Florida Abortion Advocate Says Pro-Abortion Group Using Illegal Tactics
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
August 3, 2004
Tallahassee, FL (LifeNews.com) — A U.S. Senate candidate in Florida says his opponent is illegally coordinating campaign strategy, funding and advertising with a leading pro-abortion political group.
Peter Deutsch, a Florida congressman who backs abortion, faces Betty Castor in the race for the Democratic nomination.
A Deutsch supporter filed a complaint Monday with the with the Federal Elections Commission saying Emily’s List, a leading pro-abortion political action committee, is wrongfully plotting campaign strategy with Castor.
Emily’s List has collected nearly $540,000 for Castor, nearly one-third of her spending, and the group provided Castor with a campaign manager to direct her candidacy. The group has also provided other staff members who have helped the Castor campaign raise funds.
”There is an extraordinary amount of interaction between the campaign and Emily’s List . . . that makes it look like there was coordination,” Ken Gross, a former FEC official who reviewed the complaint, told the Miami Herald.
Emily’s List is scheduled to begin airing more than $300,000 worth of commercials today that back Castor. The Castor campaign also planned to start a new round of commercials and has pulled ads in cities where Emily’s List ads will air.
"It’s an out-of-state special interest group trying to buy the election," Deutsch told Florida press.
Deutsch also says the group "discriminates" against men because it only supports pro-abortion women candidates.
”There is no coordination with any campaign. It’s more of the same attacks that we’ve come to expect from Peter Deutsch against anyone who comes in the way of his ambitions,” said Emily’s List spokeswoman Karen White in response to the allegations.
The most recent South Florida Sun-Sentinel poll showed Castor with a 13-point advantage over Deutsch, with Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas trailing in third place.
