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.
"But I do not rule out her running for President in 2008. I do not say that as facetiousness; I say that in all seriousness."
Katherine Harris? It is to laugh.
The personal insult is neither necessary, nor appropriate. I'm sorry, but if we can't have a primary campaign among Republican candidates without personally insulting anyone who differs in opinion with you, then the GOP is in major trouble.
The English language is a rich one, capable of the expression of almost any thought, emotion, or nuance of feeling. The description you used to describe another freeper is simply crude.
Argue ideas, not personalities, please.
While Ms. Harris is a public figure, the poster to whom you refer is not. Personal insults against other FReepers are not de rigeur here.
"If Katherin Harris loses in November, crow will be the most wholesome thing we will be eating for a long, long time."
That is true, which is why it is time to stop damning other GOP candidates in these primaries. We're damaging the entire GOP.
Save that stuff for the general election campaign. Attack Democrats, not other Republicans, please.
it is time to stop damning other GOP candidates in these primaries. We're damaging the entire GOP...Attack Democrats, not other Republicans, please...The politics of ugliness are not appealing, you see.Maligning Republicans is not a conservative value.
Don't argue against his opponent with lies, rumors, half-truths...
Let me see if I understand your hypocrisy correctly. You have found a higher moral authority to posting comments on FR than Floridians voting for candidates whom you do not support.
Yet it is appropriate for you to post important national issues, for example, about Harris: "Actually, she has a pair of thingies," and "I did hear, though, that those boobies are artificially enhanced."
Feel the love
(No more Olmert! No more Kadima! No more Oslo! )
Katherine Harris the Starbucks Queen. My one regret is I'm registered Independent and cannot vote for LeRoy Collins Jr
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/cats/katherine_harris/
------------------------------- With the help of numerous readers, the Starbucks Web site and a Washington, D.C.-area barista, we've cracked the code of Rep. Katherine Harris' (R-FL) coffee order -- "Triple Venti, no fat, no foam, extra hot, with pink sugar." Triple Venti : Likely a latte with three shots of espresso in it. A Starbucks "venti" latte and its smaller cousin, the "grande" latte, both have two shots of espresso; thus a "triple" would add another shot. No Fat: Skim milk. Should properly be ordered as "non-fat," according to Starbucks. Reporter may have mis-heard. No Foam: Just what it means. (I should note that some traditionalists believe (rightly, I posit) that a latte should have no foam at all, making this qualifier redundant. Starbucks baristas, however, are ordered to include a "quarter-inch" of foam on their latte creations "to create a delicate first impression," according to the company Web site.) Extra Hot: I'm not sure Starbucks really has an extra-hot coffee; I believe their machines -- and corporate lawyers -- regulate their temperatures precisely and absolutely. My guess is, baristas hear this and go "uh-huh," because it's easier than fighting with a customer. Especially if, well, the customer terrifies you. with Pink Sugar: "A fancy way to say Sweet and Low," as one reader commented. You can say a lot of things, pardner. But you can't say that's a quitter's drink. That's an in-it-to-win-it special. Late Update: Starbucks does indeed make "extra-hot" lattes for those who request one, according to a company spokesman. "[T]hey will receive a beverage at approximately 180 degrees. Starbucks milk-based beverages are normally prepared at temperatures between 150-170 degrees," Alan Hilowitz told me in an email. Reader HD, a barista, chimes in: "We call drinks like hers 'princess drinks' at my store."
Katherine Harris' Starbucks Order, Decoded!
By Justin Rood - July 26, 2006, 5:24 PM
I have it on good authority that no manager has ever expected their secretary to bring them coffee in the history of the world. Otherwise, the newspapers would be full of boss-wants-coffee stories...and we all know this is not the case.
Ain't that the truth!
Feel the love
As for "Argue ideas, not personalities, please", I do. But when someone insults me, directly or indirectly, or verbally assaults someone I care for or admire, they have made the first move whether they care to admit it or not.
Good day to you, sir.
If one's eyes are honest and open, that is.
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