Will there be any agriculture left if Putnam needs a new career?
Don’t let the Opie look fool you, Putnam is very good at playing the game of politics – and to career politicians of the Establishment – it is a blood sport. For that reason, Putnam is garnering a great amount of support from the Establishment. If Putnam runs for Governor in 2018, the question is, after the veneer wears off, does Mr. Establishment have a chance with the same voters who elected Rick Scott over Bill McCollum in 2010 and Donald Trump over Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio in 2016? You remember those candidates, Establishment candidates, unbeatable candidates, right? Not so!
Power is a wonderful thing. When you have it, people fear you and don’t speak out. But when cracks appear, friends and allies alike begin hurling accusations, and the once powerful are brought to their knees. We’ve seen it time and time again – a politician riding high until his travel records uncover scandal, his campaign money spent inappropriately, or confidential emails are found to have been stored on a server in the basement. Before you know it, everyone in town has a story about a dirty deed committed by that once powerful leader, who gets kicked off the ticket, withdraws from the race or bombs on election day.
