Harris -- finally -- hits her stride

Even critics are impressed with her debate performances, but experts say it's just too late

ORLANDO -- Virtually out of money, abandoned by state Republican leaders and ridiculed by her detractors, Rep. Katherine Harris is refusing to fade into the background in the final days of her U.S. Senate bid.

Instead, she is becoming more visible, scheduling one of her busiest series of public appearances in weeks and advertising on television for the first time in months.

Even Harris' critics say she has surprised them in her two debates against Sen. Bill Nelson, avoiding the gaffes that have dogged her in the past and showing a greater command of the issues.

"It was somewhat of a success for her," said her former spokesman Chris Ingram, who was one of several campaign staffers to quit the campaign during its struggles. "She did really well for Katherine."

If Harris had presented the public image voters saw in the final debate Wednesday, it is likely some staffers would not have bailed on her, Ingram said.

But most political analysts said Harris' efforts are too little, too late. She trails Nelson by as much as 30 points in the latest polls.

"There's no reason to think she can turn it around," said Nathan Gonzales, political editor of the nonpartisan Rothenberg Report.

"A large majority of voters in Florida have made up their mind about Katherine Harris. There's nothing she can do."

Jim Dornan, Harris' former campaign manager, who was part of a wave of staffers who quit a year ago, agreed that Harris has wasted too much time and needed to focus on rallying independent voters months ago.

"She's begun to get her campaign together, but it's entirely too late," he said.

But political experts said Harris probably won some votes Wednesday in the last of two debates with Nelson.

Seated across from Nelson at a table, Harris challenged Nelson's voting record on tax increases and defended her proposal to dismantle the federal income tax in favor of a national sales tax.

When NBC host and moderator Tim Russert cited studies that say the plan only benefit the rich, Harris rebutted him, citing facts and figures that previously she has struggled to articulate.

"If only she could rewind the clock about eight months," said Aubrey Jewett, assistant professor of political science at the University of Central Florida, who attended the debate Wednesday.

Ingram, her former campaign spokesman, said Harris appeared more viable in the debates than the caricature trumpeted by her critics.

"To a less-informed voter, she probably came across certainly much better," Ingram said. "She didn't trip over herself and create new problems."

Harris' new strategy for the last five days of campaigning is to take her message to public forums for the first time in weeks.

After stumping at church gatherings and other events closed to the media, Harris plans to wave signs and shake hands on a college campus and a downtown business area in Lakeland today.

On Saturday, she plans to attend a Clearwater gun show and a "Harris for Senate" rally at Sumter County's GOP headquarters.

She confirmed on Wednesday that she is writing a "tell-all" book about the conspiracy to undermine her Senate bid.

While she would not go into detail, Harris has said for months she has copies of former staffers' e-mails that prove they were working against her and for the competition.

"You'll just have to wait and see," she said, when asked about the book after Wednesday's debate.

But Ingram, who worked for Harris from April to July, said he saw no evidence of a conspiracy, even though he said Harris instructed him to help search for incriminating e-mails.

He noted the numerous staffers who bailed on Harris' campaign earlier this year are all die-hard Republicans who wouldn't work for a Democrat behind her back.

"Katherine, say whatever you want, I could care less. No one's interested. No one cares."

Just bringing up the book could be a mistake, because it reminds voters of the "soap opera" that has been surrounding Harris for months, Jewett said.

November 3, 2006

Dear Florida Veteran,

Thank you for this final opportunity to present my record and positions on veterans’ issues and our national security to the Veterans of Foreign Wars. First let me express my gratitude for your service to our nation and share your pride in guaranteeing the freedoms and liberties Americans enjoy today. I was born in a Naval hospital while my late father was serving the in the Navy. He instilled in me a deep respect for our armed forces and a keen awareness for your ethos of dedication and selfless sacrifice.

As a Member of Congress, I have consistently fought to protect your interests with a keen awareness for the challenges we face in spite of your many sacrifices. Therefore, I have always emphasized that “Promises to our veterans have been made and they must be kept.” As your next United States Senator, I will continue this commitment, but I can not do it without your support. Tuesday, November 7th, is the general election and I need your vote. As a strong advocate for Veterans benefits and defense issues, I am certain you will appreciate my record on these important issues.

As a State Senator and Florida’s Secretary of State, I supported the Disabled Veterans Homestead Tax Exemption; World War II and Korean War memorials in Tallahassee, additional state veterans’ nursing homes and ensuring ballot secrecy for disabled veterans. As a Congresswoman, I have improved funding for veterans’ heath care. As a freshman Member of Congress, six members of the Florida delegation and I and were able to fight to increase VA funding over the previous year by $2.7 billion. I then cosponsored the Veterans Health Care Full Funding Act for a stable and predictable method to end systemic underfunding and to eliminate the alarming mismatch between the demand and availability of services. As your U.S. Senator I shall continue to push of this objective until it is accomplished and view breaking ground for the VA medical center in the Orlando area as a non-negotiable step towards this goal!

I am working to guarantee Long Term Health Care for our most severely disabled veterans. I kept my commitment to perpetuate our sacrifices by co-sponsoring legislation for establishing new national cemeteries for Florida’s large veterans population and added a cemetery for the West Coast of Florida. Finally, my sponsorship of the American Dream Down Payment Act enabled thousands of veterans and other Floridians to become first-time homeowners.

I enthusiastically supported the 2007 National Defense Authorization Act that blocked the Pentagon's attempt to raise TRICARE Prime and TRICARE Standard enrollment fees for military retirees and their families. I co-sponsored the Keep Our Promise to America's Military Retirees Act, which would open federal employee health benefits coverage to certain retirees and their families. Furthermore, I also supported expanding educational benefits for mobilized Reservists and Guardsmen; lowered the reserve retirement age, and created tax breaks and other financial benefits for our troops serving in combat zones.

I supported the effort to end the unjust “Widow’s Tax,” which will help to ensure that survivors receive the full Survivor Benefit Plan annuity that retired military husbands and wives have earned to as well as their full Social Security. I also co-sponsored the Military Surviving Spouses Equity Act which will end another inequity by allowing survivors of retirees with deaths from service connected causes to receive both VA Dependency Indemnity Compensation and the SBP annuity.

Upon entering Congress, I delivered upon my promise to end the “Disabled Retiree Tax” by co-sponsoring the establishment of the Concurrent Receipt and expanded Combat Related Special Compensation programs. These bills ended a century-old injustice of mandated forfeitures for portions of retired pay equal to VA disability compensation received by military retirees disabled in combat or in the line of duty.

In conclusion, I believe our bleeding borders must be secured now to protect us from transnational terrorists and we must have a secured identification with no amnesty until careful analysis is completed. Secondly, I have been to Iraq, seen the encouraging progress of our gallant troops and will never support a cut and run policy. Finally, I have championed the security of Florida’s ports on the Homeland Security Committee and maintain a strong defense record which epitomizes my fundamental commitment to veterans.

As you vote in this critical election, I sincerely appreciate your support of my candidacy for the United States Senate. Thank you.

Yours in freedom,

Congresswoman Katherine Harris

I personally have been working for Katherine ever since I personally met her at a political rally in Davie. The lady is gutsy and she has the very best veterans Coalition that I have been a member of my hat goes off to Mr Chuck Winn who has ben killing himself keeping all the different vets organizations together. This lady is gutsy and I am ashamed of the GOP in Florida. If doing your job right is getting a smack in the face from your own party i personally find this reprehenceable. But the best is yet to come after the election she is going to write a tell all book about who did what to whom!

want to know why she ran thru staff simple they were working for somebody elses agenda and she founs out why and handed them their hats. Just read some of the statements of ex-employees. They are supposed to help her? Instead they going running to the msm in florida of which there is so few centerist papers it make me sick to read satfre review as a text book example of anti-republican, anti-Katherine Harris.

They are not fit to wash Katherines shoes.Or empty her garbadge cans!!!

1 each angry vet!

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