Posted on 05/15/2006 7:01:05 AM PDT by dukeman
HUDSON - Relaxed and cheerful, Katherine Harris mixed easily with the group taking a concealed handgun permit course Saturday morning. But before noon, a decision by her staff added another odd chapter to a U.S. Senate campaign plagued by inconsistencies.
At just past 8 a.m., Harris, three other women and two men gathered in the living room of instructor Bill Bunting, who is also chairman of the Pasco County Republican Executive Committee.
Harris, a Republican congresswoman from Longboat Key, seemed more at ease with guns than others in the group. She kept the barrel pointed toward the ground, even as some fumbled and waved the unloaded weapons.
"You see what Katherine did?" Bunting asked. "She did it right."
When a young man in a camouflage hat couldn't find the safety on a semiautomatic pistol, Harris reached to help and quickly identified it.
She took notes during the session and occasionally asked questions as Bunting described the arcane mix of laws that apply to carrying a licensed handgun in different states.
Growing up in Central Florida, Harris said her ease around guns grew out of family traditions.
"My mom was one of the best shots of the whole family. We hunted turkey and quail and dove and then cleaned them," she said.
Harris said she uses a 12-gauge shotgun to shoot skeet and also owns a Smith & Wesson revolver as well as rifles and antique weapons. But she wasn't sure whether she had ever held a concealed weapons permit in Florida, although some news reports last week suggested she had. A public records search of permit holders in Florida indicates Harris does not hold an active permit.
She broke into a wide smile when Bunting gave her a National Rifle Association cap and appeared unconcerned by the months of turmoil her campaign has suffered.
....
About-Face On Photo Ops
One of those who greeted Harris was David Rowe, of New Port Richey, whose only son was killed in Iraq in March. Rowe cried as he told the story, and Harris put her arms around him. Rowe said he admired her fortitude as photographers snapped pictures of the emotional scene.
A few minutes later, as Harris went to the firing line for the required, brief live-fire practice, her staff had a sudden bout of photo phobia.
Communications Director Chris Ingram tried to get the range manager to tell photographers who were 30 feet behind Harris to stop their work, even as other people stood a few feet from her.
Ingram said the campaign's "ground rules" didn't allow the media to take pictures of the congresswoman shooting, even though the restriction had not been mentioned to the media when they were invited to the range. Then he directed another staff member to block the view of a photographer who was still far away from Harris.
At one point, even Bunting seemed frustrated by Ingram's behavior and the delay it created.
Such confusion over basic strategy decisions and a seeming disconnect between Harris and her staff have plagued the campaign.
Asked about the incident later, Harris said she didn't know what the problem was.
"I was glad you guys were there," she told members of the media.
Most of Harris' original staff has quit or was fired in the past two months, and some have since described the campaign as being out of control.
So, do you instead have a photo of Bronson on a horse? :-)
Your statement is true only when you are a two-faced gun grabbing punk like Kerry and Dukakis. People see right through that garbage because they are exposed by their vote...kinda like Bill Nelson.
KH on the other hand is the real deal.
I concur. I'd vote for her in a heartbeat.
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