Frank Rich has a great piece in the Times about the implosion of the Republican Party nationally. In Salon, Thomas Schaller asks, "Just how bad off is the Republican Party?" One of the points I made in my The World Shifts! post was that this is also happening in Florida.
When Jeb pulled out of the US Senate race I crowed then that it was over in terms of worrying about the general election. Some people weren’t quite ready to hear it, yet. But, after the recent wave of announcements from Bill McCollum and Allen Boyd (the most conservative of the Democratic Florida members of Congress), it has to be becoming apparent to most Democratic operatives that things are looking brighter and brighter.
As I pointed out in Blessed are the Meek, the only thing ANY Democratic candidate for US Senate needs to say in the general election is:
"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?"
So, again, let me make the major point that a NO-RUNOFF DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY IS GOING TO CHOOSE THE NEXT SENATOR FROM FLORIDA.
All the newspaper pundits are never going to admit that because all they know how to talk about is the Horserace, and if it’s over, they have nothing to say. But, we are essentially in the same situation as we were in with the Democratic Presidential Primary right before Super Tuesday.
As soon as Super Tuesday was over, anyone who knew what they were talking about could predict that Barack Obama would win. The details weren’t clear, but the eventual outcome was. For the Democratic Primary for US Senate, the equivalent of Super Tuesday will be the end of the first fundraising quarter.
If Rep. Meek makes seven figures and none of his competitors get close, it’s over. You know that as well as I do.
Allow me to quote this short newspaper piece in full:
Former President Bill Clinton flew to Miami all the way from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland for U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek's first fundraiser for his U.S. Senate campaign. Chris Korge, who hosted the event at his home in Pinecrest, said Clinton helped bring in $300,000.
"He rarely gets involved in (Democratic) primaries,'' said Korge, who has hosted the Clintons many times. "He has really gotten to know Kendrick personally, and he thinks he would be a great senator.''
Korge added that Meek is hoping to post a big fundraising number for the first three months of the year.
"If Kendrick can raise seven figures the first quarter when the economy is in shambles -- that would be a huge feat in this economy,'' Korge said. "Having Bill Clinton willing to do these things for him is going to make it possible for Kendrick to raise significant money outside of Florida."
That’s right, folks. Read it and weep. I’ve been trying to tell you how it is, but you just keep fighting the inevitable.
Then there was this:
Speaking of U.S. Senate politics, U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek of Miami, one of two announced Democratic candidates, was in Orlando Saturday at a "meet and greet" hosted by the powerhouse Gray Robinson law firm. He also met with Hispanic Democrats. No word yet of when Sen. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, who got into the race last week, is coming to town.
Rep. Meek will be the keynote speaker at the GLBT Democratic Caucus Winter Conference in Ft. Meyers in February. And I've seen on Facebook that he will also be in Tampa soon.
Oh but wait, Adam Smith comes to the "rescue".
One story line to keep an eye on as the 2010 Democratic primary for Senate develops: Obama vs. Clinton, the sequel. Bill Clinton headlined a fundraiser in Miami for U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Miami, who is running and backed Hillary Clinton. Meanwhile, we hear a lot of enthusiasm from President Obama's money folks in Florida for state Sen. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, who endorsed Obama.
That little blip has Steve Schale spin written all over it. Dan, SHOW US THE MONEY! And I’ll have more to say about Adam Smith when I write a piece on White Privilege.
But, wait, what about the Internet? Didn’t Obama raise tens of millions from small donors? Hey, Dan’s a BLOGGER, I bet he can do the same, right? Well, actually,
Candidates who are staying in the game are taking a cue from President Barack Obama, who successfully coralled smaller donations from the largest pool of contributors in American history. Just an hour after state Sen. Dan Gelber of Miami Beach announced his U.S. Senate campaign on Tuesday, his campaign e-mailed potential donors to set up fundraising accounts on a website known for amassing smaller donations.
But many donors are simply worn out after a record-shattering presidential election.
''The Internet can make donating more convenient in this economic climate, but burnout is another thing,'' Gelber said. ``It's hard for donors to get up and start running again.''
Burnout. Is that what you’re blaming it on, Dan?
Right here I’d like to pull out a big section of a piece from Bill Cotterell of the Tallahassee Democrat. Now I’ve made fun of William March, Jim Ash, Adam Smith, and Cotterell for their "Old White Guy" punditry. But, I want to make clear, THESE MEN ARE EXEMPLARY REPORTERS. It is their out-moded opinions and biases along with their lack of up-dated methods of analysis I have a problem with, not the fundamentals of their regular journalistic endeavors.
In his piece on the US Senate race Bill C. was willing to dig a little deeper and provide us with this juicy tidbit:
[Former Governor and US Senator Bob] Graham sees a generational shift, much like the change Florida went through when he, Gov. Reubin Askew and former senator and Gov. Lawton Chiles were coming of age politically in the 1970s. As a little-known legislator from Miami Lakes, Graham knocked off a lieutenant governor, a former governor, two Cabinet members and the mayor of Jacksonville in the 1978 Democratic primary to become governor.
"I think this may be a little bit like the 1970s, where some people who were not highly regarded, starting out, to the surprise of many, got elected," said Graham. "Maybe this is a generational shift, where we're moving to a new group of leaders." Graham, who served two terms as governor and three in the Senate before retiring from the seat Martinez won in 2004, said it should cost $10 million to $12 million to run a credible statewide primary campaign. But candidates and campaign advisers are talking more in the $35 million range, for a state with at least seven major media markets.
And after the election of Jimmy Carter as president in 1976, was it really that hard to predict Graham’s victory for people who were paying attention? Well, for newspaper pundits it was.
But, I like this little factoid for another reason. It is a reminder that Dan Gelber’s Days of Service are simply a redo of Graham's workdays. In other words, they're an update of an idea THAT IS 35 YEARS OLD!! This is part of what I meant when I said Dan was "old paradigm politics stuffed in a new paradigm wrapper."
And why aren’t those Internet funds pouring in? Dan is making the same mistake that the young Republicans do when they think all they need to do is adopt the METHODS of the Obama campaign and everything will flow from that. Hell, he’s got Steve Schale, what else does he need?
Let me remind you of something Dan. On the first day of early voting, 800 students from majority black university Florida A&M marched to the county courthouse here in Tallahassee to cast the first vote of their young lives for President Obama. It was the history making aspect of participating in the election of The First Black President that inspired them to do that.
Do I have to remind you that Rep. Meek will be The First Black Senator from Florida? I know this is going to break your heart Dan, but Limousine Liberals with stale ideas just aren’t going to get things moving in the old EMOTION department.
Oh yeah, those "Obama money people" are really behind you, Dan. HOW ABOUT THE OBAMA VOTERS? WHO DO YOU THINK THEY’RE BEHIND?
So, why aren’t people getting this? Why aren’t some Democratic Big Names taking Dan the Man aside and having "The Talk" with him?
Well, maybe they need to read Gwen Ifill’s new book The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama. Let me pull out a short quote from a review:
Ifill, the moderator and managing editor of PBS' Washington Week and a senior correspondent of The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, explores the landscape of black politics. Her book is must reading for anyone interested in better understanding the new wave of America's elected leaders and how they choose to govern.
But personally, I think this absolutely wonderful piece by Ta-Nehisi Coates on Michelle Obama in The Atlantic called American Girl is much more revealing. (You should also watch the videos of Mr. Coates discussing the article with his father, and former Black Panther, Paul Coates).
In it he describes how there exists a large black professional class that operates completely under the radar of our insular Traditional Media. He quotes Michelle’s mother saying that Barack and her daughter are NOT exceptional. Everyone in her neighborhood is just as competent as they are.
I recently had a real life experience which brought this home to me.
I was in a meeting where we were organizing a conference. The people present were another Old White Guy (who was in charge), four white women, and one black woman. The black woman was actually a representative of another organization that our organization was pairing with to hold the conference.
While we were discussing speakers, I asked if people might be interested in having Rep. Meek to give a keynote address. The only other person in the room who had heard of Rep. Meek was the black woman. After the meeting I asked her how she knew of him. I was thinking she must be politically active.
She said no, it was her husband who knew of him and that was how she heard his name. I asked if her husband was a FAMU alumnus. Again, no, he went to school in Arkansas, but she believed Rep. Meek was a fraternity brother of her husband.
There you have it.
Again, let me emphasize, just because I think the Democratic primary for US Senate here in Florida is over, doesn’t mean I want to dismiss Dan Gelber from the 2010 election process. Like President Obama choosing Hillary Clinton to be Secretary of State (thereby redeeming both her and her husband), I’m a big believer in Win-Win solutions.
I’m hoping that we can encourage State Sen. Gelber to become what I’ve decided to dub The Democracy Czar. This person would be the face of promoting Redistricting Reform so that the state constitutional amendments addressing this issue pass by the necessary margin. The DC would also be responsible for developing here in Florida a constitutional amendment which would create a true voter initiative process, as described at Ballot.org. That way the entire slate of statewide Democratic candidates would campaign together under a banner of Taking Back Democracy from lobbyists and an unresponsive legislature.
Now, the Democracy Czar is not an actual office. It would be similar to the title, Mayor of Castro Street, attributed to the San Francisco openly gay politician Harvey Milk. The title would reflect and acknowledge the real power that comes from a Leader’s ability to inspire constituencies and be a focal point for action along with having access to other movers and shakers in the community.
Wait, didn’t I just say above that Dan Gelber couldn’t inspire like Meek? But, my vision is that the full slate of Democratic statewide candidates, including the Democracy Czar, would be cooperating in a united, concerted effort to sweep all five state-wide races and pass the Redistricting Reform amendments. The synergy involved in that never before tried process would be exhilarating for all involved.
Yes, it would be The End Of The World As We Know It, (and I Feel Fine.)
Now, since this is political advocacy, let me identify myself as Michael Murphree and note that I live in Tallahassee. I'm not on Rep. Meek's campaign staff and I'm not employed by him in any manner. I am an independent blogger. You can find me on Facebook by searching for the email floridanetroots (AT) yahoo (DOT) com.