A little over a week ago I wrote a diary about how the Republican Party in Florida was freaking out over John McCain's sagging fortunes in the state. Well, in the past week things have gotten even worse down here for McCain. He seems to be as popular with state GOP officials as the red tide, and the feeling appears to be mutual. Florida's once-solid Hispanic voting bloc for Republicans is cracking up. Democrats now outnumber Republicans in the state. And perhaps most telling of all, the mean, grumpy old man across the street from us put an Obama sign on his meticulously manicured lawn last week.
What has Florida GOPers freaking out right now is this:
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Five straight polls have shown Obama with the lead in Florida. Although I would not say that this state is a lock, the latest numbers have Republicans running scared here. Many state GOP officials have been whining publicly for weeks about the McCain campaign's lack of coordination with them in the state, and about the overall disorganization of the campaign. Things got so bad that McCain threw Florida's GOP chair off of his plane, telling him to find his own damn transportation if he wanted to follow McCain around the state. Ouch.
For a perfect example McCain's flailing campaign in Florida, just check out Florida4Obama's excellent diary from last Friday. The kossack heard an earful while eavesdropping on a group of McCain volunteers meeting up at a Starbucks (!) here in Tampa, not too far from where I live:
They talked about the fact that their local "Victory Office" was so disorganized and the morale was low. Apparently one of the lead volunteer organizers walked out of the office yesterday and hasn't come back. They all feared they were wasting good time phonebanking and canvassing.
I would love to know what the final straw was for that volunteer organizer. Too many McCain-Palin klan rallies? Not enough of them?
The finger-pointing has only gotten worse. A article in yesterday's Miami Herald revealed continued dissension in the ranks.
"This effort lacks coordination and a cooperative spirit and it's showing," (longtime McCain supporter Roger) Stone said. "But it's more than mechanics. The campaign has no consistent message."
Over the summer, the Obama camp spent at least $10 million on Florida television ads -- 4,000 of the spots attacking McCain -- while McCain spent nothing.
The failure by the party and McCain's campaign to respond to an Obama radio ad in Florida that bashed McCain over embryonic stem-cell research was "a perfect example of them not being on the ball in Florida," Stone said, echoing numerous Florida Republicans.
Even Gov. Charlie Crist seems to have lost his man-crush for Johnny:
Crist, who helped deliver Florida for McCain during the primary, said he will spend the final weeks before Election Day minding the state's weak economy rather than campaigning for the Arizona senator.
"When I have time to help, I'll try to do that," Crist said last week, after he flew around the state with McCain running mate Sarah Palin. Saturday, he skipped a McCain football rally and instead went to Disney World.
That's a pretty shocking statement from a man who used to follow McCain around the state like a lapdog. I guess he wants to spend more time with his bride-to-be???? Sen. McCain, Charlie just isn't that into you anymore.
Adding to McCain's woes, Florida's Hispanic voters -- once a virtual lock for any Republican presidential candidate -- are also none too thrilled with him, as evidenced by a recent poll showing Obama leading McCain with this all-important voter group, 49% to 43%.
A few days ago, New Jersey Democratic Senator Robert Menendez filled up a Coconut Grove restaurant to speak with a group of Republican Cuban-Americans who are among the many Republicanos for Obama.
"I think that just as we see in the polls, many of the [traditionally Republican] Latinos [in Florida] are moving in Barack's direction," said Menendez. "Earlier today we were at a senior citizen's center; this is probably the hard core of the more conservative view, yet overwhelmingly there was support for Obama."
One older Cuban-American in Miami who is voting for Obama is kossack JCNYMYAMI's mom, which he wrote about in his diary yesterday. And you have to check out his FANTASTIC video, with the lyrics "Even my Republican mama is gonna cast a vote for Obama":
As as I said earlier, the final sign to me that things are changing here in Florida is that the mean nasty old who lives across the street from us -- the one who called the cops on us when we moved in 2 months ago because he didn't like where our moving van was parked -- put an Obama sign on his lawn last week, smack dab in the front and center of his perfect lawn. My friends, if this cranky old man has lost McCain's support, he's in trouble.