'Hell has frozen over,' and Rubio is skating

As pundits nationwide debate the meaning of Massachusetts' startling U.S. Senate election Tuesday, the spotlight is shining brighter on Marco Rubio than almost any other political candidate.

"Political analysts have a tendency to hyperbolize when they talk about election results, but in my 36 years of teaching, this may be the most significant election I've seen," retired University of South Florida political scientist Darryl Paulson said Wednesday.

"Pigs have flown, and hell has frozen over," he said of Republican Scott Brown taking the seat long held by the late Ted Kennedy in the bluest of blue states.

Republicans exulted that the win may enable them to halt health care reform and a proposed fee on banks to recoup bailout cash.

Rubio was only one of many candidates who claimed to see good omens for themselves in the news.

Gov. Charlie Crist, who is battling Rubio for the GOP nomination in a U.S. Senate race, also claimed encouragement.

Stumping in Tampa on Wednesday, Rubio said that Brown's win shows that Republicans don't need to compromise with Democrats, as he says Crist is too willing to do.

"The Obama agenda is being rejected, and those who supported it are going to have to justify that," meaning Crist, who "supported the cornerstone of that agenda," the economic stimulus package, Rubio said.

"If the Obama agenda is not safe in Massachusetts, it's certainly not safe in the Republican primary in Florida," said Rubio, a former state House speaker.

The Massachusetts results once again drew the attention of conservatives nationwide to Rubio, including a columnist for the National Review who said Crist should consider dropping out.

Crist came to the opposite conclusion.

Brown, Crist said, "called it the people's seat. I'm striving to be the people's governor, work hard for them every day. ... That's what we've done as governor and as a candidate for U.S. Senate."

He told Capitol News Service that Brown "talked about exactly the kind of things that we're doing here in Florida."

Even Kendrick Meek, a Democrat and likely general election opponent of Crist or Rubio, is a beneficiary of Brown's win, his campaign says.

"Brown was the nonincumbent, nontraditional candidate, and that's exactly what Kendrick is," said Meek strategist Ana Cruz of Tampa. "There's an anti-incumbent, 'kick-the-rascals-out' sentiment."

She also noted that Brown's Democratic opponent, Martha Coakley, faced a tough primary, like as do Crist and Rubio, while Meek "has solidified as the Democratic candidate early in the race."

The Florida Senate candidates weren't the only ones claiming validation from Brown's win.

State Sen. Paula Dockery, running a dark-horse populist campaign in the Republican primary for governor, said she was encouraged because "a few weeks ago no one had even heard of Scott Brown or given him the slightest chance of winning."

"It is a win for people fed up with a government that just won't listen to the people" and "an inspiration to candidates across the nation who are not considered shoo-ins or front-runners," she said.

Meanwhile, the GOP frontrunner for governor, Attorney General Bill McCollum, said the Massachusetts results are "a clear indication that in these uncertain times, marked by soaring unemployment and growing deficits, voters will not settle for smoke and mirrors and attempts to duck challenging issues."

McCollum has accused his likely Democratic opponent, Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, of ducking issues.

On the Florida Senate race, Paulson agreed that Rubio is the beneficiary of the Massachusetts outcome.

"It's another piece of bad news for Charlie Crist," said Paulson, a Republican and a Crist backer. "This was not only anti-Democratic message but anti-incumbent message as well."

In the Crist-Rubio race, he said, "Rubio's the outsider, the change element."

However, Paulson said Republicans shouldn't get too happy with the result.

"To some extent, incumbent Republicans are just as much in jeopardy as incumbent Democrats," he said. "There's a huge anti-incumbent mood out there."