All You Need to Smear

He had been lying relatively low during the years since. And this sordid affair wouldn't seem to constitute an auspicious return for the former king of Broward.

But what about Floridians for Conservative Values, the group that actually financed the Cowan family's mud-slinging machine? Well, it's tied to several Republican-based 527 committees run by West Palm Beach political consultant Randy Nielsen, who is known as one of Florida's premier negative campaigners.

Philip Busey is not a pornographer.

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• Philip Busey
• Scott Cowan
• Ali Waldman
• Politics
• Elections and Voting

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Floridians for Conservative Values has raised more than $1 million — most of it from Big Sugar, the home-building industry, and gambling companies, including the Hollywood Greyhound Track. That's right, the "conservative" cause is bankrolled by gamblers; how's that for irony?

I got Nielsen, who runs a flag-waving consulting company called Public Concepts, on the phone last week and asked him why his group gave 15 grand to slam a little candidate in Davie.

"When it came to the group's attention about this fellow's background, it seemed like something they would want to invest in," Nielsen explained. "They are a fairly conservative group, and this candidate had an Internet porn site, according to what the newspaper said."

When Scott Cowan's name was mentioned, he said he had nothing more to say. I asked him why gambling money was backing such a conservative group. Nielsen quickly concluded the interview.

Book, the megalobbyist who works with Cowan and also backed Santini, told me he had nothing to do with the Sentinel article or the Parents committee.

"If it was up to me, I would abolish all 527s," he said. "They should all be outlawed."

Book is an intensely busy man, so he may have forgotten that he gave $2,500 to the committee in 2004. But he may be onto something. Maybe abolishing 527s is an issue for Busey to champion during his next campaign.

The problem is, he says he may never run for office again.

"I just really want to put this behind me," he told me. "I don't want to discourage people from running for public office, and I really just want to focus on my work."

Count it as another win for dubious special interests and sleazy political operatives who often put a stranglehold on the democratic process.

"This is what happens to a really good guy who sticks his neck out and runs for town council," says Fleischer, the campaign manager. "It's no wonder more good people don't run for office."