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Michael Bilirakis is the kind of career politician who condemns career politicians. The Tarpon Springs lawyer was elected to Congress in 1982 on a pledge to limit his own stay there. By 1992, he was emphatic about term limits: "I felt strongly about this concept when I first ran in 1982 and since I've been up there, I feel strongly now more than ever. I plan to remain true to that pledge."
Oops. He's now seeking his 12th term, and he's sitting on a $527,565 campaign war chest of which more than two-thirds comes courtesy of political action committees, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. In the Washington ratings game, he's loved by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the NRA and the Christian Coalition and loathed by the Alliance for Retired Americans, the AFL-CIO, the National Education Association and the Sierra Club.
Bilirakis, 74, says this term will be his last, and the only reason to believe him is that he appears eager to hand the job to his son, Gus, a state legislator. In this primary, Bilirakis faces opposition from within his own party. His Republican opponent, Joseph Stanley, 39, runs a construction company and is trying to finance his own campaign. Stanley fairly criticizes this career politician, but brings little else to the race. We recommend Bilirakis.