Run a Democrat for Governor!

This seems so extraordinarily obvious, but in deciding who should be the next Democratic nominee for governor of Florida, can we stick to speculating about Democrats? Adam Smith, top politics guy at the St. Pete Times, wrote up a piece about the lineup of people who want to challenge Rick Scott in 2012. Now, I realize he probably didn't write the headline, but titling the piece "Crist for Governor? As a Democrat?" just irks me.

It is no secret I don't hold Charlie Crist in the highest regard. That said, if he actually switches parties and begins helping to organize Democrats in the state, he may be able to earn my respect. But to date, he has not done so, nor hinted he might do so.

I hope the "Democratic leaders" who talked up Crist at the Jefferson-Jackson dinner realize they helped make a registered independent into the most talked about Democrat in Florida, and I hope they some day regret doing so. As I have pointed out before, Charlie Crist had a shot last year to throw in with the Democrats, but instead held a nationally-televised press conference where he said he would rather run as an independent.

He spent the entire campaign cycle last year refusing to say who he would caucus with if elected to the United States Senate. He reportedly told John Morgan he would caucus with Dems, but told Bob Dole he would caucus with Republicans. He spent an enormous amount of effort last year saying both parties were bad, and that he as Senator would save us from partisan politics altogether. Never mind he was happy to engage in partisan politics until the tea party turned his party upside down.

But I do not mean to re-engage in Crist-hating. My problem is that Florida Democrats, looking toward an election more than three years away, need to be cultivating talent within their own ranks, not recruiting defectors from the other side. Who could we run instead of a the effective leader of the Republican Party until a year ago?

Alex Sink came within a hair of winning the election for governor last year, and surely would have if not for a Republican wave that hit Florida especially hard.

Dan Gelber, while having a disappointing showing in the AG race, but is already putting together a strong public relations effort rebuking Scott and has the endurance, I believe, for a long campaign (plus he has produced the lovely stump line "Floridians are retracing their steps to figure out how they woke up with a tiger in their bathroom and Lex Luther as governor.")

Word is Rod Smith wants to run, though he probably won't is Sink, who picked him as running mate last year, gives this another go.

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio and Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown are all strong leaders who have won high-population constituencies, and all happen to have been preceded by Republicans. Any one of them has demonstrated an ability to win over swing voters and develop a regional brand, and it should not be difficult to expand those brands statewide.

I am sure that countless other Democratic prospects will arise in the next two years as well, so long as the party looks to cultivate its own talent. The Florida Democratic Party has been in shambles for most of the last decade, but is faced with tremendous opportunity to build right now. This opportunity should not be squandered the way so many have been before.

The Novelty of Running Mates

I have tried for more than a week to try and figure something interesting to say about the selection of running mates by candidates for Governor, but I just can't see as much interest in the choices as many suggest. Ultimately, the role of Lieutenant Governor is one that holds far more bearing with the press than it does with the public, as demonstrated by Pam Bondi's defeat of Jeff Kottkamp in the Attorney General primary last week.

Bill Clinton once said that choosing a running mate was the first act a candidate could do which seemed presidential before they were actually elected president. Or something. I can't find the quote online.

That's true, but like any appointment, it gets picked apart by the public more than it gets praised, if anyone notices at all. And I think for gubernatorial candidates, that is even for true.

Alex Sink made a choice that was "safe" picking Rod Smith. Rick Scott "bucked conventional wisdom" with Jennifer Carroll. Neither decision will win any votes for either candidates. And honestly, they won't lose any either when the cards are finally down. It will be Sink and Scott who get judged by the general public, not their choices for Lieutenant Governor.

My thoughts are this. Scott picked somebody with legislative experience, something he doesn't have, so it is no bucking of any wisdom that he would choose an experienced politician to balance out his ticket. He also picked a black woman, two other things which he is not. The obvious political reason for this is that it will broaden the appeal of his ticket, except it won't. Black voters will still go overwhelmingly for Alex Sink. I guarantee it. When Carroll ran for Congress against Corrinne Brown, she never made any significant headway against the liberal black House member. The notion that running black Republicans will make more black voters rush to a ticket whose leader thinks reaching out to Hispanics means eating dinner later, or register with a party which has proudly chipped away at affirmative action measures, is a conservative pipe dream. Yes, there are black Republicans, but this decision won't be what brings them to polls any more than a lack of black candidates has kept black Democrats voting the other way.

Bottom line: more people label Carroll's selection as craven pragmatism than bold politics, fairly or unfairly. But come election day, nobody will remember this.

As for Sink's choice, I think most voters have forgotten already. Sink decided to announce her pick days before the Primary election. The idea was that it would suck some news attention away from the heated GOP primary at a time when the Democrat was coasting to the nomination. But did anyone notice that linked TBO story already had figured Smith to be the top choice? A former state Sen. and state attorney, Smith has a legislative background Sink lacks, providing the same professional balance Carroll does for Scott.

But this man is as vanilla as they come. White. Male. Failed statewide candidate in the last race for governor. Is just doesn't get more exciting than this. Will large numbers of people come and vote because of Smith? They haven't before.

So now the campaigns have two people who will do campaign events, though crowds will probably only show up for the gubernatorial candidates themselves. They have two people to place phone calls to donors, though the donors who get a thank you from the LG candidates will know how low they are on the Christmas card lists.

Smith and Carroll are both experiences state legislators, and if there is any genuine duty involved in the job of Lieutenant Governor, it is working directly with lawmakers to get bills passed. But politically, these choices are about the least important decision Scott or Sink has to make this season.