Recently after posting a status update on Facebook saying:
Michael is ecstatic over Rep. Meek announcing so early.
A friend responded with the following query:
What is it that you so like about Meek?
This is how I replied:
He will have the unique ability to build on the gains made by the Obama grassroots efforts. If someone votes for the same party in their first two elections, you have them for life. I have written tons of stuff on Daily Kos and FlaPolitics.com about why I prefer him. Like Obama, it is more about the candidacy than the candidate. Andrew Sullivan made this point in The Atlantic back in 2007. It's also about incorporating presently marginalized groups into the body politic and civic life. It's about Hope and removing cynicism from our governance. My God, Louise , don't get me started. These comment boxes are limited in size.
The conventional wisdom is that he’s too liberal, he can’t attract voters outside South Florida. But, the lesson of the Obama campaign is that if you sincerely and deeply believe in a higher purpose for your candidacy, then swiftboating by Republicans just won’t work anymore. This, along with Facebook and viral ads and internet contributions, is the New Political Paradigm that the conventional wisdom has yet to fully absorb.
The vicious and unprincipled attacks of the Rove era instilled a paralyzing sense of fear in many of us Democrats. What Obama proved was that if you put your faith in the fundamental goodness of American voters and trust that they are capable of doing the right thing, then those voters will put their faith in you, EVEN if you are considered a Northern Liberal, EVEN if you are Black, EVEN if your middle name is Hussein. (I still can’t get over that one!) Yes, people will swell your campaign coffers with their $25 and $100 contributions and they’ll visit and call their friends and neighbors on your behalf.
This is what Kendrick Meek is all about.
And for Florida, his candidacy will prove to be a deeply healing process for both the Florida Democratic Party and, more importantly, for all the citizens of Florida. He, AND HE ALONE, is uniquely situated for this continued transformation of the Floridian (and American) polity that President-elect Obama has begun.
Our new national leader has pledged to heal the wounds of the culture wars and move beyond partisanship. His cabinet choices have shown that this was not empty rhetoric. A Kendrick Meek candidacy can do the same here in Florida.
For the Party, he is positioned to heal the left-over hard feelings between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama supporters. He can also be an important bridge between Black Democratic voters and the GLBT Caucus.
For the state, he will be uniquely situated to publicly endorse the Redistricting Reform constitutional amendments that will be on the 2010 ballot, thereby insuring their passage. His presence on the slate of statewide candidates will make it impossible for the Republicans to demagogue about the possible loss of majority-minority districts.
And his election as The First Black Senator From Florida will allow all of us to stand tall and be proud of America, to show the world that our principles are not just empty words, but calls to action for justice and equality.
Even though I am only a lowly Unitarian, allow me to say, God Bless America, however you want to interpret those words from your own understanding.
THAT is what a Meek candidacy is all about.
Go to KendrickMeek.com if you would like to donate or volunteer and continue to make history, like we did last November.
And if you’re not on Facebook, then you’re missing the boat, just like those "Old White Guy Republicans" that Jeb Bush talked about. You can find me by searching for floridanetroots (AT) yahoo (DOT) com.
Why didn’t Jeb run? He’s not stupid. He knows the truth of everything I said in this post, and the idea of losing to Kendrick Meek would be beyond damaging. It would have been The End Of The World As We Know It for the Republicans. But, when your best hope for a comeback turns tail and runs, it’s all over but the shouting.
Marco Rubio? Please! Don’t make me laugh. What’s he done that Rep. Meek hasn’t done TEN TIMES MORE OF? And all Rep. Meek needs to do is say, "The country is in a dire emergency left over from Republican mismanagement. President Obama is dedicated to bringing back the greatness that is America’s heritage. Do you want to send someone to Washington that will be a strong ally in that return to Prosperity and Hope, or someone who will only be a constant thorn in the President's side?"
I mean, come on!
NOVEMBER 4TH WAS ONLY THE BEGINNING
I posted the above over on FlaPolitics.com before Alex Sink announced she was running for re-election as CFO (no surprise there) and before State Sen. Dan Gelber threw his hat in the ring, which did surprise me, but probably shouldn’t have (I sometimes forget the amount of ego it takes to be a politician).
Is Dan Gelber a better choice for US Senate? Let’s run through the list of items I have discussed:
Can he do a better job of reaching out to those young and Black voters who had their first experience with electoral politics with the Obama campaign?
No.
Can he do a better job of re-energizing the vast Obama network of volunteers?
No.
Can he do a better job mediating the hard feelings between the GLBT and Black communities after the defeat of Amendment 2?
No.
Can his presence on the ticket prevent Republicans from demagoguing against the Redistricting Reform Amendments concerning majority-minority districts (ESPECIALLY IF THEIR CANDIDATE WAS DENIED IN THE PRIMARY)?
No.
So what exactly does he bring to the table that Rep. Meek doesn’t?
NOTHING!
No wait! I forgot, he's good at blogging! Maybe he could run for Frontpager.
Some other Florida bloggers are gung ho on Gelber. But I believe that if you go back and check, you will find that many of them also supported John Edwards during the Democratic presidential primary. This doesn't mean they are bad people or anything, it's just that I some times wonder about their political judgment and vision.
If you go back and check on me you will find that I always liked Obama, I just didn't believe the American people would elect him. My generation was psychically scarred by Bobby Kennedy's assassination (not to mention John Lennon's, which ushered in the Reagan Era). We weren't about to take that Audacity of Hope stuff on faith. It wasn't until after Super Tuesday and reading Poblano's (now Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight.com) analyses that I begin to realize Obama could actually win.
Rep. Meek didn't graduate from Harvard, he graduated from a majority Black school here in Tallahassee called Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU). But he exemplifies a point that Malcolm Gladwell makes in Outliers when discussing Nobel prize winners.
A lot do come from Harvard, but a slew come from a lot of other "good" if not "great" schools. When it comes to being a PRODUCTIVE genius, all that is required is that you be better than a certain threshold. After that it is personal characteristics other than I.Q. that make the difference.
Let me point out, yet again, that REP. MEEK IS THE ONLY MEMBER OF THE FLORIDA DELEGATION ON THE POWERFUL HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE. Folks, that right there is an indicator of LEGISLATIVE GENIUS, EVEN IF HE DIDN'T GO TO HARVARD. To put it simply, he's proved he plays well with others, which is important in a collegial body like the US Senate.
Is Rep. Meek perfect? Of course not. As a few have pointed out, he’s not always the best on television. Sometimes he hems and haws. And, when he is invariably compared to the "preternatural" Obama, he ends up looking a little more human, like the rest of us.
Does that mean we shouldn’t vote for him? Of course not. The election is two years out! I can guarantee you he is already signed up for charm school and will be polishing his media skills daily.
But watch this video of him at a Rock The Vote concert. You can see how easily and naturally he banters with the audience and actually comes across quite well. And this is the target demographic for building the party. PLEASE THINK ABOUT THAT BEFORE DISMISSING HIS SPEAKING SKILLS!!!!
(BTW, he is misidentified in this amateur video as Meeks rather than Meek)
And as for Blue Dog Allen Boyd? Oh man, that’s like asking should I vote for Will Smith or Grandpa from Hee Haw.
And while we’re at it, let me clear up one other item that always comes up. No, I am not related to Rep. Meek in any way. No, I am not on his payroll. No, I am not a member of his campaign staff.
I’m a 60-y.o. retired state worker who happens to be interested in politics (especially since Obama appeared) and is able to put political ideas together in a coherent fashion. If you’ve read Malcolm Gladwell’s new book Outliers then I would say, "I’m not special, it’s just that I’ve put my 10,000 hours in."
When I first wrote my magnum opus rescued diary Rebranding the FL Dem Party in 2010 I didn’t think I was doing anything more than playing Fantasy Politics. If you read the comments you can sense my feelings of futility at my cynical realization of the impotence of blogging.
But over the Christmas holidays I was able to shake that gloom off and decided WTF, why not send links to the candidates mentioned via emails listed in their websites. I also just got more into Kendrick Meek’s background vis-à-vis Jeb Bush, the putative front-runner at the time. My guide was S. V. Date’s book, Jeb: America’s Next Bush. Date is the acknowledged expert on Jeb from his days covering the governor as a newspaper journalist.
What struck me right away was how Jeb’s term in office was intertwined with Meek’s. The sit-in in the governor’s office over affirmative action, the voter registration drive Meek led that almost kept Jeb from delivering the state for his brother in 2000, the knock-down drag-out fight over the class size amendment, it seemed like fate that they would end up facing each other for an open US Senate seat.
I just kept pumping out the blogs and having fun. So I was stunned one day, to get a note addressing me personally from adam@kendrickmeek.com (I found out later this was Adam Sharon, Meek's spokesman), and thanking me for all I was doing. It said they were studying my posts for ideas!
I sent a reply saying I was honored but expressing skepticism that they were getting their campaign strategy from ME, (a no-name amateur blogger)! But then today I received a note from Mr. Sharon with this in it:
no, we really read every word of yours for months now.
To back that up they sent a copy of their statement on Alex Sink's announcement. Right in the middle of the statement this quote from Rep. Meek caught my attention:
My hope was for the strongest slate of Democrats to appear on the 2010 ballot for statewide office, and with today's announcement by CFO Sink, Democrats will have an extremely strong ticket up and down the ballot in 2010.
I mean, damn, that's right out of my magnum opus!
Think about that for a second. This is not a politician who justs comes by here to pontificate and get ego stroked. No, this is a politician who actually READS what WE write. Not only that, he then ACTS ON IT!
I don't know about you, but I LOVE THIS GUY! I'm going to work my butt off to see he gets elected, same as I did Obama. Imagine, a politician who has proven that HE KNOWS HOW TO LISTEN.
A LOT OF FOLKS DON'T SEEM TO BE GETTING THE FACT THAT THIS IS THE NEW PARADIGM. A POLITICIAN WHO DOESN'T RUN HIS MOUTH (OR BLOG) BUT LISTENS TO THE PEOPLE. THAT'S WHY REPUBLICAN GOV. CHARLIE CRIST IS POPULAR.
So, that’s the extent of my contact.
Right now I can't predict what the future holds. I do know that I'd really rather spend my time never writing another blog but instead doing grunt work like canvassing or making phone calls. I learned during the Obama campaign that this type of retail engagement is actually kind of fun and restorative.
But, I keep waking up in the middle of the night with new ideas. So, stay tuned.
Also, my daughter recently got me to join Facebook. THAT was an eye opener. The popular social networking site makes it possible to actually experience what Gladwell talked about in his book Tipping Point. And sure, it’s great for politics, but, to be honest, I’d rather use it to keep in touch with my family and to help build community at church.
Before I close I better quick deal with four other names that sometimes come up and two generic "got you covered type candidates".
Ron Klein - Basically same argument as Gelber, except he didn't win a blogging award.
Debbie Wasserman-Schultz - Not interested.
Robert Wexler - Not Interested.
Kathy Castor - Saving her for 2012.
(All of these people have wonderful futures. I could see them ending up on some president's cabinet or as part of a presidential ticket.)
Any Democrat Over 60 (eg Bob Graham, Betty Castor) - We need to be developing a new generation of leaders and DON'T FORGET THE YOUTH VOTE!
Any Republican Other Than Rubio - Most have the "Old White Guy" taint, but the key is the same message: Obama needs buddies, not bums, to help out in congress fixing the mess the Republicans made of everything.