Big Sugar Spending More Than $1.8 Million to Disqualify Gubernatorial Candidate Jim Davis
Posted Dec 18 2008 8:12pm
Check out this eye-opening piece entitled "Big Sugar Rules Florida," in the The Hotline: National Journal's Daily Briefing on Politics.
It gives you a bit of flavor about how the sugar industry's political committees could actually influence election outcomes and put into power officials favorable to policies that help them.
For instance, "Big Sugar," as The Hotline reports, is allegedly spending $1.8-plus million on "a subterranean campaign to disqualify Dem gubernatorial candidate Jim Davis, who has a narrow lead going into his 9/5 primary against Rod Smith."
The Miami Herald also provides some context for these very un-sweet, behind-the-scenes political manuevering.
The Orlando Sentinel also talked about how Davis confronted Smith about his campaign's extensive ties to the sugar industry. Reporter Jason Garcia wrote:
"Long reviled by environmentalists for polluting the Everglades, sugar growers have contributed thousands of dollars to Smith's campaign, with one company in particular -- U.S. Sugar Corp. of Clewiston -- funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars more into groups supporting Smith."
All this political wheeling and dealing is very irksome. Can the sugar industry really wield this kind of power by its extensive lobbying? As I discovered while working on my book SUGAR SHOCK!, apparently so. It'll be interesting to see who wins this election, and if, in fact, Big Sugar's investment pays off for them.
Check out this eye-opening piece entitled "Big Sugar Rules Florida," in the The Hotline: National Journal's Daily Briefing on Politics.
It gives you a bit of flavor about how the sugar industry's political committees could actually influence election outcomes and put into power officials favorable to policies that help them.
For instance, "Big Sugar," as The Hotline reports, is allegedly spending $1.8-plus million on "a subterranean campaign to disqualify Dem gubernatorial candidate Jim Davis, who has a narrow lead going into his 9/5 primary against Rod Smith."
The Miami Herald also provides some context for these very un-sweet, behind-the-scenes political manuevering.
The Orlando Sentinel also talked about how Davis confronted Smith about his campaign's extensive ties to the sugar industry. Reporter Jason Garcia wrote:
All this political wheeling and dealing is very irksome. Can the sugar industry really wield this kind of power by its extensive lobbying? As I discovered while working on my book SUGAR SHOCK!, apparently so. It'll be interesting to see who wins this election, and if, in fact, Big Sugar's investment pays off for them.