Posted on 01/19/2004 11:34:08 AM PST by MegaSilver
There are people in every profession who have such insight into their fields that their colleagues treat them with great respect.
I sat with such a friend last week as we awaited Katherine Harris' announcement of whether she would run for the U.S. Senate even though we had all heard that day that she would not and would instead run for the House again.
"Well, she better enjoy this day in the sun," he said looking at the banks of television cameras and the international media in that Boys and Girls Club gym with the insulation peeling from the ceiling. "After today, nothing. She becomes a nonperson. No one will cover a House race that she obviously will win again."
I hang on almost every word that this experienced political editor from a large metropolitan newspaper says, but as I rode back to Lakeland on Friday I began thinking, "Naw, two more years and she will be back and aides still will be handing out cell phone numbers that ring to the wrong person."
Few believe that Katherine Harris, who weathered brutal criticism as well as accolades for her part in the decision to give the Florida election to George W. Bush and thus the presidency, will be ignored by her party.
Regardless of whether one believes she was right or wrong, she took the heat and leaders have to take care of those who will "take one for the team." If they didn't, they would soon lose control of the rank and file.
There are also very few astute observers who believe that Harris did not get some kind of indication from the White House that it preferred she stay out of the U.S. Senate race. She said "no" to a myriad of press questions ranging from, "Did Karl Rove tell you not to run?" to "Did you get a promise of help to run against (Democrat) U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in two years?"
It is common sense that the presidential re-election team does not need a reminder on the statewide ballot this fall about the 2000 presidential recount that almost split a nation.
And despite what her critics would love to believe, Katherine Harris is no dummy. They aren't selling master's degrees from Harvard over the Internet, so just stop your wishful thinking.
No one who wants to succeed at that high political altitude is stupid enough to say, "Oh, they really pressured me like crazy to stay out of the race and they said if I will be patient, my cooperation will be paid back in full."
Did she get something out of her decision to stay out of the crowded race for the Senate? To quote the late comedian Dan Rowan, "You bet your bippy" she did.
Hey, the simple and stark truth is that you don't get to be a maverick lawmaker with any clout until you first become a team player and bide your time. Not even Republican U.S. Sen. John McCain began busting the chops of GOP leaders when he first arrived.
Despite our cherished myths of sending folks to Washington or to Tallahassee to "bust the system open and clean house," you don't get to do that as a freshman. Try it and you will find yourself no higher than the vice chairman of the Rural Enterprises, Agriculture and Technology Subcommittee of the House Small Business Committee for the rest of your career, no matter how long it may be.
Yes, the GOP leadership owes Harris on a number of levels. It will be interesting to see, when her congressional career matures and it is time to call in the markers, whether Harris will use those IOUs to better the system.
REED FIRSTEST WITH THE MOSTEST
There is a knack for organizing a campaign. And sometimes it takes a try or two to get it right unless you have very good mentors.
The election laws say that you cannot begin collecting and spending campaign money until you officially open a campaign account with the appropriate elections office: city clerk for city offices, county supervisor of elections for county jobs, etc.
Unfortunately some newcomers in the past have thought that means you wait until you open an account before you start getting organized. But while money seems to be the mainstay of federal and state offices these days, everyone -- especially candidates for local office -- have to remember the grass roots.
Charles E. Canady, one of the most successful campaign strategists in Florida over the last 30-plus years working in both parties, said the moment he realized his candidates were ahead was when he found opponents' campaign offices staffed by only one or two people.
At least one person who appears to take that admonition to heart this year, but not the only one, is Democrat Jean Reed, who opened her account last Monday, announced her countywide steering committee the same day and whose bumper sticker was spotted on a car Wednesday.
Reed lost to Republican Charles Richardson in the 2002 general election and had complained that the Democratic Party of Polk County did nothing to help her. Those former leaders of the county party have been forced out or marginalized, but Reed now has an election run under her belt and appears to be taking no chances that the new leadership might not come forward to help.
Reed's steering committee includes Juanita Geathers, who is also secretary of the state Democratic Party; Nancy Daley, Sue Bentley, former County Democratic Party Chairman Robert Connors, the Rev. Alex Harper, Mary Ann Wunsch, Sheryll Strang, Arlene Shuford, Dr. Gary and Betsey Schemmer, Charlie and Mabel Mays, Martha Burke, Alice Hart, Booker Young, Brian Geohagen, and Alice Custis.
THE LAST HARUMPH?
John Simmonds, former Winter Haven mayor and city commissioner, was recently sworn in to municipal office again -- in Venice.
A Bradenton native, he spent 25 years in the military, managed construction programs for the Dade County school system in the 1960s, was personnel manager at Winter Haven Hospital and had various business investments.
When first elected to office in 1983, he was 60.
While sitting on the Winter Haven City Commission, Simmonds was cherished by reporters on deadline as being what we call in the business a "quotemeister."
That means whatever the subject or time or day, he could be relied upon for a perfect, pithy, intelligent or just off-the-wall quote that would make a story shine and keep editors off one's back for one more day.
The quips didn't always sit well with many of his opponents, editorial writers or sometimes his own constituents, but as he once said about why he gave such off-the-cuff remarks, "You get bored sitting up there."
His feistiness kept him in the news and one critic even filed an Ethics Commission complaint against him. The complaint was dropped by the commission as lacking "legal sufficiency."
From quotes like "Let's bomb it," when referring to that recurring question of what to do with the Orange Dome to "We went for him because he speaks Southern," explaining in 1994 why the commission hired Carl Cheatham as city manager, his one-liners kept news copy brighter. No doubt Venice and Sarasota County reporters will find the same luck.
When he was defeated in 1994 after 11 years in office, Simmonds, then 71, turned to his wife and said, "Good Lord, did you vote for me?"
Shortly after his defeat by Bruce Parker, Simmonds began spending more time at the condominium he had owned in Venice since the 1970s, becoming a full-time resident there.
Unable to get city politics out of his blood, Simmonds was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Venice City Council in 2000, but only for a brief period until the elections.
Then, last November, at the tender age of 81, Simmonds ran for an open seat on the council and won. He was sworn in earlier this month.
Ledger Political Editor Bill Rufty can be reached at bill.rufty@theledger.com or 863-802-7523.
Exactly! Smart move on her part. She will run again and I guarantee she will win then.
-PJ
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