Daily News

Republican gubernatorial candidate Fred Smith paid country singer Lee Greenwood $100,000 to write a song, perform at barbecues and do other work for his campaign, according to a campaign finance report.

Greenwood is best known for his patriotic song, "God Bless the U.S.A.," which has become a staple of Republican political events.

Greenwood debuted the Smith song, "From Good to Great," at a fundraiser for the candidate in October. He has also played it live at a handful of Smith's barbecues, and the campaign has used a video of Greenwood at other functions.

Smith has used the barbecues to raise money, collecting nearly $28,000 from 900 donors who each gave less than $50.

Campaign manager Jonathan Hill said that the $100,000, which was paid to Lee Greenwood Inc. of Nashville, Tenn., also went for things that Greenwood has not yet done, and he criticized a recent video by state Democrats lampooning the song.

"It's typical of the Democratic reaction that they jump to a conclusion when they don't have the facts," he said. "We've got a long campaign to go, and those expenses are related to the entire campaign, not just a song."

Smith would not specify what else Greenwood will do for the campaign, but he said it will be good.

"We've got lots of plans, and they'll see it when it comes out," he said. (more…)

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This entry was posted on Thursday, January 31st, 2008 at 5:46 am and is filed under Daily News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.