BILL NELSON BREATHES A BIG SIGH OF RELIEF-- HARRIS STAYS IN THE FLORIDA SENATE RACE

No one in Florida was happier last night than Senator Bill Nelson. Well, there were probably a lot of Democrats breathing sighs of relief. Although nearly every Florida prognosticator-- Democrats, Republicans and others-- had been nearly certain Katherine Harris would give up on her ill-starred and severely faltering campaign for the U.S. Senate, last night she announced that she was sticking with it no matter what and even though no one will contribute to her, she will donate her own money ($10 million).

Harris' latest dive in esteem with Florida voters comes after revelations that she was being bribed by Mitchell Wade, the same GOP defense contractor who was bribing Randy "Duke" Cunningham (formerly R-CA, currently residing in a federal penitentiary for the next 8+ years or until Bush pardons him as he leaves office), surfaced. Yesterday, on one of the far right propaganda outlet s, this one hosted by maniac wingnut Sean Hannity, Harris said that Wade was a "bad guy" and that she had donated the illegal contributions to Habitat for Humanity. When Floridians stopped rolling on the floor laughing they flocked to an anti-corruption site that is targeting her outrageous and criminal behavior as a legislator.

Most of the local press coverage of her latest antics have pointed out that she is behind by over 20 points and that not even Republicans think she's of sound mind. "Harris is a polarizing figure who enjoys strong support among conservatives but is not as popular among Florida's key independent voters," explains the South West Florida News-Press. "If her name appears on the ballot in November, it is expected to boost turnout among Florida Democrats who want to vote against the woman they still blame for 'stealing' the 2000 election from Al Gore." Although Harris told Hannity that she doesn't think stealing the elect for Bush in 2000 will impact the race, she also claimed that it was "a little surprising" that Republican leaders were slow to warm to her campaign. She does acknowledge requesting $10 million to fund a Sarasota project proposed by Wade after he gave her over $30,000-- in all likelihood way over-- in illegal campaign contributions. "Harris had largely dodged the press and constituents during the weeks leading up to Wednesday night's appearance" on Hannity's Republican infomercial, which is cleverly disguised as a news and commentary show.


FRIDAY MORNING UPDATE: THE KATHERINE HARRIS CHALLENGE

There's something everyone in Florida who loves America should remember between now and November. And it's here, just click.


SUNDAY UPDATE: WILL KATHERINE HARRIS ESCAPE PRISON ON BRIBERY CHARGES FOR THE SECOND TIME?

I'm sure it will surprise no one, but Katherine Harris' bribery case is a repeat of a very similar situation from when she ran for the Florida State Senate in 1994 and accepted illegal bundled bribes from Riscorp (a shady Florida company whose owner was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his dealings with Harris' campaign-- which included paying the salary of one of her campaign workers). This time she traded $50,000 for her campaign for her assistance in getting Mitchell Wade's MZM defense contracting company a $10 million sweetheart deal from the Pentagon. In the 1994 case, Harris escaped prison herself because she convinced authorities she is too stupid to be able to figure something out as complicated as bribery. She's trying the same "stoopid" defense again. But today's MIAMI HERALD covers Katherine Harris bribery case by bringing into consideration what they call "the flake factor." The HERALD points out that even after it was made clear to her that accepting bundled checks for someone for whom she was performing services is bribery, she "initially refused to return the tainted contributions. Staffers, some of whom were already running for the lifeboats, eventually persuaded her to give the money to charity."