Another Strange Florida Election

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.

Tenaciously Optimistic

I heard a phrase the other day which immediately resonated in me. I don’t remember where I heard it but the phrase was “tenaciously optimistic”. Isn’t that great? We all know people who never seem happy; who complain about every little thing that happens to them. On the other hand, there are those few people who truly have had terrible adversities in their life and yet they still seem happy. They are tenaciously optimistic. They know that when life throws you a curve ball it would be easy to feel sorry for yourself or become bitter but instead they work to remain hopeful and cling to their belief that life is to be enjoyed. I should know. I also think that this phrase describes the attitudes of our best politicians and leaders, not just here but world wide.

Think of Winston Churchill who never gave up during WWII. One of his many quotes that he is famous for is: ... we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender. Wow. Now that is the epitome of being tenaciously optimistic! Churchill had faith that they would win but he knew they would have to work hard to achieve that win; in other words they needed to be tenaciously optimistic.

Our most revered Presidents are also those who were tenaciously optimistic. Roosevelt inspired Americans with his upbeat view during the Great Depression and then WWII. In fact, Roosevelt applied this sentiment in his personal life. He could have been bitter after being struck by polio and losing the ability to walk. Instead he fought to be happy. So did Kennedy who also had serious illnesses and a debilitating back problem. Like Roosevelt, he overcame his personal problems with humor and confidence that he could do anything.

Perhaps the President who most exemplified tenacious optimism was President Reagan. He was elected during a terrible recession, interest rates greater than 20%, unemployment well over 10% and an energy crisis. Yet during his campaign he exuded optimism and hope that things would be better. And the American people responded and swept him into office twice. How could you not admire a man who as he was being wheeled into surgery after being shot during an assassination attempt quipped to his wife “Honey, I forgot to duck.” Reagan knew that humor is frequently used as a means to deflect adversities.

Obama was also tenaciously optimistic. He would have to be as he was the first African American to be on the Democratic ticket for President. Few African Americans ever thought there would be a black president in their lifetime but not Obama. He even turned his tenacious optimism into his campaign slogan “Yes We Can”. And he did.

I mention this because I heard someone, I think it was the Republican House Minority Whip, say that the two Republicans who just became governors of Virginia and NJ were “sunny Republicans”. The pundits discussed how these two Republicans each ran a campaign of hope and ideas of how to improve life for the citizens of their state. On the other hand, the Democratic candidates ran angrier campaigns attacking their opponent and playing the blame game. Voters have shown over and over that they don’t respond to those kinds of campaigns. We don’t want leaders to blame other people, we want them to explain how they will improve the situation. And once again voters responded to the tenacious optimism of the Republican candidates of Virginia and New Jersey.

Something else has occurred to me. As previously mentioned, when running for President, Obama was enthusiastically hopeful with his “Yes We Can” motto. But since becoming President he seems to have lost that ebullience and hopefulness. Instead every time he gives a speech it is about doom and gloom, how bad things are and continuously blaming President Bush for all the problems. In looking back, Clinton had a lot of problems but if not exactly cheerful, he did have this cocky self assurance. Carter, however, was like an old time Southern Baptist pastor preaching of fire and brimstone unless people changed. He lasted one painful term and yet never learned for he is still preaching doom and gloom.

All the pundits are analyzing the election results from last night. What does it portend for Obama and his agenda? How will it affect the health care bill? What does it mean for the Republican party? Personally, I think the message is an old one. That voters are tired of being told how awful life is, they know that things are tough all over. They don’t need politicians telling them how bad it is or blaming the other party and voters definitely don’t want politicians telling them that they need to sacrifice (ie. pay higher taxes) in order to help others. And they also respond badly to threats – that if they don’t do something then life will be horrible in the future (think climate change).

Voters want those “sunny Republicans”. They want to hear that life is good and is only going to get better. They want solutions but not solutions that makes life tougher for themselves. They want leaders who are confident and hopeful in a better future. Leaders who won’t promise easy fixes since most of the time the voters end up paying for that. Instead these leaders will tell you how they will work to improve your family’s life. These leaders are tenaciously optimistic; finding joy and pride in America even during the darkest hours and exuding hopefulness that we can work together to create a shining future.