I Don't Get Florida Voters

How could one of the most extreme right-wing politicians, ex-Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio, become the prohibitive favorite to win this year's U.S. Senate race just two years after Barack Obama carried Florida and four years after Democratic senator Bill Nelson easily won reelection? And why is our legislature here so skewed toward right-wing Republicans? What happened to the era of Reuben Askew and Bob Graham, who both had very successful and popular tenures as two-term Democratic governors in the seventies and eighties? Perhaps the problem with this year's Senate race is that one of the candidates, current Governor Charlie Crist, became very unpopular with the wingnut teabagger faction of his party when he last year expressed a friendly attitude toward Obama and his economic stimulus plan. And perhaps the problem is that the Democrats seem to be solidifying their ranks behind south Floridian U.S. Representative Kendrick Meek. I like Meek and plan to vote for him this fall, but he does have a liberal reputation. And, oh, by the way, he's (throat-clearing sound) African-American. Which sadly probably figures into the fact that, whether the public opinion polls pit him against either Crist or Rubio, Meek is woefully behind and very unlikely to win. I understand why the Democrats would be reluctant to try to put forward a stronger candidate; it might make them appear to be implicitly racist. Unfortunately, that "racist" label may be more appropriately applied to many of Florida's voters, Obama's 2008 success in the state notwithstanding.

People in Florida tend to vote for image and personality over politics, anyway. Marco Rubio is a very handsome and charismatic young man, while Charlie Crist is (ugh) grey-haired (like me). And did I say that Kendrick Meek is black? Oh yes, I think I did. He's black. Oh well, better luck next time, Kendrick. At least I like you!