Peter Schorsch
When writing about political gaffes, columnists invariably cite the Michael Kinsley quote that defined such foot-in-mouth moments as “when a politician tells the truth — some obvious truth he isn’t supposed to say.”
By that standard, David Johnson, the interim executive director of the Republican Party of Florida, committed one helluva gaffe.
Quoted by The New York Times for a story about the still-not-declared Jeb Bush campaign’s plan to build a firewall around the Sunshine State, Johnson said that a candidacy by U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio would be more than just a stone in the shoe for Bush.
(I)n a blunt interview here, (Johnson) sought to discourage Mr. Rubio from entering the presidential race.
“I hope that is not going to happen,” Mr. Johnson said. “It’s going to cause a lot of problems in the state of Florida.”
He suggested that Mr. Rubio remain in the Senate, calling him “a young man that has a lot of potential.”
Since the story went live, at least two Florida political reporters have made hay out of Johnson’s quotes, with one, George Bennett of The Palm Beach Post, suggesting that 2016 could shape up as a “redux” of Rubio vs. the GOP establishment. This is a reference to when Rubio in 2010 ran against Charlie Crist in the GOP primary for the U.S. Senate. Then, like now, Rubio was the decided underdog against the consulting class’s preferred candidate.
While there is no doubting Johnson is an acolyte of Bush and probably would prefer to not see two of Florida’s favorite sons face-off in a presidential primary, I think Johnson is as much concerned about the GOP keeping Rubio’s U.S. Senate seat as he is worried about Rubio siphoning money and votes from Bush.
As Jim Geraghty of National Review wrote Friday, electing a Republican to Rubio’s Senate seat — quite possibly going to be left empty as the senator runs for president in 2016 — is not Mission: Impossible for the Florida GOP. Just Mission: Extremely Difficult.
The GOP donor class, of course, will be focused primarily on the presidential race, and Florida’s donors will be particularly focused on the races of Bush and Rubio. The presidential race will also dominate news coverage, suck up veteran political campaign staff, and absorb the energies of grassroots volunteers. The reward for the candidate who, in the face of these natural disadvantages, raises enough money to compete? He or she faces a state with extraordinarily complex demographics in both the primary and general electorates: Cuban-Americans in Miami, a rapidly growing population of Puerto Ricans in the Orlando area, seniors all over central Florida, and socially conservative, rock-ribbed Republicans in the north.
Like Johnson said, that’s going to cause a lot of problems in the state of Florida.
That’s the obvious truth that’s not supposed to said.
Kudos to Johnson for committing this necessary gaffe.
