Politics and Pragmatism
by Rochelle Renford
Democrats can't afford to vote their race or conscience in the gubernatorial primary. If they want to boot Bush, they have to think strategy.
Let's face it, the best person for the job of running Florida isn't in the race and never will be. And that's just as well, because nobody would vote for the poor S.O.B. anyway.
He (or she) would lack charisma, money and the ability to break complex issues down into cute little sound bites. Voters would be promised better schools, decent health care, a cleaner environment and all of the other things that would improve their quality of life. But they'd have to help pay for them, with higher taxes, less consumption and general self-sacrifice at such a high degree that it would actually burn.
Nobody, not even corporations and the rich people who love them, would get something for nothing.
But this is America. What we get instead are the three candidates in the Democratic gubernatorial primary.
There's something wrong with all of them.
Tampa attorney Bill McBride has never held public office, state Sen. Daryl Jones has the slick veneer of someone who's too long held public office, and Janet Reno … it's hard to even know where to start with Janet Reno.
The core question isn't which one of these candidates would make the best governor, which actually makes the choice easier.
The only real question for Democrats is this: Who can beat Republican incumbent Jeb Bush?
Democrats are still seething over the presidential election debacle. An indictment against Jeb is an indictment against the big brother they believe stole the election. Add to that Bush's slaughtering of affirmative action, a Democratic sacred cow, his endorsement of vouchers for private schools, his penchant for privatization of government functions, and there's a whole lot of anger going on.
The answer to the question has much more to do with money and name recognition than with character or qualifications. But we'll look at those anyway, just for fun.
Janet Reno: Too Much to Explain
Reno, with her red truck tour and handmade South Florida house, genuinely loves this state. That's no small thing.
She has compassion for Florida's elderly and she respects the environment. Her sincerity is so apparent that she feels virtually no need to actually spell out a plan on how she plans to govern her favorite place.
Like the other candidates, she wants to improve our public school system by increasing teacher's salaries, reducing class sizes and holding schools accountable. How's she going to find the money to do those things? We're supposed to elect her and trust she will find a way.
She has mentioned trimming waste from the budget but given no specifics. Hasn't she spent enough time trucking around the state to be able to point out a few things by now?
Her plan for providing health insurance for indigent children and adults offers a range of initiatives that include such common-sense measures as offering low-interest loans to cover the cost of COBRA payments and increasing public awareness of Florida KidCare, a healthcare program for low-income children. Reno's plan to lower prescription costs for seniors is also laudable.
To accomplish anything, however, she'd have to form a relationship with a Republican-controlled Legislature that's non-combative or, at the very least, not all-out war. Reno has been unwilling to even listen to her own party, which likely did everything but threaten to hold her hostage to get her not to run.
Reno's no-nonsense attitude worked for her as attorney general, but as governor it may not work at all.
Not that she's unwilling to compromise. She has already made a disturbing compromise by admitting that she's personally against the death penalty but is willing to enforce it anyway.
Why?
Given her personal views, it defies reason that she'd be unwilling to at least consider a moratorium on the death penalty while working to ensure it's applied fairly.
However, the real problem with Reno is not that she wouldn't be a good governor. The problem is that she can't get elected governor.
Bush's entire campaign would be about attacking Reno and she would need more than a few 30-second ads to defend herself.
Televised debates wouldn't be good for her, either. Unfortunately for Democrats, Florida didn't get the dumb Bush brother.
Gov. Bush can articulate his plans clearly with dizzying detail. He'd probably trounce Reno in a debate, assuming she'd actually agree to one. Next to Bush, Reno's shaky hands from Parkinson's disease and halting speech would make her look weak; her lack of attention to detail would make her seem uninformed.
In a less contentious race, her AG record might not be damaging enough to keep her out of office. Aside from the Cuban exile community in Miami, which is largely Republican anyway, not many people could relate to keeping Elian Gonzalez out of Cuba at all costs.
Waco? That was unfortunate, but the American memory is short and she can explain.
Therein lies the problem. She'd have to spend more time explaining than doing the only thing Democrats can do to win back the governor's mansion — force Bush to explain.
Daryl Jones: Maybe Next Time
If life were fair, Jones would be the candidate to beat.
As he's fond of saying, "governor is not an entry-level job," and Jones is the only one in the running with experience. He's also the only Democrat who has displayed a full knowledge of the state's ills and detailed plans to resolve them.
Jones would bring creativity to government problem-solving. He has a plan to provide a tax credit for corporate contributions to nonprofits that receive state money — including those with programs at public schools and universities. The state would in turn reduce the amount of money it gives the charity by a portion of the contribution. According to Jones, the state could save billions in funding.
Could it work? Nobody knows, since it's never been tried before. But it's an interesting idea.
Some of his plans are a little more farfetched. His proposal to collect unpaid sales tax, which he estimates to be about $1-billion, would require a monumental enforcement effort that wouldn't be cheap. Replacing school textbooks with CD-ROMs has saved some school districts a lot of money. But how many districts are too technology-impaired for this approach to work? His plan to replace the FCAT with a test created by teachers is a good one, but it also relies heavily on technology to make it efficient.
Jones' best ideas are simple common sense. He would increase funding for prison rehabilitation programs because statistics show that they reduce crime rates. Inmates who are uneducated return to prison at a rate of 53 percent, he said. Those numbers drop given increased education, with prisoners who complete college courses returning to the system at a rate of just 3 percent.
Bush not only decreased funding for rehabilitation but also cut back much-needed drug treatment.
Jones has so many plans that hitting on even the high points would take up too much space. Let's just say he's left few stones unturned — including the stone that his support for Bush's One Florida plan tried to hide under. He quickly withdrew his backing under pressure from fellow senators and criticizes it now, but that genie won't get back in the bottle.
When Bill Clinton nominated Jones to serve as Air Force secretary, the service branch's highest civilian post, he never made it through the confirmation process. There were questions about his flight record that may have been a result of racism and rabid anti-Clintonism.
Of course, Jones' real problems lie in America's twin obsessions: race and money.
In the second quarter of this year, Jones reported raising a paltry $55,000. If life were fair, there would be publicly funded elections that gave everybody a fair shot at winning. But life's not fair and it's impossible for a candidate with so little cash to purchase enough time on the idiot box to inundate voters with the sound bites they need to make decisions.
Jones has secured votes across color lines in state legislative races, but getting that same rainbow coalition is difficult in a governor's race. Only one African-American has ever been elected governor of a state in this country.
Bill McBride: Trouble for Jeb
Reno has been ahead of McBride in the polls, but McBride is still the best Democratic candidate in the race.
Weekly Planet endorses McBride, not because Publisher Ben Eason has donated to his campaign and not because he'd be a much better governor than Jones or Reno.
We endorse McBride because, well, the reality is, he's a wealthy, well-connected white guy, and it will take one to get rid of one. This is not about electing a governor but ousting Bush.
McBride hasn't raised an impressive sum of money yet. Still, he has the connections to raise more cash if he can beat Reno and convince fellow Democrats and Bush-haters that money won't be wasted on a futile race.
The Bush machine has already begun pointing out McBride's shortcomings but they don't have whole lot to work with.
Yes, McBride ran Holland & Knight LLP, the largest law firm in the state, which has represented some odious clients and lobbied for some equally odious corporations. Payday lenders that charge the poor up to 400 percent interest, oil companies wanting to drill off Florida's shore and Big Sugar have all benefited from their relationship with H&K.
But so what?
McBride has asserted that he rarely approved or rejected the clients of his mega-firm. And we're talking about a law firm here. Its goal is to make money and McBride took a pragmatic approach to accomplishing that goal.
That pragmatism would come in handy in Tallahassee, where the governor is not supreme leader and will likely have to give a little where he'd prefer not to. McBride's record shows that he can play the game without losing his soul (or too much of the state's money) in the process.
In addition to its corporate clients, H&K also represented the poor, death row inmates and environmentalists. The firm fought for a settlement for Rosewood survivors.
At McBride's behest, H&K jumped on the living wage bandwagon early, paying its employees a minimum of $12 per hour. McBride says he was especially concerned about single mothers who had to stretch their wages to pay for childcare and transportation.
The firm also offered benefits to unmarried partners. McBride went before Tampa City Council to testify that it was fair to employees and didn't cost too much.
Fair is a word that McBride likes.
He's not against the death penalty per se, but he would put a moratorium on it while searching for ways to make the system fair. He doesn't approve or disapprove of gay and lesbian couples adopting children, he says, but advocates allowing them the opportunity to go through the same application process as heterosexual couples. Having their worthiness determined outside of their sexuality is only fair.
Many would agree that Florida could use a lot more "fair" in Tallahassee.
McBride has focused his campaign around education and his plans for a better system would look good next to Bush's. He wants to reinstate a version of the old board of regents, as outlined in the Graham initiative, and he wants to abolish the grading system that punishes low-income-area schools.
The Legislature may fight against a 50-cent cigarette tax to pay for education, but other states have used the sin tariff to good effect.
With McBride as the Democratic nominee, the party could focus on the job ahead: Getting out the anti-Bush vote.
Contact Staff Writer Rochelle Renford at 813-248-8888, ext. 163, or rochelle.renford@weeklyplanet.com.
Legal Beagle
by Trevor Aaronson
There's an obvious dog in the attorney general's race. But can anybody else keep Charlie Crist from winning one of the most important jobs in state government?
The man we elect state attorney general will say more about Floridians than any other elected official in this state. Why? Because he's our man. He's the "people's lawyer."
He's the guy with the most important task in Tally: to protect average Floridians — you and me — from money-grubbing corporations that put profit before safety and unscrupulous scam artists who have no trouble sleeping after slipping benjamins out of Grandma's purse.
In a perfect state, where institutions of higher learning wouldn't be run by Dick Beard, and Katherine Harris couldn't raise millions of dollars in soft money, we'd elect somebody who follows in the footsteps of current AG Bob Butterworth, who bitch-slapped Bill Gates after Uncle Sam dropped to his knees and puckered up in the Microsoft monopoly litigation.
But, no, we're not going to elect a kick-ass attorney general like Butterworth, are we?
If I were a betting man, I'd wager my entire year's salary — which wouldn't even pay for one billboard in this career politician's campaign — that Charlie Crist will be Florida's next attorney general.
Yeah, Charlie Crist, who's seen the inside of more tanning beds than courtrooms, a man who wants you to think he's hard on crime when he really just has a hard-on for big business.
If this language is harsh, it's for good reason. It's intended to wake your ass up, Florida, because this year you have an opportunity to tell the rest of the nation whether your vote is for dirty money and special interests or for honest, working people.
After 16 years, Butterworth must leave his post because term limits have pushed him out. There's no doubt about it. Florida will be worse off without Butterworth throwing the book at evildoers.
But come November, both parties have men — sadly, the field lacks women — who could serve this state well. They don't have the money that Crist has, or that pearly white smile. But they do have legal experience and the average Floridian in mind.
The Republicans: A Paler Choice
This group of three includes Crist. Despite the fat bank account and the face that never seems to age, Crist is wholly unqualified for the office.
Save a stint as general counsel for the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, the minor leagues, Crist has no substantial legal experience.
He went to law school to follow that other career track: politics. In 1992, the Tampa Bay area sent Crist, a graduate of St. Petersburg High School, to the Florida Senate, where he claims to have been tough on crime and to have advocated for higher teacher salaries. (Ask an overworked, under-appreciated teacher hoping to break $28,000 this year what he or she thinks of "Chain Gang" Charlie's efforts.)
Perhaps because of Crist's fight for the state's teachers — cough! — Florida voters elected Crist to commissioner of education, an office known for being a steppingstone to higher-profile offices. In Crist's case, he knew Butterworth would be leaving office and education commissioner sounds a hell of a lot better in television spots than state senator. Good enough logic: Forty people can claim to be a state senator, but only one can say he's education commissioner — even if that should equate to a black eye these days.
When considering Crist's qualifications for AG, voters should consider his education record even over his slim legal career. After all, must you be reminded how poor the state's public education system has become? Crist isn't all to blame, of course, but he sure as hell ain't innocent for the laughingstock that is our public education system.
So for those Republicans left who don't vote with one hand on their wallet, the choice should be Locke Burt, er, uh, Tom Warner.
OK, maybe the choice isn't so clear. Burt is apparently the best-heeled Republican next to Crist, and he even has a canned quote he gives to every journalist below the Georgia border: "I'm running to be the top cop, Tom Warner is running to be top lawyer and Charlie Crist is just running."
A conservative, Locke earned the nickname "Lock 'em Up Locke" — I wish I could claim credit for these monikers — as a state senator from the Ormond Beach area. That tough-on-crime attitude garnered him the endorsements of 34 state sheriffs, including Pinellas County Sheriff Everett Rice.
"I would be more aggressive in attacking financial crimes, elder exploitation, stock fraud, white-collar crime and identity theft," Locke said, adding that he would continue in the Butterworth tradition.
Additionally, the reorganization of the Florida cabinet now gives the attorney general a say in budget matters. Locke's master's degree in corporate finance makes him uniquely qualified for the attorney general's new responsibilities.
But doubt shadows "Lock 'em Up Locke." A former insurance executive, Locke doesn't have much legal experience. Would he prosecute companies for insurance fraud?
That leaves the least politically sexy of the three candidates, Tom Warner, a man with significant legal experience. Butterworth appointed Warner as solicitor general, the attorney who represents the people in civil cases at the U.S. Supreme Court and the Florida Supreme Court.
A state representative from 1992 to 1999, Warner is a former professor of law at Florida State University and the former managing partner of Warner, Fox, Seeley, Dungey & Sweet. He's an unassuming man who lacks Crist's kiss-the-babies style.
But of the Republican candidates, Warner seems the one average Floridians could trust, even without a bronzed look.
The Democrats: Dyer Need
The Democratic primary is perhaps the most interesting and the most telling of a political party lost in a post-Clinton vortex.
Each of the four candidates represents something unique: 1) what the party would be in a perfect world; 2) what the party shouldn't be; 3) what the party will always be and; 4) what the party has to be to beat the Republicans.
Walt Dartland, former deputy attorney general and Butterworth's current special counsel, represents what the party would be in a perfect world.
Of the seven AG candidates, Dartland is without a doubt the most qualified to represent Floridians in court. His time with Butterworth earned him a reputation for being tough on consumer, investment and insurance fraud, arguably the three areas that count most.
Dartland is also the most idealistic of the Democrats — a trait good for an attorney general but ironically bad for an elected official.
As a state leader of the Common Cause effort to clean up the dirty business of campaign financing, Dartland will not accept any campaign contributions from anyone. It's idealistic, sure, but imagine it: a hard-charging attorney general who didn't owe a damn thing to anybody.
Unfortunately, Florida won't elect a candidate without money. Ask Crist, who will probably pull in a few grand in the time it takes to read this paragraph. Dartland, an ardent environmentalist, would be our attorney general in a perfect world. Unfortunately, ours isn't a perfect world.
Deputy Attorney General George Sheldon represents what the party shouldn't be. Sheldon, though an impressive man, is more of a politician than a lawyer.
In the late 1990s, Butterworth placed Sheldon in charge of his Tampa office. The move was more political than administrative.
At the time, Democrats wanted to position Sheldon as a 2000 contender for education commissioner. One man stood in his way: Charlie Crist. Asked how he would feel about going up against Crist for a second time, Sheldon responded, "I would relish it."
Indeed, another Crist-Sheldon showdown would be interesting, but there's no reason to think Sheldon can beat the legal lightweight in an electoral rematch. The Democrats should nominate a true lawyer, not a politician.
And Scott Maddox isn't that lawyer, either, though he is what the party will always be. That is to say, Maddox is young, ambitious and full of ideas.
Ten years ago, Tallahassee elected Maddox, then an FSU law student, as the city's youngest mayor. He was 24.
To his credit, Maddox, now 34, has successfully managed a city with 2,900 employees. That's no easy task. If tenacity and youthful exuberance were the only traits required of a good attorney general, Maddox would be the perfect candidate.
But the job also takes legal prowess, and Maddox doesn't have it. Elected mayor straight out of law school, Maddox hasn't practiced a day in his life. Maddox is a Democrat who should go far in politics, but his career path shouldn't include a stop in the AG's office. Not yet, anyway.
So that leaves Buddy Dyer, who represents what the party has to be to beat Republicans.
You could call Dyer a Clintonian Democrat. He calls himself a "new generation" Democrat. Either way, it means he's a centrist who can pull the churchgoing votes away from Republicans.
He's also a smart lawyer. (No, that's not an oxymoron.) A former environmental engineer, Dyer in 1987 received the highest score on the Florida Bar. Crist, for reference, had to take the exam a few times.
Dyer, a state senator, is also an aggressive campaigner, which is what Democrats will need if they want to stop Crist.
Dyer isn't the best candidate for the job. Dartland is, but he can't win. Dyer's legal career isn't any more impressive than Sheldon's, but Sheldon has already proven that he can't beat Crist in a statewide election. Maddox might be a talented lawyer if given the chance, but the attorney general's office shouldn't be the place to cut his teeth.
For Democrats, the choice isn't so much clear as it is pragmatic: Buddy Dyer.
Contact Staff Writer Francis X. Gilpin at 813-248-8888, ext. 130, or frangilpin@weeklyplanet.com.
Anybody but Katherine
By Mitch E. Perry
In the eyes of the nation, they're nobodies. But five candidates think they can interrupt the Congressional coronation of Katherine Harris.
Voters in Florida's 13th Congressional District, encompassing Sarasota, most of Manatee, DeSoto, Hardee and a small portion of Charlotte counties, go to the polls Sept. 10 to decide which Republican and Democrat will vie in November to replace retiring Congressman Dan Miller.
The race has drawn national attention, due to the name of Katherine Harris on the Republican primary ballot.
Because of her controversial actions as secretary of state and her co-chairwomanship of George W. Bush's Florida campaign during the 2000 presidential recount, Harris is an easy and quick indicator of anybody's major-party affiliation. Heroine to GOP faithful, she has earned a special place on the dartboards of Democrats, who bitterly contend that she misinterpreted election law to favor her man.
Before her recent exodus from Tallahassee, Harris played host to a series of embarrassing breakdowns in her elections office.
Her office admitted giving legislative candidates the wrong information about how much they had to pay to qualify for the ballot. That was followed by her Aug. 1 resignation, which followed her admission that she failed to adhere to state law regarding resigning to run for another elected office.
Harris is the subject of a lawsuit based on her resignation that could see a judge throw her name off the ballot.
Despite the professional miscues, Harris remains the heavy favorite to win the seat because of the strong Republican flavor of the 13th District.
Over the summer, Weekly Planet had the opportunity to chat up the other candidates in the running with Harris. Here's a look at these comparative unknowns.
John Hill: Slow to SueFor months, 60-year-old former television anchorman John Hill was playing the role of perfunctory, token opposition in the Republican primary, generating little publicity.
Then Harris held a press conference, announcing her fumbled resignation.
Suddenly, the electoral gods had delivered a gift. But Hill initially reacted benignly. He told the Lakeland Ledger he had no plans to challenge her candidacy legally, saying simply he felt "awfully sorry" for her.
Regaining consciousness two weeks later, Hill asked a state judge to throw Harris off the ballot because of the "illegal" method she employed to declare for Congress.
Why the lack of outrage upon first learning of Harris' breakdown?
"I felt badly for her," Hill told the Planet. "I felt compassion. But my position hasn't changed. I've studied the law closely. I've had six attorneys go through the state statutes, and they tell me she's NOT a legal candidate."
Hill says he's not suing just to help himself. "The Democrats were going to do this," he said. "I'm trying to protect the Republican Party."
But Hill needn't expect a thank you note.
Sarasota Republican Chair Tramm Hudson says if there is a problem with Harris legally, the state party will find somebody to run. "He didn't consult the leaders of the party here, or in Tallahassee, or in Washington before (suing)," said Hudson.
OK, so enough of that legal stuff.
On the issues, Hill says he and Harris are of a like mind on most conservative values, with a couple of exceptions. Such as trade. Count Hill as one GOPer who is not excited with President Bush finally getting free-trade authority from Congress. "That's exposing our growers, our cattle producers and the workers in this country," he said.
Hill also disagrees with privatizing Social Security. "What happens if people lose that?" he asked. "Then we need a social security system to protect the Social Security system."
Hill also wants a federal law to put a cap on credit card interest rates and, when prodded, endorses marijuana for medicinal purposes. "If it can be used for medical … I wouldn't object to that," he said.
Charles McKenzie: Teacher is Jackson Pupil
The purest progressive candidate on the Democratic side is the Rev. Charles McKenzie. The Bradenton schoolteacher has been in public ministry for the past 20 years.
Since 1996, he's been the Florida director of the Rainbow/Push Coalition. He speaks with passionate pride about his work with Jesse Jackson.
"I feel like I was placed on a fast track in working with the Reverend," said McKenzie. "Almost like a student of Socrates who gets to work with a master in such close proximity, in a kind of apprenticeship capacity."
When it comes to the war on terror, McKenzie says he thinks it's important to protect the nation's borders and have a strong military.
But, if he were to be elected and could vote on going to war against Iraq, McKenzie says he would vigorously oppose such action. In fact, he'd be an enthusiastic co-sponsor of Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinch's bill to establish a Department of Peace.
"Terrorism is not a U.S. malady, it's an international malady," said McKenzie. "It will take working with other nations to dismantle not just those who are symptomatic of the conditions that create terror, but to deal with the heart and soul of terror, which has to do with all of the poverty, neglect and other conditions that cause people to rely on terrorist solutions to their problems."
Jan Schneider: Wonk Tries Politics
Although she shares a lack of elected political experience with her opponents, this policy wonk is definitely the most Beltway-centric.
She lived in Washington until three years ago, spending only winters in the 13th District. Schneider is a friend of Bill and Hillary Clinton, having worked on the 1992 presidential campaign. She boasts that if nominated, her pull will get Democratic National Committee officials to pour resources into her November campaign.
The serious-minded environmental attorney is poised to publish her second book on the environment, Umbrella Treaty for the Atmosphere, about the Montreal Protocol for protection of the ozone layer and the prevention of global warming.
She says President Bush's rejection of the Kyoto Treaty was an abomination. "Kyoto has problems, but it's what we have," said Schneider. "Rejecting it is a serious mistake, but the way we did it was even more serious, as a rejection of the rest of the world."
Schneider also cited as another mistake the administration's unilateral break from supporting an International Criminal Court.
She echoes McKenzie in getting at the roots of terrorism: "The war on terrorism isn't just about bombing Afghanistan. It means giving people around the world dignity, education. It's a much broader based struggle, and I don't think we can do it alone."
A pet issue for Schneider is her advocacy for small businesses. She refers to the stunning rise in health care premiums as a leading example. She thinks this could be a crossover issue in appealing to Republicans and independents. "As Democrats, we should listen to the concerns of small businesses," said Schneider.
When it comes to sizing up Harris, Schneider dismisses the reported $2-million war chest: "It's an election — not a coronation. Democrats win when we can offer a positive political choice, and they do win with less money."
Candice Brown-McElyea: No Tort Reform
When McElyea announced her candidacy, she was constantly asked why a 28-year-old television reporter (most recently with the 24-hour Sarasota News Network) would give it up to try out hardball politics.
"I saw a lack of good representation that was in the running for this race," said Brown-McElyea. "And as a resident, I wanted something better for the people who live here."
The former journalist says she got her mojo rising when she would report on a story that made a difference in the community. She sees her segue into the political arena as a natural extension.
"I've seen seniors walking out of the post office buying prescription drugs being delivered from Canada (because the generic brands are cheaper than can be purchased there)," said Brown-McElyea, a Democrat. "I want to do something about that. As a reporter, you have to see all sides of the story … I just saw myself wanting to do something more."
Core issues for Brown-McElyea are fighting against tort reform and the war on drugs. On the latter, she's an enthusiastic supporter of drug treatment programs.
"Take a look at the rehab programs that we have — they're the first programs to get consistently cut," she said. "We have nothing here in Sarasota to rehabilitate these drug offenders. We spend $20,000 per prisoner in this state a year, and a little more than $5,000 a year per pupil. I think our priorities are backwards."
For years now, Republicans have been arguing for tort reform, saying that "frivolous lawsuits" and large jury judgments have run amok.
Brown-McElyea believes this effort is led by insurance companies trying to save money. "Let the courts decide. Let the juries decide. Our system has the right to take your case to court and have a jury decide," she said.
Much of her passion on this issue involves her grandfather, who died of cancer. She says malpractice was involved.
Patrick Feheley: Latecomer Won't Mince Words
The 60-year-old former project manager for the federal General Services Administration was one of the last candidates to enter the Democratic field.
Behind in fundraising and endorsements, Feheley blasts his primary opponents as "appeasers" for President Bush and the Republicans.
Jan Schneider? "She's got a wonderful education — she's written some books. About what, and who's read 'em? What kind of action has she taken?"
Candice Brown-McElyea was endorsed by the local AFL-CIO. Feheley says his late entry prevented him from getting labor's backing, and thinks the unions might be sorry when they hear her supporting free trade. "That means she favors sending jobs out of the country, where kids work making 17 cents a day, and American workers have to compete against those wages. Free trade means big corporations have no responsibility to workers," he rails.
Charles McKenzie: "I love the guy. Great speaker. But when he talks about health care, he says he's for single payer system, but he says he's against "socialized medicine.' That's a Republican dirty word for national health care. They all sound like Republicans."
Feheley's just getting started. The president's $1.3-trillion tax cut and Democrats who voted for it agitate him. "When I go to Washington, I'm even going to get in the face of Democrats who don't act like Democrats."
But perhaps the most interesting thing that Feheley has to say about the campaign is that he believes there is a sizable portion of Republicans who won't vote for Katherine Harris.
He says that as he approached Republicans to sign petition cards that he needed to qualify to run, some would turn him down. But when he told them he was running against Harris, a lot of them would say, "You are? Let me sign that.'
"LOTS of them did," said Feheley. "She has tremendous name recognition, but what good is it if it's negative? Adolf Hitler had significant name recognition."
And he sees the recent financial scandals making Harris vulnerable. "I think there's a lot of anger in the country, as far as Enron and these financial debacles," said Feheley. "People want to bring down some people, and I think Katherine Harris is one of those people they want to bring down."
That remains to be seen.
Maybe the people from the 13th District will stun the nation by choosing a candidate who doesn't have the most money, who hasn't been already declared the anointed one. Or maybe not. It should be a lot of fun until November.
Contact WMNF-88.5 FM Assistant News Director Mitch E. Perry at mitch@wmnf.org.
This article appears in Sep 4-10, 2002.