Kendrick Meek

Democrats Shifting Toward Charlie Crist Due To Kendrick Meek-Jeff Greene Primary Battle!

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It is amazing how Charlie Crist seems to be a “cat with nine lives!” 🙂

Two years ago, Crist was seen as being on the short list for Vice Presidential running mate for Senator John McCain!

His ratings as Florida Governor were very high, and he was hailed as one of the best governors in the nation!

Then, Crist decided not to run for a second term as Governor, and instead to cast his future in running to replace retiring Senator Mel Martinez. But meanwhile, he appointed a close friend and supporter, George LeMieux, to finish up the 16 months of the unexpired term.

But then, former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio challenged Crist for the GOP nomination, and gained the backing of the Tea Party Movement, and suddenly surged ahead of Crist in public opinion polls in an unprecedented way!

So Crist was faced with the humiliation that he was likely to lose the Senate Republican nomination, and many Republicans endorsed Rubio, including John McCain and Crist’s appointee, LeMieux!

As a result, Crist bolted the Republican party at the end of April, declaring an Independent race. Since then, he has vetoed two bills that have gained him major kudos from Independents and Democrats, one on teacher tenure and the other on abortion restrictions!

Meanwhile, the supposed Democratic nominee for the Senate, Congressman Kendrick Meek, suddenly had a major challenge from a billionaire named Jeff Greene, who came out of “nowhere” and has become a real threat to Meek and the party, which has no interest in backing a man who benefited big time from the housing collapse, and has been associated with controversial people, including Heidi Fleiss and Mike Tyson! 🙁

The thought that an extremely wealthy person with no political experience, but with an image of being a manipulator on Wall Street, being the Democratic nominee, has turned off many Democrats who are ready to jump to support of Crist, some openly, some behind the scenes!

In recent polls, Crist leads Rubio, with Meek way behind, and with Jeff Greene the “menace” in the background. Crist is looking more and more appealing, and it seems clear that IF Crist were to win the Senate seat, he would fit a role similar to Joe Lieberman, as an Independent who would ally with the Democrats.

Crist’s moderate views are becoming more liberal, and he is a very appealing candidate to many Democrats, so to read him out as having a chance to be the next Senator from Florida is NOT a wise gamble!

It seems more and more likely that Charlie Crist may be the only way to prevent Marco Rubio and his Tea Party Movement, and right wing conservative views from representing Florida in the US Senate!

Proof Of The Power Of Money And Television: The Case Of Florida! :(

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Whatever one thinks of Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, who is competing for the Republican nomination for Governor, and Florida Congressman Kendrick Meek, who is running for the Democratic nomination for Senator, it has to be said that both have dedicated years of service to their state in public offices!

It was assumed that both would easily be on the ballot for the Fall 2010 elections, but now that assumption has been totally upended by the wealth and television ads of two extremely rich, non politicians, both of whom have had “shady” backgrounds in the business world! 🙁

Rick Scott is now ahead of McCollum by 44-31 percent in a Quinnipiac poll, despite the fact that he was involved in a massive Medicare scam in the 1990s, which helped to enrich him to the point of being an extremely wealthy multimillionaire! He seems to be cocky enough to believe that he is qualified by his business corruption experience to run the state government of Florida! What gall this man has, to say the least! 🙁

Jeff Greene, who was involved in real estate dealings during the Wall Street crash in 2007-2008, and is a BILLIONAIRE, but has no government experience, trails Congressman Meek by just two points, 29-27 percent, which is considered a statistical tie!

So the power of “deep pockets of money”, massive television advertising, and being seen as an attack on the “establishment”, have catapulted both Scott and Greene to what can now be seen as likely nominations for Governor and Senator, respectively! 🙁

Is this good for Florida, and since similar situations are occurring in other states, for America? Can we expect these businessmen with shady backgrounds to bring about “miracles” and effective change?

Anyone getting away from emotional reactions, and thinking rationally, must have serious reservations that this is a positive trend! But it certainly follows along with the direction of the conservative Supreme Court, which is doing everything possible to promote the power of rich people and corporations over the American political system! 🙁

If these candidates, and others like them elsewhere, triumph, one should expect quick disillusionment, when it is recognized that there are no “magic” answers or quick, easy solutions! The author would prefer to have people who have been committed to public service to manage our government at the high level of Governor and Senator, rather than “rookies” who are arrogant enough to think that because they are wealthy, automatically, that qualifies them to lead the American people, who are overwhelmingly middle class, but with a growing percentage of poor people, who also need some consideration, which is highly unlikely from those who wield such wealth and live in their own “parallel universe!”

The Outrageous Campaigns Of Rick Scott And Jeff Greene In Florida! :(

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As if the state of Florida did not have enough trouble with corruption and bad government, we now see the recent entrance of a multimillionaire and a billionaire into the races for Governor and Senator!

Rick Scott is challenging Attorney General Bill McCollum for the Republican nomination for Governor. With his ability to flood the state with commercials in an intense manner over a short period of time, Scott has suddenly become a real threat to McCollum becoming the gubernatorial nominee of the GOP, something a few weeks ago thought of as automatic!

Without trying to make McCollum appear to be the “good guy”, which he is not, Scott has absolutely no political experience, and was the head of a corporation involved in the most massive Medicare fraud case in American history during the 1990s! This man has the gall to think he should be the Governor of the fourth largest state, and is seen as extremely right wing, so much so that McCollum, who had expressed opposition to the Arizona illegal immigration law, changed gears after Scott came out endorsing such legislation for Florida! 🙁

As if that was not enough, we also see Congressman Kendrick Meek, assumed to be easily on the way to the Democratic nomination for Senator, suddenly on the last day possible to enter the race, faced with the candidacy of billionaire Jeff Greene, who has never held political office either! And this man benefited from manipulation of the real estate market in 2008, and has had friendships with Heidi Fleiss, the famous madam, and Mike Tyson, the boxer–all of which makes him highly controversial and objectionable to many observers! 🙁

Both Scott and Greene are using their ill-earned, extreme amounts of wealth to attempt to defeat candidates who have been office holders, taking advantage of the anti government and anti incumbent resentment that exists across the country, and therefore grab power!

But with their shady, unethical, and immoral backgrounds, is this what Florida will want? Will the average citizen be won over by a barrage of slick political commercials to vote for these crooks who have no shame, and show a high level of arrogance? 🙁 The thought is terrifying to the extreme! 🙁

Charlie Crist’s Major Problem As An Independent Candidate For The Senate

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Now that Charlie Crist, Florida’s Republican Governor, has declared as an Independent candidate in this year’s Senate race, he faces a major problem!

Unfortunately, it will take major efforts and commitment by Florida voters who wish to vote for him on the November ballot, as his name will be at the bottom or near bottom of all the candidates on the list, the usual place for an independent candidate with no party line!

Since there will be minor parties listed along with Republican nominee Marco Rubio and Democratic nominee Kendrick Meek, there will be growing concern that many voters might be confused by not finding Crist’s name right below them, or even near them on the voting cards!

Will Crist, who is certainly well known statewide, be able to motivate enough Floridians to go out of their way, search for his name, and actually vote for him? Will Crist be able to gain enough of a share of Republican voters? Will Democrats be willing to abandon their candidate, a Congressman in many ways a version of Barack Obama when he ran for the Illinois Senate seat in 2004, all because Crist vetoed a teacher bill that, therefore, preserved tenure and security for educators in his state, people who often would vote for Democrats? Will moderates and independent registered voters come over to Crist in large enough numbers to make him the winner with only 34-37 percent of the state’s total vote?

Finally, will Crist be able to raise enough money as an Independent to run a media campaign, so urgent in a state with so many media markets, and such a wide variety in voter characteristics in north Florida and the Panhandle; Central Florida and the I-4 corridor from Tampa and St. Petersburg to Orlando; and in the voter rich areas of Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade Counties in South Florida?

Also, with Florida still in many ways a “Southern” and conservative state despite its large percentage of people who have migrated from the North and from Cuba, will it be willing to elect an African American senator in Kendrick Meek, or a Cuban American senator in Marco Rubio, when they have a chance to support a moderate, white “Anglo” Governor, who was very popular until recently?

It is true that Senator Mel Martinez, who resigned after four and a half years in office in the fall of 2009, was Cuban American, but he only had to deal with a white Anglo woman Democrat as his opponent! With Crist in the race, the whole dynamics of the race changes dramatically!

But again, will enough citizens be willing and able to look hard for Crist’s name near the bottom of the ballots? That is still the leading question of this race, above all others!

What Will Charlie Crist Do? The Major Question In Florida

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Governor Charlie Crist is fading very fast in the polls in the Senate nomination contest in Florida.

A poll coming out tomorrow is said to be devastating to Crist, with the teaser today being that 56 percent of Republicans want him out of elected office, and only 14 percent want him as Senator, and 19 percent want him as Governor, a position he is leaving no matter what happens this fall.

Despite his denials, it will increase the speculation that Crist, if he wants to try to gain the Senate seat, will have to run as an Independent this fall against Marco Rubio and Kendrick Meek.

In that scenario, a candidate could win with mid to high 30s percent of the vote, and while that is not a great kind of race where nearly two thirds of the voters might vote against the winner, that seems to be the only answer for Crist, other than to be humiliated in the primary race, and leave office in a defeated fashion that is embarrassing.

This is a story to watch carefully over the next few months!

Charlie Crist In Deep Trouble In Florida Senate Race

Ronald Leave a comment

Governor Charlie Crist is in deep trouble in his bid to win a Senate seat in Florida this coming November.

In one poll, he is behind former State House Speaker Marco Rubio 47-44 percent in the state Republican primary race. In another more disastrous poll, Crist is behind by 14 points, 44-30!

Conservative Republicans, self identified, preferred Rubio 52-27 percent, while moderates preferred Crist by 43-35 percent.

Speculation is that Crist might decide to run as an Independent, and make the Senate race three ways, with Rubio and Democrat Kendrick Meek. But that would make it hard for him to run for the Presidency, if he ever chose to do that, if he abandoned his party in his Senate run this year, and defeated Rubio in November.

One such poll indicates that Crist could win 25 percent of Democrats and of Republicans, and 41 percent of Independents.

Crist would still be the better general election nominee against Kendrick Meek, but if he cannot win the GOP nomination and does not run as an Independent, then his career is over.

So will Crist take his chances and remain in the GOP primary, or decide to go Independent, have a good chance at winning the election in a three way race, and give up any hopes of running for President in the future?

I would think that for Crist to believe seriously that he could be President in a party that is going to the far right is to be living in a fantasy world! What is wrong with being an independent minded senator who wishes to do a good job and make a career in that chamber, and forget the “impossible dream” of being President?

My prediction is that Charlie Crist, after the legislative session in Florida ends, and he has signed all the bills into law, will announce that he is running as an Independent, knowing by so doing that the only way he could run for President in the future is as an independent, third party candidate, which would mean he would be a spoiler, nothing more!

The Florida Senate Republican Primary: Should Marco Rubio Be Contented?

Ronald 2 Comments

Florida has an interesting Republican Senate primary coming up in 2010 to replace Senator Mel Martinez, who resigned in September.

Governor Charlie Crist is heavily favored at this point to win the nomination over former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio of Miami.

But despite the odds in favor of Crist, the Senate primary is becoming an example of the attempt of conservatives to defeat the more moderate Governor over his very conservative opponent.

Marco Rubio has achieved two leading conservative Republican senators endorsing him, but one wonders if that is a blessing or a curse! LOL

The two are South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint and Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe, both of whom are, in my estimation, two of the very worst senators we have seen in the long history of the Senate. I rated both in “another seven” when I had an entry in this blog regarding the ten worst senators of all time.

Rubio even says he disagrees with Inhofe, the leading critic of global warming, but will still accept his endorsement. But in my view, accepting endorsements from two horrible members of the Senate is not a plus for Rubio, but rather for Crist.

It is hard to imagine Rubio defeating Crist, and frankly, with the backing of DeMint and Inhofe, we would have to say that Florida would suffer under a Senator Rubio who would lean on these two senators for advice. Such advice would be poisonous in more ways than one.

Of course, the ideal result would be for Congressman Kendrick Meek of Miami, the almost certain Democratic nominee, to win the seat over either Crist or Rubio. He would be a real asset to the Senate and would represent a progressive Florida looking to the future, rather than to the past!