GOP to Harris: Get Out. Harris to GOP: Up Yours

By Justin Rood - May 3, 2006, 8:18 AM

"It's highly unlikely she can succeed. . . the tea leaves are pretty easy to read at this point."
- Former FL GOP Chief Al Cardenas, speaking yesterday to a reporter about Harris' chances of winning

"I never give up. I never give in. I will not quit. In the U.S. Senate, I will fight for Florida and for you with all my heart."
Rep. Katherine Harris (R-FL), in new TV ad released yesterday

For Harris Campaign, Worst Hits Come From Own Party

By Justin Rood - May 4, 2006, 8:15 AM

Poor Rep. Katherine Harris (R-FL). She's got enemies all around her -- her former staffers, former advisers to her Senate campaign, even her own Republican party.

Now, they seem to be conspiring to bring her down with leaks. In a way, it's almost noble that the party will smear its friends as easily as it would smear an opponent. In Harris' case they're even gentlemanly about it -- her former campaign strategist Ed Rollins has now gone on the record twice to share derogatory information about her.

This time, he backs up two former staffers who tell the Orlando Sentinel she made an earmark for Mitchell Wade's MZM, Inc. "a priority," overruling their objections to it. Before Wade found himself singing like a canary to federal investigators, he was busy helping to procure hookers, spreading cash around Capitol Hill, and taking Harris to a $2,800 dinner, all apparent efforts to win fat government contracts. Rollins told Harris he thought her dealings looked bad -- and now he's telling you:

"I said, 'Duke Cunningham got cash from Wade, and in your case he's promising to raise money,'" said Rollins. . . "I told her, 'This is how it's going to look.'"

His comments back up those of anonymous former staffers, which told the paper:

"[Harris] said, 'It's important to me, so submit it,'" said an ex-staffer who was involved in the process. "She wanted it in."
. . . "Katherine was pretty adamant about it," [another] former staffer said.

We might need to give Rollins a call today, see what more he's willing to talk about. And while we're on the phone, maybe he'll give us his list of the 15 lawmakers he believes could get indicted as a result of Hookergate.

Thursday, May 04, 2006

Kathy, Kathy, Kathy



Former senior members of U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris' congressional staff say they initially rejected a defense contractor's $10 million appropriation request last year but reversed course after being instructed by Harris to approve it.

Harris insisted that Mitchell Wade's request for funding be given to a defense appropriations subcommittee, despite the request's being late and difficult to understand, according to two former staff members and Harris' former chief political strategist.

"She said, 'It's important to me, so submit it,' " said an ex-staffer who was involved in the process. "She wanted it in."

Wade is the contractor at the center of a congressional bribery scandal that has landed a California lawmaker in prison.

In the weeks before Harris submitted Wade's appropriations request, Wade spent up to $2,800 entertaining Harris at one of Washington's most expensive restaurants.

There, he and Harris discussed the request and Wade -- whose company had contributed thousands to her 2004 congressional campaign -- offered to have a fundraiser for her 2006 Senate race.

On Monday, a well-known government watchdog group asked the Justice Department to investigate Harris' ties to Wade, the former chief operating officer of the now-defunct MZM Inc.

Don't let it get you down. You've got 10 million to spend girl, and if that can't buy a senate seat I just don't know what will. Oh, and most important of all, you look fabulous.