The gloves have come off as former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux, now running in the Republican primary to challenge Democrat incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, took aim at GOP rival U.S. Rep. Connie Mack on Wednesday, attacking the congressmans character and his handling of personal finances -- even comparing Mack to Charlie Sheen.
Mack's camp fired back, attacking LeMieux as an "insiders insider and a truly extraordinary political hack."
LeMieux called Mack the Charlie Sheen of Florida politics before adding that may be disrespectful to Charlie Sheen.
The Republican hopeful spoke to the media in Tallahassee on Wednesday and insisted that he had major policy differences with Mack. The former senator, who served 16 months in Washington after being appointed to the Senate by then-Gov. Charlie Crist, hammered Mack, maintaining that the congressman supported earmarks, backed raising the debt ceiling and was the most strident critic of all Republicans on the Arizona immigration law.
But the focus of LeMieuxs attacks was on Macks character and personal finances, insisting there was a history of 20 years of numerous ethical and moral lapses.
Insisting that some voters believe that Mack is actually his father -- who held the Senate seat Nelson currently possesses from 1989 until 2001 -- LeMieux tried to draw some space between them, insisting he admires the older Mack.
Connie Mack the Fourths past is a series of serious incidents that raise real questions regarding his fitness to serve in the United States Senate," LeMieux said. Mack the Fourth has a history of violence and abuse, including road rage incidents, bar brawls, arrests and threatening his former wife.
LeMieux maintained that attacking Macks character was fair game, noting that the congressman had launched personal attacks against Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich on behalf of Mitt Romneys campaign, U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., and Nelson.
Citing a Miami Herald article from last week, LeMieux noted Mack, in the late 1980s, had two road rage incidents and was arrested for assaulting an off-duty police officer in Jacksonville. LeMieux noted of that last incident, which occurred in 1989, that Mack requested the record to be sealed and they are sealed to this day.
LeMieux also noted that Mack got into a bar fight with Ron Gant, then an outfielder with the Atlanta Braves, in 1992 in what he called a Charlie Sheen-type incident. The former senator also bashed Mack for his messy divorce in 2005, insisting that the congressmen threatened his then wife.
The former senator also unloaded on his opponents financial history. Mack has also had a history of financial misconduct, LeMieux told the media in Tallahassee.
LeMieux bashed Mack for entering into a promissory note for an unpaid yacht club bill in 2003 that he did not pay -- leading the yacht club to sue him in 2007. LeMeux also highlighted that Mack spent more than he earned in 2005 and had to borrow money from his father to pay his taxes. He also bashed Mack for overdrawing his checking account in 2006, comparing it to the House banking scandal of the early 1990s. LeMieux also noted that Mack faced liens in 2006 for not paying condo and legal fees.
LeMieux went back to Macks divorce, insisting that in 2006the congressman failed to make a support payment to his wife; they are going through a divorce.
LeMieux continued to compare Mack to Charlie Sheen and insisted he would not be able to beat Nelson. You cannot study a rap sheet like that without concluding that Connie Mack the Fourth is the Charlie Sheen of Florida politics," LeMieux said. It would be funny, were it not so serious. Connie Mack the Fourth lacks the character and temperament to serve as a United States senator.
Gazing out into November, LeMieux said Nelson would be able to defeat Mack. If our standard-bearer has all these troubles, he will not beat Bill Nelson, he said, maintaining Democrats need to keep the seat to retain control of the Senate.
Taking questions from the media, LeMieux said his campaign is going well and pointed to winning a straw poll this weekend held by the Florida Federation of Republican Women in Tallahassee.
Just as he had in an FFRW forum on Sunday, LeMieux ripped into Macks Penny Plan, which would mandate a 1 percent reduction in federal spending until 2017 before imposing a spending cap in 2018. That cap would mandate the total cost of the federal government not exceed 18 percent of the total gross domestic product. Mack insists the plan would cut $7.5 trillion from the federal government over the next decade. The measure has earned the backing of a number of prominent Republicans in Congress as well as conservative organizations.
LeMieux called Macks plan a gimmick and said it would do nothing to reduce the size and cost of the federal government.
You cant cut 1 percent a year and go to balance, LeMieux said before continuing to unload on Macks proposal. Its not genuine and its not a real proposal.
LeMieux said his 2007 Solution, which would return federal spending to what it was that year, would be a better alternative, insisting it would balance the budget in two years.
The Mack camp quickly fired back, sending an open letter to LeMieux less than an hour after his media event started. Jeff Cohen, Macks campaign manager, linked LeMieux to Crist who remains unpopular with Republicans for having abandoned the GOP to continue running for the U.S. Senate with no party affiliation. Mack had been a supporter of Crist though the congressman was generally considered not as close to the former governor as LeMieux was.
When we first met many years ago, you were a brash and ambitious political operative, Cohen started the letter. You prided yourself in being a take-no-prisoners, bare-knuckled political junkie. All are traits that served you quite well as you made a name for yourself as the mastermind of Charlie Crists political machine. But lets be honest with each other -- you know as well as the rest of us that as your power grew, so too did your thirst for more. Its written all over you.
Cohen also sought to tie LeMieux to other political leaders including Jim Greer, the disgraced former chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, and President Barack Obama.
From the moment you were appointed as Charlie Crists deputy attorney general, to your engineering of Charlies campaign for governor, to being the go-to-guy in Charlies office, and to being the puppet-master of Jim Greers chairmanship, the more success and power you had, the more you needed even more of both, Cohen continued.
Thats not to say you didnt care about public policy. After all, you were a forceful and articulate public advocate for the left-wing issues that you and Charlie really cared about -- enacting cap-and-trade, passing the stimulus, and rejecting efforts to cut Floridas budget. You probably thought that hugging Barack Obama was a good photo op for Charlie, too.
Cohen also smacked LeMieuxs record, insisting that the former senator is a political senator with a history of lobbying.
At some point you realized you could cash in on your long and incredibly close professional and personal relationship with Charlie Crist, Cohen wrote. You became one of the wealthiest lobbyists, err consultants, in Florida. And even though you were (and if one believes the newspapers, still are) caught up in the lingering scandals with the RPOF and Jim Greer, Charlie appointed you to the U.S. Senate without you ever having previously had a single moment in elective office. That must have been a sweet gig -- warming the seat you thought would become Charlies while looking out for Charlies special interests both in Washington and Tallahassee. Indeed, George, you became exactly what you always wanted to be -- a rich and powerful man with powerful friends. I wonder, did the fact that you got there without the credentials or qualifications of any kind make it even better?
As a political operative myself, I cant but help admire how well you worked the system. You became the insiders insider, Cohen continued. But, George, this isnt just about politics. No longer can you be the liberal (or is it amoral?) political operative who created Charlie Crist. Now its about the future of our country.
Cohen attempted to turn LeMieuxs argument against Mack around on the former senator -- arguing that LeMieux is not suitable to serve in the Senate.
The fact that you would hold a press conference that does nothing more than help Bill Nelson and gives you a few more lines in the newspaper by trying again to take no prisoners is frankly why youre not suitable, eligible or desirable to serve in any elective office, and certainly not in the United States Senate, Cohen wrote. George, if it werent so pathetic it would only be sad. But your behavior is damaging to you, our party, our state and the country.
Cohen ended with an attempt to insist that Mack is a conservative and that the Republican field should focus on attacking Nelson and Obama -- though Cohen worked one last shot against LeMieux in his letter.
You should leave the fight for freedom to Connie Mack and other principled conservatives. No doubt theyll leave the fight for the special interests and other power plays to you, Cohen wrote. Its time, George, for this race to go back to focusing on stopping Bill Nelson and Barack Obama from inflicting any more damage on our state and our country. And its time for you to go back to what you do best -- being an insiders insider and a truly extraordinary political hack.
Mack leads LeMieux and retired Army officer and businessman Mike McCalister, who ran for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 2010, in the polls.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinstatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
