I envy Florida voters who as expected have three decent choices on the Nov. 2 election ballot for their next U.S. Senator. I would be surprised if any received more than 42% of the vote, it’s that close.
The guy I find most intriguing is current governor, former Republican and now Independent, Charlie Crist, both as a candidate and how he would handle himself in the Senate should fate fall his way.
As candidate, Crist, unlike his two opponents, can remain true to his personal doctrine of what’s best for him and his constituents. He has no party hacks chaining him to the stake.
But if I were a Florida voter, wise to the ways of Washington, I would cringe at the hopscotch game Crist is playing when asked what caucus he would join if elected.
“The people of Florida are my caucus,” Crist told Larry King on CNN Tuesday night, the same answer he has given in previous interviews since his self-imposed exile from the Republican Party.
Who’s he kidding? I would urge him to poop or get off the pot. By not committing to either the Republican or Democratic caucus in the Senate, Crist would receive all those wonderful assignments as junior member of the subcommittee on governing Washington D.C. and a host of other meaningless duties dealing in trivial pursuits, none of which would help his fellow Floridians, unless, of course, he is assigned permanent duties as honorary presiding officer where he would become an expert on Roberts’ Rules of Order and all those delightful, archaic Senate rules.
The Republican opponent is American-born of Cuban refugees Marco Rubio, a former state house speaker and one-time darling of the Club for Growth and the Tea Party.
Rubio’s success in November might be the retention of an invigorated Republican base which finds itself holding its nose with a clothespin over the man who has used his brain and life experience to defy the extreme element of his followers who believe in Arizona’s anti-illegal immigration law, changing the 14th Amendment to rid “anchor babies” from natural born citizen rights and a host of other hot-button yet insidious proposals.
Rather, in recent weeks Rubio is bucking such claptrap for what he considers offering an alternative, actual solutions to the nation’s economic problems.
Here’s a snippet from a New York Times recent interview:
“The solution isn’t just to paralyze government,” Mr. Rubio said in an interview as he traveled the state last week from here in the Panhandle to Miami. “Vote for us because you couldn’t possibly vote for them? That’s not enough. It may win some seats, but it won’t take you where you want to be.”
His course bears little resemblance to those of other insurgent candidates, many of whom hope to ride a combative streak — and little else — to Washington. Mr. Rubio is increasingly trying to turn his candidacy into one built more on ideas than outrage, which is why he delivered three detailed speeches in the past week alone on education, veterans’ affairs and retiree issues.
The strategy comes from popular former Gov. Jeb Bush who knows Florida politics as well as anyone.
The Democratic Senatorial winner in the primary is Rep. Kendrick Meek, a four-term politician whose only chances of winning are on miracle life support.
This guy will need President Obama, former President Clinton, half the treasury of the Democratic National Party and an as yet avalanche of died-in-the-wool party faithfuls to come out and vote in his behalf.
Meek is no pushover. He overcame challenger Jeff Greene, a billionaire real estate developer who spent almost $23 million in the primary, four times as much as Meek.
Since elected to Congress in 2003, the man missed 296 (5%) of 5,820 roll call votes. He voted for the stimulus act, the health reform legislation and against the federal marriage amendment, the Hyde amendment which restricts federal funding of elective abortions and notification laws for minors who seek abortions.
Florida is a mixed bag of seniors, military, minorities, academics and Gator, Seminole, Hurricane, Jaguar, Marlin and Dolphin fans — all to chose from three choices and no echoes.
(Kendrick Meek photo courtesy Politico)
Cross posted on The Remmers Report
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Jerry Remmers worked 26 years in the newspaper business. His last 23 years was with the Evening Tribune in San Diego where assignments included reporter, assistant city editor, county and politics editor.