Chaos breeds opportunity in the race to succeed Republican Congressman Francis Rooney with Fort Myers Mayor Randy Henderson entering into the race.
I do not know Mayor Henderson personally, and he, like all candidates, have an equal opportunity to earn my vote. But, looking into Mayor Henderson’s political career, it seems that his best bet would be to run in the DEMOCRATIC Primary, not the Republican one.
Shortly after Mayor Henderson’s announcement, a picture obtained by GOP operatives revealed that the RINO Mayor endorsed the Clinton/Kaine ticket over Trump/Pence. Even as a Trump critic, endorsing a Democrat is anathema to myself and any Republican.
Yet Mayor Henderson’s endorsement of a corrupt neoliberal warmonger is not the only reason he should run as a Democrat. He should run as a Democrat because he will win the nomination.
As Mayor Henderson says, he has ten years of local experience and wishes to focus on catastrophic preparedness, e.g., he is concerned deeply about anthropogenic global warming.
His local experience was also that of your stereotypical “tax-and-spend liberal,” even going so far as paying the Fort Myers Police Chief a higher salary than the Lee County Sheriff. You know, because of how safe Fort Myers is.
Now, I’m not against tax-and-spend liberals at the local level. Local government has to deal with direct and individual needs with which neither the state nor the federal government can deal. Spending is more acceptable, as long as it is done efficiently and responsibly. But when we are trillions of dollars in debt, Republicans need to nominate a proven fiscal conservative to succeed Congressman Rooney.
His spending policies and his Clinton endorsements are going to hurt Mayor Henderson’s Republican bid. And with three more State Representatives ready to announce in the coming days, it is highly unlikely the Mayor will get even close to the Republican Nomination.
But he can win the Democratic Nomination, who are hungry for a win. Mayor Henderson has the Fort Myers money and, being a Republican and a Mayor, he has a chance at getting closer than any Democrat prior.
Will he win? Probably not. But he could, and really, isn’t politics just entertainment?
So, Mayor Randy Henderson, please, take your experience as a progressive local leader, and run for the Democratic Nomination. They need you.
Respectfully, Cape Coral resident Sean David Hartman
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