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ADAM C. SMITHThousands of GOP voters have received messages from a group critical of the Senate hopeful's ties to lawyers.
A stealth political group with ties to Florida doctors has launched a second wave of attacks against Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mel Martinez, accusing him of "stabbing our president in the back" on lawsuit reform.
Recorded phone calls this week started hitting Republican households, courtesy of People for a Better Florida, a little-known group that earlier this year ran radio ads criticizing Martinez as a supporter of "greedy trial lawyers."
"The trial lawyers have a surprise ally in their fight for undue wealth - Mel Martinez, the U.S. Senate candidate," says a recorded woman's voice in messages thought to have reached the homes of more than 250,000 registered Republicans in Florida. "Martinez is stabbing our president in the back on this issue and siding with the greedy trial lawyers. In fact most of the same trial lawyers who support Martinez also support John Kerry. Why? Because Mel Martinez is a trial lawyer and has been a longtime supporter of Democrat candidates that oppose lawsuit reform."
People for a Better Florida is a non-profit "issue advocacy" group that does not have the same disclosure requirements as most campaign organizations. Its Web site has scarce identifying information beyond a Tallahassee post office box and e-mail address, but it was organized in 2000 by leaders of the Florida Medical Association.
The FMA supports efforts to restrict medical liability lawsuits and opposes Martinez's candidacy, but a spokeswoman said the group knew nothing about the phone messages.
Martinez campaign spokeswoman Jennifer Coxe called the calls "an example of false and misleading scare tactics that turn voters off of the political process."
The recorded message urges people to phone the Martinez campaign and complain about his position on lawsuits, but Coxe said most of the calls they received were from people annoyed by the call.
That included Republican Palm Beach County Realtor Jeff Ley, who said it accomplished nothing beyond antagonizing him. He said he resented receiving an unwanted advertisement from a group he could not trace. "Who are these people?" asked Ley. Clamping down on lawsuits is a basic part of the Republican agenda, and Martinez has taken considerable criticism because in the late 1980s he was president of the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers and several times gave money to Democratic candidates.
Martinez, president Bush's former Housing secretary, has said he supports reforming the litigation system including capping lawsuit damages, but at a higher level than the president's proposed $250,000 cap.
Martinez's position has not stopped much of the Washington GOP establishment from embracing his candidacy. Virginia Sen. George Allen, who heads the National Republican Senatorial Committee, endorsed Martinez on Monday and is expected to host a fundraiser for him in Longboat Key June 28.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee hosted a fundraiser for Martinez, and endorsements are expected soon from Texas Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn.
At the same time, onetime Martinez supporter and former White House counsel C. Boyden Gray recently endorsed Bill McCollum, who polls show is the frontrunner in the Republican Senate primary, citing concerns about Martinez's trial lawyer connections.
- Adam C. Smith can be reached at 727 893-8241 or adam@sptimes.com