McGillicuddy's Screwed-Up Future

I had an interesting experience last week at a political rally I was covering. I bumped into Connie Mack, my congressman and, most likely, the Republican who will challenge Bill Nelson for his Senate seat this year. Why was it strange to see Mack at a presidential candidate rally. The event was for Newt Gingrich and Mack has endorsed Mitt Romney.

And he was making his endorsement known. I asked him if he was traveling with Gingrich, and he was quick to remind, as I had frankly forgotten, that he was backing another guy. But, with the Florida primary days away, he was going from rally to rally, and not just for his guy.

Mack was there as a surrogate, someone to grab the attention of gathered reporters and badmouth Newt. I must admit, this created an entertaining scene. Newt Gingrich's field guy freaked out and was interrupting the little press roundup Mack had called at the base of the camera rafters, and Mack was slamming the guest of honor at this crashed party. He started mentioning Freddie Mac out so often you think he was adopting a new pseudonym for the Senate race. But the attacks were good ones.

"My constituents aren't buying this whole historian story," Mack said, a direct attack on Newt Gingrich's contract work with the bank conservatives hate most.

But as this played out, I couldn't help but think, what happens if Newt becomes the nominee? I imagine there will be some awkward bus rides next October.

For those who haven't been to a presidential campaign, know that every candidate for statewide office at the same time can have their calendar disrupted by their nominee's schedulers at any time. Every moment that Al Gore or George Bush was in Florida in 2000 before the election, Bill Nelson or Bill McCollum respectively were by their sides. It actually becomes a big story when Senate candidates won't make time for the bigger names, the way then gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist didn't really want to be seen with an unpopular George W. Bush in 2006.

So will Connie Mack be ready for long car rides from Miami to Orlando this October. Can he with any credibility announce Newt Gingrich as the "next president of the United States" as he introduces his party nominee?

If Romney wins Florida tomorrow, it may be a moot point. Mack's best hope, of course, is that he bet on the right horse, and the other horses will all go lame quickly. But unlike a lot of the candidates campaigning for presidential hopefuls, or even just endorsing them with non-confrontational and positive statements, there is a lot more at risk for Mack than the average flak.

Which just makes me hope more gleefully than ever that Gingrich is the nominee. If that happens, it's time to buy stock in popcorn.

Mr. McGillicuddy Flip Flops

My own Congressman has entered the US Senate race, the one he said he wouldn't enter a few months ago during a clearly botched unroll on the same courthouse steps where his father announced a successful campaign.

Connie Mack may now be the frontrunner in the race to lose to Bill Nelson next year, but I am sure the piranhas already in the tank will take every piece of him they can. Does a known adulterer have much to fear when the ops teams go nuclear? I think we all know that. Expect a stream of news about bar fights, nepotism and bizarre votes on issues sure to offend the right, the left and everyone in between. That's what you get for having a legislative record and the maturity of a 12-year-old boy.

The biggest news in this to me, of course, is that Mack's House seat is in play. Today, it isn't too much of a swing district, but that seems likely to change as the redistricting process plays out. It will really depend on whether the Legislature wants to keep scandal-prone David Rivera's seat in the red column. We will see some early entries within days, but the viability of an interesting race will be determined this spring.

The Republican field in the 14th is already significant, including former Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp, state Reps. Gary Aubuchon and Dudley Goodlette and a number of smaller office candidates who could make a difference depending on where the district lines fall.

Told You So

Haridopolos out. Never stood a chance.

The obvious question now is who will run. Adam Hasner seems to be the best shot right now for the right. This exit is big enough it probably opens to door to someone like Connie Mack to reconsider, but I expect whatever secret skeleton was hinted at in that closet is still hanging around.

Some sitting Congressmen may also make a go, at least one of whom could really complicate my blogging life.

But it seems to me today as it has seemed for a very long time. Sen. Bill Nelson is in a stronger-than-it-appears position to get re-elected. And at this point, time is on his side.

Mr. McGillicuddy is Out

The first serious challenger to Bill Nelson has chickened out.

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“The time is not right for me,” (Connie) Mack said. “You have to put family and friends above political ambitions, and that is what I have done.”
...
“There were days when I woke up and said ‘Let’s do it.’ Then there were other days I thought about all the time I would be away from my wife and young children. In the end, this was just not the right time.”
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Why? Probably some serious crap none of us knows about. When you check out that link to the News-Press, check the early coverage where the paper practically predicts he will open a Senate office in his dad's old digs. Having worked at that paper and knowing the professionals well, I can only guess they had sources saying the Senate race was a go. I wonder what happened.

Maybe someone told him he was a cheater who was sleeping with Sonny Bono's wife in Washington while his wife was busy raising kids in Florida. But then we all knew that.

Maybe we'll learn more. Maybe we won't. This is my home district, so believe me, I will listen around. Would be great if this House seat ends up in play while Nelson gets a pass.

Either way, it was nice of Connie to fly in to his district before returning home to Palm Springs.