adam hasner
Qunnipiac released a new poll showing some surprising numbers in Florida. First the not-so-surprising stuff: President Obama got no bump from the debt deal mess. His disapproval numbers are growing in Florida. Independents are abandoning the President big time. “‘President Barack Obama’s numbers in the key swing state of Florida have gone south in the last two months. The debt ceiling deal is not making any difference in that decline and any bounce he got from the bin Laden operation is long since gone,’ said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. ‘The president’s drop off is huge among independent voters who now disapprove almost 2-1.’”
On the GOP side, 23% support Mitt Romney,while 13% support Rick Perry. Sarah Palin and Ron Paul come in third with 9%. “‘Gov. Rick Perry’s stock is rising even before he announces whether he’ll run,’ said Brown. ‘U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, who had been surging in other states, is stalled.’”
The poll’s real surprise comes from the results regarding the GOP race for U.S. Senate nomination. Senator Bill Nelson (D-Out Of Touch) still holds a slight lead over his opponents (46-35), but his approval rating stands at just 42%. Such a low approval rating for a well-known incumbent must have Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Really Out of Touch) pulling her hair out.
Tea Party favorite Mike McCalister is a surprise leader for the GOP nomination with 15%. Former Senator George LeMieux has 12% support. A newcomer to the race, Businessman Craig Miller garners 8%, while Adam Hasner is last with just 6%.
The poll finds 53% of Republican voters are undecided. Of course, polls in August 2011 are worthless, but it should help boost McCalister’s profile among the electorate. It is also bad news for the Hasner campaign. Last month, such bad news and poll results lead to Mike Haridopolos’ leaving the race. Stay tuned.
“From July 27 – 31, Quinnipiac University surveyed 674 registered voters with a
margin of error of +/- 3.8 percent. August 1 – 2, 743 registered voters were surveyed
with a margin of error of +/- 3.6 percent. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones.
The total survey of 1,417 registered voters surveyed from July 27 – August 2 includes 510 Republicans with a margin of error of +/- 4.3 percent“
McCalister told a Treasure Coast Values leader that he is “personally opposed to abortion but that the 10h Amendment permits the states to allow it without federal interference”. Apparently McCalister either thinks pro-lifers are marginally educated bumpkins; or he fails to recognize that any high school American Government student knows that the 5th Amendment prohibits any person being deprived of life, liberty or property without due process. This tracks with a secondary source citing his book “The Right Future for Florida…and You!”. I have not seen the book but on page 7 McCalister is alleged to have made the following statement:“I am pro-life, and though I don’t believe that government should interfere in the personal choices of its citizens, I believe that tax payers should not be responsible for paying for those choices.” Either way, he is stating a pro-choice, i.e. passively pro-abortion, not a pro-life position. It certainly is not supported by any U.S. Constitution, only a flawed 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling. It is essentially no different from liberal Democratic Catholic politicians like John Kerry who profess to be “pro-life and pro-family but who won’t violate the separation between Church and State”.
For a professed non politician, McCalister is all over the place twisting the truth and playing with shades of gray. McCalister’s judgment also probably led him to believe that over-stating his military experience would not be noticed or questioned by career military professionals. Apparently, with the exception of about a year or two of stateside active duty service, all of his military experience was in the reserves. He has also failed to answer straight forward questions by retired military officers about where, how long and in what units he served on active duty other than for reserve training; and also when he testified before Congress (Officers below general officers very rarely testify. Last one that comes to mind is Oliver North.) A reserve career is perfectly honorable and a vital contribution to national security. However, embellishing or deliberately misrepresenting military service is very sleazy, similar to what CT Sen Richard Blumenthal did. McCalister certainly is no Allen West.
Chuck Winn