*cross-posted at
The Spencerian*
Some good news came in for
Keith Fitzgerald down in Florida's State House District 69 over the weekend. If you follow politics and campaigns, even a little bit, you already know that the toughest thing to nail is the free media.
And in a local race like this one, it's especially hard. For a number of reasons.
Listed after the jump...
First, there's Katherine Harris near to the top of the ballot. Kitty's managed to go from rising Republican star, to rising Republican nuisance, to falling Republican nuisance, to quirky distraction, to insane distraction, to train wreck, to just plain pathetic. You sort of half expect Sally Struthers to be standing outside Kitty's campaign headquarters begging you to send all you can for only the price of a cup of coffee.
There's the whole Mark Foley thing. Sure, Foley's pedophilic predilections are disgusting and unforgivable, but from our perspective, the cover-up is nearly just as bad. Is this how the Republican Leadership in the House behaves? And if so, what else are they covering up? These are important questions that deserve answers, but when they're being asked, they're taking up valuable ink in newspapers and TV time that could be used to cover races like Keith's. It's kind of a shame.
Then there's the fact that there are a number of national races and national issues - Iraq at the top of them - that easily overshadow local campaigns.
But Tip O'Neill said, rightly, that all politics is local.
Has that ever been proven wrong to anyone's knowledge, by the way? We sort of think not.
Anyway, the local paper in District 69 is the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, a fine and decent New York Times-owned news outlet that has done some fine reporting in their time. And we're not just sucking up because they endorsed Keith over the weekend.
Their endorsement noted that Keith has "...an astonishing grasp of the issues on the Legislature's agenda," and that he, "...offers ideas across a broad range of issues -- and, most important, expresses them in concise, digestible language. His service on the city of Sarasota Charter Review Commission showed that he can work effectively in an open, public forum outside the halls and walls of academia."
Our favorite line reads: "Fitzgerald says he hopes to coax the Florida House back toward the political mainstream - a worthwhile mission." How often have you heard the words "political mainstream" this election cycle? Yeah, endorsements are always made all the sweeter when they're true. Read the whole thing here:link.
Oh, but that's not all, friends and readers! The Sarasota Herald-Tribune's writer Carol E. Lee featured a profile of Keith on Sunday. We won't go in to it, but believe us, it's really quite good. Check it out here:link.
And, as if that's not all, political chief Jeremy Wallace has a piece on Keith's recent standing-up-to of the Christian Coalition in his weekly column. Read it here:link.
This is exactly the kind of free media that candidates are constantly looking for - and Keith is certainly deserving.
Remember, gang - we've got three weeks, almost exactly, to get this thing right. Please, if you can, support Keith's campaign. If you can't donate money, come on by and donate some of your time. Keith will thank you. We will thank you. And, most important, the people of District 69 will thank you. ts