Tampa Bay Times
By: Kirby Wilson
Andrew Gillum, Richard Corcoran, Adam Putnam and Gwen Graham all shared pointed criticisms of political opponents this week.
It’s strange. Twitter.com is normally such a pleasant place.
But in the past week or so, half of the candidates for Florida governor have used the site to launch partisan broadsides against their political opponents.
It all started when Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam posted a message December 7 that said Democrat Andrew Gillum wanted to make Florida a “sanctuary state.” PolitiFact rated Putnam’s claim Half True.
Gillum responded, accusing Putnam of racism.
Putnam shot back, tweeting that Gillum was more interested in insults than engaging in a policy discussion.
That’s when Richard Corcoran — who hasn’t formally entered the governor’s race but is widely expected to — entered the fray.
The feud seemed to be settled until Gillum (perhaps so political media hacks would blog about it; if so touché) mentioned the spat in a tweet Thursday.
Corcoran, whose camp declared victory in last week’s dustup, shot back.
Gillum, Corcoran and Putnam weren’t the only governor candidates to take shots. Former Congresswoman Gwen Graham sharply criticized Republican U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz Friday for Gaetz’ ongoing crusade against the way Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller has handled the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Gaetz has called for an FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton’s dealings and, more recently, for Mueller’s firing.
A few hours later, Graham renewed her attack, mentioning Putnam and Corcoran to ask whether they agreed with Gaetz.
Gaetz is one of the more colorful Twitter follows in Florida politics, so he’s sure to respond. But amid all of the partisan rancor, one question remains unanswered.
Won’t somebody think of the children?
Article last accessed here on Dec. 18, 2017.