Can you say punked?
Someone is just playing with Democrats and Liberals now, and sitting back laughing their butt off.
The story, breathlessly reported by Bloomberg, citing two anonymous sources, who claimed "Mitt Romney's presidential campaign asked Florida Governor Rick Scott to tone down his statements heralding improvements in the state's economy because they clash with the presumptive Republican nominee's message that the nation."
Democrats pounced with the Democratic National Committee (DNC) holding a conference call and talking about the "shocking revelations."
“Last night it was revealed that Mitt Romney urged Florida Governor Rick Scott to downplay good economic news, further proof that Romney would rather see the American economic fail than President Obama win,” the DNC said in a statement. “Republicans in Congress have done the same thing by blocking the President's jobs plan and the million jobs that would be created in order to slow the economic recovery for partisan gain.”
Mitt Romney denied it and his account is confirmed by Governor Scott as well as Romney's own prior statements which refer to economic growth under GOP leadership such as Scott's.
Scott spokesman Lane Wright said a Bloomberg report citing anonymous Romney campaign officials was false. “That’s inaccurate,” Wright told The Hill. “We’re happy to have the Democrats and Obama people pushing stories that acknowledge [Gov. Scott’s] good work on the economy in Florida, but nobody from the Romney campaign has reached out to Gov. Scott or his staff.”
This gave Scott's office a perfect opportunity to not only tout their growth but to endorse Mitt Romney:
“I think people are trying to pit Gov. Romney and Gov. Scott against each other, saying they have conflicting messages,” Wright continued. “I don’t think they do. The economy in Florida is improving despite the policies coming out of Washington. We’re hoping to continue that but we need a partner in Washington that sees we can grow jobs if we do the right thing, and we think Romney should be that partner.”
Of course the Republican Party of Florida jumped in:
Just hours after the Bloomberg report, the Republican Party of Florida sent out a memo called “Florida’s economy continues to continues to improve under Governor Rick Scott.” “Since Governor Scott took office, a total of 99,600 private sector jobs have been added in Florida,” the memo read in part. “Lower taxes, reduced regulation and a balanced budget are giving the private sector the confidence it needs to expand, grow and add jobs.”
All in all, Romney received free press with the endorsement, Republicans were able to point out how the Florida's economy is improving and unemployment is decreasing because of lower taxes, less regulation and a balanced budget, which is the exact opposite of the platforms Democrats and Obama are running on. Last but not least, Scott was able to toot his own horn in "response."
Liberal progressives? Egg on face.
