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Wednesday, May 25, 2005

Gallagher to make tenth run for statewide office

Gallagher reinvents himself yet again


Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher announced his tenth run for statewide office the other day. Gallgher will seek the Governorship for the fourth time, but for the first time since 1994. When Gallgher to make tenth run for statewide office first ran statewide in 1980 for the US Senate, he was a liberal Republican who marketed himself as someone who could defeat incumbent Democrat Dick Stone. In 1986, Gallagher ran for Governor with much institutional support and lobbyist backing, but was defeated by the more Conservative Bob Martinez in the GOP Primary. In 1988, Gallagher defeated State Senator Ken Jenne to become Insurance commissioner, a thankless job particularly after Hurricane Andrew in 1992. When Gallagher announced his candidacy for the Governorship in 1994 he talked about broad unifying themes, such as Children's heatlhcare, bringing business the Florida and Education funding. Gallagher ran again as a moderate to liberal Republican, and even defended some of Bill Clinton's policies in a prime time debate between Republican candidates. Jeb Bush won the nomination that year and has been the dominant force in Florida Republican Party politics since.

Gallagher's response to his defeats has been fairly typical of someone as ambitious as he is. Gallagher despite a scant background in Education ran for Commissioner of Education in 1998. The goal for him was to return to elective statewide office. He won despite giving no specifics on his views and looking foolish in a debate with the very well versed Democratic nominee, former House Speaker Peter Wallace. Gallagher has since run for two more statewide offices, winning both times and has reversed his longtime views in opposition to school vouchers and in favor of a woman's right to choose.

When Gallagher announced this week he was clearly going after Republican front runner Charlie Crist, whose personal life is constantly being speculated about by political observers. Crist, who has also developed a record of progressive activism in favor of consumers as Attorney General, has a record that stands in stark contrast to the rhetoric of Gallagher's announcement. Gallagher spoke about the need for an amendment to the constitution banning gay marriage and gay adoption and also for the need to stop activist judges from sitting on the bench. Gallagher's speech was so conservative said some observers, that it made Jeb Bush look like mushy moderate.

Tom Gallagher has essentially moved from the Rockefeller wing of his party to the DeLay wing in a short period of time. His rhetoric may be what the Conservative activists in a GOP primary want to hear, but it is my humble opinion that if the GOP is serious about being a governing majority party, Gallagher's new found rhetoric must be rejected in favor of Charlie Crist, who as Attorney General has acted in the progressive tradition of Florida officeholders. (the subject of tomorrow's blog). Crist, unlike Gallagher represents the rhetoric of George W. Bush's 2000 campaign of compassionate conservatism. (Though Bush has failed to govern in that mold) As a Democrat, I am chomping at the bit to get the new Tom Gallagher in a one on one matchup with Rod Smith or Jim Davis. The Republicans should heed this warning and reject Gallagher's reinvented conservatism in favor of Crist's populism and activism on behalf of Florida citizens. A failure to do so could further marginalize the GOP among Florida's electorate and pave the way for a Democratic resurgance in the state.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

How low will Tom Gallagher go? We'll find out when Christ starts getting some seriously good PR. Rest assured, the claws will come out. Mel Martinez set the GOP template in his primary battle against Bill McCollum. Martinez accomplished the impossible -- he seriously left me feeling BAD for McCollum, a caveman in his own "right (pun intended)!"

Anonymous said...

Gallagher may appear to be dishonest about his views but it is the red meat that the GOP Primary voters want to hear. I think Gallagher is going to shock some people and upset Crist in the primary and then win the General by a big margin.

Anonymous said...

I really feel that the GOP is moving further and further to the right. For the first time since 1996 nobody named Bush will on the ticket for the GOP. Thus, I predict the Democrats will bite back. Maddox will win the Governorship, Butterworth will be AG and the Dems could win CFO with Alex Cink. The GOP will lose seats in both the House and Senate as well. Everything goes in cycles, and the GOP has hit a wall. Honestly, Crist could win, but he's not going to be nominated by the right wing of the GOP who is convinced he is gay and also a follower of Bob Butterworth from a political standpoint.

Anonymous said...

In addition, I believe Crist sided with the Dems on Terry Schiavo which has become the holy grail for the right wing both here in Florida and across the nation. They are not going to nominate Crist.

Anonymous said...

I don't really believe Tom Gallagher can win any office higher than Insurance Commisioner or CFO. Everytime he has tried to step up and run for Governor or Senator reality has slapped him in the face. Why should this time be any different?

Anonymous said...

I just don't take Gallagher seriously. I agree with egcanes. He's going to marginalized with the media like Martinez was at the end of the McCollum race for gay baiting.

Anonymous said...

Scott Maddox and Tom Gallagher are staking out extreme position in the race, allowing the other 3 candidates to occupy the middle ground. A race between Crist and Davis could be most interesting since Crist has become a consumer advocate, normally a Democratic position and Davis is a leading suporter of Free Trade, something the GOP normally stands tall on.

Anonymous said...

Remember the flip flop ads against John Kerry? Tom Gallagher's would be that much worse!

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I am the host of the Major League Soccer Talk and EPL Talk Podcasts and am frequent guest on other (world) football shows. I am also the publisher of various other websites including this one. I work in public/government relations in addition to my soccer work and have a keen interest in history, politics, aviation, travel,and the world around us.

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