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For those scoring at home . . .
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Location: Blogs Broken News |
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| Posted by: Bill Thompson |
1/9/2008 4:40 PM |
Two of our local political worthies have recently gone public with their presidential endorsements, at least on the Republican side.
State Rep. Kurt Kelly of Ocala and County Commissioner Stan McClain announced Tuesday that they are supporting former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
In a prepared statement Kelly called Huckabee "a man of the highest professional and personal character, a wise and visionary leader with an impeccable work ethic and is a genuine kind and approachable man that will be a president for all Americans. McClain said he was backing the Man from Hope --- where have I heard that before? --- because he has "put forth a bold conservative agenda that includes a fair tax plan, a sensible immigration policy and a respect for the sanctity of human life." McClain added in his statement, "Gov. Huckabee is a man of the people who understands that the highest office in our country is one that must be occupied by someone who is willing to be a true servant to the people that put him there.
So, on the endorsement front we have McClain and Kelly for Huckabee; state Rep. Larry Cretul of Ocala is a Friend of Fred --- that is, Cretul is a co-chairman of former Sen. Fred Thompson's campaign in Florida; and former state Rep. Dennis Baxley is a co-chairman of the Florida Steering Committee for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
Now the upshot of this is what it says about the state of the Republican Party. Baxley, Kelly and McClain would normally be three peas in the hardcore socially conservative, "less government, less taxes" pod, while Cretul wouldn't be that far off. Yet they've all latched on to someone different.
Needless to say, Rudy Giuliani better not hold his breath.
By the way, I stumbled across an assessment of why Florida is so important, and why the Legislature was right to move up our primary date, from one of the respected pros in Washington who normally retains his senses on this stuff.
In the July 2, 2007, issue of The American Conservative magazine, the publication for conservatives who want to exercise their brains and not just follow some party hack, Chuck Todd, NBC News’ political director, analogized Florida as a microcosm of America: "The Southeast of the state mirrors the Northeast of the country; the Southwest of the state has a solid Midwestern feel; the Central part of the state is akin to the exurbs and Southwestern growth parts of the country; of course the Panhandle is the Deep South; and Key West is like San Francisco."
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