Last week, St. Petersburg Times columnist Ernest Hooper let out a whopper, claiming “…the general populace (of St. Petersburg) seems more interested in fixing the Pier and completing construction of the new Salvador Dali museum (than keeping the Tampa Bay Rays).”
It’s just ridiculous to stipulate that there are more residents in the ‘burg who care about the new Dali Museum than they do about keeping the Rays. I think Hooper, who favors Tampa more than St. Pete, may have been just stirrin’ up trouble.
Well, it’s a week later and Hooper has made another ridiculous statement, this time concerning the US Senate race:
“Prediction: Marco Rubio will have to defeat Charlie Crist twice to win the U.S. Senate seat — once in the primary election and again in the general election when Crist runs as an independent. Crist denies it, but he has to, for now.”
A paragraph like that reveals a complete ignorance of the political process. I don’t disagree that Marco Rubio will beat Charlie Crist in the GOP primary, but Florida election law provides no mechanism for Crist to run as an independent after he competes in the primary on August 24. In fact, Florida election law is quite clear that Crist must qualify for the ballot in April, be it as a Republican or an independent.
In other words, Hooper, for the second week in a row, has no clue what he is talking about. And to quote Hooper himself, that’s all I am saying.
