Teachers union can't decide between Crist and Meek

[ccharles000]

Isn't making a dual endorsement kind of like making no endorsement? The 140,000-member Florida Education Association today recommended Charlie Crist and Kendrick Meek for the U.S. Senate. The FEA will NOT** be pushing the full AFL-CIO to also issue a joint recommendation.

“Kendrick Meek has always been a strong backer of public education and our positions for as long as he’s been a public service. He has always supported our schools and its employees,” said FEA President Andy Ford. “We wouldn’t have the class size provisions in the Florida Constitution without Kendrick’s tireless work to get that on the ballot and to win its approval. We know Kendrick would be welcome addition to the U.S. Senate.

“Gov. Charlie Crist took bold action this year in bucking the leaders of his former political party and listening to the teachers and parents of Florida when he vetoed Senate Bill 6 and set the stage for a better Florida application in the federal Race to the Top grant,” Ford said. “S.B. 6 energized teachers and parents throughout the state and Crist’s actions showed so many Floridians that their voices count. We think an independent Charlie Crist working for Floridians would also be a great asset in the Senate.”

http://blogs.tampabay.com/buzz/2010/05/teachers-union-cant-decide-between-crist-and-meek.html

[movonne]

1. I would find it hard to know which one to back...Meeks is a Dem and I would

ordinarily vote for him...but on the other hand I think Crist might be a better candidate to run against Rubio...and to have that teabagger win would be alful...

[HockeyMom]

3. Anybody is better than Rudio

I would vote for either Meek or Crist, whoever stands a better chance of beating Rudio, IF I am still living in this state by then.

[QC]

2. Meek is a lost cause, unless he starts campaigning soon.

Crist is our best chance to keep that fascist Rubio out of the Senate, and he's actually been a pretty decent governor, more progressive than a good many Florida Democrats.

[Dappleganger]

4. Crist put his neck on the line for the teachers this year.

They're not likely to forget that anytime soon.

[QC]

5. Yes, it was a rare display of courage, and I am grateful for it,

though I am not in K12. Crist deserves the support of teachers for what he did.

And Rubio really and truly is a fascist.

[quaker bill]

6. Courage?

or simply noticing that messages to his office were running roughly 1000 to 1 against and that the fax machine kept running out of paper.

I am pretty sure he knew that he would never be Senator Crist, if he signed SB6. I am not sure it took all that much courage to veto it.

[QC]

7. It meant standing up to the Jeb machine, which is no small thing in Florida politics.

It meant being driven out of his party.

Yep, I think Charlie showed some courage on this.

[quaker bill]

9. He already knew he would lose to Marco Rubio

I am more intimate with Florida politics than you might expect. Crist was down by 20 in the primary and JEB was pulling for the other side. Charley has never stayed in a political job for more than one term, because by the second term he would have to deal with the unintended consequences from his first term. He has always left this problem to others. He was running for the Senate and since by the time SB6 hit his desk, the republican primary was not the path to "Senator Crist" , he was going to run Indy. He knew that there were few better ways to kick off the indy effort than a veto of SB6. This was not courage, it was the only "good for Charley" political option available. Since he was not getting JEB in his corner, the available option was being the anti-JEB.

I have met JEB. I have worked across the table from the lawyers who argued Bush V Gore at the Florida Supreme Court. JEB is a really big guy, he dwarfs me, and I am by no means small. I work with Florida elected officials all the time, it is just part of how I make my living.

[QC]

12. Do you think Meek can keep Rubio from winning?

Frankly, even with Charlie's shortcoming, and, as you correctly note, they are legion, I think that the prospect of Rubio in the Senate is genuinely frightening.

[tsuki]

8. Most of the teachers I know here vote Republicon. I have two friends

in the system that are Dems, but keep their mouth shut on the job rather than get jumped by Republicon supporters who can be vicious. Hopefully, the teachers will vote for Crist rather than Rubio, because they will never vote a Democrat.

[Dr.Phool]

11. It's even worse than that.

I talked to a friend the other day. She's a Democratic State Committeewoman. She said everyone she's talked to is voting for Crist. And she was specifically talking about DEC MEMBERS!

[tsuki]

14. It is the Rubio fear among Democrats. nt

[Dr.Phool]

10. They can endorse Meek in the primary.

Then figure it out for the general. It goes without saying that Rubio will NOT get an endorsement. And with some of the stuff coming out about Meek, the last week or so, he may not make it through the primary.

[golfguru]

13. I think majority of blacks in FL will vote for...

Meeks. I will be shocked if they do not pull the lever for Meeks 80%+

And who can blame them. He is the REAL democratic candidate, and they
naturally trust him more than Crist to push for their agenda.

If all democrats in FL voted for Meeks, he can win easily. Let Rubio
& Crist split the non-democratic vote and both lose.

[Dr.Phool]

15. I could call Meek a lot of things. Real Democrat is not one of them.

He's another corporate "New Democrat", with a whole slew of ethics problems just coming to light.

He pissed me off a couple of years ago, when he refused to help progressive Democrats who were running against incumbent repukes, such as the Diaz-Ballart brothers and others. I guess he was just too busy helping his mommy fill her shopping bags with cash.

[madfloridian]

16. You are right. He and Wasserman Schultz defended GOPers Diaz Balart and Ros Lehtinen

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1909