A.G. Gancarski
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.
6 comments
Concerned 2A Supporter and Proud NRA Member
July 24, 2018 at 8:46 am
That is just plain wrong and they know it! Dirty politics at its worst.
Frankie M.
July 24, 2018 at 1:09 pm
I wonder how much that nra lobbyist is getting paid?
Geoff
July 24, 2018 at 5:50 pm
The NRA Logo is Copyrighted. Violation.
Tina Marnier
July 25, 2018 at 10:41 pm
How can Mr Greene have the Gumption of talking about “blood in her hands” when one of his campaign goals is to fund the murder of unborn children?
What kind of hypocrisy is this?
Yet one of his many commercials speaks of him having “3 little reasons he’s running for government” (meaning his children), do other children not matter to him?
Aaron
July 26, 2018 at 12:43 pm
the NRA is indirectly responsible for thousands of incidents of gun violence every year. a woman’s right to have an abortion in the early stages of a pregnancy, particularly when there is a risk to her health or in the case of rape, is not equivalent to the murder of a child.
you know this. you are just too much of a coward to look at the reality of the debate.
you right-wing mouthbreathers are such cowards that you will only argue against the straw-man argument that you have built for yourselves about democrats wanting all abortion to be legal. nobody who matters is calling for that. democrats and progressives in general want women to have the choice to get an abortion in the early stages of a pregnancy, and/or in the case of risk to her health or when the pregnancy is the result of rape.
Greene cares about other children exactly as much as you think rape is a crime.
Samuel Stephens
July 31, 2018 at 7:21 pm
Who put target on child silhouettes, not the NRA.
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