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Rep. Harris a disgrace to women in politics

By LUCY MORGAN
Published April 30, 2006

Republicans all over the state are urging U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris to get out of the U.S. Senate race and give someone else a chance to take out U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson.

They ask for the wrong reason.

Harris should get out of the race because she is an embarrassment to women everywhere.

It is very hard for women to win public office in a political world dominated by men. To succeed in the world of politics or business, a woman has to be much smarter than a man. Ideally she should also be much more ethical.

Women may outnumber men in Florida but men far outnumber us when it comes to getting elected to public office. Few women have ever won a statewide election in Florida. No woman has ever been governor or speaker of the house. The only woman to sit in the lieutenant governor's chair is Toni Jennings and she was appointed by Gov. Jeb Bush.

So it should be particularly troubling to women to have a woman in office who displays no visible sign of intelligence.

I first met Harris in the early summer of 1994. She was introduced to me by a woman who described her as a very bright, well-spoken woman who might well be the first woman that could ever be elected governor.

Nothing I have seen since makes that suggestion seem true.

She began her political life in the Florida Senate, defeating Sen. Jim Boczar, a one-term Democrat from Sarasota, who talked a lot but did virtually nothing during his brief tenure. His most memorable achievement occurred the day he ordered reporters out of his senate office when they tried to interview him.

Later she defeated Secretary of State Sandy Mortham for that job and we all know how well she handled the 2000 election. And we watched in horror as she attempted to explain why she "forgot" to resign her state office as she ran for Congress. How in the world could a woman in charge of enforcing election laws overlook one of the most basic requirements?

She could not respond to questions and fled the room as her staff knocked tape recorders and microphones all over the Capitol floor.

Harris appears unable or unwilling to answer questions about her actions. Last week she apparently attempted to explain why she accepted a $2,800 dinner from a defense contractor who pleaded guilty earlier this year to bribing a California congressman.

Later Harris tried to explain the situation by saying the tab was so high because Mitchell Wade, the defense contractor, took two bottles of expensive wine home, a claim the restaurant rejects because they don't have the kind of liquor license that allows wine to be taken out.

The rules for members of Congress forbid acceptance of a meal valued at more than $49.99 but Harris seems unaware of them.

The defense contractor who picked up the tab is the same guy who gave her $32,000 in illegal campaign contributions.

She told reporters that she had only recently learned that the contractor picked up the tab and insisted her campaign had reimbursed the restaurant. When asked how she could have paid a tab that had already been paid, she walked away unable to answer questions.

A short time later her staff asked reporters not to publish any of her answers. A day later her campaign released a statement with yet another explanation saying she thought her campaign paid for the meal but later learned it had not happened.

To solve the problem she donated $100 to a Florida charity, a religion that believes the end is near.

How appropriate.

[Last modified May 1, 2006, 09:22:02]