Prominent conservatives from across the nation, including former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former presidential candidate Gary Bauer, struck back Monday against an advertisement released over the weekend by Democratic U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson.
(See Wednesday's Sunshine State News Poll results in this race)
Grayson compared his Republican opponent -- former Florida House Speaker and Senate Majority Leader Daniel Webster -- to the Taliban.
The Grayson ad uses a Webster voice-over that repeats "Submit to me" to cast aspersions on the former Republican legislators conservative social views. The ad refers to Webster, who attends First Baptist Church of Central Florida as Taliban Dan. Most of Orlando is in the Eighth Congressional District, which Grayson currently represents in Congress.
Religious conservative leaders rallied to the defense of Webster, the first Republican House Speaker since Reconstruction, who has a state highway and a room in the Capitol named after him.
I am truly angry that a sitting U.S. Congressman would launch such a sleazy, bigoted and Christophobic attack against one of the cleanest and most effective legislators in the Florida Legislature, said Huckabee.
Huckabee, who ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 and moved to Florida earlier in the year, has been a strong supporter of Webster. The former Arkansas governors HuckPAC has endorsed Webster.
Alan Grayson shamelessly tried to distort and misrepresent Daniel Websters views on faith showing Florida voters exactly whats wrong with politics and this Congress, added Huckabee. This latest smear is just another reason voters need to fire Alan Grayson this November and elect Daniel Webster.
Alan Grayson is an embarrassment to the citizens of Florida, said Gary Bauer, best known for his bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000 and his tenure in charge of the Family Research Council. Bauer currently serves as chairman of the Campaign for Working Families, a PAC which has backed Webster. While the voters of his district lose their jobs and their homes, he conducts a campaign of smears and hatred against anyone who challenges the tax raising, big-government policies that he has voted for. Nov. 2 cant come quickly enough.
The Grayson ads are despicable and reach a new low, which reflect the character of the man who approved them, said John Stemberger, president of Florida Family Action. Christians everywhere ought to be outraged at Grayson and his bigoted claims.
The Webster camp responded to the ad Monday.
"Alan Grayson's latest attack on my husband is shameful," said Sandy Webster, Webster's wife of 38 years. "Dan has been an amazing husband and father, and the finest man I have ever known. Mr. Grayson should be ashamed of his nasty smears against my husband."
Brian Graham, a spokesman for Webster, noted that Grayson generally opposes military actions against the Taliban in the Middle East -- yet he compared Webster, who attends one of the largest churches in the state, to the Islamic terrorist organization.
"Alan Grayson is at it again, misleading voters with nasty negative ads against Sen. Webster, said Graham. Mr. Grayson is certainly no champion of respecting women, he even publicly called a woman a 'K Street whore.' To compare Daniel Webster to the Taliban is ludicrous.
He added, "Alan Grayson is simply trying to distract voters from his record of higher taxes, increased debt, and rising unemployment. Central Florida deserves better than Mr. Grayson's gutter-politics."
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859. Reach Ken Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com
