…he’s made me regret a couple of rude things that I’ve said about a Democrat. Take a gander at this:
Kendrick Meek will never be on my Christmas card list; but he’s a better man than Charlie Crist. And I don’t want that assessment weakened by the fact that Crist is a duplicitous, two-faced mother[expletive deleted].
Moe Lane
PS: RUBIO.
I think that Marco Rubio will forgive me if I quote extensively from his testimonial to his late father.
I realize everyday, and today more than ever, that every opportunity I have had is the result of the selfless decisions he made, even before I was born.
We, his four children, were the purpose of his life. And our accomplishments were not just a source of natural parental pride, they were and are affirmation that he mattered. That his life had real purpose. That his sacrifices were not in vain.
My dad was proud of all of his children and grandchildren. And he would have been proud of me no matter what I chose to do. But I think what made him especially proud of the career I have chosen is because of how far it is from the one he had.
For years, my dad would work banquets at hotels. Many times, these events featured a well-known figure giving a speech. At these events, there are usually only two people standing behind a table. The speaker who is behind a podium, and a bartender behind the bar.
My dad was the one behind the bar. But he worked all his life so that his kids could make the symbolic journey from behind the bar to behind the podium. And in fact, I literally did.
That journey is a testament to the greatness of America. And that journey was the purpose of my father’s life.
Marco and his family have requested that well-wishers contribute to The League Against Cancer, in lieu of flowers. Continue reading America and the Two Tables.
I’ve got a request for Kendrick Meek (D CAND, FL-SEN). Rep. Meek, please watch this week’s Republican response video by Marco Rubio:
…then show me what you’ve got to match that. Go right ahead and try to impress me. Because I heard that you’re just a legacy Congressman who got his job because your mommy didn’t want her seat anymore – and that you’ve never had to actually fight to keep that seat in a general election – which means that you’re so far in above your head right now that you’re touching the bottom of the pool. But, hey: I invite you to prove me wrong. So wow me, and more importantly, wow the Florida electorate.
If you can.
Moe Lane
PS: Charlie, we already worked out that you had nothing when it comes to facing down Marco Rubio. Now hush: grownups talking.
Crossposted to RedState.
OK, I’m no Lord [Pollington] [oops!], but let’s unpack the Mason-Dixon poll for FL-SEN – which is bad news for Charlie Crist, and seriously bad news for the Democratic party of Florida that everybody expects Crist to join, just as soon as he can manage. Below are the three major match-ups:
By the way: this represents a serious loss of support for Crist from Mason-Dixon. Back in May Crist and Rubio’s numbers from that pollster were more or less flipped. Continue reading Mason-Dixon: Rubio ahead, if Meek’s in.
…if the Democrats want to keep the R from the seat. If Meek gets the nomination, Marco Rubio wins; if Greene gets it, Crist picks up enough votes to make the race competitive. And, of course, if Crist wins he’ll then finish the project of becoming a Democrat. That was Arlen Specter’s mistake, you see: openly turning your coat will strike too many people as being too raw. Better by far to lie until after the election, and not give them the chance to complain for six years.
The latest numbers from Rasmussen support this:
The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in Florida shows Rubio with 38% of the vote and Crist at 33% if Congressman Kendrick Meek is the nominee. Meek earns 21%. Only one percent (1%) prefer some other candidate, and seven percent (7%) are undecided.
If billionaire Jeff Greene is the Democratic candidate, Crist gets 37% support to Rubio’s 36%, with Greene trailing at 20%. two percent (2%) like another candidate, and five percent (5%) are undecided.
Background: Marco Rubio released an ad last week – one that was pretty clever in and of itself, and possibly even ‘cheeky’ – taking advantage of Rachel Maddow being… well, Rachel Maddow (and including a cheerful invitation for people who disagreed with Rubio’s tax relief views to watch Maddow, instead). Ms. Maddow responded by giving Marco some more campaign ad fodder:
Way to make Marco’s argument for him, there: as Ed Morrissey noted, “Who knew Rachel Maddow was a Tea Partier?” – Because, really, Crist’s embrace of the current administration is doing Florida absolutely no favors.
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who left the Republican Party to run for Senate as an independent, has hired a top Senate Democrat’s former chief of staff.
In a just-released statement, Crist announced that his media team will be headed by Josh Isay, who used to work for Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. Schumer is a member of the Senate’s Democratic leadership team and once headed the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
More details here (H/T: Hot Air). The company is SKDKnickerbocker, and the anonymous Democrat who noted that this wouldn’t be happening without permission from the White House is quite correct: it wouldn’t be. Naturally, this means abandoning Kendrick Meek (interesting fun fact: he supported Hillary Clinton in the primary), but that’s no obstacle for the Democratic party, particularly since Meek is African-American anyway and thus assumed safe to be imposed upon*. Also naturally, you can assume that Crist will promise to caucus with the Democrats; even more naturally, you can assume that he’ll lie about that, too…
Mind you, all of this assumes that Crist can beat Marco Rubio. Click on that link to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Moe Lane Continue reading Democratic party abandoning Kendrick Meek in FL-SEN?
Well… no. But it was too obnoxious a title to pass up.
Prior to everything else: Rubio.
I had originally titled this as “Democrats get their own Orange Guy in Florida,” but it isn’t fair to hold the tint control in Jeff Greene’s introductory video against him*. Greene is the Big Meanie who has just swooped into the Florida race to ruin Rep. Kendrick Meek’s and Senator Robert Menendez’s day; he’s got no real qualifications except having money, but he apparently makes up for that by having a lot of money. Enough money, in fact, that he’s telling people not to give more than $100 apiece: that translates to “I’m going to self-fund this windmill tilt.”
And that means, yeah, he doesn’t have a chance of getting the nomination. Not to be unnecessarily blunt about it, but the Democrats are not going to abandon their only African-American major candidate for Senator, and no matter that Meek was a sacrificial lamb in the first place; he’s their sacrificial lamb, darn it, and there are limits. Also, the fact that Greene so helpfully has used his own introductory video to give us an idea of what line of underhanded personal attacks to use against him in the primary** tells us that said attacks will be able to mine a rich vein of material. So I don’t expect this guy to win. But I expect that he’ll make the Democrats pay for that win.
Through the nose***.
Moe Lane
[UPDATE]: Welcome, Instapundit readers.
If Crist really does declare an independent run this afternoon Sen. Cornyn of the NRSC will wind up looking foolish, true. Only thing is, Sen Menendez of the DSCC is going to end up looking even worse. He’s the one who recruited a candidate that Rasmussen has in third in a GOP split and who PPP reports is less popular than Crist. And now the DSCC actually has to go all-in on a bad fundraiser and an uninspiring candidate*. That’s bad enough in a year where they’re playing offense – which is to say, a year that’s not 2010. In short, the Democrats could have been walking into this the presumptive winner. Instead, they’re even now trying to figure out how to torpedo Charlie Crist themselves in order to maintain their shot at the seat.
Oops?
Moe Lane
*Not that the DSCC has very many inspiring ones this cycle, either. But Kendrick Meek is especially noteworthy in his blandness.
Crossposted to RedState.
Via Hot Air: Allahpundit independently makes the same suggestion…
If I were Crist, here’s what I’d do. First, I’d dial up Jeb Bush and ask him whether there’s any chance whatsoever that he’ll endorse me. If he says no (which seems likely), either because he’s backing Rubio or staying out of the race, then I’d dial up Rubio and offer him a deal. In return for me dropping out right now, endorsing him, and helping him fundraise, I’d ask for a commitment that he’ll help me beat Bill Nelson in 2012. That’s really the only way at this point that Crist can regain his standing among the base, whom he’ll need to have onboard for any shot at the Senate.
…that I did last month, only I didn’t bother with suggesting that Crist give Jeb an opportunity to bail him out. It’s not too late, Governor: you still have something to trade. We don’t have to let this situation deteriorate further.
But the clock’s ticking.
Moe Lane
Crossposted to RedState.
