Ausley gets aggressive in CFO race

But when asked about Ausley's ad, Republican party officials attacked....Alex Sink?  That's what RPOF executive director Ronnie Whitaker said today:

Loranne Ausley's latest attack has reached a new low even for her, and is just more of the same false attacks we've come to expect. Ausley’s new ad is so reckless and ill-considered that she stands to do more damage to Alex Sink than Jeff Atwater.

"If Loranne Ausley wants to make this race about banking, then she'd better prepare to discuss Alex Sink's record at NationsBank.

“During their wild mergers spree, Alex Sink was responsible for cutting thousands of Florida jobs, and entering the ethically shady subprime loan market. If that's where Loranne Ausley wants to take the dialogue, so be it, but she'd better clear her next ad with Alex Sink before she does more damage to the Democrat ticket.”

Atwater spokesman Brian Hughes called the Ausley web ad "a mudslinging attack...that lies about Jeff Atwater's professional experience." For good measure later in the broadside he makes sure to include "tax and spend liberal," in his response.

That response reveals two obvious factors: Though Sink left the banking profession a decade ago, the RPOF thinks such a mark on her resume makes her vulnerable in 2010 conditions  and intends to hammer it home, even it's a completely different Democrat that's attacking them.  Secondly, other than calling the charge "a lie," the Atwater camp insists he had little influence at the company, which might not be a great thing to boast about, especially considering Jeff made just a tad less than $200,000 at the bank in 2008.