad released against Scott by the Florida Democrats.
With Florida Democrats insisting Rick Scott is not on your side in the new ad, the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) hit back at former Gov. Charlie Crist, the favorite for the Democratic nomination despite spending most of his political life in the GOP. Susan Hepworth, a spokeswoman for the RPOF, pounded Crist on Tuesday for refusing to release his wifes tax returns, a theme the Scott camp has played up in recent days.
"Charlie Crist is running away -- again, Hepworth said on Tuesday. This time he is running from the fact that he is not transparent and doesn't want to honor the tradition of Florida gubernatorial candidates releasing tax returns for both themselves and their spouses. But false, negative TV ads can't hide Charlie from Florida's standards of transparency."
"Charlie Crist presided over the layoffs of thousands of Florida teachers, tax increases and college tuition increases on the middle class, and never gave teachers a pay raise, said Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine, the chairman of Scotts campaign, in response to the ad. No wonder Charlie Crist still hasn't released the education policy he said would be ready in June. He has no record on education and no vision for where to take our education system in the future."
Scott has been focusing on veterans' issues this week and his team followed suit with a new ad of their own. On Tuesday, the Scott campaign unveiled a Web ad featuring Sgt. Luke Murphy, an Iraq veteran who received the Purple Heart after losing his leg due to a bomb, praising the governors record on leadership and veterans issues.
Murphy throws a slight jab at Crist in the ad. What we had before Rick Scott was not leadership, Murphy says in the video.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com.
