All Over, But For The Coronation!
If any of you GOP inclined voters in Florida think there's a Republican primary coming up for U.S. Senate candidates, Connie Mack IV has a message for you:
WRONG.
You see, the "Gas Prices Are Too Damn High??" candidate has declared himself the winner because he currently has a 33 point lead in the polls over the others who assume they're still running against him, and of course we all know that polls never change. Never! Well, except for when they do.
But no matter! That's not the only reason Mack has declared himself the winner. He has endorsements from Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney, so there! Guess we're to assume they're the ultimate deciders since Jeb all but made his brother the President in spite of the number of votes counted, and Mittens declared himself the frontrunner long before Republican voters came to the conclusion there was no one else left to support after a long primary season. Not for lack of trying either! They gave a shot to just about every last wing-nut they could find from Michele "We ARE In The Last Days And Besides, I'm Hearing Voices" Bachmann right down to pizza magnate Herman "9-9-9" Cain. Never mind that the name Bush still means the plague in most "thinking" voters minds, and no one likes Mitt Romney no matter what they say. He's similar to our governor, Rick Scott, in that sense. Both were elected as Governors, and yet they were so bad at their jobs no one will admit to actually voting for them.
Really. Ask around!
No, the race is clearly over as far as Connie's concerned. Since he's spent so much time batting at George Stand-In LeMieux like a pesky fly for months to no avail, he's decided to just pretend he's not there from now on, along with......those other guys running.
Another reason may just be Connie's Daddy. He's Connie Mack for Pete's sake! Besides, Daddy's in agreement. It's over, so there. Any questions? (Did Connie Mack IV mention his Daddy is Connie Mack?)
Those are the conventional wisdom choices, but I think there's another reason. He's basically a coward with nothing to offer, and he knows it. Here's your first clue, from Mack himself:
"We have a 33-point lead," Mack said last week, explaining his decision to skip three televised GOP primary debates.
[...."If my opponents want to debate me, that will only help Sen. Nelson," Mack said.
Wow. That's some admission. The ony thing that might have surprised me more would have been if he said he was a hapless loser. Sure others have made that assumption, but I do believe this is a first.
"I'm winning!"
"If I debate, I'll lose!"
He's starting to sound like Mitt Romney: "I'll have it both ways, thank you."
The unspoken truth here is that in a debate with Sen. Bill Nelson, Mack will likely lose there too. Why prolong the agony, I say?
Sadly, Republicans aren't buying Mack's self-proclaimed coronation, and they're getting vocal about it.
But some grass roots Republicans say it's too soon for Mack to declare himself the winner — especially if he won't make the customary rounds at debates and straw polls.
"It's an incredibly bad message to send to the voters in a primary," said Nancy McGowan, president of the Conservative Republican Forum of Jacksonville. "It just says, 'What you think doesn't matter.' "
Another astute observation from the right, but then being a conservative Republican Ms. McGowan should know by now that "what you think doesn't matter" is pretty much the Republican platform these days. They don't care what you think, or want, regardless of party affiliation. You're on your own.
So just get over it.
Game over. Connie and his Daddy say so!
(Photo: Connie Mack IV, U.S. House)