We all get the pragmatic side of politics. As in, don’t unnecessarily alienate Republican Gov. Rick Scott, no matter how unconscionably repugnant, because he’s still in a position to help out. Democratic Mayor Bob Buckhorn has understandably played that card.
But this isn’t reason enough to rationalize the Tampa Bay Partnership coordinating a ($2,500-per-person) fundraiser in late September for the State Senate Campaign Committee of the Republican Party of Florida. And TBP has done it before.
And it’s problematic not just because TBP’s members are not all GOP affiliated. This fundraiser is about helping to keep a Republican Senate majority, thus assuring that the next two Senate presidents will come from this region. Not a good enough reason.
The bottom line: If it’s a Rick Scott fait accompli, then make the best of it. But stop short of actually helping the Republican Party keep its ideological hold on Tallahassee power. TBP should get its fund-raising mitts off the electoral scale and do what’s best for all Floridians in the long run. Sure, be partisanly helpful to the Tampa Bay region, but not at the expense of helping keep this state in the right-wing clutches of the Republican Party.