Charlie is not going to hesitate to spend whatever it takes to annihilate Rubio. And while Kendrick Meek isn’t that formidable an opponent, Charlie isn’t going to be overly generous in the general election if he’s had to spend a lot of his money in the primary.

So funds that would have been available to help McCollum are going to go to Charlie. Meanwhile, Alex Sink is sitting on a pot of money twice the size of McCollum’s.

Republicans aren’t going to lose Florida’s Senate seat. They could well lose the governor’s mansion.

“When principle is at stake, be deaf to expediency”

Dear Jamie:

The Marco Rubio and Katherine Harris comparison is ridiculous! Not worth expounding
on but……here are some thoughts:

Your flawed “analysis” was to malign Marco and attempt to discredit his candidacy. It won’t stick.

What’s transparent in this race is that candidate Marco Rubio is genuine and his opponent is aspiring; voters can see that. Marco has a set of core principles and adhere’s to them.
He’s got 8 years legislative experience, he’s focused, composed, an extremely intelligent lawyer ( it didn’t take 3 attempts to pass the bar) & more importantly, has a vision to lead our country. Marco has a command of the facts at his fingertips; unlike Katherine Harris or the governor. ( We can’t wait til they have a debate, grab some popcorn and a coke Jamie!).

What Republicans like you don’t understand is this, Marco Rubio is running for a Cause bigger than himself. And for political opportunists, whether they’re candidates or paid consultants, they don’t get it. The FL grassroots are rallying behind Marco, and the grassroots he enjoys are larger in number and more diverse than those who supported Katherine Harris’ candidacy. (And Marco can make his case in Spanish too!)

This state is suffering from almost 12% unemployment; meanwhile the Republican governor goes out front and embraces Pres. Obama in support for a Federal bailout. Now he’s gallivanting around the country leaving the E.O.G. unattended and not addressing the serious problems we’re facing. For Crist, as Katherine was accused of, the make-up is coming off.

You said:”Rubio is on a collision course with a failed political campaign.” But in fact you are the one who was on a failed political campaign. Perhaps you are having a interior Freudian moment.

Most of us looked at Katherine and knew she should not run, she wound never make it out of the gate. Incumbent Bill Nelson needed a stronger Republican male opponent, probably one with a military resume. Nelson had been in FL politics since he was a Page at 15 years of age in D.C., and had broad bi-partisan support in the state. The numbers were never there for Katherine Harris beating Bill Nelson. Unlike Marco Rubio, who not only beats Kendrick Meek handily, but he beats him by a larger margin (15) than the governor (12) according to the latest Rasmussen poll done a few days ago,

see here:

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections2/election_2010/election_2010_senate_elections/florida/election_2010_florida_senate

Marco’s campaign may have less cash on hand (though you didn’t mention over 2 million of the governor’s is for the General not the Primary) but what is similar of Crist’s campaign to Katherine’s is that Crist’s campaign image is imploding and making national headlines just like hers did. Marco is not doing that, it’s Crist’s lack of principled convictions and disingenuousness public statements which are catching up with him.

see here in the Washington Examiner today:

http://www.examiner.com/x-26028-Miami-Political-Buzz-Examiner~y2009m10d28-Florida-Governor-Crist-claims-he-had-no-idea-President-Obama-was-visiting-his-state

The race is exciting, in every poll taken beginning this past spring Rubio’s numbers continue to go up and the governor’s go down. The governor may be a sunny optimist but these times are serious and he’s more form than substance.

Next August 24th, Gov. Charlie Crist may well be congratulating a dynamic young senator from Miami. The telegenic Marco Rubio; a man willing to make the sacrifices necessary to defend something bigger than himself.

Nancy

Katherine’s problems were more numerous to share here, but one of the problems with her campaign is that she refused to use much needed dollars to “clarify the opposition.” Bill Nelson hasn’t had much of an approval rating higher than 49 percent since he has taken office. She wanted and received a campaign that was 100 percent about her. That was never going to be her path to victory.