WSJ OP-ED: A Woman (Katherine Harris) Scorned

[question everything]

The Wall Street Journal

A Woman Scorned

By PETER A. BROWN
February 2, 2006; Page A11

Orlando, Fla.

(snip)


So what does Ms. Harris, an attractive and articulate conservative, get as her reward? The Bush boys and the Republican apparatus they control in Florida and Washington have done everything possible to block her. Of course, none of this is personal. It's just business, as the Corleones used to say, and the Bush family business is hardball politics. They believe, as do most objective observers of the race, that Ms. Harris's chances of defeating Sen. Nelson, the sole remaining statewide elected Democrat in the Sunshine State, are slim to none. Ironically, carrying water for Bush has made her a lightning rod for those who dislike anything having to do with the president. Of course, she will get Republican support, but to Democrats her candidacy is like waving a red flag in front of a bull. Not only will they vote against her, they will come out in droves to do so, jeopardizing everyone else on the GOP ticket.

(snip)

Florida Republicans control all but one statewide office, and they also control both houses of the Legislature and the U.S. House delegation by large margins. They think they are on the way to making Florida a one-party state -- as much a GOP fortress as Texas. Losing the governorship would be a big blow, and would have implications for the presidential campaign two years hence, one in which Florida remains the most important swing state.

(snip)

Absent a well-funded GOP primary challenger -- which the governor and the president sought but couldn't recruit -- the nomination now appears hers for the asking. It's not as if the Bushes didn't try. Karl Rove, the president's political guru, tried to talk her out of running, as he did in 2004. So has Sen. Elizabeth Dole, who heads the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee. They courted Florida House Speaker Allan Bense, and after that Tommy Franks, the retired general who ran the war against Saddam Hussein and is a Florida resident. Both took a pass. With the political calendar now turning a page, things look pretty good for Sen. Nelson. He leads Ms. Harris by 24 points in the latest Quinnipiac poll and has a huge money edge. She showed $469,833 on hand compared to his $6,519,723 in the last available campaign finance report. Apparently the Bush brothers aren't the only Republicans who consider her damaged goods.

(snip)

For Florida Republicans, the whole thing is like watching a train wreck in slow motion. It's not just that the polls show her trailing by so much. It's that more voters view her negatively than positively, while Sen. Nelson's positive-to-negative rating is about 4-to-1. Her widespread name recognition is actually a disadvantage. Mr. Jewett, the UCF professor, explains it simply: "It is very difficult to shape public opinion once it is already set. It would be much better for the Republicans to have someone who is not as well known, but for whom you can develop a positive image with good advertising." In other words, a blank slate would be far preferable to the candidate that Democrats and independents already know and hate, which is why the Bush brothers have decided winning trumps loyalty.

Mr. Brown is assistant director of the Quinnipiac University polling unit.

URL for this article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113885090569862968.html (subscription)

[dryan]

1. Katherine.....

Harris just doesn't get it does she? She wanted to run last time but KR stepped in and recruited Mel Martinez.

[DKStreet]

2. Attractive and articulate?

I think not.

[gratuitous]

4. That jumped out at you too, huh?

That one sentence destroys all credibility the rest of the article might have.

[Beetwasher]

12. Yeah, Me Too

What a way to start. I stopped reading right there, I mean, what would be the point of going further?

[question everything]

11. Beauty is in the eye of... Este Lauder, Max Factor

and the other makeup makers

[tenshi816]

3. Karma's a bitch, ain't it Katherine? n/t

[Greeby]

5. ....

:nopity:

[Panda1]

6. Hahaha....she TRUSTED the Bush Family?

Her reward for kicking people off the voting rolls and helping to rig Florida was the only use they had for her. Just like Darrell Issa, her usefulness is over.
Now, they just want her to go away. Issa cried on TV, I hope to see Katherine crying all her makeup off ala Tammy Faye.

[norml]

7. Republicans finally get behind Harris

Republicans finally get behind Harris
By Peter Savodnik

After months of trying to get Rep. Katherine Harris (R-Fla.) to exit the Senate race, leading Republicans appear to be coalescing around her bid to unseat Sen. Bill Nelson (D).

At a state party meeting in Orlando in mid-January, Gov. Jeb Bush (R), who Republicans earlier said opposed Harris’s candidacy, offered the candidate praise and said he would campaign for her.

Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings (R), at the same meeting, told Harris: “Katherine, go, run and win.” Jennings had earlier been mentioned as a possible Senate contender herself.

At a meeting with reporters last week, Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.), chairwoman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, who had sought to recruit other Republicans to enter the GOP Senate primary, called Harris a strong candidate without endorsing her. Dole’s comments were unprompted.

“It seems to me the vultures have stopped circling,” said Geoffrey Becker, a former state GOP executive director who now runs Vantage Point Strategies, a political consulting firm in Tallahassee.

“It seems like there’s been a little circling of the wagons,” he added.


snip


http://www.thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Campaign/020206.html

[RufusEarl]

9. They must have gotten all the e-voting machines in place,

so harris is a shoe in now? That what it looks like, after reading the original thread, stating she had a snow ball chance in hell. Then reading the last thread, that seems to say all re-pugs are behind her. I'm I missing something?

[rman]

8. It's sort of interesting to note that she tried to run on a

"progressive conservative" platform.

[madinmaryland]

15. Isn't that an oxymoron? n/t

[Yollam]

10. Good. She's a fucking bitch.

I hope she ends up flipping burgers at Wendy's soon.



But I know that won't happen because her dad was a bank CEO and head of a wealthy and influential family (his worthless ass died last month).

[kerry-is-my-prez]

13. Finally- an example of what goes around.... don't see that too often.

Seems like the bad guys are always winning with no payback....

[EC]

14. I think this shows they are afraid that if Dem's came out in

droves to vote, they can't rig the vote as easily, since they are all having fits about her running....KKK + Dole begging her not to run...Too, much...Ha, Ha,ha

[dryan]

16. KH has 2 things...

going for her. She is very attractive. As a woman I'm sorry but that's just stating a fact. She also has an inexhaustible supply of energy. When she was Secretary of State it was not unusual for her to give 3 or 4 speeches -- and I mean 1/2 to 45 minute presentations, plus attend meetings, premieres, cabinet meetings, etc. all in one day. Her day started at 6 AM and it was not unsual for her to still be in her office at midnight.

[Mad_Dem_X]

17. She may have a lot of energy...

but I have to disagree with you on the attractiveness bit. I'm also a woman, but I find her repugnant, I think in part because of her personality. Evil rots you from the inside out. She is evil, and it shows.