Rosemary Currie of Venice got a round of applause from a room of about 400 Sarasota County Republicans today when she asked GOP gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott to sit down with primary opponent Bill McCollum and hash out a deal to end the barrage of negative television advertisements the two are unloading on one another.

“I feel it’s pretty much helping Alex Sink sink our chances,” Currie said, referring to the probable Democratic nominee.

Scott, who compared McCollum to a dirty diaper in one TV spot, has a personal fortune that gives him a decided spending advantage over McCollum, who is running his fourth statewide campaign. And Scott gave no indication that he was about to give that up.

Scott told the woman it was important for him to distinguish himself from his opponent. Then he implied that McCollum was out of ideas for Florida.

“The difference is this,” Scott said at a campaign stop at Trotter’s Dutch Heritage restaurant. “You have a choice between somebody that’s been in office and hopefully tried all of their ideas or you have somebody that’s new that is going to bring their business credentials to the table.”

We were the first to tell you earlier this week of the seven-figure ad buy the conservative advocacy group, League of American Voters, made for McCollum. In all, McCollum and his supporters have spent about $8.4 million on television. Scott’s campaign has spent $25.8 million on TV.

Rep. Kevin Ambler, R-Tampa, gives a thumbs up as the Florida Legislature opens today. Just hours later, gloves were off between Republicans and Democrats. (AP)

The House Republican Office noted that it took their Democratic colleagues less than five hours to launch the first attack of session.” “So much 4 bipartisanship,” the office tweeted.

Indeed.

The House Democratic Office press release quotes House Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala, who said this morning that it was time to “do government business in a new way.” Democrats note that Republicans have controlled state government in Florida for the past 12 years.

“It is interesting to hear Speaker Cretul confess that Republican leadership since 1998 has led to unnecessary spending and a failure to follow basic government accountability measures,” Democratic Leader Franklin Sands said.

Ladies and gentlemen, your 2010 Florida House…