The Tallahassee Democrat, Florida Capital News etc. is reporting that Charlie Crist will announce tomorrow that he is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Mel Martinez. This is good and bad news for democrats. On the good side: Crist will be better than Martinez. Crist is a willow in the wind politically - he goes where the public opinion is - you didn't see him passing up federal dollars or shunning Obama. Also, he is a million times better than the nut job Marco Rubio who would have a good chance of winning the republican primary if Crist was running. I'd like to think that we would be able to beat Rubio in a general election but the risk is too great - if Rubio got in Florida would have the wingnuttiest member of the U.S. Senate.
More below the fold
Why Rubio must be stopped from Florida Democratic Party spokesman, Eric Jotkoff:
"In announcing his candidacy, Rubio made it clear that his entire agenda if elected is to just say no - no to President Obama’s efforts to jumpstart Florida’s economy and create jobs, no to allowing Cuban-Americans to visit their families, and no to any solutions aimed at solving the many problems facing the Sunshine State and our nation.
"While Rubio has recently joined the Rush Limbaugh wing of the Republican Party in just saying no, as the sponsor of the largest sales tax increase in Florida’s history, Rubio’s recent rhetoric on taxes doesn’t fit his record.
"Rubio is the Godfather of Tallahassee’s Republican culture of corruption. As disgraced former Speaker Ray Sansom’s mentor, Rubio taught Sansom how to personally benefit from bringing home the bacon. After delivering millions of tax dollars for Florida International University, Rubio turned around and got a $69,000 per year part-time job at the school... sound familiar?
The bad news is that Crist will be hard to beat in the general election, but a primary battle between Crist and Rubio could be very amusing and help to weaken Crist - Crist will probably win the primary battle.
The progressives best chance to capture the seat in my opinion rests on the shoulders of Kendrick Meeks U.S. Representative FL-17. If Crist is forced to go toward the right and make stupid statements that turn off some of the middle and the far right is dissatisfied with him than Kendrick Meeks will have a good chance - if he gets a lot of help from progressives. He has deep ties to Florida politics through his families historic involvement (his mother has been a great asset to Florida) while still being a young fresh voice that can speak with conviction. If you don't know Kendrick Meeks visit his website: http://www.kendrickmeek.com/...