Bill Clinton publicly supported Meek during rallies. However, behind the scenes, President Bill Clinton asked Meek to consider dropping out of the race to help Crist win the Senate race. Although Meek and Clinton tout their friendship, a true friend would not do the bidding of his friend's rival.
Convinced that Crist will vote with the Democrats, an article in Daily Kos states that:
"Meek's best chance was always that Rubio and Crist nuke each other, much like Lisa Murkowski and Joe Miller and beating the crap out of each other in Alaska. That didn't happen. In fact, the worst case possible scenario did -- Crist and Meek beat the shit out of each other, giving Rubio a free pass for most of the race. Crist's best chance was to relegate Meek to also-ran status (like GOPer Maes in the Coloardo [sic] governor's race). That didn't happen."
"So Plan C for keeping the seat would be for Meek to withdraw and give Crist the chance to consolidate moderates and progressives against Rubio. That won't happen either. With Meek's wife reportedly convinced her husband can still win, he's sticking with this through the bitter end."
"So there we are. A big ol' pile of suck."
In her excellent article, The Wrong in the Florida Senate Race, one of my favorite bloggers, rikyrah of Jack and Jill Politics, wrote:
"But, Kendrick Meek did the hard work. He did all the legwork. He shook the hands. He went to meet the people, and, it is not his fault that no other Florida Democrats, outside of that shady creep who ran against him at the last minutes was the only one who would run. Meek won the nomination WITHOUT crapping on his base (cough:::Artur Davis, Adrian Fenty:::cough).Meek won his right to win, and yes, to lose, this election."
I agree with rikyrah and reject Kos' analysis of the Florida race for following reasons. Crist is not trustworthy. As reported in the Miami Herald, after being a lifelong Republican, Crist abandoned his party only because he realized that he would lose the Republican Primary against Marco Rubio. For political convenience, he has changed his positions on various issues. Clearly, he is a political opportunist who will say or do anything to be elected. Under such circumstances, one cannot assume that Crist will vote with the Democrats on important issues. In fact during the debate moderated by David Gregory of Meet the Press, Crist would not state which party he would caucus with if elected.
Democrats should not abandon a loyal candidate like Meek to embrace a flip flopping, opportunist like Crist. If Meek was white, I doubt that many Democrats would even consider voting for Crist. If Kendrick Meek loses this election, there will be no African Americans in the U.S. Senate in 2011. When Roland Burris leaves the Senate, it will return to being an exclusive, all white club. African Americans are the most loyal supporters of the Democratic Party. We deserve better treatment from Bill Clinton and the Democratic Party.
There comes a time when principle is more important than pragmatism. Florida Democrats should unite and support Kendrick Meek.
Bill Clinton publicly supported Meek during rallies. However, behind the scenes, President Bill Clinton asked Meek to consider dropping out of the race to help Crist win the Senate race. Although Meek and Clinton tout their friendship, a true friend would not do the bidding of his friend's rival.
ReplyDeleteBill is a snake in the grass. You can't trust him. I despise what they did during the 08 primaries. They betrayed the trust of blacks by sending the dog whistle to white voters. What kind of person does that after they've had loyal black support? With them, the end result justifies the means. It was most likely their intent to make up for it after they had won the White House. Well, it don't work that way! I'll never vote for a Clinton ever again.
SouthernGirl2
http://3chicspolitico.com/