Ed Brayton is a journalist, commentator and speaker. He is the co-founder and president of 
Here's an amusing interview with my favorite demented little harpie/wannabe Senator in the Florida Baptist Witness. Some of these statements will leave you scratching your head wondering what the hell she's talking about. Like this gem:
Do you support civil rights protections on the basis of sexual preference?Civil rights have to do with individual rights and I don't think they apply to the gay issues.
Or this tired little cliche:
Do you support a federal constitutional amendment to define marriage as being only between one man and one woman? Why or why not?I fully support a federal constitutional amendment to define marriage as being only between one man and one woman. I have voted in support of the Marriage Protection Amendment because we should not undermine the uniqueness of an institution that continues to serve as an essential thread in the fabric of our society.
I love that "fabric of our society" nonsense. And of course, since gay marriage would not have any effect at all on the "thread" of straight marriage, all it would do is add another thread, wouldn't it? Higher thread count is a good thing in sheets. And then there's this totally baffling statement:
Is there something wrong with Florida and federal statutes when a severely brain-damaged woman who's not in the process of dying can be starved and dehydrated to death by her husband with the assistance of the courts?It's unconscionable. Having a feeding tube and being hydrated are not life-sustaining. If that were the case then you'd have to take a look at prisoners. I mean, we provide them food and hydration. It is unconscionable. That is normal living. That is what we require to live and to allow that kind of death was truly devastating.
A feeding tube and hydration aren't life sustaining? In what alternate universe?
And last but not least, her answer to why you should elect her - because the future of western civilization itself hangs in the balance if you don't:
Why should Florida Baptists care about this primary election?They should care about this election period. I will tell you that everywhere I go throughout the state and even the nation, people say the pollsters, the politicians and spiritually--that Florida is the forerunner state. That what happens in Florida sets the trend for what happens nationally. And with this election, if Bill Nelson wins, it's going to be a very frightening proposition in 2008 in the presidential elections because whoever wins Florida will win the presidency. And he'll be in a position to largely influence. No other candidate can beat Bill Nelson except for me. No one even has a chance because of name identification and fund raising abilities and things like that. But the real issue is why should Baptists care, why should people care? If you are not electing Christians, tried and true, under public scrutiny and pressure, if you're not electing Christians then in essence you are going to legislate sin. They can legislate sin. They can say that abortion is alright. They can vote to sustain gay marriage. And that will take western civilization, indeed other nations because people look to our country as one nation as under God and whenever we legislate sin and we say abortion is permissible and we say gay unions are permissible, then average citizens who are not Christians, because they don't know better, we are leading them astray and it's wrong. ...
Uh, okay.
Comments
Ed. I am not amused. You promised this would be an "amusing interview". This is a scary post!
Posted by: J-Dog | August 25, 2006 10:19 AM
In other words, she's implying at the end that if you're not christian you're stupid. I'm wondering how the scientists in her state reacted to that?
Posted by: llDayo | August 25, 2006 10:28 AM
Wow! Being from the UK, I've never heard of her. In the US, are her extreme views infamous? What are her chances of winning, do you think?
Posted by: mark | August 25, 2006 10:48 AM
Mark, she's most famous for her role in the Florida recount -- being opposed to it. She was later lambasted by civil rights groups for her role in the state's decisions that led to many minority voters being removed from the rolls. This was because they (the state of Florida, more specifically, the institution for which she worked) hired a company (that had already been fired by the state of Pennsylvania) that provided a list of people on the rolls of the state that had the same name as convicted felons -- some of whom were still in prison, some of whom were convicted only of misdemeaners (sp)(and were therefore eligible to vote). The big problem (besides the controversy over whether felons should be allowed to vote after their time in prison, a human rights violation according to Amnesty International, I believe, but not a problem limited to the state of Florida), was that many of the names the company produced were not the same person in Florida. Example: John Smith of Miami wants to vote, goes to the polls to do so, but is told his name has been removed -- because some John Smith in another state is a convicted felon (and, to boot, might even still be in prisoin, which should in and of itself make it clear that this isn't the same John Smith).
Posted by: greg | August 25, 2006 11:00 AM
Whoa ... I just finished reading "Not the End of the World" by Christopher Brookmyre, and this woman would fit right in. I can fully see her deciding to wipe out a city to teach the country it needs to go back to God ...
(a fuller look at the book is here if anyone is interested. I loved it.
Posted by: The Ridger | August 25, 2006 11:00 AM
mark, she was the secretary of state of Florida who handed the election to Doofus McChimperor.
Posted by: Stogoe | August 25, 2006 11:01 AM
The last paragraph is almost a parody.
Posted by: GH | August 25, 2006 11:12 AM
As a scientist in Floriduh, I hope she keeps on running. Her win of the Rethug primary will make Bill Nelson a virtual shoe-in. (Unless she tampers with the votes again...something she DOES have experience in) But all the major Rethugs here have distanced themselves from her. Even Jeb says she shouldn't run. Her campaign assistants have been jumping like rats from a sinking ship.
Besides, it's just plain entertaining to her her blather on about things she knows nothing about. It provides more fodder against the Conservetards, which is why the smarter ones want her to shut-up and drop out.
Posted by: King Spirula | August 25, 2006 11:15 AM
What is she going to say when she loses in Nov. to a Democrat? She's 30 points down against Bill Nelson as of this week.
God must not like her.
Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp | August 25, 2006 12:31 PM
Ed - I wrote much the same about Harris today. Some of the linnks are worth checking out, particularly the one about Harris' directive to study the effectiveness "supernatural water" as a means of helping the citrus crop.
Posted by: kemibe | August 25, 2006 12:53 PM
Ed. I am not amused. You promised this would be an "amusing interview". This is a scary post!
Not really, she is batshit crazy and it is about as likely that I will win the lotto twice, never buying a ticket, as it is she could win that race. I just hope she's on the ballot.
Posted by: Treban | August 25, 2006 1:03 PM
mark et al:
Everything you need to know about Katherine Harris can be found here:
http://www.wonkette.com/politics/katherine-harris/
Enjoy
Posted by: nicole | August 25, 2006 1:45 PM
Now I'm especially scared about the "God chooses our rulers" line. I thought, in America, we elected public servants to work for the benefit of the public. I'm probably mistaken in this assumption, I know.
Posted by: Stogoe | August 25, 2006 3:05 PM
Hmm... Methinks she made a hiccough:
From any reasonably sane person, this would be a tacit admission that she stole at least one election in the past.
Of course, she's so batshit crazy that one wonders whether she really does think that the party controling Florida's senate representation matters in a fair presidential election.
- JS
Posted by: JS | August 25, 2006 3:47 PM
Jon Stewart had a great piece on her in March.
Posted by: Alan B. | August 25, 2006 4:26 PM
Ummm if "God" chooses our rulers ... and she played a major role in riggi...err counting the votes in the 2000 election, does that mean she believes she's God?
Posted by: dogmeatIB | August 25, 2006 7:56 PM
One example of how simply stoopid she is, mostly for Mark. (I should point out that the way she uses the term "Christian" it mostly refers to Conservative Evangelical Protestants.)
"If you are not electing Christians, tried and true, under public scrutiny and pressure, if you're not electing Christians then in essence you are going to legislate sin."
In Florida there are two main groups that mark it as an unusual state. First, the Jewish population is, I think, bigger in proportion than any other state. (The simple fact is that many Jews DO retire to Florida, as did my in-laws, and many of their friends. As the joke goes "Next year in Jerusalem, but this winter in Miami Beach.")
The other group that is of major importance is Cuban immigrants, a group Republicans have been going after for years. They are Christians, but not in the Harris sense, since they are mostly Catholic. And many of the comments she makes here should lose her votes among this community, even among the more conservative ones that might back her anti-abortion, anti-gay, and similar stands.
Posted by: Prup aka Jim Benton | August 25, 2006 10:07 PM
"Now I'm especially scared about the 'God chooses our rulers' line. I thought, in America, we elected public servants to work for the benefit of the public. I'm probably mistaken in this assumption, I know."
She is referring to an actual passage in the Bible that basically says "the government can do no wrong because God put it into power" and "if you do nothing wrong you have nothing to fear".
Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers: for there is no power but of God: and the powers that be, are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist, shall receive to themselves condemnation. For Magistrates are not to be feared for good works, but for evil. Wilt thou then be without fear of the power? do well: so shalt thou have praise of the same. For he is the minister of God for thy wealth, but if thou do evil, fear: for he beareth not the sword for naught: for he is the minister of God to take vengeance on him that doth evil. (Romans 13.1-4, Tomson)
This is not to say I agree with that belief. (As Jefferson said, I believe people should revolt against governments that they perceive as tyrannical.) It's just what the fundies think.
-uso.
Posted by: usotsuki | August 26, 2006 8:10 PM