Is Florida Going To Face A REAL Crisis Regarding Rubio??? Seems He's Got

[ChiciB1]

a DOUBLE DIGIT ahead of both Meek AND Crist!! I'm SICK about this and have NO IDEA what to do! I live in RUBIO Country, and can't make headway here! The horror of him becoming a Senator scares me to death!

Am I too worried, or will this state FIND OUT what they are in for?? Doesn't seem either Meek or Crist can win this thing, and there is very little time to turn it around!! I'm not happy with Meek at all, and was thinking Crist could pull it off! I now many here who say they will vote for Crist... actually MOST people I talk to say so! These are DEMOCRATS who feel Meek isn't a very strong candidate, but with RUBIO racking up MOST of the Repuke votes, I'm just SICK about this!!

I like living in Florida, but I REALLY, REALLY HATE the politics here!! Can't move, and Democrats here are LAME, LAME, LAME!! At least they're LAME in my Ruby Red County!

Don't post much anymore, but did Post over at the Florida Forum too!!

[zipplewrath]

1. It's a fiasco

None of the "better" democratic candidates stepped up originally because they thought Charlie was going to win in a walk. Then Charlie gets dumped by the GOP and the dems, in their ever living sense of inferiority, immediately begin hoping that Chuck is the second coming or something. Now, his numbers suck AND Meek's suck, and they are campaigning against each other, and Rubio is running these nice, warm "my parents are immigrants" crap.

Their former party chairman is in trouble for screwing around with party money, the whole "GOP credit card" scandal should be enough to take down the whole party, ESPECIALLY Rubio, and the democrats can't seem to figure out a way to "win". God help 'em, call up Grayson, he'll give ya a clue or two.

[ChiciB1]

3. Sure Wish It WAS Grayson Who Was Running!! Maybe I've Become An

eternal pessimist, but even the O'Donnell win may not be the PLUS Democrats are thinking it is!

This country and the Political Parties are being hijacked in a way that I've NEVER seen!! So much APATHY, but the APATHY is well earned, IMO! Taking "we the people" for granted and caused so many of us to simply want to TUNE OUT!!

When we see OUR VERY OWN leaders push us aside and side with TPTB, it's a VERY SCARY SCENARIO!!

Looks like I, as a Floridian will have to continue to live under a rock for some time to come! I can't even gather enough people together in my own county to fight back! You know the phrase I hear most often? Whataya Gonna Do?? Too many, like me just DON'T KNOW where to turn?? Seems even our own have SOLD US OUT!! I'm more than furious, but after that I'm VERY AFRAID!

Oh, I FORGOT for a moment... FEAR SELLS, Big Time!! Thank you Blue Dogs... seems THEY are OUR Tea Party of a sort!! Or maybe it's the DLC that's done it!! Either way, it's going to be a VERY bumpy ride!!

:scared:

[WI_DEM]

12. according to polls Grayson is in a fight to hold his house seat.

[ChiciB1]

15. Doesn't Surprise Me At ALL!! Being Vocal In This State Is Almost A

DEATH SENTENCE! Oh, Florida!! What a mess.... AGAIN!

[flamingdem]

19. Meek won't win. Make choices accordingly IMO nt

[zipplewrath]

20. Neither will Crist

So then what?

[flamingdem]

22. Whoever is closet right before the elections should be the choice for Dems, anyone but Rubio nt

[zipplewrath]

24. That strategy will get neither "close"

They'll just spend the next 7 weeks arguing over the same voters. We need Rubio and Crist arguing over the right, not Meek and Crist arguing over the left.

[Dr.Phool]

2. Which ruby red county do you live in?

I'm in Pasco. Real red.

I've talked privately with Democratic Party officials from around the state, and they say privately that they are voting for Crist. Even though they are obligated to publicly support Meek.

[ChiciB1]

4. Sarasota County!! Land Of Cruella!! And Yes, Many Of My Democratic Friends Have

said they are voting for Crist! Maybe they aren't polling the correct people! I even know some Indy's who say they want Crist! Still, I hear Rubio is double digit ahead of both Crist & Meek! I don't want to be a turncoat, but I honestly don't think Meek is a good candidate! I call him Weak Meek, and if that makes me less of a Democrat, I guess I have to live with it!

It may have been FOUR years ago, but Rahm came here and FUNDED & PUSHED for Christine Jennings against Vern Buchanan! There was a HUGE fiasco about "under voting" but in the end Jennings lost! Not my favorite candidate, but when Schneider got "panned" I didn't feel like I had any choice but to vote for Jennings! Next time out, Vernie won with 64% of the vote! Rahm et al simply DROPPED Jennings, and went out in search of more DLC types!

It was then that I began to have SERIOUS misgivings about many of our very own Democrats! Sure, Sarasota has been a Ruby Red mainstay since FOREVER, but now the whole state is getting a BACKLASH, and not only electing DLC/BlueDog types, but also whack jobs like Rubio are surging forward!

I don't know how much more we are supposed to take? I know many of us here feel that our own Democrats have sold us down the river, FROM THE TOP DOWN! I've tried to stay active, but I KNOW other people who used to be on board trying to fight back have just said... FORGET IT! Some who stuck with me in the fight don't want to see me around! Say I sound like a broken record and now I'm pretty much alone and really feel there's little I can do! I recall Ronnie RayGuns saying that HE didn't leave the Democratic Party, the Party LEFT him! I feel that way too, but I WON'T go Repuke!!

Again, I'm standing out here kind of "blowin in the wind!"
:shrug:

[Dr.Phool]

9. Jan's a friend of mine.

I met Jennings a few times, and she's a real asshole. Another Rahm converted repuke.

[ChiciB1]

13. Well, THAT'S Exactly The Way It Played Out!! And That's WHY I've Never

trusted Rahm! I had HARD feelings BEFORE Obama made him COS and was quite vocal about it!

If you know Jan, you must also know that the Democratic Party HERE, threw her overboard and left her out on her own! She still stuck to her guns, but since I've pretty much had my problems with the local Democratic Party here, I'm not sure how she's feeling these days!

Vern had MANY, MANY law suits against him in 2006, more now... but I've often wondered IF Rahm had stayed out, Schneider might have done a lot better or maybe have pulled and upset! Reality say maybe not, but I think Rahm made Vern a STRONGER candidate in the end!

So what's Schneider up to these days? I know she felt "betrayed" and FWIW I was fuming by what the local Dems did to her! This is just ONE reason I have a problem "fitting" in here!

They just recently called me to help here, but I just don't have enough fight in me these days. Most local Dems aren't on the same page as me and I'm kind of a duck out of water to them!

[Dr.Phool]

26. She was going to run in the primary against Jennings again in '08.

The DCCC said that they would not remain neutral in the primary, and that they were going to back Jennings again. She stuck it right up their ass, and filed as an independent.

I called her the day after she filed, and wrote her a nice check. Haven't talked in a while, but I think she's pretty much given up on politics.

[ChiciB1]

36. Well, THAT'S THE LOCALS HERE! They Screwed Her & I Don't Blame Her

for how she feels! And I MUST say, I've flirted with becoming an Independent myself too! I don't LIKE the fact that Florida's Primaries are set up for "Party affiliation only," but that's the way it goes!

I like Jan, but I DID see up front and personal how THE Democratic Party here simply abandoned her! Actually, I KNOW how she feels because I tried to work within the Party here and find it difficult myself! Some of MY Democratic friends feel the same way, but then we "think" pretty much the same way! We ARE to the LEFT of the local Party here! We've scratched our heads many, many times and then most of us have been made to feel like they DON'T WANT US around! They only call us when they want us to put our feet on the ground!

So really, what can we do but vote for the person we feel will beat Rubio! I AM getting some flak because I haven't committed to Crist so far, because my friends KNOW how I feel about Meek! But, I've told them I WILL join them if I see a decisive trend toward Crist! Anyone who says that Democrats NEED to get behind Meek and force Crist to go after Rubio's corner may not be correct!! I only say this because of what I MYSELF am seeing! There ARE more Democratic counties and their take on it may be completely opposite of mine!

But we BOTH know what happened to Jan, and I know how much PRESSURE was applied by the local Party for us to get behind Jennings! The first time I bought it, the second time I said NO! So we are stuck with a crook by the name of Vern Buchanan! And he IS A CROOK, it's just that he keeps one step ahead of the law! Or rather the LAW looks the other way!
:grr:

[still_one]

5. Unless Meek and Crist can come to some agreement where one drops out rubino will win

The fact is no one can tell someone how to vote

[flpoljunkie]

6. If we Dems stick together and vote for Meek we can get rid of both Crist and the smarmy Rubio

I see no reason to vote for the flip-flopping Crist unless there's a real chance he can beat Rubio. Crist cannot be counted on to vote with Democrats. Crist is all about Crist. I thought I could, but right now, am having real trouble actually voting for this craven opportunist.

[zipplewrath]

8. At this point

Crist has little chance of winning. His numbers may be better than Meeks, but that isn't saying much. But of the several scenarios, the one with the best chance of "working" is for the democrats to openly and strenuously reject Crist, that will raise Meeks numbers. Then Crist will be forced to go after Rubio voters. The only ones he will get are the ones that will never vote for Meek anyway, but it hurts Rubio, and not Meek.

Let Rubio and Crist divide up 60% of the vote, and let Meek have the other 40% and Meek wins.

[flpoljunkie]

10. Like your scenario. From Scott Maxwell: Dem's Best Campaign Tool is Rubio's Record

Democrats' best campaign tool is Marco Rubio's record

Scott Maxwell

TAKING NAMES

September 12, 2010

Right now, Democrats are wringing their hands over which of their two children they should help in the U.S. Senate race: Kendrick Meek or Charlie Crist.

It's like "Sophie's Choice" … except that Crist can feign earnestness better than Meryl Streep.

Here's what Democrats seem to be missing: They don't have to choose.

All they have to do is make sure Republican Marco Rubio doesn't get more than 33 percent of the vote. One of the other two would win automatically.

That way, they get either Meek, a loyal Democrat, or Crist, the independent who's likely to side with the Democrats, since his loyalty rests with whomever is in power.

Getting Rubio below 33 shouldn't be too difficult. His poll numbers, after all, have basically hovered in the 30s. And that's without any hard-hitting attacks coming his way.

Democrats don't even have to be mean to bring Rubio's numbers down.

They simply have to be factual — which would be damning enough.

Rubio, after all, is a hypocrite of the grandest order — a preacher of the live-within-your-means gospel who has lived high on other people's money for much of his own political career.

He talks now of "runaway government," hoping nobody will remember how much he spent on things like a members-only dining room for legislators and his own staff back when he was House speaker in 2006. (Aside from the $119,000 for his press secretary, the hire that really made headlines was the chief of staff Rubio decided to pay $175,000 — more than then-Gov. Jeb Bush.)

Rubio claims to oppose pork spending, hoping no one will remember that Crist vetoed a historic $459 million from Rubio's budget — including $800,000 for artificial-turf football fields for a league in which Rubio played flag football.

And Rubio claims to be ready to fight the special interests, hoping no one will remember the $100,000 worth of charges he racked up on the state GOP's special-interest-funded credit cards. We saw reports about everything from $600-a-week car rentals and $1,800 limousine rides to plane trips for which Rubio double-billed both taxpayers and the Republican Party.

The guy has enough baggage to bring down a 747, much less his own poll numbers. It should be the Democrats' job to remind voters of all these things.

Can you imagine the TV ads?

rest here...

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/columnists/os-scott-maxwell-senate-advice-09121020100911,0,1367975.column

[Dr.Phool]

11. Meek has finally startd running some ads.

Not bad.

[ChiciB1]

16. Well, I Suppose... Given WHERE I Live, What I HEAR Is One-Sided!

I, myself have NOT made up my mind yet, still I'm NOT thrilled about Meek!

Do tell, who's gonna get to Rubio and expose what's behind those doors?? All I hear is that he's the NEW guy on the block, the handsome newcomer, and ALL THAT JAZZ! So, it has made so many around here turn to Crist! What they say about Crist is that at least he had the cohones to go against the grain and HIS PARTY, and somehow that makes him a stronger candidate than Weak Meek!

I'm just very worried that Meek can't bust through, even though I have FINALLY seen ONE ad with him in an air boat talking about this and that! Crist is AGAINST off-shore drilling, but Meek has always been, still Crist has that going for him! Abortion is a big issue for me too, so only time will tell!

I WILL vote for the person who can keep Rubio out!! And if Meek can't pull ahead of Crist it's going to be a sad November for me!!

[peekaloo]

14. look whose name shows up in Troxler's piece

Mr. Ultra-Conservative, reclaim our country from runaway spending himself:

http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/stateroundup/kick-em-right-out-of-the-taj-mahal/1119678

[flpoljunkie]

29. The Democratic party needs to take down Rubio. There's plenty of 'ammunition!'

[FBaggins]

23. What polls is this guy looking at?

Getting Rubio below 33 shouldn't be too difficult. His poll numbers, after all, have basically hovered in the 30s. And that's without any hard-hitting attacks coming his way.


He's had one poll in the 30s in the last month. And no... getting a candidate down from the high 30s to under 33% is by no means easy. Crist already owns all of the right-leaning moderates. To imagine that 20-25% of Rubio's remaining support can be pulled with a few ads is overly optomistic.

No... the only way to beat Rubio at this point is for Crist or Meek to drop out - and there's no way that's going to happen. Crist obviously cares far more about himself than about the Democratic party, and if the FL Democratic party was willing to let it come down to the republican candidate or the republican governor, they wouldn't have put up a candidate in the first place.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

25. No Way Can Meek Beat Rubio Straight Up In This Political And Economic Environment

Thank God Alex Sink is running against a fella who "Took the Fifth" fifteen times.

[FBaggins]

27. I think that's the majority assumptions, yes

The race only hit our radar screen as potentially competitive when Crist decided to make a 3rd party run for it. Until that point, the assumption was that the republican primary would select the next Senator.

That doesn't mean that it's necessarily true, but it's probably not important since I don't see either one getting out of the way for the other.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

32. Marco Bushio Will Be A Disaster

But it is what it is.

At least Bill McCollum won't be governor.

[ChiciB1]

18. As Of This AM... I Think It's Rubio 43%, Crist 27% & Meek 25%! Can't

name the pollster company, but heard it on MSNBC! Chucky Todd!

[zipplewrath]

21. And only Meek can change that significantly

The only voters that are going to move into Meek's column are Crist voters at this point. Meek would need to pick up at least 20 percent, leaving Crist with 7%. Crist isn't going to lose virtually all of his support. Crist needs to pick up at least 16%, probably more, the vast majority of that would come from Meek presumably. The more he picks up from Meek, the more of his own he probably loses to Rubio. So he probably has to pick up practically all of Meeks.

The only scenario I see that has Rubio losing is Crist going after Rubio's voters. Crist only does that if he things the dems are abandoning him. At that point he has to pick up about 10- 12 % by pulling Rubio voters over. And the more Rubio voters he gets, the better he does because they begin to worry about a Meek victory.

So the democrats best strategy is to back Meek, and back him HARD. That drives Crist towards Rubio, and the split the right leaning vote. Either Crist wins, or Meek wins, but Rubio loses. If democrats start fleeing to Meeks, that only means that both Crist AND Meeks lose. IF the goal is to stop Rubio, the strategy is to back Meeks, and back him hard to push Crist right. I don't see a winning strategy where democrats back Crist.

[ChiciB1]

17. I KNOW How You Feel & That's Why I'm Still Sitting On The Fence!

Still Meek IS A BLUE DOG and look what THEY'VE DONE!!!

D.C. had BETTER get their asses in gear or this state will GO RED again! Light "blue" might be better, but who knows!

[peekaloo]

7. He's spending a lot of money hiding behind his family in those tee vee ads.

The media seems reluctant to poke him with a sharp stick....hmmmm must be something hidden in the bushes....

[Dr.Phool]

28. They need to start talking about how high our utility and insurance bills are.

Rubio was the Speaker, and was behind all of that bullshit.

Also increased property taxes. Jeb and Rubio, in violation of the state constitution, started passing mandates for funding from the state, down to the counties and cities. They had to increase property taxes, and it freed up funds for Jeb to cut out taxes on the wealthy (intangibles tax). Not to mention huge corporate givaways (Scripps), and a 3/4 of a billion $ gift to CSX.

They've got to tie Rubio and HIS legislature in to all of this.

[Ter]

30. I know no one wants to hear this, but the reason is Crist moved too far to the Left too fast

Initially, he was getting a pretty big chunk of Republicans. Now they are all united around Rubio, and we are the ones splitting the vote. He should have stayed moderate, then moved Left after the election.

[Inuca]

31. Interesting...

No idea whether you are right or not, but an interesting thought for sure. I am not FL, so what I think does nto matter, but if I were I would vote for Crist and help him to the extent I can. Not only because he is the much better alternative to Rubio and I do not think that Meek has a chance. It's also that I am starting to get scared by the direction in which the Rs are going, it's getting well beyond funny into scary teritory for me. And therefore I want some smart politicians in power that are NOT democrats but are not crazies and know-nothings either. The democratic party NEEDS a counterbalance.

[ChiciB1]

33. As A Floridian, Many Of Us ARE Mulling This Over! I Have YET To Decide...

BUT right now I KNOW of 7 Democrats who have told me that they will DEFINITELY vote for Crist! Three other Indies have told me so also. These are people I know, so if I were to stand on a corner with a counter and tablet in hand, I wonder what I would learn.

I wouldn't mind doing it, but I don't know if there are laws against it! Given where I live, I might just get ticketed for loitering or something! I do know that this is, AND has ALWAYS been a Repuke County for all the years I've been here. Democrats did increase their numbers in '08, but I would LOVE to tap into some of the Independents to see what THEY are thinking!

Meek has baggage because of his mother, but so does Rubio! But I feel that Rubio's baggage will be harder to get out in the open for voters who don't follow politics closely! When it comes to Crist, I think most of us who follow politics do know that he's really Gay! That DOES NOT MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE to me, EXCEPT for one reason... he has never actually come out! I KNOW as a Repuke that would be a vote killer for many of them, but for Democrats it's not so. Maybe he's been asked the question I don't know, but if he denied it outright I'm SURE someone would pop up and have some facts to the contrary!

I've seen comments made here about what a snake Crist is, but I have to say that he HAS governed more moderately than I EVER thought he would! I campaigned against him and remember well his GIGANTIC picture hanging in downtown Tampa that couldn't be ignored! He IS a fighter if nothing else! How mad he is with the Repukes is something I don't know, and whether he will caucus with Dems is unknown to me too.

But Meek hasn't sold me and he worries me because IMO he's simply DLC/BlueDog, and I DON'T like what that group of the Democratic Party has done to split us apart!

Sooooooooo, I'm really having a hard time with this! But I KNOW I will HAVE to vote for the person who I feel can beat Rubio! Not much time for either Meek or Crist and that makes Florida a messy place for now if you plan to vote!

I also think that too many Democrats think that all these Tea-Party characters are going to get their asses beat in November, I'm not one of them! Laugh if you will, but Rand Paul and now this O'Donnell person just might be more dangerous than far too many think! And don't count Sharon Angle out either!

JMHO!

[Inuca]

34. Interesting local perspective

thanks ChichiB.

[ChiciB1]

35. Not A Problem... At Least For Making My Statements! But IT IS A Problem

here in Florida for so many of us! What do they call it?? A conundrum, I think!

[Billy Burnett]

37. Fla Dems better step up the demonizing of Castro and Cuba.

A sure way to win Florida voters over (as any D or R who holds office in Florida knows) is to demonize and castigate Cuba and Castro!

It's a sure winner, because everybody knows Americans and especially Floridians don't want to be at all like Cuba with all of it's communistic universal higher education and universal healthcare for all, 'n stuff.

:eyes:

[The Backlash Cometh]

38. If Crist becomes a spoiler for Meek, the Republicans may forgive him.

Too bad Crist has crooked friends.