Florida Democrats, SOS (Save our State): Vote for Meek!

The St. Petersburg Times, which in fairness I should state is an excellent newspaper, has inexplicably gone off the rails with a few of its “Times Recommends” endorsements for the upcoming November election. Their most unfathomable swerving into the briar patch is their endorsement of Charlie "Windsock" Crist for US Senate. I mean, OnStar, what is your emergency? Hello? St. Petersburg Times, are you there?  We’ve detected that you’ve left the clearly marked road and landed in some very treacherous territory...hello? Are you there? Are you conscious? We’re sending help, don't panic.  We're going to stay on the line with you until help arrives.  The Democratic voters will be there, en masse, ASAP to vote for Meek, as clearly you were in an altered state when you suggested that anyone do otherwise and thus hand the election to Rubio, which would ruin our state!

Much as I love the Times, in the immortal words of the Martin Short character, Ed Grimley, they are “as wrong as wrong can be” on this one. I wrote the following comment in response to their "Times Recommends" editorial endorsing Crist:

"I cannot believe the Times has endorsed Charlie 'Windsock' Crist. This guy has more positions on every issue than even he could possibly keep up with. He is exactly what we do NOT need: a quintessential politician, NOT a leader. Kendrick Meek is the ONLY progressive choice in this race. He has consistently opposed off-shore drilling, and will protect our environment, and the actual citizens of Florida, such as children, seniors, and all of us in-between. We don't need Slash-and-Burn Rubio, who was a total disaster in the state legislature, or Windsock Charlie. I'm shocked that the Times has endorsed Crist. Please, fellow Democrats, vote for Kendrick Meek. I think we all know what happens when the Democratic vote gets split: remember 2000! Don't let it happen this time. Please put sane, steady, leadership for the people and the environment in charge. Vote for Meek. I love the Times, but some of their endorsements this go around defy explanation."

It isn't looking good. Meek is far behind in the polls. Maybe Democrats will assume that he has no chance and will stay home. But, as was pointed out at the Tampa Meek rally I blogged about recently:  When Democrats vote for Democrats, DEMOCRATS WIN! So, come on, people, get your rally caps on and get to the polls or vote by mail. However you do it, just vote!  Our state is at stake here.

I'm so scared that we are going to end up with Rubio in the US Senate and that disaster area known as Rick Scott as Governor. I shouldn’t have said “we don’t need” Rubio, in my comment to the Times, because that is not a strong enough statement. I should have said “we can’t survive Rubio”. Didn’t he do enough damage as leader of the state legislature in Tallahassee? I won't even go into what he did by moving up the presidential primary election date because that would be a mega-blog unto its empassioned self.  I will emphasize instead that he slashed and burned the budget so badly that now our public school system, for example, which they promised would be unhurt by it all, is decimated, even with the infusion of federal stimulus dollars we later received. And he didn't just wreck the budget and impact the lives of Florida's citizens temporarily, oh no. By irresponsibly slashing property taxes (in a state with no state income tax, mind you), he has ensured that our state will have nowhere near enough revenue for basic things like public education for years to come.

He and the rest of his tea party peeps put themselves out there as populists, as being of and for the people, but the opposite is the truth: their policies would create an environment in which the richest few and corporations prosper, while the vast majority of people and the environment would pay the price.  We can't afford Rubio or Scott, economically or environmentally, no way, no how.

If Democrats vote for Crist, Rubio will win. Only you can prevent forest fires (the metaphorical yet devastating kind caused by Rubio’s slash and burn policies). How? By VOTING FOR MEEK. Don’t listen to the Times, don’t listen to the polls, and for goodness sake don’t listen to the misleading ads of Crist and Rubio. Listen to Peppermint Twist: vote for Meek because that is a vote for the future well-being of the people, economy and environment of Florida!