One of the ongoing political dramas the past couple of months is the tug-of-war between former Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris and the GOP bigwigs over the Senate race there: they want her out of it.
She insists on making the Senate race. And it’s clear GOP bigwigs think she’s too controversial to win. So what do you do when faced with likely electoral defeat but talk to a high profile, former Congressman who is now a cable TV talk show host — someone who is adept at sound bites, political debate….but who isn’t quite as controversial…someone named Joe Scarborough:
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Congressman turned political talk show host Joe Scarborough has a choice to make: renew his contract with NBC or challenge Katherine Harris for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate.
Scarborough said Wednesday that he has already talked with Sen. Elizabeth Dole, who heads the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and plans to meet with Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman and White House officials next week about whether to get into the race to unseat Democrat Bill Nelson.
“I’ve told everybody I’ll keep an open mind. I’m happy with NBC, NBC is happy with me. They’ve offered me a new contract. That’s sitting on the table,” Scarborough said.
And, as this AP report shows, Scarborough is not beating around the bush (no pun intended) in explaining what’s happening:
Scarborough, who spent seven years in Congress, said Republican leaders are concerned about Harris’ electability because of the role she played in the 2000 presidential recount. She was Florida’s secretary of state then, and Democrats say she fought recounts that could have jeopardized President Bush’s 537-vote victory.
“Everybody I’ve talked to in the party likes her personally, it’s just the numbers. You look at any public poll and the numbers are not positive for her simply because she’s identified with the dustup in 2000,” Scarborough said.
Harris began her campaign last week. Her political strategist, Adam Goodman, said Wednesday: “We think ultimately, whether we have a primary or not, Katherine will be the nominee and the party will unite behind the nominee.”
Mehlman, of the RNC, said: “To the extent that other candidates choose to run, Florida voters will decide on their nominee and we will support that individual.”
And if you believe national GOPers are not playing any role behind the scenes, then let me tell you about a little bunny that’ll hide beautifully colored eggs around your house this Easter. Another AP story put it this way:
PENSACOLA, Florida (AP) — The Republican Party in Florida is courting cable TV host Joe Scarborough to challenge U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris in the 2006 Senate primary race, two businessmen active in GOP politics said Tuesday…..
The other businessman, Eric Nickelsen, said he had contacted Scarborough and encouraged him to run, and he corroborated that other party leaders wanted the cable talk show host to challenge Harris.
The bottom line is that while the Harris campaign has excited many of the staunch-partisan GOP rank and file in Florida, it’s sending shivers among party leaders who dont’ want her to run, but don’t want to be seen as slapping a candidate down. Why? Because she’d be a lightning rod for Democrats and some independents who would not be voting on her policies or her issues but the controversy that continues to swirl around her.
Her way of dealing with it doesn’t seem to leave much room to win over Democrats who are ready to use this controversy to the hilt, as this Knight-Ridder article shows:
U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris is holding court in a crowded Republican Party headquarters in a strip mall east of Tampa, fielding questions from an enthusiastic crowd, eager to hear her thoughts on abortion, gay marriage and stem cell research.
Then, from the back of the room comes the inevitable: “How do you plan on dealing with people still mad about the 2000 election?”
The immaculately groomed woman in the perfectly tailored suit smiles. ”Do you think anybody will be?” she asks coyly. ”We simply followed the law.” Her audience applauds, delighted at the response from Florida’s former secretary of state.
That’s a nice response line for partisans and she is running in the primary. But it’s like rubbing it in the face of Democrats and if this is what’s in store it means (a)the issue is bound to divert other issues in the campaign because (b)the issue and how she responds to it is certain to be used against her directly or indirectly. Even if many voters consider it a non-issue. It is not something that will help her PICK UP votes.
In short, both are controversial. But Harris carries so much baggage that Walmart could sell it in all of its Florida stores and still have enough left for Georgia.
So the GOP now faces this question: why not make a safer choice and get someone who is also something of a household name but who doesn’t stir up such partisan rage in some quarters? And for Scarborough the question becomes: why not run if your kids are now older and you’ve done the cable show?
If Harris runs and loses, it’ll likely mean the end or a detour of her political career. If Scarborough loses, he can always find another cable gig.
And the Democrats? They should be hoping Harris gets the GOP nod.
UPDATE: Daily Kos notes that Scarborough has his own baggage — or perhaps we should say dead weight…
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.