Republican Senate blockbuster: Jeff Atwater will not run for Marco Rubio seat

[brooklynite]

Source: Palm Beach Post

Republican Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater of North Palm Beach, considered the GOP frontrunner to replace Sen. Marco Rubio in 2016, said today he has decided not to run.

Atwater was expected to open a Senate campaign or an exploratory committee soon after Rubio’s anticipated Monday announcement that he’s running for president. Atwater supporters set up a super PAC last week to raise and spend unlimited sums in support of an Atwater Senate campaign.

...snip...

Atwater has won two statewide elections as CFO, garnering more votes than any other Florida candidate in both 2010 and 2014. He served eight years in the state Senate before that and rose to the presidency of the chamber.

With Atwater out of the Senate race, leading potential GOP candidates include Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, former appointed Sen. George LeMieux and U.S. Reps. Tom Rooney of Okeechobee, Ron DeSantis of Ponte Vedra Beach and Vern Buchanan of Sarasota.

Read more: http://postonpolitics.blog.palmbeachpost.com/2015/04/11/republican-senate-blockbuster-jeff-atwater-will-not-run-for-marco-rubio-seat/#__federated=1

[cosmicone]

1. Methinks Marco Rubio is going to run for both POTUS and Senate. n/t

[tomm2thumbs]

2. tea leaves - deep down he knows he can't win - running for VP at this point

and that is a long shot given his goofy positions on everything

[Lochloosa]

5. He can't be Jebs VP pick. They are from the same state.

[calimary]

3. Hah! Near miss. I saw the surname "Atwater" and FREAKED!

Looked him up. Evidently no relation to the dreaded vile demon-from-the-Seventh-Level-of-Hell the late RNC chair lee atwater. He was the father of the modern-day GOP dirty tricks. kkkarl rove learned all his dirty-tricksworks at lee atwater's knee. lee atwater was a malicious scheming Dark Sider of the first order. Political assassin. And he took joy in it. While being all folksy and friendly and harmless-like and guitar-playing with some country-rock band. Coldhearted, calculating, ruthless, slippery piece of shit. He hit so far down below the belt that he was operating at the level of the dogshit under the soles of the feet that had just stepped into it. And profited handsomely for it. Among other things, he got bush senior elected President. He was SO awful that when he was dying of cancer, he himself summoned Michael Dukakis to his deathbed to ask forgiveness. Probably felt the Grim Reaper breathing too hot down his neck. It was that snake lee atwater who among other things devised the disgraceful Willie Horton smear against Dukakis who was then bush senior's Democratic opponent in the 1988 campaign.

[Backwoodsrider]

4. yep my heart sank too!

I saw the name 'Atwater' and a lot of those dark feelings came back. I have never looked at politics or humans since that evil man but I guess everyone has a purpose and he must of known how selfish he was when he asked Dukakis to come in on his death bed. Its not so much about good or bad anymore, it is more about power and power attracts power at the top. As humans awareness increases EVERYONE is more powerful

[calimary]

6. Welcome to DU, Backwoodsrider!

Glad you're here! He does indeed serve a purpose. For people like me, I'd say it would be as an example of what not to be, and what the enemy is, and from whom they learned all their Dark Arts and Dark Attitudes, and the extent to which their ruthlessness and greed-lust will motivate them to go. Seems to be a very useful and instructive morality tale because of its ending. I mean, just think about it for a moment! You know you were SOOOOoooo bad that you feel compelled, on your deathbed no less, to offer a face-to-face apology BEFORE YOU DIE - to the person you most viciously and ruthlessly and publicly screwed. That's saying something. Seriously.

[Judi Lynn]

8. Thank you for posting the refresher. Right-wingers would be happy if no one remembered

he begged for forgiveness on his death bed.

I guess when it's their time, they hope they can go out trolling, if they are unable to make the world worse in person.

[secondvariety]

7. Vern Buchanan.

Dude's got a lot of skeletons in his closet. Probably couldn't get elected dog catcher outside his cloistered district, but never underestimate the stupidity of Floridians.