RedState.com has been breaking news and tracking an unfolding story that ties senior Charlie Crist adviser Rich Heffley to an anti-Marco Rubio website that did not contain legal disclosures and contained full re-posting of copyrighted articles. An excerpt of RedState’s report:
RedState readers scoured the source code of the website and found Rich Heffley’s name and a path directory to his computer associated with one of the image files on the website.
We and a reporter from the St. Petersburg Times called Heffley and within minutes the site was taken down.
Charlie Crist was asked by a reporter yesterday, October 28, if he’d seen the website. Crist said he read about it on the Sayfie Review, a website operated by my friend Justin Sayfie. Interestingly though, Crist knew details about a site that had not even been online for a full day (created on October 27 and launched the morning of October 28) — details like all the articles used were “in the public domain.” How could he know if he’d just read about the site on another website? And even had he perused it briefly, how did he know all the content was in the public domain — something that wasn’t even true?
Eventually, the website came back online.
Heffley’s name was scrubbed. The Hitler video content was also gone.
QUESTIONS:
1) Do you buy Heffley’s statement that his name appeared in the website’s code because he did some reserach for the site but did not actually make / run the website?
2) Did Charlie Crist (who denies any knowledge of the site beforehand) know about this website considering that his senior adviser’s name appeared in the site’s code?
3) Will Heffley ever come public about who he gave his research to / who is behind the site because he surely knows (as it is him or someone he is very close to).
October 29th, 2009 at 7:05 pm
Another moderate bites the dust.
October 29th, 2009 at 7:07 pm
Contrary, Ohio
This seems like an attempt to make a big deal of nothing. Defeat Crist on the debate floor with your own ideas, not by trying to dig up all the dirt possible.
October 29th, 2009 at 7:26 pm
“This seems like an attempt to make a big deal of nothing. ”
– Lying isn’t a big deal?
The sort of candidates I like to support have consistency and honesty.
October 29th, 2009 at 7:28 pm
Bye Bye Charlie.
October 29th, 2009 at 7:32 pm
Edit: First warning for trolling.-KWN
October 29th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
This revelation is a game changer.
October 29th, 2009 at 7:39 pm
Yawn.
October 29th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
These a44holes who spend their time and effort on anonymous websites devoted to simply trying to attack and tear-down other candidates are simply idiots.
But this is going to amount to nothing–zero impact on Crist (for good or bad).
October 29th, 2009 at 8:14 pm
So Crist’s campaign was caught badmouthing Rubio on the Internet with one of the staffers doing a journalistic no-no by lifting articles. It’s unprofessional, but you don’t win a campaign by doing stuff like that. Rubio’s supporters would be wrong to focus too much on this – it’s negative campaigning. Let Crist’s antics speak for themselves if you want to win.
“That’s definitely not the GOP way.”
I think there’s still a few that believe in it
October 29th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
This is ridiculous.
October 29th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
this isnt enough to take Crist down.
Nice try though by the all of a sudden way too full of themselves redstate.
btw, if I wanted to read redstate I would go there. There is a reason I have hung around this site for 3+ years now and part of it is the level of FPP found here(thanks to Kavon) that is sorely lacking from erickson’s site.
October 29th, 2009 at 8:28 pm
It’s been a gradual process. It started with the virtual ethnic cleansing of all those not completely and 100 percent devoted to Fred Thompson back in the summer of 2007.
October 29th, 2009 at 8:42 pm
Pretty tame, par for the course; no long-term effect here.
October 29th, 2009 at 8:55 pm
“Pretty tame, par for the course; no long-term effect here.”
– This is the sort of stuff that politicos brush off that the public gets mad about. DC politicos are out of touch with what the people want. The people want a straight shooter above all else.
Does this really damage Crist? No but when campaigns lie it is newsworthy.
October 29th, 2009 at 8:57 pm
This is a big nothing.
Copyright violations (in posting full articles) happen occasionally here at R4’12 and probably at RedState. I don’t approve, but it’s not exactly a hanging offense. If that’s the worst thing they can find, I’d suggest they’d be better off sticking to the issues.
October 29th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
I don’t see this as a biggy either.
People generally aren’t too moved by scandals that are “inside baseball” stuff. Putting up websites, this staffer, that denial, negative attacks, etc…. doesn’t really resonate with people.
Scandals that move people involve stuff like sex, extortion, bribery, stealing, perjuring, and (the biggie) lying to the public about one of the above.
Basically, if it wouldn’t show up in an episode of Law & Order or Desperate Housewives, it ain’t gonna be a “game changer.”
October 29th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Rubio just needs to stay on target and let Crist’s mistakes talk for themselves. McDonnell hasn’t had to say one mean thing about Deeds in his race, in fact he even went out an complimented him for being an essentially good guy. The electorate was sold on his own leadership, so nothing else mattered.
October 29th, 2009 at 9:07 pm
Care? Seriously.
October 29th, 2009 at 9:08 pm
MPC,
“Rubio just needs to stay on target and let Crist’s mistakes talk for themselves.”
Completely agreed. Rubio needs to stay on message and let the bloggers and talking heads make of this what they will. From what I understand, Deeds tried to hammer The Thesis for a month solid, and that’s just idiotic. At some point voters say, “Yeah, got it, I’m not an idiot. But what are YOU about?”
October 29th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
David,
Well, judging by the extremely lukewarm reception this “scandal” got here, even among strong Rubio supporters (like myself), I think it’s fair to say that this one ain’t got legs. You can’t really go by Pruce. He’s a great guy, I’m sure, but he thinks everything is a “game changer.”
October 29th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
Haha yes. And I am pretty sure Pruce is onto his 13th candidate that “has the potential to be the next Reagan”.
October 29th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
…..or the 10th candidate whose Presidential election is “their’s to lose.”
October 29th, 2009 at 9:31 pm
yea adam thats when they lost me.
Fredstate was born, became less relevant after Fred got out, got some mojo back after palin came in and now they are the kings of the tea party.
Although having perused there for so long its not hard to see Erick getting a big head over his call for Pawlenty to endorse Hoffmann and then having TPaw do so.
so he tries to go after Crist with this little “nugget” to keep the “mega”complex going
October 29th, 2009 at 9:39 pm
DC politicos are out of touch with what the people want.
Well, I guess I’m a DC politico now since I’m located out of DC and get linked to on RCP from time to time.
I don’t think I’m “out of touch.” I come from a somewhat rural area (my backyard in Maryland is a farm, for God’s sake), if that counts as where “the people” are.
Moreover, I think I’ve done far more than anyone else on this site to call attention to how the GOP is out of touch, and I’ve gotten lambasted for it.
October 29th, 2009 at 9:40 pm
Haha yes. And I am pretty sure Pruce is onto his 13th candidate that “has the potential to be the next Reagan”.
I love JA Pruce!
October 29th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
One of these days he’s going to be completely right on a non-obvious pick, to collective jaw-gaping from the rest of us. We’ll have to throw a special R4’08 party that day
October 29th, 2009 at 11:53 pm
Go NARAL Go!!!
NY-23: NARAL working for right-wing victory
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/10/29/798535/-NY-23:-NARAL-working-for-right-wing-victory
October 30th, 2009 at 2:20 am
Prucey is the man
. Two years and going strong!
October 30th, 2009 at 4:13 am
“NY-23: NARAL working for right-wing victory” Good one Tommy Boy. Oh, those nasty Right Wingers. I wonder why we are getting all these unsavory characters joining the GOP all of a sudden. At this rate the Dems are like the Labour Party, the Conservatives, the Conservatives and the GOP, a collection of Liberal Democrats.
October 30th, 2009 at 7:49 am
This is a scandal?
I am a Rubio supporter, but methinks RedState is trying too hard.
October 30th, 2009 at 8:05 am
3, 14. Consistency, honesty, straight shooter, David?
Why then, do you support the Huckster?
October 30th, 2009 at 10:11 am
It will take a true scandal for Rubio to win and short of that he has no chance to beat Crist here in Florida the older voters love Crist down here.
October 30th, 2009 at 10:14 am
I find it ironic that David Schmidt is posting objections to clandestine support of an anti-candidate website.
October 30th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
33.