Floridians be afraid, very, very afraid

Parent Cafe
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<p>Doubleplay, to be honest, I either completely forgot, or never knew to begin with, that McBride’s family has a broadcasting business. I’ve interacted with him at the 50,000 mile level at various meetings over the years, but have only had one private meeting with him ever. At that meeting, he was still managing partner of Holland & Knight, and I was sent to secure a commitment from him to either serve on the board, or preside as chairman, of Florida FREE, now defunct, but initially established to recruit business minded candidates to run for office in the face of term limits and redistricting. Once I got past being terrified (he’s a very large, physically imposing person; he has a rather blunt manner of speaking, and I was concerned I would really mess the meeting up - this goes back about eight years), we had a very nice discussion; he made commitments and he kept them, to the letter. In that situation and others like it he has always considered all points of view and erased or substracted completely any personal biases he may have had. He’s had a lot of experience in those types of situations - long time board experience with Enterprise Florida, the Florida Chamber, etc. so I would imagine we could expect the same should he end up in the Senate. </p>

<p>In addition, Holland & Knight had a phenomenal reputation as being very worker-friendly and family-friendly under his leadership. In general, I do not agree with government mandated minimum wage increases, but, when private industry makes the decision on its own, I’m very impressed. I recall that he raised the minimum wage for all employees to something like $14/hour - even for part time entry level staff - and this was some years ago. (I cannot remember why I was on the email list server to get the information, but, I was.) I remember being so impressed that I sent him an email of congratulations.</p>

<p>LakeWashington, I completely forgot about the total embarrassment that is Cynthia McKinney - for some reason I had her scandals and hopelessly inane behavior mixed up in my brain with those of Katherine Harris. You’re right in that they’re both simply appalling, horribly embarrassing. But still essentially harmless. </p>

<p>I do agree that Florida law provided some cover for Harris’ actions during the 2000 election, but, at the end of the day, I think they were the correct actions to take, and am happy to have GWB in the WH…</p>

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<p>I thnk Katherine Harris is the face of what the GOP has become and I’m very happy to have her out there.</p>

<p>I’m looking forward to the day when there are frequent pitched battles between more moderate and more liberal Democrats.</p>

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<p>3togo- I found this information on Wikipedia-
McBrides father-in-law is the founder of Salem Broadcasting, the county’s largest Christian radio broadcasting company.
McBride attended FSU and Pensacola Christian College undergrad, Pat Robertson’s Regent University and Pepperdine for Law. His wife attended Bob Jones and taught there as well.</p>

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<p>That doesn’t make any sense at all Doubleplay. I am almost positive McBride graduated from University of Florida, undergrad and law school, and his wife I believe is or was the local president of Bank of America or one of the other Tier 1’s - Alex Sink, though I might have her name wrong. I suppose it’s possible she taught at one time, but, unless I’m completely confused, it had to have been a very long time ago.</p>

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<p>3togo- you are thinking of BILL McBride who ran for governor in 2002. He did go to UF, was partner in Holland and Knight, and you’re right about his wife too. Will McBride who is currently running for US Senate is a different person.</p>

<p>Edit- Will McBride is a 33 year old personal injury attorney.</p>

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<p>ROTFL, I wondered why the stuff I’ve been getting in email makes no sense. </p>

<p>Oh well, that makes for an easy decision then. There really is no choice…but - I probably shouldn’t be allowed to vote at all, since I’ve cleary no idea who is actually running lol.</p>

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<p>It’s a mixup that lots and lots of Floridians have had. If you haven’t already voted, it’s a good thing you got the information in time!</p>

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<p>Oh, it’s MUCH worse than that Doubleplay. I frantically called my daughter, and, thankfully, she has not yet voted (though I doubt she would have voted for McBride in any case). But when she first wanted to help Collins with his campaign, I said “forget it; it’s impossible; he’ll never be able to beat McBride”. Happily, she ignored me - fortunately, wisely, she ignores me on most matters lol - and offered Collins her help. </p>

<p>BTW a huge THANK YOU for bringing this to light, but it’s going to be a while before the embarrassment diminishes lol.</p>

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<p>Collins forwarded this email to me Sunday - at the time, I thought “why does the original author write “Will” and not “Bill”;” then, I thought, ah, Jeb Bush isn’t endorsing Bill McBride because he ran against him for governor, and, he doesn’t like the others…</p>

<p>Dear Governor Bush,</p>

<p>Let me start by congratulating you for your service to the citizens of Florida while serving as Governor.</p>

<p>Having said that, I must admit that I am perplexed about how you can sit on the sidelines of the U.S. Senate race and not state a preference for one of the candidates. If all goes according to the polls, the Republican Party in Florida will be represented by an undistinguished, weak, certain-to-lose candidate, for the November election – Katherine Harris – and the Democrat candidate will retain his seat in the Senate with effectively no opposition. This situation will reflect poorly on your position as the leader of our party; and your commitment to give the citizens of Florida the kind of leadership they deserve in the Federal government. I’m sure this has not escaped your consideration and I’m positive you have made an obvious decision to stay out of primary politics – but why? Florida Republicans need – must have – your leadership. It is unfair and unlike you to remain on the sidelines while serving as the elected leader of our state. You have a responsibility to make a choice, just like all the voters of Florida.</p>

<p>I have made a choice. LeRoy Collins, Jr. is an obvious choice for Republicans but he faces an uphill battle against Harris, a candidate who you have said “can’t win”. He has the experience and integrity that we need in the Senate. I’m sure you have evaluated the other candidates, as I have. Will McBride has no experience in business or the military and only scant experience in his chosen profession. I sincerely doubt that he could stand up to Nelson in a debate. No doubt McBride has potential but he is just too young and too inexperienced to be a viable candidate for the U.S. Senate. The other candidate, Peter Monroe, completely lacks any attraction for voters as shown by his standing in the polls. That brings me back to LeRoy Collins. He needs your endorsement. He has the experience and ability to take on Nelson. And, as I’m sure you are aware, he has been endorsed by six leading Florida newspapers. He has an unblemished record and a legacy from his father that he has followed throughout his service to Florida and the nation. His pledge of one term in office would provide time for grooming the next Republican for the office and set the stage for Republican control for years to come. He is Senatorial and he can win for the Republicans. </p>

<p>Please don’t make the mistake of remaining mute on the Senate race. You are the Republican leader. You have a responsibility to speak out and make your choice known. I trust that would be LeRoy Collins, Jr.</p>

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<p>Stephen Colbert recently exposed the flaws of Wikipedia. But we already knew that as informative as Wikipedia could be, it has feet of clay.</p>

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<p>It’s disappointing to me that Jeb couldn’t come out and support somebody. It like he DOESN’T support KH, but is afraid to come out and say it. Which makes one wonder why.</p>

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<p>LakeWashington- I’m pretty sure Wiki is right on this tho- there’s an entry for both Will and Bill.</p>

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<p>Yep - Wikipedia is exactly right. The error was that, em, <em>I</em> don’t even know who is running for office, in my own home state, and could have voted for the wrong person had Doubleplay not kept posting. Which is extraordinarily funny and totally embarrassing in equal measure. Florida voting history aside, part of what people pay me to do involves tracking politically exposed persons (elected or otherwise) and their interests in 200+ countries. It’s a good thing this site is relatively anonymous lol.</p>

<p>In my defense, though, “William McBride” posters are literally everywhere, and it made perfect sense to me that he would switch parties and run for Senate since he couldn’t win the governor’s race. Plus, I travel a lot so stuff gets missed - usually not this weirdly though.</p>

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<p>I’m with you, Doubleplay. As a Christian (Episcopalian) and a Republican, Republicans like Katherine Harris are an embarrassment. I walked right by the polling station this a.m. because there wasn’t a candidate that I could heartily endorse. Very disconcerting as I’ve always voted before.</p>

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<p>For those closer to Florida politics - why did Jeb not run for Senate? From what I hear, he is very popular in Florida and would have had an excellent chance of picking up a win for the Republicans. He is term limited for governor, so it’s not like he could just stay on in the governor’s mansion. What’s the scoop?</p>

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<p>I can guess why…</p>

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<p>but being I iive in a fantasy land, why share</p>

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<p>From what I understand he has been asked about running for prez and he is not interested in the national level. ??? He IS very popular at the state level, I like it when he gets on TV during the hurricanes and speaks to us in English and then Spanish. Very inclusive and aware.</p>

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<p>And Harris does indeed win the Republican Senate nomination, about 50-30 over her nearest competitor. Thank you, Liddy Dole. Thank you, Alan Benes. And an extra special shout out to Katherine Harris herself.</p>