Sen. Bill Nelson has been here before -- the lone statewide Democrat in a red sea of Republicanism.
After telling reporters Wednesday that he'll definitely run again for reelection in 2012, Nelson said he's not too concerned with the results of November's elections, which swept Republicans into office throughout Florida and the rest of the country.
``My brand of politics is where Florida is,'' Nelson said. ``Florida's not . . . to the extreme, either to the right or left. Florida politics is one of moderation.''
Republicans say Nelson is anything but a centrist, noting his vote for President Barack Obama's healthcare bill and his support of Obama's stimulus plan.**
More here
Note: Original story repeated Republican line that Nelson voted for the "unpopular bank bailout." Nelson actually opposed the original legislation, though he later opposed a resolution that was designed to halt the flow of some of the money.
Great reporting, leaving out the fact that many Democrats think Bill Nelson is an unreliable vote for anything controversial at all.
In more objective terms, the National Journal rates Nelson the 60th most conservative and 39th most liberal.
That's a little less extreme than Mel Martinez was in the other direction. Sounds like a good balance to me.
Posted by: Yeah, whatever | January 20, 2011 at 09:44 AM
Because a politician who's not worried about losing flip-flops on earmarks and tax cuts as soon as people talk about running against him. Give me a break, Nelson's scared to death of this guy.
Posted by: BP | January 20, 2011 at 10:02 AM
Herald, Nelson's been voting for bailouts ever since he voted against them. If he thought they were so bad, why didn't he do anything to stop the spending. Quit letting the guy off on the obvious.
Posted by: Will | January 20, 2011 at 01:35 PM