Republicans Looking to Hammer Bill Nelson on Health Care in 2012

The race to take on Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in 2012 is starting to heat up as a crowded field of Republicans continues to get ready to run -- and takes aim at Floridas senior senator.

Senate President Mike Haridopolos of Merritt Island held a fund-raiser in Orlando Thursday in which he pulled in around $1 million and received the endorsement of his ally in the Legislature, House Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park. Haridopolos has already received the backing of other key leaders in the Legislature, including Sen. John Thrasher of Jacksonville, the former chairman of the Republican Party of Florida.

While Haridopolos has already set up a website for his bid, he has also drawn some fire.
On Thursday, liberal groups Florida Watch Action and Progress Florida unveiled a website attacking Haridopolos, hitting the Senate president on ethics, campaign finance and his stances on the issues.

Our message is simple: Senator Haridopolos needs to clean up his act, said Mark Ferrulo, executive director of Progress Florida.

Senator Haridopolos has proven to be ethically challenged time and time again, insisted Susanna Randolph of Florida Watch Action. We launched this site to help ensure Floridians are aware of this powerful politicians lack of judgment and apparent absence of scruples.

While liberal activists focus on Haridopolos, he continues to fire away at Nelson.

Haridopolos and Cannon joined up to send Nelson a letter on Wednesday, demanding that he back the Republican effort in the Senate to repeal the federal health-care law backed by President Barack Obama.

We ask that you please help protect individual rights, not only for your fellow Floridians but for all Americans by voting to repeal the intrusive and unconstitutional health-care mandate, wrote Haridopolos and Cannon. The federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act poses serious threats to individuals, businesses, and state sovereignty. It forces citizens to buy government-defined health-care coverage, pay a penalty, or enter into a broken Medicaid program, leaving Americans with no good choices. Families and individuals are already struggling, and the act is simply unaffordable. This job-killing law will only send insurance costs soaring and force states to spend money that, unlike federal spending, cannot be borrowed or printed.

But Haridopolos is not the only potential Republican candidate to call out Nelson on health care.
U.S. Rep. Connie Mack, whose father held the seat Nelson holds, sent out a letter to the Democratic senator on Tuesday as the Senate kicked over repealing the law.

As the Senate prepares for a vote this evening to repeal Obamacare, it is critically important that you listen to the will of your constituents and to the federal courts that ruled it unconstitutional, and finally stop supporting this dreadful, unconstitutional and harmful piece of legislation, wrote Mack. Floridians await your decision, and also know to be mindful of any procedural motions ahead of the vote that would also measure your intentions.

Former House Majority Leader Adam Hasner, who is also considering a bid,took aim at Nelson as well, noting on Twitter that until Nelson was out of the Senate, newly inaugurated Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubios vote will be canceled out.

A poll released by Quinnipiac University on Thursday showed that Nelson remains vulnerable in 2012 despite having 45 percent approval and 21 percent disapproval. The poll also showed that only 43 percent of Floridians want to give him a third term and he led a generic Republican opponent 41 percent to 36 percent.

History shows that when only 43 percent of voters say an incumbent deserves another term, that incumbent sometimes doesnt get another term, said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, though he noted that Nelson was not facing strong opposition.

Senator Nelson is not in terrific shape but he is not in terrible shape, either, added Brown. His fate may rest with how President Barack Obama does in 2012 as Florida voters see the two men similarly on the issues.

But the poll also found that Haridopolos and Mack were on to something when they hammered Nelson for opposing the health-care repeal as 50 percent supported the repeal and 43 percent opposed it.

The poll of 1,160 registered voters was taken Jan. 25-31 and had a margin of error of +/- 2.9 percent.

Besides Hairdopolos, Mack and Hasner, other Republicans considering taking on Nelson include former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux, U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, U.S. Rep. Dan Webster, businessman and former state Senate candidate Nick Loeb, and businessman and former gubernatorial candidate Mike McCalister.