Today's New York Times story on Florida seemingly getting swindled in the Everglades/U.S. Sugar deal from 2008 has been a nice gift to both the Marco Rubio and Kendrick Meek's campaigns today.
Rubio went on Glenn Beck's radio show this morning to blast his GOP Senate opponent, saying,
"We have an issue here in Florida right now that you alluded to earlier where you have the governor of the state of Florida, my primary opponent, who’s basically ramming down the throats of taxpayers a bailout of a sugar company where we’re playing almost twice the appraised value of land because it benefits some key supporters and insiders of his.
“That’s being forced down the throat of a water management district here where two new people were appointed specifically for the purpose of voting ‘yes’ on that bailout.”
Now Democratic Senate candidate Kendrick Meek is blasting away as well. In a letter sent to the governor today, Meek writes in part,
If the merits of this agreement remain strong, and I am not calling into question the validity of the deal, is Florida overpaying for U.S. Sugar land? Florida residents have consistently shown support for Everglades restoration and it is imperative that the money is used in the most effective way possible and not squandered on over-valued land.
Meanwhile, Charlie Crist reportedly is calling the Times story a "hatchet job." We'll add more when see his comments in print.
