Posted on 09/02/2006 7:07:29 AM PDT by NautiNurse
Her opponents in the Republican U.S. Senate primary cast front-runner Katherine Harris as a liability to the party. Harris casts herself as a true believer who doesn't kowtow to Washington elites and doesn't play politics as usual. Few would argue the last point. The Republican race to challenge Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson in November has been anything but usual. It pits three political unknowns against one of the most recognized -- some might say infamous -- women in the Republican party in a race where name recognition has sometimes looked like a bad thing. "I'm not a Beltway boy, and I'll never go along to get along," Harris said after a July campaign stop in Volusia County. The primary is "not much of a primary," she said, adding she can beat Nelson, despite polls that have consistently shown Harris trailing him in a general election showdown. "If the liberals weren't so worried they wouldn't be hitting me so hard," the 49-year-old congresswoman from Longboat Key told an enthusiastic, if small, crowd at a restaurant in the Spruce Creek Fly-In. But Will McBride, a 34-year-old Windermere lawyer identified in polls as her closest challenger, sees if differently. "Republicans are fed up with the runaway spending of Congress. They're fed up with the deficit. They're fed up with the scandals they read about every day, and they're fed up with catering to special interests," McBride said. "Unfortunately, Katherine Harris is part of the problem." A Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday showed Harris garnering support from 38 percent of likely voters. McBride got 22 percent, while LeRoy Collins Jr., a 71-year-old retired Naval Reserve rear admiral from Tampa, got 11 percent. Peter Monroe, a 63-year-old lawyer from Safety Harbor with a federal government background, got 3 percent. A press release from the Connecticut university concluded that Harris' three opponents "are so little known that none has more than 18 percent rating him favorably." But name recognition may be a double-edged sword for Harris. To this day, supporters sometimes thank her for her role in halting the 2000 presidential recount as Florida secretary of state. Harris also advances positions that may have populist appeal with conservative Republicans. She advocates improved border security and a tightly monitored temporary guest worker program and pushes the so-called "fair tax," a proposed sales tax on new goods and services that would replace all other federal taxes. But from the beginning of her campaign, Harris has been buffeted by bad press, including reports about $32,000 in campaign donations originating with a defense contractor who pleaded guilty to bribing a former California congressman. Harris said she didn't know about the money, which she later gave to charity. But her campaign has received a federal subpoena related to an investigation into the contractor. Also troubling were defections by several staff members and a May 7 letter from the Republican Party's state chairman telling Harris the party wouldn't support her campaign because it faced "irreparable damage." Consequently, her opponents have zeroed in, with two -- Collins and Monroe -- calling on her to withdraw from the race. "It would be a travesty, a travesty for the Republicans to send this person forward," Monroe said. The candidates occupy similar turf on some issues, including immigration and staying the course in Iraq. Like Harris, McBride supports the "fair tax." But he also emphasizes giving the president a line-item veto. "I'm excited about bringing everyday experience to this job and doing it in such a way that I can be a deficit hawk with integrity," McBride said. He also emphasizes the need to appoint judges that don't "legislate from the bench." Collins, who has received a number of major newspaper endorsements, focuses on national defense. To that end, he wants a tougher immigration policy, including punishment for employers who hire undocumented workers. He also wants to reduce reliance on Middle East oil by promoting alternative fuels and using incentives to get domestic auto manufacturers to improve fuel efficiency.
Monroe touts his experience with the federal government, including a post as president of the Resolution Trust Corporation, which managed the multi-billion dollar savings-and-loan bailout starting in the 1980s. "We saved over $100 billion by being creative and finding free market solutions to problems Democrats might handle with bureaucracy," he said. Monroe wants to tackle the state's insurance crisis by charging an add-on to insurance premiums to fund a national catastrophe fund, which he said will ultimately drive down rates by encouraging competition. Office: U.S. Senate Salary: $165,200 Term of office: 6 years
LeRoy Collins Jr. AGE: 71 RESIDENCE: Tampa OCCUPATION: Retired businessman and U.S. Naval Reserve rear admiral POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: None PRIORITIES: Improve national security by securing borders, providing no special path to citizenship for illegal workers and punishing those who hire them. Reduce dependency on Middle East oil. Dialogue with Cuba. Katherine Harris AGE: 49 RESIDENCE: Longboat Key OCCUPATION: Former marketer and real estate manager POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: Florida secretary of state, 1999-2002; state senator, 1994-1998; U.S. representative, 2003-present PRIORITIES: Control borders and create limited temporary worker program. Promote economic development by reducing hurdles for small business. Cut taxes. Provide better health care for veterans Will McBride AGE: 34 RESIDENCE: Windermere OCCUPATION: Lawyer, former public school teacher POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: None PRIORITIES: Reduce congressional spending by giving the president a line-item veto. Support "fair tax." Control borders and send illegal workers to the back of the line for work permits with no special path to citizenship. Peter Monroe AGE: 63 RESIDENCE: Safety Harbor OCCUPATION: Lawyer, real estate developer, former federal government appointee POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: None PRIORITIES: Tackle Florida property insurance crisis by charging an add-on to insurance rates to create a federal catastrophe fund. Take hard line with Cuba and Venezuela. Strengthen border controls, provide no special path to citizenship for illegal workers.
BINGO, and thank you for your input!
IMO, they will have to to throw their (belated) support, or run the risk of becoming aliened from the GOTV voters. - Not a reasonable risk. - Again, IMO.
I don't have Presidential election results by Congressional District. In 2004, Bush/Harris won Sarasota, Manatee, and Hardee counties by 54%/53%, 56%/56%, and 70%/70%, respectively. DeSoto Co. data not available.
---"...virtually every U.S. citizen has imagined the possibility of becoming President of the United States at one time or another..."
That is neither here nor there. I will definitively state right now that I will not be running for president in the next three elections. Get KH to say the same.
A quiet whisper, by the way, is one person either spreading a rumor or telling a secret. A quiet murmur involves more people either spreading that rumor or telling that secret.
It's all moot. Tuesday night we'll find out if Nelson has been reelected, or if McBride wins and the GOP has a chance.
Then she can declare for 2008 - unless Bush conspires against her.
Or a tree blocks people from attending her presidential rally.
Or some non-Christians show up.
Who are you talking about???
FL Freepers:Talk about a campaign blunder....Last May, 33 year old immigration attorney Will McBride marched with the pro-amnesty 'Immigrants United for Freedom' (IUF) only two weeks before deciding or being 'encouraged' to file for the Senate race.
On August 12, the IUF participated with A.N.S.W.E.R., CODE PINK, Muslims Students Association & 'World Can't Wait', etc. in an anti-war on terror and anti-Israel Rally in Orlando, FL. Go here to see IUF listed among sponsors & speakers.
http://stpeteforpeace.org/aug12.html
LOL, look at all the failures especially Presidential candidate #4 in line, even the commies want to be around the President!
Typical, run of the mill talking points spoon-fed to McBride from some party hack who hit F12 somewhere in the GOP basement.
Even the near sighted Mr. MacGoo could testify to the fact that Rep. Harris is not a Beltway Boy, or any other boy. She is a gutsy Lady of courage, who stands by her convictions, regardless of the odds.
when she is elected to the US Senate, the Republican side of the Senate will have it's first spine.
Golly!
I guess you are what passes for a thoughtful KH supporter.
And like KH, you are a satire of a republican.
Your writings appear fairly well considered. As for that cross you mentioned, I believe you severely underestimate the RNC's ability to destroy as well as create candidates. From speaking to lower members of her existing staff, it is quite clear to me that many left under threat from the GOP that if they continued their efforts they could kiss their political careers goodbye, a threat which many currently on board have defied, to their credit.
And lets us not forget the severe damage done to her public image by a hateful leftmedia that would simply love to see her dead. Six years of character assassination has a very powerful cumulative effect, even on people who like her. Funny how that words.
Sincerely believing this from all I have heard, read and personally observed, one thing that bugs me the most is that, since the RNC and, consequently, the Florida GOP, has actively worked to undermine her campaign from the get-go, the least they could have done is have a couple of viable candidates in the wings to replace her and guarantee a Republican winning over Nelson, something they have obviously not done with the few sorry, no-name offerings they have coughed up at the last minute. Pathetic, if you ask me.
Last year the rumors were flying that retired army general Tommy Franks might have been in the running. Now THAT would have made a lot more sense.
As it is, the GOP has done more to ensure Nelson continuing his Senate career more than anything the DNC could have done. What are your opinions on that?
So Monroe wants to tax me through higher insurance premiums for the privilege of allowing him to live in Florida? Would he agree to higher insurance rates for him to allow people in California affordable earthquake insurance?
I heard that things are going so bad that even the horse quit her campaign.
I hear her campaign is going quite well, despite the best efforts of the party rulers who have been supporting her opponents from the get go.
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