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Campaign Finance

‘Tiger Blood’ flows in Florida race

Marketplace Contributor Aug 24, 2012

Tiger Blood” is the name of a new ad from a Democratic super PAC, Majority PAC, targeting Rep. Connie Mack, R-Fla., a reference to the always-entertaining Charlie Sheen’s explanation for his ability to ingest copious amounts of harmful substances without dying.

The ad calls the U.S. Senate candidate “the Charlie Sheen of Florida politics,” accusing him of a having a history of “bar brawls, road rage and resisting arrest.”

Mack, whose real name is Cornelius Harvey McGillicuddy IV, has said he was “minding his own business” and “sober” when trouble found him, according to a report from the Associated Press. The incidents occurred when the 45-year-old Mack was in his early twenties.

Mack is running against incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson, a Democrat. Majority PAC’s mission is to maintain the Democrats’ majority in the Senate.

The ad also attacks Mack’s personal financial history, claiming he has a history of “debts and liens” and has overdrawn his checking account. Both claims are true, according to a February report from The Miami Herald.

“Tiger Blood” also claims that Mack was sued by his yacht club and condo association. Mack was indeed sued by the club, and his Fort Myers-area condo association filed a $2,160 lien against him in 2006, the Herald reported.

The ad is currently only available to Web users who know the link, which Politico published this morning.

Another ad in Florida, “Suffered,” part of the $4.2 million campaign Crossroads GPS announced yesterday, targets Nelson for his vote in favor of the Affordable Care Act, which claims the law “cuts Medicare spending by $700 billion.”

The number comes from a July letter from the Congressional Budget Office. A Washington Post analysis says the cut would come from reductions in reimbursements to doctors and hospitals — not to patient benefits.

In other outside spending news:

  • Pro-Obama super PAC Priorities USA Action reported a $2.1 million anti-Mitt Romney advertising expenditure to the Federal Election Commission Thursday.
  • The pro-Romney super PAC Restore Our Future spent $10.1 million on advertising that opposes the president and supports Romney.
  • Americans for Prosperity’s anti-Obama ad “Still Believe” cost the conservative, pro-free market nonprofit $1.9 million. The video does not appear to be available online.
  • Majority PAC spent $1.3 million on airtime against U.S. Senate candidates Rep. Rick Berg of North Dakota, Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel and Indiana Treasurer Richard Mourdock.
  • Two ads from liberal nonprofit Patriot Majority USA, “Know” and “Means,” cost the group at least $251,000. “Know” targets Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., and “Means” targets Rep. Dennis Rehberg, R-Mont. Both are running for U.S. Senate.

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