North Redington Beach - Will was tardy. Leroy Jr. was mean to Katherine. Katherine sank Jr.'s battle ship when she told on him for using her to get attention, and said she doesn't care what he, party leaders or polls say. Peter didn't want to be last all the time. And Will said his name is 'Will' McBride, not 'Bill' McBride, or Rodriguez.
No this isn't a class monitor's report from one of former teacher Patricia Henning's elementary school classes, it's a description of how the Belleair Republican Women's Club's (BWRC) August 4 meeting started out.
The BWRC invited Peter Monroe (Safety Harbor), Will McBride (Tampa), Katherine Harris (Long Boat Key) and Admiral Leroy Collins Jr. (Tampa) to the Wine Cellar Restaurant in North Redington Beach to give club members and the public a chance to meet the republican GOP candidates before the fall election. The four republican candidates are running for Florida's September 5 primary. Whoever emerges from the group as the winner will compete against Democrat Bill Nelson.
BWRC is well known for their promotion of political awareness among republican women and others in the Belleair area. At previous meetings, the group hosted gubernatorial candidates Charlie Crist and Tom Gallagher.
Reagan's commandment, "Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican" was broken even though BWRC president Henning reminded the candidates of it.
Collins spoke first, not because he's oldest, but because Henning had them go in alphabetical order. Collins is a retired two-star admiral, whose civilian careers have been in the high-tech financial services and real estate industries, spanning 36 years. He's also the son of Florida's 33rd Governor of the same name, and knows his way around Tallahassee and the Pentagon already.
At the meeting, Collins said he wanted to give the group an idea of who he is. After warming to them with respectful talk of women in his family and introducing a fellow war hero who was in attendance, Collins quit making nice and told Harris to quit the race.
He began with, "I'd like to say that on this campaign trail no one works harder." Then fired away with, "On this occasion, I would like to suggest that she withdraw from the race . . . she should do this for the benefit of the country, the state and her own self-respect."
It took a minute for the smoke to clear, but upon close inspection from the 100 or so guests and print and television media, it was determined that Harris had survived the attack from the admiral.
After getting back on task, Collins and the other candidates seriously conveyed the issues they advocate, promoting republican values. None seemed afraid to make their positions known, even when seemingly unpopular. (Later, McBride was grazed by a question from a guest, however.)
Attendees learned that Collins is a long time public servant who recognizes the rapid changes caused by massive growth in Florida and is confident he can meet the challenges they bring. He said he takes a hard stance on illegal immigration. "They should go home and come back legally", stated Collins.
He also thinks that off shore drilling is inevitable, and he's for changing policy against Cuba. He said, "It bothers me that in Cuba they'll be drilling 80 miles off the Keys and inviting India and China to join them."
In a campaign handout Collins maintains, "With Cuba planning to drill for oil in the Florida Straits employing Chinese and Indian engineers, a continuation of the stale U.S. embargo looms counterproductive; it has not helped America, nor hurt Cuba."
Harris, U.S. Representative for the 13th District of Florida and former Florida Senator (1994-1998) spoke next. She seems to not consider Collins, or any of the other candidates, for that matter, to be much competition.
During her term in the Florida Senate, Harris said she passed over one hundred bills, including the economic development package that helped Florida go from 42nd place to 1st place in the nation as a state to start a new business or grow an existing business.
She stressed her conservative values as opposed to her democratic counterpart's. She insisted, "You need a candidate who can beat Bill Nelson."
Harris joked that even Hillary Clinton is more conservative than Nelson and promised that her own campaign is all about traditional values, including marriage solely between a man and a woman, which Nelson has voted against twice.
Harris said she is for the fair tax plan, which would replace income and all other federal taxes with a national consumption tax, levied only once, at the time when goods and services are bought. She said she is against amnesty for illegal immigrants and will fight legislature that gives illegals more rights and privileges than citizens have.
Harris vowed that she'll "stand for what's right, not for what's popular" and that she's "not going to kowtow to party leaders, or the media".
She said she scoffs at data from polls and relayed how she had been reportedly down in them when she ran for Secretary of State, an office she won and held from 1999-2002. Harris has instant name recognition from her role as Florida's secretary overseeing the 2000 presidential recount.
"No one has the record I do," she said. Later she told guests, "I've been tried and tested. We're gonna win and God bless you all."
Will McBride arrived late at the meeting due to landing off schedule at St. Petersburg-Clearwater airport, but made it before the main entrée was served and speeches began. The extremely photogenic Tampa lawyer and youth minister said he is not a career politician but the son of a man who taught him how to fight. His father is a Baptist minister who was also a Golden Glove Award winning boxer. They are no relation to Bill McBride. McBride said he is a proud father himself with three sons. He also said he is unequivocally pro life and believes in traditional marriage.
McBride wants to reform immigration and called it a national security issue. "We're in crisis and need to control our borders," he said. "We must abide by the rule of law. We can not grant amnesty."
McBride also described his disdain for runaway spending in Congress, accusing them of, at times, building a "pork barrel bridge to nowhere". His campaign flyer says we must, "Stop the secret process of earmarking pork barrel spending" and "End the influence of lobby special interests and force Congress to live by the same rules we all live by."
McBride said he too, endorses the fair tax plan. In fact, he pointed out a couple of bonuses if it passes. "Illegal aliens will have to pay taxes on what they spend. And that drug dealer down the street will pay our taxes when he buys a new car."
During a question and answer session, a woman showed bad form when she stated that McBride had changed his name from Rodriguez to McBride and asked him why it was done. A bit stunned, he said this was the first time anyone ever asked such a question. McBride answered that he was born in Tampa on August 15, 1972 and that his name has always been William Richard McBride and appears so on his birth certificate. "I am not ashamed of who I am," he said. It seemed a moot point, for had he been ashamed of his heritage, one would think he would not have mentioned his father's emigration from Mexico at the beginning of his speech. Later it was speculated that the woman was a plant from one of the other candidate's supporters.
Pinellas county's own Peter Monroe was the last, but not least, to speak. He said, "I want to be the first republican from Pinellas County to be senator!" Quite the gentleman, he complemented the BWRC for having the skill to assemble all four candidates at the same time. He introduced his wife Renee, whom he said was his childhood sweetheart. They recently married after being apart for 43 years.
Monroe said he is a life long republican. "I liked Ike," he quipped.
Monroe touted his experience. His campaigners feel his career in Washington qualifies him more than the other candidates to be senator. He's already rubbed elbows with Cheney and Rumsfeld when he served with them in the white house in the 1970s. Under former President Bush, Monroe served as the chief operating officer of the Federal Housing Administration, where he worked to eliminate corrupt insurance programs and wasteful housing programs. Monroe reminded attendees that he was also president of the Resolution Trust Corporation oversight board during the early 90's savings and loan crisis.
Monroe calls his approach to solving problems 'conservative action'. He favors relying on free market solutions as well as reduced spending, lower taxes, and less government.
When asked about his view of the fair tax plan, Monroe was cautious. He said he was in general favor of it but worried about the opportunities for fraud. He sited a study by Connie Mack. "The devil is in the details," he said. "I want to look at the details."
Club president Henning summed up the event. "This was fascinating."
