Neo-Nazis and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist share a love of movie

Incredible find today by the Ybor City Stogie:

Several weeks ago, John Ubele -- the operations manager of the white supremacist Nationalist Coalition -- sent some Florida public officials a copy of the DVD "Jud Süß," a 1940 German film about a sneaky Jew who tricks an 18th century Duke into giving him control of his kingdom. According to Wikipedia, the movie was made by the notoriously anti-Semetic German director Veit Harlan under the direction of the Nazi Party's chief propagandist Joseph Goebbels.

According to the nazi blog White Reference, several copies of this movie were sent to various public officials throughout Florida. Nice gesture, especially considering most hate groups prefer to send threats.

But the interesting part of this story is Ubele -- who has run for Florida public office himself -- received a thank-you letter from none other than our governor:

In the letter, Crist (or presumably an aide) thanks Ubele for sending the film "on behalf of myself and the people of Florida." He repeats an appreciation of "thoughtfulness" and offers to share the film with "the people of Florida."

Well, the cold hearts at the White Reference blog were thoroughly warmed, if cautiously:

At this point, there is no need to over-interpret Governor Crist's reaction. It could be that he is simply a buff of old movies and that he finds this movie enjoyable. Eventually, he could find this movie educational as well. It's worth the time to watch it.

I will agree: There is no need to over-interpret the governor's reaction. I'm sure he is no anti-Semite. I'm also 99.9% positive he didn't even write the letter himself. But for Crist's sake, why didn't an aide do a Wiki search on this movie and figure out the nature of the film?

I'm going to get a Texan female friend of mine to send in Debbie Does Dallas. Maybe I can get a response from Crist thanking "the good women of Texas" for their, uh, "generosity." If so, that shit is totally going on eBay.

UPDATE (7/25): As I write on my personal blog -- Will Report for Food -- this story recently went national. First, TBO.com printed the entire post without any credit. Then, the Associated Press (and then Huffington Post) picked up on the story. At least the Associated Press added some new reporting:

The governor's office, however, said it was an embarrassing mistake. The signature was made by a machine and Crist never saw the letter, said Sterling Ivey, the governor's press secretary. "We are NOT sharing the DVD with the people of Florida," Ivey said. "The governor does not support this view. The letter was sent out prior to us reviewing the DVD that was sent."