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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: CYBERKEN who wrote (687562)	6/27/2005 11:52:18 AM
From: Mr. Palau	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

The Astronaut vs. the Space Cadet. It is going to be a riot. "Harris' primary opponent may be the GOP Despite her star power, Katherine Harris' Senate run may be unwelcome to the Bushes and GOP. By ADAM C. SMITH, Times Political Editor Published June 25, 2005 Will Katherine Harris blink? That's what a lot of prominent Florida Republicans are asking as they see an extraordinary political drama emerging: the Bush family political machine trying to derail the U.S. Senate campaign of the Republican superstar who helped put George W. Bush in the White House. "I can't recall a time when the party felt so strongly that a particular candidate was going to create problems up and down the ballot," state Senate President Tom Lee said of Harris' campaign for U.S. Senate. The Republican establishment from Washington to Tallahassee is largely convinced that Harris is doomed to lose a Senate race to incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson, who otherwise should be vulnerable as the last Democrat elected to statewide office in Florida. Which explains the lukewarm public response Republicans have had to Harris' entry into the Senate race. "There are different candidates expressing interest in running, and we're continuing to talk to different candidates," Brian Nick of the National Republican Senatorial Committee said of Harris. Gov. Jeb Bush acts like Harris' candidacy is still uncertain because she hadn't filed fundraising paperwork yet, while he pushes House Speaker Allan Bense's potential candidacy. "I have a lot of respect for Allan Bense. I really do think he is a well-qualified guy." And Harris? "I have respect for Katherine Harris," Bush said. "I've had a closer working relationship with Allan." For a governor who usually stays neutral in Republican primaries, his open courting of the little-known House speaker is a stunning snub to the only other Florida Republican with his level of star power. Republican strategists are grumbling that a handful of longtime Harris advisers are encouraging her to run, despite public and private polls showing she's too polarizing to win a general election. A Mason-Dixon poll released this week showed that today Nelson would beat her by 17 percentage points and that nearly as many people have an unfavorable view of Harris as have a favorable view. Harris, 48, is not talking about her candidacy until she officially kicks it off in late July. Adam Goodman, a Tampa media consultant and longtime Harris ally, contends the numbers will shift once the campaign gets under way. "What we see is that once you put some information on the table this gets to be a very competitive race," said Goodman, noting that Jeb Bush may be the only other Floridian who can generate as much passion among the GOP base as Harris. Goodman brushed aside the party leaders who are privately and publicly undercutting her candidacy. She's in the race to stay, he insisted. "She serves as a role model for all the women who have been told they can't do something," Goodman said of the Sarasota Republican. "She believes there should be no glass ceiling." Even as some party insiders wonder whether Harris will ultimately drop out in the face of limited establishment enthusiasm, they question whether any Republican - even with a tacit or overt support of the president and governor - can beat Katherine Harris in a Republican primary. The White House last year made clear its preference for Mel Martinez over former U.S. Rep. Bill McCollum in the Republican U.S. Senate primary, in subtle and unsubtle ways. As head of the NRSC, Virginia Sen. George Allen organized a fundraiser for Martinez early in the primary. Ultimately Martinez won handily after a contentious primary against McCollum. "But Bill McCollum was no Katherine Harris," said Pinellas Republican state committee member Paul Bedinghaus. "She's really an icon." Many party insiders are betting Bense does run for Senate, but he said last week he won't make up his mind until after a few weeks of "due diligence." One question is whether the White House and governor would aggressively help him in the primary. "They have not said that to me," said Bense, 53, a conservative businessman from Panama City with an up-by-the-bootstraps biography and little of Harris' baggage. Part of the reason Lee said he decided to run for chief financial officer, rather than Senate, was because it's clear the Bushes are strongly behind Bense. "Without the backing of the White House, of the governor and the Bush machine, you're dreaming in Technicolor to think you can take on someone like Katherine Harris," said Lee. "I'm a businessman, not a suicide bomber." Even with the Bush backing it's not at all clear that a little-known legislative leader can compete against Harris. Polls consistently show her winning hypothetical Republican primaries. "If Allan gets in the race it will be very close," predicted former state Republican chairman Al Cardenas. "Republicans by and large are loyal to the Bush family, and if they feel there's a tendency in Allan's direction, that will certainly help. But Katherine is very strong with the base." Nick of the National Republican Senatorial Committee would not rule out the committee taking sides in a primary in Florida to ensure the strongest candidate against Nelson: "We're going to do what's necessary to win." Signals of preference from leaders in Washington could cut into Harris' ability to raise campaign money, but her high profile role in the 2000 presidential election made her a celebrity with a national, grass roots fundraising network. J.M. "Mac" Stipanovich, who worked with Harris behind the scenes during the recount, said even with a celebrity of her status the influence of the Bushes should not be underestimated. "If the president of the United States and the governor of Florida indicated their desire she not be the nominee, she could be beaten," Stipanovich said. Then again, he noted, it's uncertain whether Harris will test how strongly the Bushes might work against her. "The qualifying's a year away," he said. "Katherine, like all candidates, will continually re-evaluate the race. A lot of of people change their minds." sptimes.com