Since I’ve been beating up some on fellow "Old White Guy" William March for his punditry, let me acknowledge that his piece on Crist and Martinez and the US Senate seat is pretty decent. I agree with him that all of this is just over-hyped gossip, A Puff of Smoke as he says.
But allow me to put all this speculation to rest. Up front, Crist is NOT going to run for the US Senate. Here’s why.
Let us assume that he has presidential aspirations, (which most pundits do). What would he gain by going into the senate, where he would be a very junior member? He would have to struggle with a party he is clearly out of step with. His votes would be subject to the Limbaugh litmus test. Why would he want to climb aboard the Titanic?
But, if he runs for re-election in 2010 and wins he can watch from the sidelines as the national Republican Party does their version of the McGovern crash and burn in 2012. He can then complete his last two years as a successful Republican governor with a New Voice and New Direction for a party sorely lacking both.
He would be out of office at the beginning of 2015 and perfectly positioned for a presidential campaign. Don’t you think that makes a lot more sense than running for the senate? (What is it about newspaper pundits that makes them so WILLFULLY STUPID?)
Of course, what Charlie doesn’t know, but he will soon, is that he is in for the fight of his life in 2010, presently high ratings be damned. Would all you newspaper pundits please go back and look up Papa Bush’s popularity ratings right after the First Gulf War? Do you remember what happened in 1992? HE LOST TO BILL CLINTON!!!
The same thing is going to happen to Charlie. The property insurance mess is going to collapse soon. If we have a hurricane, it’s all over. What’s the first question we’re going to push a Traditional Media reporter to ask Charlie come this summer?
What do you think of Rush Limbaugh’s influence in the Republican Party? Don’t you just start chuckling when you think about how he’d squirm over that one? I mean, it’s a complete NO WIN situation for him.
If he says Rush is fine, we got him. If he says Rush is bad, there’ll be Hell to pay from the Limbaugh Inquisition. That’s the problem that Charlie is stuck with. He’s a Republican. And in 2010 his opportunistic association with them will come back and BITE HIM IN THE REAR END BIG TIME!
Our next governor will be Democrat Pam Iorio. Let her know about it. Yes, 2010 is going to be a GOOD year for Democrats here in Florida.
Governor
Pam Iorio
Pam Iorio (born April 27, 1959 in Waterville , Maine ) is the 57th and current (as of 2008) mayor of Tampa , Florida . She moved with her family to Temple Terrace as an infant and also attended school in Temple Terrace . She is the second female mayor of Tampa.
Her first term dealt largely with renovating the downtown area, as well as creating economic confidence for poorer citizens of the city. Iorio is also a big supporter of the arts, and she wishes to make Tampa a major arts center in the South. Iorio has also been credited with a sharp drop in drug trafficking in the city limits. In her second term, Iorio will continue to be a supporter for a light rail mass transit system for the city.
In 1985, at the age of 26, she became the youngest person ever elected to the Hillsborough County Commission. For a decade before her successful run for mayor, she served as Supervisor of Elections for Hillsborough County . During the 2000 presidential election recount, she was the president of the State Association of County Elections Supervisors.