2012 in Weird Florida Politics: Part One of the WTF Florida Awards
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We'll be giving away awards in four categories all week, and today we start with politics.
Read also:
- 2012 In Weird Florida Crime and Drugsx
- 2012 In Weird Florida Sex
Outstanding Achievement in Campaign Stupidity
This past twelve months was truly a staggering display of stupidity on the campaign trail by Florida politicos. From a guy who changed his name to his campaign website to bogus ringer candidates paid in envelopes of cash to cocaine smugglers holding campaign rallies, here are your nominees:
- Independent House candidate VoteForEddie.Com for legally changing his name to VoteForEddie.Com
- Rep. David Rivera for allegedly running the campaign of a ringer candidate in his opponent's primary.
- Mitt Romney for holding a campaign event at a restaurant owned by a convicted cocaine smuggler
- Rep. Connie Mack IV for calling a heckler a jackass at a gas station campaign stop
Novelists couldn't come up with a more bizarre political thriller than this. Rivera's reputation for shady behavior was threatening his reelection chances, so what does he do? Allegedly try to pull off his shadiest stunt yet. His "good friend" Ana Sol Alliegro allegedly ran the campaign of Justin "Lamar" Sternad in the Democratic primary apparently solely to attack eventual Dem nominee Joe Garcia. Sternad has now told the FBI that Rivera was behind the whole affair that involved race-baiting flyers paid for by envelopes full of cash, and went by the codename of "The Gangster." Oh, yeah, and Alliegro turned up missing and still hasn't been found. Suffice it to say, Rivera did not win.
































