http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/e... August 11, 2010
Pundits expected a Republican barnburner and a quiet Democratic contest in the primary races for the U.S. Senate seat now occupied by Sen. George LeMieux. But with Gov. Charlie Crit's exit for an indepependent run, and the entry by a real estate magnate in the Democratic race, the tables have been turned.
Democratic Primary: Kendrick Meek
U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek of Miami has held a seat left open for him by his mother, former Rep. Carrie Meek. He is a former state trooper who served two terms in the state House and one in the state Senate. He led the 2002 campaign to limit class sizes in Florida public schools.
The congressman certainly caught our attention a few years back as a deficit-hawk on C-SPAN as he held up a map of the United States that showed sections carved out to countries purchasing our bloating national debt. Meek advocates pay-as-you-go budgeting, but his Senate platform is full of ideas for more government spending that would add to deficits unless offset with higher taxes or spending cuts.
Still, Rep. Meek is the better, more experienced choice for Democrats. His key rival is billionaire real-estate investor Jeff Greene of Palm Beach. Greene moved to Florida in 2008, and jumped into this race on the last day for candidates to file. His last bid for office was as a Republican candidate for the U.S. House in California in 1982.
Greene's fortune has made him extremely competitive, but his knowledge of issues isn't anywhere as deep as his campaign pockets. Rather than detailing areas to cut spending, he punted to the deficit reduction commission when pressed on budgetary issues. On Afghanistan, he seemed equally uncertain about what conditions he would require when the target date for a U.S. pull-out, 2014, rolls around.
Two other Democrats are running, but neither are seriously contending.
Meek is the better choice in the Democratic primary.
Posted By: Kendrick Meek
Wednesday, August 11th 2010 at 10:27AM
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