'You ARE a Special Interest,' but So What?

Kendrick Meek clearly outperformed Jeff Greene at a debate today hosted by the Palm Beach Post. The Democratic congressman demonstrated the acquaintance with issues necessary to represent Florida in the Senate and appropriately hammered Greene on his sketchy background.

My favorite moment as documented by the host paper is excerpted below:

"I'm the only person running who's a proven job creator, been creating jobs, running businesses and been successful," Greene said.

"Jeff Greene, you ARE special interest," Meek retorted.

But the question remains, so what? Greene is creeping up on Meek in the polls at an infuriating rate. That isn't because of Greene's unwavering philosophy. He has been a Democrat just two years and gave money to a California Republican just last year. It isn't because of Greene's business savvy. He made his money betting on real estate failures, not creating jobs as he suggested today. It isn't because of Greene's rhetorical skills. The man drips of swarmy, and seems to have developed no great speech flourishes hanging out with Mike Tyson. No, Greene has bought his way into the polls by plastering the airwaves. I don't believe people supporting Greene is polls do so because they admire him. They have just seen him on television, and know he is running as a Democrat.

Now I have not worried much about Greene winning this race. Many of the Democrats supporting him in the polls will not be moved to vote in the August primary. The race for the party nomination tends to be decided by a more educated population, people who care about putting up a good nominee with the capacity to win. Greene doesn't fall into that category, and Meek does. I expect even if voters do a Google search on candidates the day before the election, the majority of Democrats voting in the primary will cast their lot with Meek and pass on Greene.

But I do think the polls show something important, which is that Meek remains an unknown quantity for most people in Florida. How many times have we seen Meek's name spelled Meeks? Or heard people mistake him for a woman? They know nothing about Meek, and responsibility for that broad ignorance rests squarely on the candidate's shoulders.

If you care enough to read a blog dedicated to progressive Florida politics, you likely know the story here. Meek planned to sit back until the general election and let Marco Rubio and Charlie Crist cut each other into ribbons before a Republican nominee was selected to challenge Meek in November. The Charlie went Indy, and Meek was unprepared to start campaigning in earnest. But that was nearly two months ago and Meek still has abysmal name recognition, even among members of his own party.

The national blogs are getting impatient with Meek. About half of Democrats in the state right now plan to cast their lot in November with Crist, figuring he is better than Rubio and the only candidate who can beat the tea party favorite. I think they are wrong, but as Meek continues his campaign from an undisclosed location, it gets harder to make that case.

Meek has to get on TV. He cannot continue to fight this battle in executive committee meetings and editorial board offices. He needs to speak directly to voters.

Greene's presence in the race ought to help Meek. The tycoon is the perfect foil for a progressive whose career was spent empowering the little guy. And with the cancellation of a serious Republican primary, this is the only game in town that matters until the end of August. The Meek-Greene race should be the new Rubio-Crist race. It should be what everyone is talking about.

They are starting to, but not for the reasons Meek would prefer.