Harris is in it to win it!
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.
Harris is in it to win it!
I agree with her - she doesn't look anything like Mort or Fred.
Definitely not a Boy!
As we all know, that lie has been parroted endlessly by every sycophant since that time.
She will win the primary. The GOP machine be damned.
She has a man's face...you need to post the horse pic if you want to show she's female.
When Katherine Harris won statewide election for Secretary of State with 54% of the vote, Republicans represented 40% of registered voters.
In the FL 13th Congressional District 2002 and 2004 races, Republicans accounted for 48% and 46% of FL District 13 voters, respectively. Katherine Harris won each election with 55% of the vote.
Ouch! Lol...play nice! ; )
I haven't really made up my mind yet. I'll keep reading these and appreciate all insight on the candidates. Tuesday's coming up...
On the good news, all four have similar platforms.
I wouldn't call it a man's face, but that picture shows she really makes the most of what she has.
Definitely not a boy!
Good Lord, its better than having John McCain as our Senator!
No,Mrs Harris,you're clearly not a Beltway Boy.
If I were still in Florida, I would enthusiastically vote her and support her in any way possible PRECISELY because she is so fiercely independent and has conservative attitudes on the issues that make the most sense (plus she is not a lawyer like two of the others). Funny the article mentioned the GOP chairman of the state saying she can't win as though that statement had any significance whatsoever. I thought party chairmen weren't supposed to meddle in party primaries and undercut their own members. And then who ever heard of candidates calling on their opponents to withdraw from a race for no valid legal or ethical reason?
Damn,you beat me to it! ;-)
Com'on, none of the rivals in the Republican primary have ANYTHING like the face and name recognition of our own Snow White, Katherine Harris. Devoid of almost all official support, her lead in the primary race is still substantial. The Florida Republican party was not serious in mounting opposition to her, else they would have concentrated on only permitting ONE primary opponent, which would have been a rallying point to end her run for the Senate.
But the Florida Republican party dithered around on this matter, and now they are faced with an uncertainty - do they back Katherine Harris enthusiastically after the primary, or do they just surrender any chance of taking this Senate seat? Katherine Harris has ALWAYS kept her eye on what she believes to be the objective of her run for the Senate - put Bill Nelson out of a job, and get him out of the US Senate. All her campaign is directed at countering Bill Nelson, not at her immediate rivals in the primary. I do not believe she has ever mentioned their names, nor has she said one derogatory thing in public about the support she has not gotten from other Republicans. She may be having conversations behind the scenes, which may or may not be rancorous in nature, but few of us are privy to any of them.
I believe in Katherine Harris. Anybody that could withstand the storm that fell upon her in 2000, when she was carrying out the duties of her office in full accordance with the law, has earned my undying admiration.
Collins is Pro-Abortion rights.
McBride is a Personal Injury trial lawyer first, Immigration attorney second, who marched with the leftist group Immigrants United for Freedom two weeks before filing to run for the U.S. Senate race. Endorsed by RTL.
Harris is a solid conservative with the voting record to prove it. She is endorsed by Right to Life, & NRA in the primary race.
Very thoughtful observations. Thanks very much for taking the time to post your analysis.
Thanks for the information--it really shows how messed up the Republican establishment is.
I admire her spunk. I think she'd be a refreshing change!
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