BROOKSVILLE -- It appears Hernando GOP Chairman Blaise Ingoglia is bringing his personal problems to the party. He came under fire in recent news column by Dan DeWitt for questionable sales tactics. Ingoglia posted a written and video response on the party's Web site claims it is "filled with inaccuracies and omissions" with the "purpose to smear me, the Republican chairperson." (After an initial interview, he didn't return DeWitt's calls for comment but did write this letter to the editor.)

We'll leave the issues to readers to discern. But the political implications are intriguing. By involving the party, one could argue, he is also linking his fate to the party's fate. In a way, he is using the party's establishment to shield him by labeling this as a "political smear piece designed to attack conservatives" -- even though the article largely avoids tainting the party as a whole.

Another interesting note: the video looks pretty good, a step forward for the Hernando GOP's message machine.

John Frank, Times staff writer

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