The American Spectator

Washington Prowler

(Page 2 of 3)

"Dean loved the idea of getting involved in this hearing, even though he knew where some of these guys were going to go with their public statements," says the DNC staffer. "That he is in bed with guys like Conyers and Waters and McDermott shows just how out of touch he is with where the party needs to be."

Part of the problem, too, says the DNC staffer, is that the headquarters has become a playground for fringe groups that never would have been given access under previous DNC chairmen. "You see some of the people being let in here for meetings and for coordination briefings and you have to wonder where this thing is going. There is no judgment about who the party should be associated with. If they hate Bush, can raise money, they're in. That's what happened with the Downing Street hearing. That's why we're backpedaling now."

p> HARRIS IN BUSH COUNTRY br> Apparently Rep. Katherine Harris is not the White House's or even Senate Republicans' pick to challenge Democrat Sen. Bill Nelson in the 2006 election cycle. Harris has already announced her intention to run in the Republican Senate primary in Florida, and the thinking was that the former Sunshine State Secretary of State had the backing of senior Republicans on Pennsylvania Avenue and Capitol Hill. /p>

But Florida House Speaker Allan Bense appears to be the chosen one. Gov. Jeb Bush has publicly stated that Bense would make a superb Senate candidate, and while he has not publicly endorsed his legislative partner, it is clear there are strong and lingering doubts about the statewide viability of Harris, who was the lightning rod for controversy during the 2000 presidential election recount in Florida.

"The real concern isn't Harris's ability as a candidate," says a Republican political consultant with clients in Florida. "The concern is what her presence in the race does to Democrats. I think she's too well known to make the run a successful one. She needs to stay in the House, get a bit more seasoning and then to look to do something down the road."

Some in Washington took Governor Bush's statements to be in line with what the White House political operation might be thinking. GOP political strategists, such as RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman and senior Bush political and policy adviser Karl Rove have not been out front on the Harris decision, though Harris and her subordinates have attempted to create the impression that she has White House and party backing.

It appears, though, that she has neither. Bense has held a number of meetings with both RNC and National Republican Senatorial Committee staff members. He has also, according to sources, met with political advisers with ties to the White House.

"We want him in the race as a viable option to Harris," says an NRSC staffer. "He'd be a great candidate, the one most likely to defeat Nelson, and the one we could support across the board."

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