Florida elections, oh my. There is just something about Florida 
elections that end up resonating across the whole nation. Our primaries Tuesday were no exemption as we had a billionaire, a multi-millionaire, career politicians, a Tea Party hero, at least one honest to goodness crook, multi millions spent on nasty ads with some sleazy politics thrown in, too. What fun!
In the Senate race, only Democrats had a choice between former state trooper Kendrick Meeks and billionaire Jeff Green. No matter how much money Green poured into his campaign voters simply couldn’t get past his sleaze factor. Green had made his money by betting against our housing market and while people were losing houses he was raking in the money. In this race, the nice guy did finish first and by a wide margin winning 57% to Green’s 31%.
This Senate race is now set between Meeks (D), Rubio (R) and Florida Governor Crist who
dropped out of the Republican primary to run as an Independent when he realized that lose, and badly to state senator Marco Rubio. This relative newcomer was a Tea Party candidate before there was a Tea Party. It doesn’t hurt that Rubio is a good looking, charming, second generation Cuban-American who is living the America dream and has become the poster boy for the Tea Party.
No one was surprised when Crist declared himself as an Independent. His leftish tendencies were starting to show what with his much publicized hug with Obama and what killed his chances as a Republican was his acceptance of Obama’s stimulus money while other Republican Governors were refusing it. Although pleased that Crist dropped out of the Republican primary, many Republicans were concerned that the Republican vote would be split between Crist and Rubio which would open up the way for Meek to win. I now believe the opposite will happen.
This summer the new power couple seemed to be Obama and
Crist as the news constantly showed the two of them side by side and deep in conversation as they strolled down Florida beaches after the BP oil spill. Not only had Obama sent a couple of top aides to assist Crist but the Governor showed a complete lack of respect for his former party when he refused to return campaign money.. These former supporters are enraged that their money, donated initially to a Republican candidate, is now being used by that candidate to further far left issues.
Based on all of this, I think that instead of splitting the Republican voters with Rubio, Crist’s leftward turn means that he and Meek’s will now split the Democrat vote while Rubio garners
all the Republican voters and becomes our next Senator.
And why should non Floridians care? Because if I am wrong and Crist does win he will join the Democrat party and be one more Senate vote for Obama. But the race for Governor is even more important nationally particularly with the upcoming 2012 presidential race. Just think of the importance of Florida in the 2004 and 2000 presidential elections. The new Governor of Florida could once again be a pivotal player in 2012.
In the gubernatorial race, Florida Republicans did have a clear choice between two very different men – career politician Bill McCollum and multi-millionaire Rob Scott. McCollum was backed by all the big name Republican politicians while Scott admitted to criminal charges and yet against everyone’s predictions Rob Scott won the Republican primary. How did this happen?
Bill McCollum, who has been around for decades, is from my District in Florida so I remember
him as far back as when he was a Congressman helping to impeach Clinton. I never really liked the man although for less than lofty reasons – he just looks like such a dork. For years now I have tried to recall who McCollum reminds me of and I finally came up with it. For those of you over 50 you might remember the old TV show My Three Sons in which the youngest son, Ernie, is a rather geeky looking kid with a chipmunk cheeks, large thick glasses and a goofy smile. (And how I can pull that name out after all these years but can’t remember the important things my teachers tried to teach me is beyond me!)
Anyway, not only does McCollum look geeky but he always seemed so earnest, prim and rather humorless. To be fair to him, I think he has been a very patient man, doing whatever the party wanted him to do, including his current stint as Florida’s Attorney General. By all accounts McCollum should have won the Republican primary for Governor. And he would be celebrating his primary win if it hadn’t been for Rick Scott entering the fray.
If you live in Florida, you would know that Rick Scott made his millions
in the healthcare industry. Not only was he the CEO of the largest network of hospitals but he also has the dubious distinction of having quit just before the healthcare chain was fined $1.7BILLION in Medicare fraud case. No doubt about it, this man was crooked and all he can say is he’s learned and moved on. So it was the kind of election where you held your nose and voted for either a professional politician or a crook.
To everyone’s surprise, the crook won. Why? Yes it was partly due to Scott’s vast pocket having poured nearly $40 million into his campaign. But it was the content of the ads that swayed voters when Rick Scott hopped on the Tea Party bandwagon and rode it straight across the finishing line. As soon as a new Tea Party issue surfaced, Scott would have an appropriate ad espousing the far right views and criticizing McCollum be it the Arizona immigration law or the NYC mosque issue.
National pundits have been saying for a while that people are angry at the Obama administration and even career politicians on both sides. They have been predicting a tidal wave of change as voters throw out the old and vote in conservative
politicians. Yet I have worried that perhaps analysts have overstated this or that Republicans might get too cocky and sure about themselves and might ultimately lose in November. After Florida’s primary I no longer am the least bit worried. If voters are willing to vote in a known crook then their anger at the current group of politicians can’t be overstated. In fact instead of a projected tidal wave electing Republicans in November it will be more like a tsunami obliterating everything in its path and revealing a brand new landscape when it is finished.
elections that end up resonating across the whole nation. Our primaries Tuesday were no exemption as we had a billionaire, a multi-millionaire, career politicians, a Tea Party hero, at least one honest to goodness crook, multi millions spent on nasty ads with some sleazy politics thrown in, too. What fun!In the Senate race, only Democrats had a choice between former state trooper Kendrick Meeks and billionaire Jeff Green. No matter how much money Green poured into his campaign voters simply couldn’t get past his sleaze factor. Green had made his money by betting against our housing market and while people were losing houses he was raking in the money. In this race, the nice guy did finish first and by a wide margin winning 57% to Green’s 31%.
This Senate race is now set between Meeks (D), Rubio (R) and Florida Governor Crist who
dropped out of the Republican primary to run as an Independent when he realized that lose, and badly to state senator Marco Rubio. This relative newcomer was a Tea Party candidate before there was a Tea Party. It doesn’t hurt that Rubio is a good looking, charming, second generation Cuban-American who is living the America dream and has become the poster boy for the Tea Party.No one was surprised when Crist declared himself as an Independent. His leftish tendencies were starting to show what with his much publicized hug with Obama and what killed his chances as a Republican was his acceptance of Obama’s stimulus money while other Republican Governors were refusing it. Although pleased that Crist dropped out of the Republican primary, many Republicans were concerned that the Republican vote would be split between Crist and Rubio which would open up the way for Meek to win. I now believe the opposite will happen.
This summer the new power couple seemed to be Obama and
Crist as the news constantly showed the two of them side by side and deep in conversation as they strolled down Florida beaches after the BP oil spill. Not only had Obama sent a couple of top aides to assist Crist but the Governor showed a complete lack of respect for his former party when he refused to return campaign money.. These former supporters are enraged that their money, donated initially to a Republican candidate, is now being used by that candidate to further far left issues.Based on all of this, I think that instead of splitting the Republican voters with Rubio, Crist’s leftward turn means that he and Meek’s will now split the Democrat vote while Rubio garners
all the Republican voters and becomes our next Senator.And why should non Floridians care? Because if I am wrong and Crist does win he will join the Democrat party and be one more Senate vote for Obama. But the race for Governor is even more important nationally particularly with the upcoming 2012 presidential race. Just think of the importance of Florida in the 2004 and 2000 presidential elections. The new Governor of Florida could once again be a pivotal player in 2012.
In the gubernatorial race, Florida Republicans did have a clear choice between two very different men – career politician Bill McCollum and multi-millionaire Rob Scott. McCollum was backed by all the big name Republican politicians while Scott admitted to criminal charges and yet against everyone’s predictions Rob Scott won the Republican primary. How did this happen?
Bill McCollum, who has been around for decades, is from my District in Florida so I remember
him as far back as when he was a Congressman helping to impeach Clinton. I never really liked the man although for less than lofty reasons – he just looks like such a dork. For years now I have tried to recall who McCollum reminds me of and I finally came up with it. For those of you over 50 you might remember the old TV show My Three Sons in which the youngest son, Ernie, is a rather geeky looking kid with a chipmunk cheeks, large thick glasses and a goofy smile. (And how I can pull that name out after all these years but can’t remember the important things my teachers tried to teach me is beyond me!)Anyway, not only does McCollum look geeky but he always seemed so earnest, prim and rather humorless. To be fair to him, I think he has been a very patient man, doing whatever the party wanted him to do, including his current stint as Florida’s Attorney General. By all accounts McCollum should have won the Republican primary for Governor. And he would be celebrating his primary win if it hadn’t been for Rick Scott entering the fray.
If you live in Florida, you would know that Rick Scott made his millions
in the healthcare industry. Not only was he the CEO of the largest network of hospitals but he also has the dubious distinction of having quit just before the healthcare chain was fined $1.7BILLION in Medicare fraud case. No doubt about it, this man was crooked and all he can say is he’s learned and moved on. So it was the kind of election where you held your nose and voted for either a professional politician or a crook.To everyone’s surprise, the crook won. Why? Yes it was partly due to Scott’s vast pocket having poured nearly $40 million into his campaign. But it was the content of the ads that swayed voters when Rick Scott hopped on the Tea Party bandwagon and rode it straight across the finishing line. As soon as a new Tea Party issue surfaced, Scott would have an appropriate ad espousing the far right views and criticizing McCollum be it the Arizona immigration law or the NYC mosque issue.
National pundits have been saying for a while that people are angry at the Obama administration and even career politicians on both sides. They have been predicting a tidal wave of change as voters throw out the old and vote in conservative
politicians. Yet I have worried that perhaps analysts have overstated this or that Republicans might get too cocky and sure about themselves and might ultimately lose in November. After Florida’s primary I no longer am the least bit worried. If voters are willing to vote in a known crook then their anger at the current group of politicians can’t be overstated. In fact instead of a projected tidal wave electing Republicans in November it will be more like a tsunami obliterating everything in its path and revealing a brand new landscape when it is finished.
No comments:
Post a Comment