Not long ago Rep. Jennifer Carroll, who supported and voted for Bill McCollum in the Republican gubernatorial primary, was throwing rhetorical haymakers at Rick Scott. Remember “We do not need that seat to be a seat where you’re learning, to be a seat where it’s for personal gain, to be a seat where the residents and the citizens of the state of Florida will be negatively impacted because of the lack of vision”? That pretty much explained why Carroll wouldn’t want a Gov. Scott in Tallahassee.
But that was then–back when she was chairing a statewide African-Americans for McCollum group–and this is now: all of three weeks later.
But time enough for a personal revelation and a political epiphany.
Time enough for the 51-year-old, Trinidad native to feel that she and Scott were, incredibly enough, like reunited “long-lost buddies.” Time enough to discern that their “philosophies” are, as it turns out, “very, very similar.” Time enough to discover all that they had in common, such as Naval service, tough stands on illegal immigration, respect for financial “accountability” and probably confidence that the voting public wouldn’t wax too cynical and perceive a Sarah Palinesque opportunist and inclusion token instead of an intriguingly balanced ticket.
Carroll is attractive, well-spoken and, seemingly, unflappable. She’s media savvy. Unlike Palin, she’s educated and informed. But like Palin, she appears calculated. She is, for example, a member of both the NAACP and the National Rifle Association.
And her business when she isn’t representing the Jacksonville area’s District 13? She owns her own PR firm. Win or lose, is this great exposure–and hardly limited to Florida–or what?