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Marsupial Madness: Politicians seek votes at Possum fest
Bradenton Herald, United States - Aug 5, 2006
WAUSAU, Fla. - Charlie Crist enthusiastically jabbed a plastic fork into the brown stringy meat on his plate alongside sweet potatoes and greens. ...
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Charlie Crist enthusiastically jabbed a plastic fork into the brown stringy meat on his plate alongside sweet potatoes and greens. ...
If they're serving food like that, I'll be a Republican for a couple of hours to snag a couple of plates and hang with some "Boomin' Grannies".
(If my grandmother saw this post she would be quite upset with me. But being in Germany has made me take desperate measures to have a chance to eat some of my favorite foods.)
__________________ "Doctor says I wouldn't have so many noise bleeds if I kept my finger outta there" - Ralph Wiggum
Of nine officials on her flier, none attend Orlando rally
By Jim Stratton
Orlando Sentinel
August 18, 2006, 2:37 PM EDT
ORLANDO -- Katherine Harris' attempt to boost her campaign with a series of high-profile endorsements wilted Thursday when none of the officials appeared at her campaign rally and one of them said Harris wrongly included him on her list of supporters.
State Sen. Daniel Webster, R-Winter Garden, said he has not endorsed Harris and instead is supporting one of her challengers, Orlando attorney Will McBride.
Harris, McBride, retired Adm. LeRoy Collins and developer Peter Monroe are battling for the right to take on Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson in the general election.
Webster, a former Florida House speaker and now a state senator, said he has been with McBride since May, when the candidate jumped into the race.
"I've always backed Will," Webster said. "He'll make a great United States senator."
Webster said he had no idea why Harris listed him as one of her supporters. He said he never endorsed her.
Harris insisted that Webster promised to attend her rally Thursday at Orlando Executive Airport.
"They called back twice and said he'd be here," Harris said. "He said he was going to be here on the stage with me today."
Webster's office said he had never confirmed his attendance.
He wasn't the only no-show for Harris' "Soaring for the Senate" rally.
None of the nine officials listed on her event flier appeared, leaving Harris on her own to address a group of about 40 supporters, reporters and campaign-staff members.
The most prominent official on hand was former state Rep. Allen Trovillion, who left office four years ago.
Harris spoke in an airplane hangar that seemed to highlight the modest size of the crowd. She said a last-minute location change -- required because a tree fell on the hangar where the event was supposed to be held -- kept crowd numbers down.
Airport officials, however, said no hangar had been damaged by a tree and that the rally was in the hangar that had been originally booked.
Harris spoke for 10 minutes, saying she is the only candidate with the conservative credentials to defeat Nelson. When she finished, red, white and blue balloons dropped onto an empty stage, rendered unnecessary by the sparse crowd.
The attendance didn't bother Orange County Republican Chairman Lew Oliver, who said it's difficult to get people to turn out for a midday event during the week.
"I don't know that I would have gotten a bigger turnout for the governor," Oliver said.
But the event underscored Harris' struggle to generate support from GOP leaders and comes a day after Harris removed from her Web site the names of several elected officials she had listed previously as endorsing her.
Earlier this week, U.S. Reps. Mark Foley, Ginny Brown-Waite, Jeff Miller and Cliff Stearns all appeared on Harris' site.
Thursday, they were gone.
A spokesman for Foley said his boss had never endorsed Harris in the primary.
"It was a mistake," Jason Kello said. "It shouldn't have been up there."
Harris has encountered similar problems in the past. A fundraising letter sent in June said she had been formally endorsed by Florida Republican Party Chairwoman Carole Jean Jordan.
Jordan has not endorsed Harris and in May sent Harris a letter suggesting she drop out.
The same Harris mailer said Gov. Jeb Bush has "pledged to back" her campaign, but Bush recruited other candidates and said he does not think she can beat Nelson.
Harris also maintains that Democratic members of Congress from Florida have privately said they want her to unseat Nelson. But several weeks ago, each member of the Democratic delegation told the Sentinel that is not true.
"She's truth-challenged," McBride said this week. "She has problems with the truth."
McBride recently demanded an apology from Harris after one of her supporters questioned his Hispanic heritage. Though the woman was a Tampa Bay co-chair of Harris' campaign, Harris said the campaign had "nothing to do with it."
Despite her problems, Harris remains popular with many conservative voters who think she is being pilloried by what she calls the "liberal media." And Harris has lined up a number of endorsements, including those of U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez and U.S. Rep. John Mica, R-Winter Park.
Mica, who was among those officials missing from Thursday's rally, called Harris "a dynamo" and a "great representative."
Not everyone backing Harris is so upbeat.
This week, as Harris made the rounds at a Winter Park political gathering, U.S. Rep. Tom Feeney said he continues to back her -- but he does so primarily out of a sense of duty.
"I endorsed Congresswoman Harris a year ago," Feeney said. "I made a commitment, and I'm going to live up to that commitment."
Feeney was then asked why he offered such a tepid endorsement.
"I won't disclose publicly what I said to Katherine privately," he said. "But that notwithstanding, she decided to run."
Couldn't some of her campaign aids just grab random people off the street? I'm talking homeless, children, pets at least for the photo. All they needed to say was they were going to server punch and pie. Everyone loves punch and pie.
__________________ "Doctor says I wouldn't have so many noise bleeds if I kept my finger outta there" - Ralph Wiggum
Couldn't some of her campaign aids just grab random people off the street? I'm talking homeless, children, pets at least for the photo. All they needed to say was they were going to server punch and pie. Everyone loves punch and pie.
Maybe serve the punch and pie while on horseback. That might get the sympathy vote from horse lovers.
Last edited by Djaughe; September 17th, 2007 at 07:03 AM.
wtf?!
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