‘Blood on her hands’: Jeff Greene slams NRA lobbyist as mailer flap continues

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jeff Greene is sending out mailers as the August primary comes into focus, with one in particular appalling its intended target.

The front of the mailer quotes Greene saying: “As a father, I won’t stand by while the NRA turns our kids into targets.”

The graphic reinforces the text: Under the quote, graphics of targets shaped like students, with the phrase ‘AR Practice’ and the familiar NRA logo on the target boards.

The back of the mailer offers another quote from Greene, who asserts that he would never take NRA “blood money.”

Per Tuesday’s Tampa Bay Times, NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer finds the mailer “repulsive,” adding that Greene is “bankrupt of ideas and he has to resort to these dumb ideas to try and get attention for himself and his campaign.”

It took Greene nearly 24 hours to compose a response, but when he did, he responded in kind.

“Marion Hammer isn’t just a proud NRA member—she’s their hired gun. As a father, I find it ‘repulsive’ that people like Marion defend the NRA over the lives of our children. She may not have pulled the trigger, but she has blood on her hands,” Greene asserted.

Hammer was unimpressed: “Jeff Greene has lost what little credibility he may have had.   His unlawful use of NRA’s protected logo is a demonstration of his recklessness and his lack of integrity.  Clearly he thinks his money makes him above the law.”

The mailer copy is much less interesting than the subsequent rhetorical crossfire, ironically; it asserts that Greene is a “dad who will stand up to the NRA … a fighter with a real plan to stop gun violence.”

That plan includes an assault weapon ban, fixes to the background check system, and “block[ing] Trump’s crazy plan to arm teachers.”

In a Democratic primary where every candidate has offered promises along this theme for months, this mailer may seem like virtue signaling to cynics. However, for voters just plugging into this race, the bet clearly is that Greene’s proposals will seem like something they haven’t heard before.

Greene launched his campaign shortly before qualifying ended last month, citing a lack of excitement voters felt about his four opponents.

The latest poll of the race, conducted by Associated Industries of Florida, shows Greene at 13 percent, 11 points off the pace set by front-runner Gwen Graham.