Gov. DeSantis Challenger Nikki Fried Courts the Lincoln Project

The wonderfully inept Democrat candidate continues to amuse with her brand of obliviousness.

As the campaign season is ramping up in Florida, the challengers to Ron DeSantis are showing signs of desperation to gain notice and any hint of traction while opposing a popular governor. The political chameleon Charlie Crist will attempt any talking point in the press and on social media to get attention. But the real fun is in the other Democratic challenger, state Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried. 

Over the past few months, Fried has displayed all the political prowess of a middle schooler running for class President by appealing to the Dungeons and Dragons Club members. She has shown herself to be a PR disaster and a consistent source of mirth, as she polls behind DeSantis by double-digit deficits. To wit, she constantly insists Florida is poised to turn completely blue, all while her Twitter bio touts how she is the lone elected Democrat in Tallahassee over the past 10 years. 

With that same savvy for her latest salvo, Fried has delivered a tweet of brevity that manages to layer the problems in a predictably comical fashion. It begins with a comment made by Lincoln Project member Rick Wilson, which she was too tempted to resist.

Just so you’re aware, Team DeSantis is on the attack against me today not because I called him out viz Disney, but because I called him out for adding private jets to the state budget.

— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) March 12, 2022

Instead of possessing the wisdom to back off from a Wilson dose of distemper, Fried decided to ingratiate herself to the man whom she sees as an ally. The fact that Wilson was a longtime GOP operative in her state, and is now a grifting opportunist from a dysfunctional organization, raised no caution alarms is just the start of her wisdom.

Fried responds, and then the real fun begins.

You making the ad or are we, @TheRickWilson? He also gave himself a raise during the pandemic. https://t.co/UnTywYt1Ud

— Nikki Fried (@NikkiFried) March 12, 2022

Where to start…

How about with the fact that she is trying to curry favor with the man whose electoral track record is spotty, to use a deeply charitable descriptor. The past few years have shown Wilson to be as balanced as a frothing nuclear-prepper in a bell tower, so trying to curry favor with him will deliver nothing but positive results, for certain. (Note the sarcasm.)

Then, of course, there is the inherent contradiction in Fried’s desire to work with The Lincoln Project, Wilson’s grift-of-the-moment.

A current political maelstrom in Florida surrounds the parental rights bill and all of the attached accused gender issues. Nikki has been very vocal about this issue, rarely colliding with common sense in the context of her outrages. This means while claiming that Florida is being hostile towards gays and others, she wants to side with the group that shielded a founding member, John Weaver, who was propositioning young men on a regular basis.

Best of all though, in her desire to coordinate with the Lincoln Project on attack ads, she was in violation of election rules. According to the Federal Election Commission, this kind of working arrangement with a Super PAC is considered an illegal, in-kind donation.

When a committee, group or individual pays for a communication that is coordinated with a campaign or a candidate, the communication is either an in-kind contribution or, in some limited cases, a coordinated party expenditure by a party committee.

This is some impressive work on Fried’s part. In less than 20 words, she tries to partner with a dysfunctional political operative, team with a group that shielded a proven sexual predator, and possibly violates election law. She being a Democrat means accountability is deeply unlikely, but it still displays an impressive level of incompetence. 

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