Greetings to all you Shark Tank readers- My handle is “Ol’ School Shark” and I’ve been invited by Javier and the crew to join the team and offer my unique Florida perspective to this up-and-coming website that’s making a big name for itself nationally. I look forward to contributing and getting your feedback.
Know that I am extremely bullish about America, Florida, and Republican/conservative politics.
With that said, Ol’ School Shark is on the prowl. See y’all around.
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Politically, this year had the potential to be something of a watershed moment for Florida on the national stage. And, apparently, it just wasn’t meant to be.
I love the Mitt Romney selection of Paul Ryan and certainly believe the Republicans have a winning ticket for 2012. However, I would have loved the selection of Marco Rubio more. And not simply because I’m a biased Floridian.
For those of us who are born-and-raised Floridians, Rubio being passed over has a certain resonance. Our lack of presence on the national stage when the highest office in the land is discussed is historically startling. It may be quite a stretch for me to make this comparison but it always reminds me of the banking mergers years ago.
Florida had banks with huge deposits that provided tremendous utility for their banks. It allowed them to be good corporate citizens locally, and allowed them to be national players. If they were of a mind to be.
Our guys weren’t interested, apparently. The North Carolina guys were. And that state became a banking center that Florida should have been.
Just as those bank deposits were coveted by out-of-state institutions, Florida now sits as THE bellwether state in the nation. We have the capital of the Americas in Miami, we have multiple urban centers reflecting multiple regional areas of the nation, we have a very representative population that mimics America, and we are the mega-state of the Southeast.
Nevertheless, Mitt Romney picks a 42-year old from Wisconsin over a 41-year old from Florida. I’ve reviewed their histories. It’s a difficult challenge to make the argument that Paul Ryan is more experienced and better prepared than Marco Rubio. In my honest opinion, it’s a relatively easier case to make that Marco Rubio (like Ryan) has the judgment to be President, but (if you understand federalism and the proper balance of the various state’s and the federal governments) more experienced, has held the more responsible position as Speaker of the House in a mega-state, and has won statewide election in an incredibly diverse state in stark contrast to a man who has not won statewide election, and does not represent a mega-state.
Also missed is the other side of the equation, if we’re just talking nuts and bolts politics. What’s the greater loss for Republicans politically? Losing Ryan in the House or Rubio in the Senate? Come on, man. That’s not even a close call.
Again, I love the pick of Paul Ryan and know that he will make an outstanding Vice-President. I firmly believe the same of Marco Rubio, however, and would have loved his selection more. I know Gator graduates who often brag to people that UF is where Florida, as a state, comes to meet itself. My bias says we are not well-served in this state by multitudes of residents who don’t quite have that sense of “Florida” that would have lead them to be more bullish about Marco and could have led to his selection rather than Wisconsin’s Ryan.
I’ve been told that Marco didn’t really want this job, and for the purposes of my discussion that’s irrelevant but such certainly wouldn’t be irrelevant for Mitt Romney. So be it.
For political Floridians, however, this — to me — is a time for reflection. We are uniquely situated as a state to offer political leadership to the nation and our internal experiences, oftentimes too easily dismissed by relatively new residents, should be championed by us far more than they appear to be.
The Florida Moment, Delayed
by Ol’ School Shark
Greetings to all you Shark Tank readers- My handle is “Ol’ School Shark” and I’ve been invited by Javier and the crew to join the team and offer my unique Florida perspective to this up-and-coming website that’s making a big name for itself nationally. I look forward to contributing and getting your feedback.Know that I am extremely bullish about America, Florida, and Republican/conservative politics.
With that said, Ol’ School Shark is on the prowl. See y’all around.
Do you think the 2nd Amendment will be destroyed by the Biden Administration?(2)
——————
Politically, this year had the potential to be something of a watershed moment for Florida on the national stage. And, apparently, it just wasn’t meant to be.
I love the Mitt Romney selection of Paul Ryan and certainly believe the Republicans have a winning ticket for 2012. However, I would have loved the selection of Marco Rubio more. And not simply because I’m a biased Floridian.For those of us who are born-and-raised Floridians, Rubio being passed over has a certain resonance. Our lack of presence on the national stage when the highest office in the land is discussed is historically startling. It may be quite a stretch for me to make this comparison but it always reminds me of the banking mergers years ago.
Florida had banks with huge deposits that provided tremendous utility for their banks. It allowed them to be good corporate citizens locally, and allowed them to be national players. If they were of a mind to be.
Our guys weren’t interested, apparently. The North Carolina guys were. And that state became a banking center that Florida should have been.
Just as those bank deposits were coveted by out-of-state institutions, Florida now sits as THE bellwether state in the nation. We have the capital of the Americas in Miami, we have multiple urban centers reflecting multiple regional areas of the nation, we have a very representative population that mimics America, and we are the mega-state of the Southeast.Nevertheless, Mitt Romney picks a 42-year old from Wisconsin over a 41-year old from Florida. I’ve reviewed their histories. It’s a difficult challenge to make the argument that Paul Ryan is more experienced and better prepared than Marco Rubio. In my honest opinion, it’s a relatively easier case to make that Marco Rubio (like Ryan) has the judgment to be President, but (if you understand federalism and the proper balance of the various state’s and the federal governments) more experienced, has held the more responsible position as Speaker of the House in a mega-state, and has won statewide election in an incredibly diverse state in stark contrast to a man who has not won statewide election, and does not represent a mega-state.
Also missed is the other side of the equation, if we’re just talking nuts and bolts politics. What’s the greater loss for Republicans politically? Losing Ryan in the House or Rubio in the Senate? Come on, man. That’s not even a close call.
Again, I love the pick of Paul Ryan and know that he will make an outstanding Vice-President. I firmly believe the same of Marco Rubio, however, and would have loved his selection more. I know Gator graduates who often brag to people that UF is where Florida, as a state, comes to meet itself. My bias says we are not well-served in this state by multitudes of residents who don’t quite have that sense of “Florida” that would have lead them to be more bullish about Marco and could have led to his selection rather than Wisconsin’s Ryan.
I’ve been told that Marco didn’t really want this job, and for the purposes of my discussion that’s irrelevant but such certainly wouldn’t be irrelevant for Mitt Romney. So be it.
For political Floridians, however, this — to me — is a time for reflection. We are uniquely situated as a state to offer political leadership to the nation and our internal experiences, oftentimes too easily dismissed by relatively new residents, should be championed by us far more than they appear to be.If you liked the article, please share it below.