I pray the Greene poll is an outlier, but since I first balked at a Q poll about Rick Scott outperforming McCollum, the trend has born out. The Attorney General, I fear, has lost the nomination to a sham candidate. Now I worry the same will happen to Meek. I have devoted a great amount of energy to blasting Charlie Crist and promoting Meek, so I feel a need to be clear how I will respond to a Meek loss in August. I will leave the Senate bubble blank on my ballot. I will not support any candidate running for that post, and do not make that choice lightly. And I acknowledge here, in writing, that Greene is worse news for Florida Democrats than Charlie Crist regardless of where the newly-independent governor caucuses in the Senate.
Megabucks madmen Scott and Greene are from different parties but share more in common than any other candidates for statewide office. They boast no experience holding public office, and show no decent understanding of how government works. Both believe their proven ability to amass millions in personal wealth proves qualification for high office, but each balks at scrutiny on how those fortunes were made. Scott's company defrauded the federal government for billions, but wants us to believe the fact he never served time proves he holds no moral responsibility. Greene got rich betting against homeowners and crushing banks who had to pay increasing amounts to default swappers just as homeowners stopped making payments. The money-making tactics of these so-called self-made millionaires were at best amoral, though craven and greedy are more appropriate terms.
I don't want to go into my problems with Impeachment Bill McCollum here. Should he defy the odds and make it to the general, there are many issues the left can and should exploit. But Republicans are fools to believe Scott is a more qualified candidate for the governor's mansion. You have an experienced member of the Cabinet and the Congress with influence in Tallahassee and Washington, as opposed to someone whose most notable interaction with the federal government involved bilking them for billions.
But at this point, I say let the Republicans hang themselves. Scott offers us a plethora of weaknesses to exploit in November when independents and moderates, not partisans and super-voters, go to the polls.
My greater concern now is with Jeff Greene. Should he win, my hope of a rebirth of the successful Democratic party in Florida will be severely hampered. For Florida progressives to side with such a greasy figure because he sends more glossy fliers and puts up more television ads would demonstrate a pure unwillingness on the part of Sunshine State Democrats to educate themselves about the most important election this year.
Kendrick Meek is a proven progressive. He has stood up for minorities, the middle class and the poor. Derided as a child of privilege, he didn't use his mother's connections in Congress to become a lobbyist, but instead spent his days as a Florida Highway Patrolman. He was among the most pronounced liberal voices during his time in the Florida Senate, and has been a reliable progressive since becoming a member of the U.S. House. Yes, he can be a loudmouth. But while that makes him part of the obnoxious rabble that fills the House, it could be a defining characteristic for creating influence in the Senate. He could be a Russ Feingold or a Paul Wellstone there. Not since the days of Claude Pepper have Florida Democrats had such a chance to send a genuine liberal to the Senate. Don't blow this!
I realize the enormous number of Democrats who have already been woo'd by Charlie Crist. That is November. I am sure I will enumerate my problems with the governor on another day, but at the very least, Democratic voters should not shirk their duty in August to vote for the most qualified candidate in our party primary. I read posters who say Meek doesn't have a shot in November. If he loses in August, that is undoubtedly true, but at the very least, Democrats should support him in the primary and allow him to take a shot at the general.
Greene does not deserve a shot, and I cannot watch this man buy the party nomination and then cast a vote for him in November. I will not support a march toward New Jersey logic and help prop up an unqualified candidate simply because he is rich.
Meek certainly has a lot to do to win over voters who question his resilience and ability to run a winning campaign. But don't vote him down early in protest. Don't deny him a chance to win you over before November. The Q poll shows 35 percent of Democratic voters remain undecided in the primary, and 54 percent of those who do have a preference are willing to change their minds. At the least, give Meek the opportunity to change your mind.
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