Time To Define Charlie Crist As Undefined

First of all congratulations go out to Congressman Kendrick Meek for winning last night's Democratic primary down here in Florida. He did it through hard work with a serious grassroots effort and in the end people recognized that he was the only real Democrat in the race.

Now we get to focus on the general election. I realize a lot of people aren't giving Meek a chancce to win but not only do I think he has an excellent shot at winning, I think he WILL win as long as he runs a good campaign.

Here is the way I see things. I'm not a pollster or a mathematician but I believe that if Meek gets 70% of the Democratic vote he will win that Senate seat. The truth is in most elections getting 70% of your own party isn't that hard to do, especially when you have a Congressional record like Meek's. But we all know that Charlie Crist is going to try to sell him self as Democrat lite. The key here is independents HATE Marco Rubio, the GOP nominee. Right now they are backing Crist because they are so scared of Rubio anybody else will do and since Crist already has an early lead they figure why not. But once the polls start to shift and Meek shows he is right there in the mix with both Rubio and Crist the independents will start breaking back his way. Everyone loves a winner and so when Meek starts to pull ahead of Crist you can expect him to take all that momentum, Crist to fall back into the pack and Rubio to be the only competition.

That's exactly how I see this playing out.

So the important question over the next month or so is this, "How will Meek get at least 70% of his own party to vote for him?"

As usual I have some ideas.

First off Crist tipped his hand yesterday when he tried to define Meek as hard left and Rubio as hard right. Its kind of laughable when you think about it but it was a decent political move. Marco Rubio truly is hard right which is why he scares indys, but Meek is just basically a traditional Democrat whose votes fall right in line with most of the people in the party. He hasn't been like Dennis Kucinich calling for a Department of Peace or anything like that. But at the same time he has a very progressive legislative record.

What Crist is going to try to do is make both Rubio and Meek move to the middle where supposedly he is now. Why? Because he knows the more Rubio moves to the middle the more he will lose some of his Tea Bagging base. And he knows the more Meek moves to the middle the more he would look just like Crist which makes it easier for him to hide his true self.

So the most important thing is for Meek to stand on his record, not move to the center, and instead define Crist as somebody who had no principles, nothing to stand on.

Here's a free moniker "Mr Maybe". I think that will sound good in an attack ad.

Here is one campaign trick that will be very effect. Meek's campaign should research every position that Crist has flip flopped on in the last two years, especially those that are important to Democrats (like the stimulus, privatizing social security) and then accuse Crist of holding his former view without acknowledging he has changed his stance. Now of course Crist will protest and fact checkers will rate it as false. But here's the deal, every time that happens voters will be reminded how many times Crist has actually flip flopped on his positions, generally for political gain.

Its much more effective in my opinion than just calling him a flip flopper because you make him acknowledge that he flip flopped or risk having folks thinking he's still a hardcore Republican (and he can't have that). Now that doesn't mean you make stuff up because that WOULD hurt credibility. But positions he has taken in the past are all fair game.

Next its important to draw a contrast between the GOP primary and how Crist handled it with the Dem primary and how Meek handled it. Once Crist's polling looked bad he ran for the hills. Meek on the other hand withstood bad polling and over $20 million dollars in attack ads to get his party's nomination. So do voters want a fighter or a guy who runs from the fight in the Senate representing them?

Also an idea for the premise of an ad is to show a silouette of a vote being taken and a guy with their hand near the button to push yes or no (just yes or no buttons) and his hands keeps going back and forth. And the voice over guy says something to the effect of "When there's a tough vote on a major issue in the Senate that affect's your family do you want someone representing you whose voting record is consistent? Or do you want to have to cross your fingers and hope for the best?" And then fade to black.

Along those same lines many attacks should ostensibly focus on Rubio but have backhanded slaps at Crist. Like "There aren't many things Rubio and I agree on but at least he makes his positions known. So the voters have a clear choice between the two of us and I believe Floridians are on my side". Just hammer away at the fact that while Rubio is dead ass wrong on almost every issue at least he doesn't generally hide what he believes.

Keep in mind that Crist to have a chance to win still has to pull some Republican votes from Rubio so he will necessarily have to remain vague on some issues. The biggest one is probably who he will caucus with. Now I have a feeling that what he will want to do is keep that under wraps until right at the end of the campaign and then announce he will caucus with the Dems as a last minute game changer. The easiest way to make sure that doesn't happen is to get him to say it early.

Here's the deal on that. If he comes out and says it now he loses most of his Republican votes and he falls back some anyway. And considering some of his past statements he will have a very hard time convincing people he will be a reliable Democratic vote. And he pretty much CAN'T say he is going to caucus with the GOP because then all of his Dem votes flock to Meek and he's toast.

So it will be much easier to fight him on the common ground of Dem policies and platforms early and beat him into submission than to shy away from it and allow him to use it as a bombshell later.

You can hammer him for not running in the Dem primary for instance if what he really wants to be is a Democrat. You can point out how the Dem establishment is fully behind the one true Democrat in the race. And you can say things like "why buy the knock off when you can have the real thing". Really it would make life SO much simpler in my opinion.

But the only way to get him to choose is to hammer his ass relentlessly. Keep saying that he wants to dupe Dems into voting for him so he can go to the Senate and caucus with the GOP. Just keep saying it no matter who tells you to stop. And finally he is going to have to choose. He can run as an indy all he wants to but the people deserve to know who he is going to caucus with.

Then point out how much Crist has NOT done for the people of Florida since he first flirted with being McCain's VP choice. Seriously aside froma couple of vetos what has the guy done since then? Unemployment is sky high in Florida. Why isn't Crist screaming for federal aid? Housing crisis is epic. Why isn't Crist doing anything to help homeowners here who are underwater? Health care system he put in place absolutely sucks. Why isn't Crist championing the Affordable Care Act?

Punch him in the mouth about his shitty job as Governor of Florida the last two years and make him answer questions. When being interviewed ask the interviewer why THEY aren't asking Crist those questions.

And lastly use his hand picked Senate choice George LeMeiux as a foil. Every vote LeMeiux has take including those against financial reform and the health care bill should be used to bang Crist for sending him there in the first place. A purely political choice meant to be his personal seatwarmer.

Of course if any scandal should happen to touch LeMeiux that should also fall on Crist as well.

And really after all that the path to victory is wide open. Marco Rubio will make it very easy to beat him with Meek just running on his record and the Democratic platform. With as much of a melting pot as we have here in Florida I just don't think an Arizona immigration law will play well here, and neither will any of the other wacky Tea Bagger policy positions. But Rubio can't run from them for fear of losing his base so he's stuck.

Finally it behooves Meek and all Dems this cycle to not label Rubio and his campaign as far right. When you do that it gives them an opportunity to minimize the attack and it gives Americans a chance to give other Republicans a pass. No what we really want to label Rubio is as a mainstream Republican who has mainstream GOP policy stances that just so happen to scare the hell out of everyone else. But its true that anything Rubio stands for you will find just about all other Republicans running this year who win their nomination stands for the same things. Make fringe ideas = mainstream GOP thought.

Well that's my Meek Manifesto in all its glory. I think right now the most important thing in the near future is that Meek gets his numbers up into at least the mid 20s. The quicker he can start polling at around 25% or better the faster people will jump on the bandwagon IMHO>

So lets get it Florida. Lets turn this state all the way blue!!!

Florida Democrats PAY ATTENTION

There's a poll out today that on the face of it looks like bad news for Kendrick Meek as he is once again 3rd in a matchup with Charlie Crist and Marco Rubio at about 16%. But here is what Meek and every other Democrat in the State of Florida should be paying attention to.

In the Senate race against Rubio and Meek, Crist gets 45 percent of the Democrats - more than Meek's 36 percent - and 50 percent of the independent voters. Against Greene, Crist gets 51 percent of the Democrats to Greene's 31 percent, and 48 percent of independent voters.

"Crist is getting more support from Democrats than either Greene or Meek. The key for Crist will be whether he can hold this many Democrats once the party's nomination is settled and keep his half of the independent voters," said Brown.

Crist's lead is built almost entirely on the backs of Democrats. If those Democrats actually vote for a REAL DEMOCRAT Kendrick Meek will smoke both Crist and Rubio.

Now I've heard some Democrats who are supporting Crist say that he only has their support because they think Meek doesn't have a shot of beating Rubio. This poll shows that is a damn lie. If those Democrats come back home Rubio is toast and so is Crist.

So the question is, Democrats, do you want somebody whose vote you can actually count on or do you want another guy who will get to the Senate and obstruct every part of the Democratic agenda from within. That's IF the best case scenario happens and he caucuses with the Democrats. I'm one who still see's Crist as a Republican who will caucus with the GOP which in practical matters makes him no better than Rubio. None at all.

So the question for Democrats in Florida is do you want progress or not? Do you want climate change legislation or not? Do you want Social Security and Medicare to remain as we know them or not? Do you want filibuster reform or not? Do you want health care reform to be implemented or not?

Are you going to vote for the Democratic platform or not?

My advice is this, if you are going to vote for Crist you might as well vote for Rubio because at least then we will be dealing with a wingnut that doesn't hide his hand rather than having another drama queen like Crist just looking for attention whenever there is a big vote.

OR you can as a Democrat support the Democrat and help our country forward.

Its your choice.

Rubio Tells The Truth On Tax Cuts

Well lookie lookie. That pinko liberal commie Marco Rubio actually admitted that tax cuts don't pay for themselves. Of course the media will deem him telling the truth as a gaffe.

Wait for it....

Wait for it....

Backpedalling Faster Than Deion Sanders

Marco Rubio flip flopping on the Arizona "Papers Please" unconstitutional immigration racial profiling law was as predictable Michael Steele making an ass out of himself. After the teabaggers got after him about his opposition he couldn't wait to "clarify" his remarks and stand with the white supremecists and xenophobes pushing that steaming pile of bullshit. Oh and neither the statistics nor the sherriffs are on his side when he tries to sell that bullshit line about Mexican violence spilling over into Arizona.

Florida deserves a helluva lot better than this.


Vote Kendrick Meek in November and get all of your friends and family members to do the same.

This Rubio Story Just Keeps Getting Better...

Now Marco Rubio's former chief of staff is ALSO found to have been living lavish off of a GOP credit card.


The attack ads should literally write themselves lol

Tea Party Darling Marco Rubio's Lavish Lifestyle

When will Tea Baggers ever learn? LOL

Marco Rubio was barely solvent as a young lawmaker climbing his way to the top post in the Florida House, but special interest donations and political perks allowed him to spend big money with little scrutiny.

About $600,000 in contributions was stowed in two inconspicuous political committees controlled by Rubio, now the Republican front-runner for the U.S. Senate, and his wife. A St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald analysis of the expenses found:

• Rubio failed to disclose $34,000 in expenses — including $7,000 he paid himself — for one of the committees in 2003 and 2004, as required by state law.

• One committee paid relatives nearly $14,000 for what was incorrectly described to the IRS as "courier fees" and listed a nonexistent address for one of them. Another committee paid $5,700 to his wife, who was listed as the treasurer, much of it for "gas and meals."

• He billed more than $51,000 in unidentified "travel expenses'' to three different credit cards — nearly one-quarter of the committee's entire haul. Charges are not required to be itemized, but other lawmakers detailed almost all of their committee expenses.

Rubio's spending continued in 2005 when the Republican Party of Florida handed him a credit card to use at his own discretion. While serving as House speaker in 2007 and 2008, he charged thousands of dollars in restaurant tabs to the state party at the same time taxpayers were subsidizing his meals in Tallahassee.

snip

Rubio's high-roller political spending belies his image as an outsider riding a wave of antiestablishment fervor and gunning to knock off Gov. Charlie Crist for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination. A Times/Herald review of other legislators' committees shows they typically contributed far more to other candidates and reported vastly fewer credit card payments.

"Having expenditures in the tens of thousands of dollars to pay off credit cards, it's clear to me it was being used to live off of. The Rubios were living off it,'' said state Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, a strong Crist supporter.

snip

Rubio has already admitted he used the GOP's credit card to double bill the party and state taxpayers in 2007 for flights from South Florida to Tallahassee. He said he would pay the party back about $3,000 for the flights and consult with his accountant about amending his tax return.

During the 2007 and 2008 legislative sessions, records show Speaker Rubio charged more than $3,700 in meals on his party credit card at the same time he was receiving the state's $126 per day "subsistence" to help cover legislators' food and lodging. Harris said the meal charges were for political purposes, though the speaker's successor typically oversees political activities for House Republicans and lawmakers are not allowed to raise money during session.

Rubio received $10,000 for meals and lodging from the state in 2007 and 2008. Still, the credit card records obtained by the Times/Herald showed Rubio regularly dined out at the party's expense — from a $14.24 bill at Andrew's Capital Grill & Bar, to $184.15 at Masa, an upscale "Asian-fusion'' restaurant.

"It would be entirely inappropriate for Marco to use (taxpayer) money to pay for meals that were political in nature,'' Harris said. "As a general rule, the subsistence payments went to subsidize lodging for Marco and any time he spent money for a political meal he made sure that the party paid for it."

For his last year as speaker, Rubio reported a net worth of less than $8,400, despite earning $69,000 from Florida International University, $45,000 from the state and $300,000 from Broad & Cassell. The father of four had more than $900,000 in debts, including two mortgages on properties in Miami and Tallahassee, a home equity loan and a student loan.

To recap, Marco Rubio has used his position as Speaker of the Florida House to pull in big time cash which he has used to finance his own high roller lifestyle. If you think that's something, just imagine what kind of kickbacks he could get working as a US Senator. Yeah, a real man of the people, that guy.

In the race for junior Senator from the State of Florida there is only one true man of the people and that is Congressman Kendrick Meek. He isn't looking to stuff his pockets with this position, he is looking to better the lives of all Floridians. If the Tea Baggers were truly worried about fiscal responsibility HE is the guy whom they would rally around regardless of party.

Or they can keep backing a guy who is going to sell them out for top dollar no sooner than he takes his oath of office.

It is what it is.

Congressman Meek Hits Bunning Hard For Blocking Unemployment Benefits!

Where are Charlie Crist and Marco Rubio on this? Their silence is deafening!

Miami Gardens, FL - Nearly 50,000 Floridians will lose their unemployment benefits in the coming weeks because one U.S. Senator is holding up legislation extending unemployment benefits to out of work Americans.

"Florida's families are experiencing insult after injury because ideology is trumping public policy. This is what happens when politicians put party philosophy first, and people last," said Kendrick Meek, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate. "Hard working Floridians didn't cause this recession, but they are paying for it. This pain is evident with every Florida family I meet and in every small business I enter. Floridians deserve relief and instead they are becoming casualties of an ideological battle that has nothing to do with our everyday lives."

The House of Representatives voted unanimously last week to temporarily extend unemployment benefits for out of work Americans.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Senator Bunning's parliamentary maneuvering today, noting: "Many Republican leaders, cognizant of the political peril surrounding Mr. Bunning's action, quietly distanced themselves. But others, including Arizona's Jon Kyl, the Senate's second-ranking Republican, supported Mr. Bunning's right to raise the cost issue."

Asked Kendrick Meek campaign manager Abe Dyk: "With so many Floridians negatively affected because of the actions of one senator, do Florida's Republican Senate candidates Governor Charlie Crist and former Speaker Marco Rubio side with Senator Jim Bunning or do they stand with Floridians and their families who desperately rely on these benefits to survive? The Republican Party's dysfunction in Washington should not trickle into the homes of Florida's families."

Fiscal Responsibiity For Thee But Not For Me: Marco Rubio Edition

Could this be Marco Rubio's John Edwards haircut moment?

U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio charged grocery bills, repairs to the family minivan and purchases from a wine store less than a mile from his West Miami home to the Republican Party of Florida while he was speaker of the Florida House, according to records obtained by the St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald.

Rubio said Wednesday that he paid for all personal expenses billed to an American Express card given to him by the party to use from 2005 to 2008, when he left public office. The rest of the charges, he said, were legitimate party expenses.

Those expenses include a $1,000 charge at Braman Honda in Miami for repairs to the family car in January 2008. Rubio said the minivan was damaged by parking attendants at a political function and that the party agreed to cover half of his insurance deductible. The party also paid $2,976 for him to rent a car in Miami for five weeks.

Rubio said the party allowed him to put personal expenses on the card and the party reviewed his bill monthly.

"I was as diligent as possible to ensure the party did not pay for items that were unrelated to party business," Rubio said in a written statement. "There was no formal process provided by the party regarding personal charges."

But party spokeswoman Katie Gordon said the card was not supposed to be used for personal expenses. "The RPOF American Express card is a corporate card and is meant to be used for business expenses," she said when asked about the party's policy.

IRS rules for political parties, which are tax-exempt, require that their donations go exclusively toward influencing elections.

Records show Rubio sent payments to American Express totaling $13,900 for his personal expenses during his tenure as House speaker. But those payments were not made monthly. He made no contributions to the bill during one six-month stretch in 2007, the records show.

Charges covered by the party as political expenses include:

• $765 at Apple's online store for "computer supplies."

• $25.76 from Everglades Lumber for "supplies."

• $53.49 at Winn-Dixie in Miami for "food."

• $68.33 at Happy Wine in Miami for "beverages'' and "meal."

• $78.10 for two purchases at Farm Stores groceries in suburban Miami.

• $412 at All Fusion Electronics, a music equipment store in Miami, for "supplies."

Rubio's campaign could not find records to explain many of these expenses Wednesday night. But Rubio stressed that GOP staffers also may be responsible for some expenses, since they also had access to the credit card.

Now at this point we all know that this kind of stuff probably won't hurt Rubio with the teabagging GOP base. They don't care about hypocrisy from their candidates, they only care about at least a vocal adherence to their right wing ideology. As long as Rubio continues to paint himself as anti tax, anti Obama and anti spending, he will still probably give Charlie Crist all he can handle in the GOP primary.

But moderates and independents are a different breed. Rubio living high off the hog with his GOP credit card while preaching fiscal responsibility,reducing spending and "shared responsibility" is not likely to sit well with the majority of Florida's general election voters. As progressives we have to continue to hit Rubio and Crist hard over these kinds of issues because whether anyone thinks Congressman Meek has a chance in the Senate race here in Florida, he is a MAJOR upgrade over both of those folks.

Florida Senatorial Candidate Kendrick Meek Leads Efforts For Haiti

Congressman Kendrick Meek was on Hardball after the devastating earthquake in Haiti to talk about what our response should be and to respond to Pat Robertson's vile and insensitive commentary.



Not content to just sit in Washington and work the phones, Congressman Meek actually went to Haiti himself to check on relief efforts and managed to catch this touching footage of a little girl being rescued by Miami Dade firefighters after 5 days stuck under the rubble and reunited with her father.



Florida is a very diverse state and we have a significant Haitian population here so the question I have is where has Charlie Crist and Marco Rubio been since this tragedy happened? We know may far right Republicans and conservatives like Rush Limbaugh et al don't seem to have any interest in showing concern for the Haitian people and I think you have to ask yourself if Crist and Rubio have stayed silent to appease their right wing base. Senators from the state of Florida are supposed to support and represent ALL of their constituents, not just the ones that vote for them in a primary. The contrast between their silence and Congressman Meek's hands on approach is stark, and shouldn't be forgotten come November...

A Mountain Of Evidence

I am not sure there is anyone on the planet that is still not convinced that Charlie Crist isn't lying through his teeth about his earlier support for the stimulus bill but just in case check out this exchange from the Rolling Stone.

But when I interviewed Crist this spring for my piece The GOP Jihad, here’s what he told me he’d have done had he had a darn vote:

Rolling Stone: Just a final question: Had you been in the Senate, would you have voted with the other Republicans for the stimulus package?

Crist: Absolutely.

Like I said before, this isn't likely to affect Republican voters in his primary against Rubio because for them his conformity is a good thing regardless of the hypocrisy it shows. But should he make it out of that primary this will definitely doom his electoral prospects.

Voters kind of expect politicians to lie. What they don't expect is for that politician to try to play them for fools.

He Is Just Not Very Bright

I don't know how Charlie Crist has made it thus far in politics, but it has become increasingly clear that the guy just isn't very smart. I mean I understand how much pressure he feels now to go full wingnut after the NY 23 debacle and Marco Rubio hot on his heels. But you have to be a special kind of stupid to try to lie about your support for a stimulus bill not even a full year ago and then not have the common sense to take evidence (ie truth)to the contrary down from your own website.

Tuesday I joined President Barack Obama for a town hall meeting in Fort Myers to discuss with Floridians the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

During the town hall, I reiterated my support for the federal stimulus package, and pledged to the people of Florida that here in Florida we stand ready to use our share of the money quickly and responsibly to create new jobs and serve our most vulnerable citizens.

There is no doubt that these are historic, challenging times for this nation – and our state.

We are balancing our budget here, even when it calls for difficult decisions. We cut spending by $2.5 billion dollars during the recent special Legislative session.

But even as we tighten our belts, we need a stimulus to help the people of Florida, and to help every state that is hurting. This federal stimulus package is a bridge of help for Florida.

This reminds me of the kind of revisionist history the Bushies tried to pull off after no WMDs were found in Iraq. At what point will the people of Florida get fed up with the way Crist insults your intelligence?

Hopefully, soon...

The Abyss Comes To Florida

This is going to make things a LOT more interesting down here in Florida.

With Republicans grappling with the fallout of an intra-party battle that may have cost them a House seat, the head of the Senate Republican campaign effort is making a pledge that may ease some of the anger being directed at the party establishment. "

We will not spend money in a contested primary," Sen. John Cornyn, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told ABC News in a telephone interview today."

There's no incentive for us to weigh in," said Cornyn, R-Texas. "We have to look at our resources. . . . We're not going to throw money into a [primary] race leading up to the election."

Cornyn said his pledge extends to races for open Senate seats -- not incumbents who may face primaries next year. The NRSC so far has endorsed candidates in four open Senate seats -- Florida, Missouri, Illinois, and Pennsylvania.

Cornyn's commitment is most immediately relevant in Florida, where the NRSC's candidate, Gov. Charlie Crist, is facing an aggressive challenge on his right from state House Speaker Marco Rubio.

Some of the same conservative groups that supported Doug Hoffman in New York's 23rd congressional district are making noises about backing Rubio, in a contest that could be the next showdown over the direction of the party. "We're seriously looking at it. We like Marco Rubio a lot. We think that Charlie Crist represents some of the same things that Dede Scozzafava represents," Club for Growth President Chris Chocola said on ABCNews.com's "Top Line" Monday. Scozzafava was the Republican nominee in the New York race.

Now understand that I believe that Kendrick Meek, the very likely Democratic candidate for the Senate here in Florida is more than equipped to dispatch Charlie Crist in a general election next year. But if the wingnuts come calling down here and push Marco Rubio past Crist in a primary it would be like a gift handed to us. The lesson they should have learned last night is that even in a reliably Republican district, if you push a Rush Limbaugh/Sarah Palin/Americans For Prosperity candidate you will lose. Instead these folks are now under the delusion that losing seats equals winning.

I can promise you that I won't be the one to try to snap them out of it either. As a matter of fact can someone send me some info on how I can help Rubio's primary campaign? I think its time for progressives to really get behind him in that race lol.

Get Yo Popcorn Ready

Now that my Governor, Republican Charlie Crist, has announced his intention to run for the Senate next year its officially game time for the right wing base of the GOP. One of his primary contenders, uber "conservative" Marco Rubio, has already released an attack ad.




The truth is Charlie Crist is the Republicans' best hope for winning the Senate seat but because he isn't a wingnut its highly likely that the party will trash him in the primary and he won't end up being their choice for the general election. They have already started hitting him for endorsing the stimulus bill which was of course the right thing to do. I imagine it won't be long before they start spreading the rumors about Governor Crist's sexual orientation either. I am sure the Club for Growth will also ultimately be involved.

My advice for the Democratic Party is to just stand back and let them do all of the work for us. There is no need to get in between a really good street fight. And in end its highly likely that after the Republican primary is all said and done, whomever survives will be so beaten up that they will no longer be a viable candidate. I like Crist and I think he has been a decent governor but I really don't think the base of his party is going to allow him to represent them. While its good for us it definitely sucks for them because there is no doubt in my mind that Crist is the strongest candidate they could field.