Katherine Harris has changed for the worse since her empty-headed decisions as Florida’s Secretary of State helped Bush into the White House and herself into Congress. Now in a race for the Senate, she is shoveling inane religious muck. Harris and her ilk are the original public dangers, believing (or pretending to believe to attract votes) they are The Light to Lighten the Gentiles.
She trails the Democratic incumbent, Sen. Bill Nelson, by 28 points. Nelson, who traveled on the space shuttle Columbia when he was in the House, is a moderate who has opposed drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and pressed for more affordable prescription drugs.
Desperate for evangelical votes, as reported in the Orlando Sentinel Harris has now attacked Sen. Nelson’s faith. She said he “claims to be a Christian” but votes “completely contrary to what we believe.”
Interviewed for the Florida Baptist Witness, periodical of the Florida Baptist State Convention, Harris warned of bushels of sins should Nelson be re-elected. She pointed to Nelson’s votes for stem-cell research, against Judge Alito, against a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage and against banning funding for medical procedures for which the religious right created the erroneous and misleading term “partial-birth abortion.” Apparently fairness and honesty don’t top her list of Christian values: she neglected to mention Nelson’s key votes such as those on tax issues, which would have pleased his constituency.
“I have a 100 percent voting record with the Christian Coalition [and] with the traditional values groups,” she claimed. She figures she is best suited for the Senate, inasmuch as
- “God is the one who chooses our rulers”
- “if people aren’t involved in helping godly men in getting elected than we’re going to have a nation of secular laws. That’s not what our founding fathers intended and that’s certainly isn’t what God intended.”
- “if you’re not electing Christians then in essence you are going to legislate sin [permissible abortions and gay unions]… then average citizens who are not Christians, because they don’t know better, we are leading them astray…
There’s gotta be a barf bag around here somewhere.
Nunc Dimittis.
She gets more histerically funny every day. I think she needs her meds adjusted.
What a crack up.
Makes ya wonder what is so overpoweringly great about a job in the Senate that pays, what?. . .$200,000 a year, about. . .that people will throw millions at getting elected to it and do any dispicable, slimey thing in order to get there.
Makes me shake my head.
I think it’s only about $155,000 (too lazy to go look but it’s on one of the front pages of senate.gov). Ah, but the perks are the greatest — top-notch medical care (certainly better than hoi polloi get as a general rule), good eats at the Freedom Fries Cafeteria, all sorts of things you can do on the taxpayers’ dime — and best of all, a bully pulpit whence to spout one’s views, if one is so inclined.
There’s also the idea that one has the opportunity to do tremendous good for their fellow man, which is approximately 180° turned around from what Harris is doing.
…puts anyone who wants to be on a track that means a lot more money than $162,000. But, frankly, if I had it, I’d give that much to about 65 Senators just so that would return to the private sector.
Harris is the granddaughter of the late Ben Hill Griffin, Jr., a conservative Democrat and politician in Florida whose citrus business earned him a place among the Forbes richest 400 Americans. Besides what she inherited after a prolonged probate family fight, and besides the assets held by her millionaire husband, she has over $7 Million in assets, according to her financial disclosure last year.
There’s another question. In May Common Cause filed a complaint with the Department of Justice requesting an investigation to determine whether, as believed, Harris accepted an illegal contribution from Mitchell Wade, executive of defense contractor MZM, Inc., who admitted as much when he pled guilty to corruption charges in connection with Duke Cunningham.
Although it was meant to be a rhetorical question, I loved each of your answers. The thought of doing good for your country and your constituents was out of the equation where it refers to Harris and her ilk.
Way back, waaaaaaaaaaay back, in the early 60’s, Playboy did a wonderful series on why people want to run for congress or the Senate and what makes them fight so hard to stay there. They interviewed several sitting congressmen who remained anonymous. They all said it was the perks and the power, nothing more. And the perks are far, far beyond what we are commonly aware of like trips on the taxpayers dime, $2.00 steaks in the house eatery, etc. Apparently those interviewed (if not most of their brethren)were in love with the ego-centric nature of it all. Everywhere they went in thier free limos, free jet trips, everywhere in the world or the US, they were treated like ROYALTY (Their word, not mine). They loved it. Of course, these days, it means a multi million dollar job as a lobbyist or placement on the Board of Directors of some huge Corporation as soon as they leave office. Plenty of perks.
See. . .playboy did have some great articles. I deny I read it for the nude pics, just great articles. Heh!
Shirl
So if Bill Nelson beats her and keeps his seat (as looks highly likely), that means it was NOT God’s will to put a religious nutcase in the Senate, right?
That kind of faith-based logic (if one can call it that) works both ways. And I seem to recall that according to the Bible that Harris seems so reliant upon, God was far more concerned about laws being FAIR, MERCIFUL and JUST (especially to the poor and powerless) than whether they were based on secular or religious authority.
I imagine that like george, Katherine never got a lot of respect (even from her own self.) and thinks that it will come with the title.
‘scuse the mistake,
That plus POWER and, in her circles, social prestige.
That plus and, in her circles (I’m familiar with Sarasota) social prestige.