Paula Hawkins (1927-2009)

It may seem odd to longtime readers of Blast Off! to see an obituary to a Republican here, let alone a fairly favorable one. But I have personal reminiscences of Paula Hawkins, who died on Friday at the age of 82, and while I no longer agreed with her politically, I always thought of her as a good Floridian and a fine person.

Hawkins (right, with President Reagan and iconic Florida congressman Claude Pepper) served one term in the U.S. Senate and it happened to coincide with my junior and senior year in high school in Broward County. At the time, I was a loyal Republican (like my parents), and although I wasn't old enough to vote, I supported Hawkins and many of her positions, which were colored significantly by her Mormon faith. I have met many members of Congress over the years, but Paula Hawkins was the first: I met her while participating in the Close Up government studies program in Washington, D.C., in 1983, and I remember her as charming and informative without being condescending to a bunch of kids. She invited us to visit the Florida House, a Capitol Hill residence owned by and dedicated to the people of Florida doing business in or touring the nation's capital, and I remember marveling at (of all things) the free orange juice available there. I regularly stopped by the Florida House, America's only "state embassy, even as a D.C.-area resident in the late '80s and I always credited Sen. Hawkins with bringing it to my attention.

Paula Hawkins was a dyed-in-the-wool conservative who once described herself as "feminine" as opposed to "feminist" and who opposed the Equal Rights Amendment as contributing to the "downfall of the father's responsibility to support the family." Nevertheless, I always respected her and am sorry to witness the death of yet another icon of my childhood.

Sink for Senate? Or governor?

Democrats in Florida are hoping to maintain some momentum in 2010 following Barack Obama's big win, and they're looking right at Sen. Mel Martinez.

With Dems already branding Republican U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez a top target for 2010, much speculation has focused on Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink as a potential Democratic challenger. Sink is also a hot commodity in the 2010 gubernatorial speculation market. Sink, for the record, says she's focusing on her job and not commenting on 2010 rumors.

If Sink doesn't run for Senate, U.S. Rep. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, will be among those attracting speculation. One of the most prodigious money-raisers in Congress, Klein has about $1.7 million left over in his campaign account. Klein says he's too busy dealing with the nation's financial meltdown and national catastrophe insurance to think about 2010.

Okay, first of all, let's be realistic here: Democrats in Florida have no momentum. Not really. Yeah, we went blue for president, but that was about the extent of the excitement. Democrats had a net gain of one -- count it, one -- congressional seat, and the Legislature remains deep red. And as far as ballot initiatives, one need only look at the atrocious Amendment 2, the constitutional ban on all non-one-man-one-woman unions, to see that Florida has far to go to consider itself even on the on-ramp to the progressive road.

But, let's fast-forward a couple of years. If President Obama is successful at restoring economic health in America (and, presumably, in Florida by association) and the Iraq War is over or nearly so, the Democrats might be able to make some gains in the mid-term elections. Besides, we have to have someone to run against Martinez, as well as against incumbent governor Charlie Crist who, despite being a Republican (or maybe because of it), remains highly popular. Martinez clearly is the easier target of the two, and Alex Sink is the Democrats' strongest statewide candidate at this point; she and Sen. Bill Nelson are the only Democrats presently holding statewide office.

As much as I like Ron Klein, though, I believe he would be a poor statewide candidate (as would his congressional colleagues Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Robert Wexler). Floridians outside of south Florida tend to distrust those from this area (the exception being Miamians like Jeb! Bush, Bob Graham, and Claude Pepper), and even though Klein is a prodigious fundraiser, I don't think he has the pedigree nor the experience to succeed in a statewide race.

So, for my money, Alex Sink should step up and take on Mel Martinez in 2010. Florida was a pioneer in sending a woman to the Senate (Paula Hawkins, elected in 1980). It's time for another one, but this time a Democrat. As for the gubernatorial race, it's going to be frankly tough to beat Charlie ... so let's not sacrifice a successful member of Congress for the cause.