Kendrick Meek

Marco Rubio: A Rising Star In The Republican Party Future, And A Warning To Progressives! :(

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Senator-elect Marco Rubio of Florida is, obviously, a rising star in the Republican party, as a result of his win over Governor Charlie Crist and Congressman Kendrick Meek last week, winning more votes than the two of them combined!

The son of Cuban exiles, Rubio is telegenic, well spoken, and a fierce advocate of the Tea Party message of less government, lower taxes, and lower spending, but he was careful not to associate too closely with the Tea Party during the campaign, although he has made clear that the Republican party must change its habits of the past on spending under President George W. Bush, if it is to retain the House of Representatives and win the Senate and the Presidency in 2012!

Rubio served in the state legislature for eight years, and was the House Speaker in 2007-2008, and surprised everyone when he challenged Governor Crist for the Senate nomination this year, and came from way behind, forcing Crist to leave the party and run as an Independent, but still failing to overcome Rubio!

Not yet 40 years of age until May 28 of next year, Rubio is already being considered a possible Vice Presidential candidate for the Republicans in 2012, and in some circles, even as a potential Presidential candidate!

His appeal would be to Hispanics all across the political spectrum, plus Tea Party Movement followers, and social conservatives, and his youth could also appeal to younger voters!

While he is anathema to Democrats and progressives, for them to ignore the potential of Rubio as an opponent would be foolhardy, as it is clear that as a senator from the fourth largest state, he will play a significant role in the future of the Republican party, Florida, and the nation as a whole!

The Florida Senate Race:Voting For Kendrick Meek A Lost Cause!

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Congressman Kendrick Meek of Miami has been a good public servant to his congressional district, but his Senate campaign is a hopeless exercise in futility!

There have been reports that former President Bill Clinton, a good friend of Meek, and a vigorous campaigner for Meek in the past month, has been urging him to withdraw from the Senate contest in Florida, due to his low poll ratings, and the real danger that Marco Rubio, who represents the extreme right wing of the Republican and Tea Party Movement, seems about ready to win the Senate seat next Tuesday.

One can be a party loyalist, but one also needs to be a party realist, and even at this late date, Kendrick Meek should realize the handwriting on the wall, and withdraw from the race, and endorse Governor Charlie Crist, who is seen as very liikely to caucus with the Democrats if he was fortunate enough to win the Senate seat.

Crist has already admitted that it would be difficult to caucus with the Republican party which has trashed him so badly, and Crist has shown as Governor that he has courage and a willingness to reconsider some of his more conservative views. This should be seen as a sign of maturity and growth, not as a cynical political move!

All Democrats and progressives in Florida, whether or not Meek withdraws, should face reality and cast their ballot for Charlie Crist as the best choice for our new Senator, and pray that Marco Rubio, with his right wing agenda, is overcome by Crist, despite the pessimistic results of public opinion polls!

Charlie Crist Endorsed By Arnold Schwarzenegger And Robert F. Kennedy, Jr!

Ronald 1 Comment

Florida Governor Charlie Crist has just been endorsed by Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, and also by the environmental lawyer and son of Senator Robert Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.!

Crist is still ahead of Kendrick Meek, the Miami Congressman who is the Democratic nominee for the Senate seat, in the polls, but Republican and Tea Party nominee Marco Rubio is far ahead at this point in the polls! 🙁

There are rumors that Meek may drop out, although he denies it, but as Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said, if the moderate to progressive vote remains split, there is almost no chance to stop the ascent of Rubio, a strong right winger, to the Senate, and who knows, maybe into the Presidential race at some point! 🙁

So, although many Democrats would prefer to stay loyal to Meek, reality makes it likely that Crist will start to gain more Democratic support, and that Meek should consider the concept of withdrawing, in order to stop Rubio!

While one cannot be sure, it seems likely that a Senator Charlie Crist would ally with the Democrats, while remaining an Independent, as Joe Lieberman and Bernie Sanders have done!

Progressives can only hope for the best, and should have faith in Charlie Crist doing what he honestly believes is best for the state of Florida, if he is sent to the US Senate!

The Florida US Senate Race: Charlie Crist The Best Choice!

Ronald 2 Comments

For those who are progressive, the US Senate race in Florida is a difficult choice!

The Republicans have nominated former Speaker of the State House Marco Rubio of Miami, a favorite of conservatives and the Tea Party Movement! He is a Cuban American who would help promote the conservative agenda, and has sometimes been called the Cuban Barack Obama, a young man who could be imagined to be a seeker of higher office than the Senate were he to win the seat!

The Democrats have nominated Miami Congressman Kendrick Meek, who has gained the support of President Obama, Vice President Biden, former President Bill Clinton, and former Vice President Al Gore! Meek has a strong liberal record, and is the only African American candidate for the US Senate this year, and were he to win, he would become only the seventh US Senator of his race, and only the fourth to be elected by popular vote!

And then there is Governor Charlie Crist, who has been a Republican his whole political career, until he recognized that he could not win the GOP nomination in a primary race with Rubio, witnessing an extremely rapid drop in polls over a period of about six months late in 2009 and early in 2010! So he proceeded to leave the Republican Party this past spring and announce a candidacy as an Independent!

Crist has had a comparatively moderate record as Governor, but has been criticized as having no principles, except his own advancement, but he actually comes across as a person who has shown courage and willingness to cross the aisle, and pledges that is what he would do if elected to the Senate! The one thing that remains troubling is his refusal to indicate how he would side in organization of the Senate were he to win–that is, would he join the Republican caucus which has already rejected him in favor of Rubio, once he bowed out of the primary race, or would he join the Democratic caucus, in either case probably keeping an official Independent status, as Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman have asserted!

For a progressive, it is a tough choice as to who should be supported, but the key point is who has the greater likelihood of stopping Marco Rubio and the Tea Party Movement from gaining the Senate seat!

It is extremely hard to imagine Kendrick Meek winning the seat, and he remains in third place! So it seems likely that a vote for Meek would help Rubio defeat Crist, an unfortunate and tragic circumstance were that to happen!

With the announcement today that former Congressman Robert Wexler of Boca Raton, who knows and admires Crist, but worked in the House of Representatives with Meek, is about to endorse Crist, it comes across to the author that despite what Obama, Biden, Clinton and Gore have done to back Meek, that the stance of Wexler makes a lot of sense!

If Meek somehow should gain the seat, it will be a surprise victory, but under the circumstances that exist, and with Crist being a moderate likely to organize (hopefully) with the Democrats while remaining an Independent, the author has decided that he will support and vote for Charlie Crist as the next US Senator from Florida, and hopes that Marco Rubio will be denied that seat in what is now a very close race between Rubio and Crist! May Charlie win and accomplish a distinguished record in the Senate for the state of Florida over the next six years!

The Quandary For Florida Democrats And Progressives: Charlie Crist Or Kendrick Meek?

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Two of the three candidates for the US Senate seat in Florida this November appeared on CNN this morning, and in so doing, they demonstrated the quandary faced by Florida Democrats, as well as progressives and liberals!

Florida Governor Charlie Crist, who was a Republican until he broke with the party and announced his candidacy as an Independent; and South Florida Congressman Kendrick Meek, who surprised many with his overwhelming victory over Jeff Greene, a billionaire who spent many millions to try and take the Democratic Senate nomination away from him, both were interviewed by Ed Henry!

Based on polls, Meek is way behind both Crist and Republican nominee Marco Rubio, the former State House Speaker in Florida! Meek gains only about 16 percent of the vote, while Crist and Rubio keep switching the leadership in the race!

Remembering that Florida tends to be a Republican state in the past 15 years, but that Barack Obama won the state in the electoral vote two years ago, the situation faced by those voters and citizens who are not favorable toward conservatives and Republicans, and therefore would not support Rubio, is who do they support financially and vote for in November?

Crist disappointed many Democrats and progressives and liberals as he repudiated the Obama Health Care plan although he says he would work to change it in the Senate; as he refused to back gay marriage rights; as he refused to say how he feels about Sarah Palin, who he supported strongly when she ran for Vice President in 2008; and most importantly, when he refused to say if he would back the Democrats or the Republicans for Senate organization in 2011 if he wins the seat–a fact that his vote COULD decide whether Harry Reid or Mitch McConnell would be Senate Majority Leader next year! 🙁 Instead, he said that he would do what was good for the people of Florida, refusing to commit himself!

It is obvious that Crist wants to keep his options open, but that is not encouraging to Democrats and progressives and liberals who have to decide if it is worth it to support him, or go over to Meek’s camp, despite his apparently small chance, at least at this point, of being competitive in the race!

As Meek pointed out in his interview with Ed Henry, he had overcome a billionaire spending millions of his personal fortune, and that he is the only TRUE Democrat in the race!

So the Florida Senate race is a major problem, particularly for those who want to assure that Marco Rubio does not take over the seat, with what would seem like a likely victory for the Tea Party, and the ultimate advancement of Rubio to a presidential run at some point in the future!

The Power Of Personal Fortune In Florida Politics: Yes For The Republicans, No For The Democrats!

Ronald 1 Comment

Florida has just seen what everyone should have realized all along! 🙁

The Republican Party is beholden to big money, while the Democrats reject it! The Republicans have just nominated a crooked health care executive, Rick Scott,who has no shame, and no limit on personal fortune investment and self aggrandizement, having spent $50 million to win the nomination for Governor!

Meanwhile, billionaire Jeff Greene, who spent $14 million of his own fortune to compete against Kendrick Meek for the Democratic Senate nomination, lost by 25 percentage points, a whopping defeat!

The concept that a crooked, arrogant health care executive who was involved in Medicare fraud, is now the Republican nominee for Governor of the fourth largest state is an absolute outrage! The idea that a man who basically has “bought” the nomination by dividing and splitting the party he wishes to run, and will find it difficult to unite the GOP for the fall election, due to such bitter feelings by party leaders toward him, is a welcome sign for Democratic nominee, Alex Sink, the state’s Chief Financial Officer!

Kendrick Meek will become the only African American nominee for the US Senate, and made a great comeback, despite the heavy spending by an arrogant, corrupt stock market manipulator, Jeff Greene, and it gives Democrats hope that the voters rejected someone trying to buy the job!

The Florida results are a sign of the battles raging across the country in November, a clear cut choice between a candidate for Governor (Rick Scott) who is strongly anti abortion and in favor of bringing the Arizona immigration bill to Florida, against a Democrat (Alex Sink) who is a uniting and healing force for the Democrats, and gives them a real chance to win the Governorship, due to the split in the GOP and the horrific background of Rick Scott!

Meanwhile, the three way race of Kendrick Meek-Marco Rubio-Charlie Crist for the Senate will be one of the most watched races, with Crist in the lead for now! The question will be whether Meek can be a serious challenger and hurt Crist, or whether Crist will win many Democratic votes and be able to overcome conservative Marco Rubio!

The Lunacy Of Campaign Spending: The California Gubernatorial Race

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Personal campaign spending has become a true scandal more than ever this year, and there seems to be no limit on it, with the California Governorship race particularly insane! 🙁

Meg Whitman, the GOP candidate and former EBAY Chief Executive, a billionaire, has spent nearly $100 million in her campaign against Democrat Jerry Brown, the former Governor from 1975-1983, with $91 million of the funds her own money!

Brown, meanwhile, has spent only $450,000, although with donated services, it reaches about three quarters of a million dollars! He has raised $2.6 million for the future campaign!

When one realizes that Brown has been outspent and out fund raised by about 33 times, it is amazing that Brown leads the race in polls by a few points, but it is also a great step to see that wealthy billionaires and multimillionaires do not automatically come out ahead after reckless spending!

The same situation relates to Hewlett Packard multimillionaire Carly Fiorina, running against California Senator Barbara Boxer; Florida gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott, a health executive multimillionaire running against Attorney General Bill McCollum; and Florida Senate candidate Jeff Greene, a stock market billionaire, running against Congressman Kendrick Meek–all of whom are spending obscene amounts of personal fortune, but without any certainty of success!

The best scenario would be for Whitman, Fiorina, and Scott (all Republicans); and Greene (a Democrat) to spend a good part of their fortunes and lose! But even if that does happen, they will still be obscenely wealthy, arrogant and cocky, as they consider themselves a privileged class who are only interested in their own aggrandizement! 🙁

Charlie Crist: Possibly The Most Important US Senator Next January?

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Governor Charlie Crist of Florida continues to lead public opinion polls over Marco Rubio, since he left the Republican Party and started an Independent race for Senator!

Crist is gaining a large portion of Independents, as well as Democrats, who are not thrilled by either Congressman Kendrick Meek , or his primary opponent, billionaire real estate investor Jeff Greene!

Crist could become the third Independent Senator next January as a result, joining Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, both of whom ally with the Democratic caucus and often vote with the party!

The question that arises is what Crist would do if he won the Senate seat, but it seems likely that he would ally with the Democrats as an Independent, similar to Lieberman and Sanders!

This issue could be more than just interesting; it could be decisive in organizing the Senate if the Republicans, somehow, manage to gain eight seats, and Crist joins the Democratic caucus, creating a 51-49 Democratic Senate!

Of course, if the Senate was evenly divided, Joe Biden could organize the Senate by his tie breaking vote! But a nine seat gain could also be resolved without Biden, if Crist declared he was in the Democratic caucus!

So Charlie Crist could be the man of the hour and the year, and in some ways, become the most important US Senator next January!

I am sure the thought must please him greatly, particularly after the collapse of his GOP support, which led to his Independent candidacy in the first place! 🙂

The Growing Impact Of Florida As A Microcosm Of The American Political Scene For 2010!

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Chuck Todd on MSNBC this morning referred to the state of Florida as a microcosm of the American political scene for 2010!

The Florida political scene includes the role of independent candidacies (Governor Charlie Crist); the impact of “outsiders” becoming factors (Rick Scott and Jeff Greene); the battle within the major party structures (Bill McCollum vs. Rick Scott in the Republican party and Kendrick Meek vs. Jeff Greene in the Democratic Party); the impact of the Tea Party Movement (Marco Rubio); the effects of the Great Recession (mortgage foreclosures and effects of the BP Oil Spill on the economy); and the constant change in the Florida electorate due to immigration and population growth and migration!

As the late Tim Russert once said, Florida has become the center of American politics in so many ways, as it has become the fourth largest state, on its way to number three, although delayed a bit by the Great Recession in its population boom!

So the primaries on August 24 and the elections on November 2 will be closely watched as barometers of the American political future in so many ways!

Black Politicians: Failure To Reach Higher Office A Reality :(

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With the election of Barack Obama in 2008, it seemed as if America was ready for a Renaissance on race, that black politicians could expect to reach the Governorships and the Senate in noticeable numbers!

When it comes to the House of Representatives and the mayoralty of cities, African Americans have been able to make a substantial record of success! With 42 members in the House of Representatives, and many African Americans who have served and are serving as Mayors of their cities, there is much to be proud of!

But when it comes to Governorships and Senate seats, the record is paltry! 🙁

There have historically been only three Black Governors and six Black Senators. Douglas Wilder was Governor of Virginia in the 1980s, and Deval Patrick is presently the Governor of Massachusetts. David Paterson succeeded Eliot Spitzer as Governor of New York when Spitzer resigned in 2008.

Hiram Revels served one year in the Senate from Mississippi during the Reconstruction period, as did Blanche Bruce for a full term from the same state in the same era. They were, of course, not elected, as the 17th Amendment, providing for direct popular election of the Senate, did not become part of the Constitution until 1913.

Since then, Edward W. Brooke served two terms as a Massachusetts Senator from 1967-1979. Carol Moseley Braun served one term from 1993-1999 as Senator from Illinois, so far the only Black woman in the Senate. Barack Obama, of course served four years from 2005-2009 from Illinois, and finally, Roland Burris was appointed to fill out the term of Obama in 2009-2010.

Meanwhile, the news recently has not been encouraging on the issue of Blacks at the top level of government, state and national! Roland Burris has been under suspicion since his appointment by disgraced Governor Rod Blagojevich and is not running for a full term. David Paterson is also under attack and is not running for a full term as NY Governor. Deval Patrick has been running behind for reelection in Massachusetts, but seems now to be recovering.

Unfortunately, Artur Davis, Congressman from Alabama, gave up his Congressional seat to run for the Democratic nomination for Governor, and was expected to win, but in a tremendous upset, his opponent won overwhelmingly in the primary, by 62-38 percent!

And Kendrick Meek, Congressman from South Florida, was thought to be the Democratic nominee for the US Senate by default, until billionaire Jeff Greene suddenly entered the race on April 30, and has pulled even with Meek.

Even more problematical for Meek is that he runs a poor third against Republican Marco Rubio and Independent nominee Charlie Crist, the Governor of Florida. Crist is appealing for Democratic backing in the race, and is a threat to Meek in gaining backing of a majority of his own party in the Fall campaign, even if Meek defeats Greene in the primary in August!

So there is a good chance that there will be no Blacks in the Senate, and at most, maybe just Governor Deval Patrick winning a second term in Massachusetts!

This is not exactly what many African Americans hoped for just a short time ago! 🙁