CLEARWATER, FL -- Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-Miami) arrived in Clearwater, Fl., Saturday night, the seemingly-forgotten, likely Democratic candidate for United States Senate in Florida, buried beneath the headline-capturing battle between Gov. Charlie Crist (R-Fla.) and former Florida Speaker of the House Marco Rubio on the Republican side.
In fact, the very first question Meek faced from a gaggle of Tampa reporters was about the possibility of Crist running as an independent, if he lost to Rubio in the Republican primary.
"I think the governor is thinking about his political future," Meek said. "I'm thinking about the future of Floridians."
Meek is the son of former lawmaker Carrie Meek, who spent time in the Florida House of Representatives, Florida Senate and U.S. House of Representatives. Her son has also served in the Florida House, Florida Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, after working as a Florida Highway Patrol trooper.
Meek led the push in 2002 to limit class sizes in Florida public schools.
On Saturday night, he described himself as a "moderate progressive candidate that will listen to conservative voices on issues." It should be noted, however, that he has voted with the majority of Democrats on 98.3 percent of bills in the current U.S. Congress.
One of those votes was in favor of health care reform. Meek said he supported President Obama's health care plan because "insurance rates had gone up in the state" and a "number of people who were insured were becoming uninsured because of the costs."
"To just say, 'Oh, we'll just work with the insurance industry,' last time I checked, people were being dumped at the time they needed insurance the most," Meek said.
ABC Action News also asked Meek about the burgeoning federal deficit and his plans for trimming it. Meek said he is a proponent of a pay-as-you-go budget philosophy, under which government only spends money it currently has and may not appropriate money it would have to borrow.
"That's how we're going to get out of the deficit we're in right now," Meek said. "It's a threat to the country and it's a national security issue, as far as I'm concerned."
Posted By: Kendrick Meek
Monday, April 19th 2010 at 3:43PM
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