More of the Same

In Florida House District 13, there's a special election resulting from the unfortunate passing of a good man, Congressman Bill Young.  Rep. Young (R), lived in and represented Pinellas County,was responsible for a good deal of  federal assistance for the military in this area, especially as concerns MacDill AFB in Tampa, and was a staunch small government, low taxes, constitutional representative.

But he passed away during his term, and a special election was called to replace him in congress.  His heir apparent, Mr. Tom Jolly, won a Republican primary for this seat, and now faces Alex Sink, a Democrat, and Lucas Overby, a Libertarian, in the run off.  Of the three, Overby and Jolly represent the best future for Pinellas County, as well as for congress.  They both are freedom loving, self reliant, low taxes, small government proponents and would bring needed change to the over-reaching nanny state bureaucracy in Washington.  Both are life long residents of Pinellas County as well.

Sink, in contrast, is more of the same big government statist elites who know better than we mere mortals.  Although she's a Southerner, which in of itself weighs mightily with me, she is also just another carpetbagger, which also weighs mightily with me.  The former is a virtue, the latter is not.  Back in September the Democrat Party wanted her to run for governor against incumbent Republican governor Rick Scott in 2014.  She declined, presumably because the party brass wanted to run the chameleon Charlie Crist, the darling of the silk stocking set, and a partner at Morgan and Morgan, the law firm pushing the "medical"  marijuana ballot issue.  As luck would have it a vacancy arose in District 13, and the party brass offered her the consolation prize - a shot to run against two virtual unknowns for the house seat; one Republican, one Libertarian.  Cool.  Piece of cake.

But wait.  There's a problem.  Alex lives in trendy rural Hillsborough County; she doesn't live in Pinellas and never has, and residency is a requirement for candidacy.  So in dark of night in September or thereabouts, Alex rents a modest house in Pinellas Park, and viola!  Instant resident.  Requirement met, say the Dems, press on.  Imagine if a Republican had done this.  The press wouldn't sleep until justice was served.  Yet not a peep from the St. Petersburg Times (now called the Tampa Bay Times in an effort to achieve legitimacy in the Tampa Bay area).  Nothing to see here, move on.

Shame on you, Alex Sink.  You have put the corruption of your party's ends-justifies-the-means policy ahead of your Southern heritage and your personal integrity.  Of all people in the world, as a Southerner surely you should be deeply sensitive to the stigma of a carpetbagger.  

I would respect her in a run for governor, that's a straight up contest.  But to so blatantly in-your-face roll over to the state's corrupt and vile Democrat party apparatus in seeking a house seat in this way leaves me with a very low level gag reflex.  Pinellas County is a politically diverse district, true, and she may prevail.  But for the future of my home county, as well as for the House of Representatives, I fervently hope not.