In the Florida senate race, Kendrick Meek (D) is trailing so badly that the White House and establishment Democrats have been pleading with him to quit the race and allow a two way contest between Marco Rubio (R) and Governor Charlie Crist (T-Traitor).
Crist has all but signed on the dotted line that he will either switch parties or caucus with the Democrats if he wins. That's good enough for the Obama who has sent Bill Clinton as an emissary to ask Meek to drop out and give Crist a clear shot at Rubio.
The Republican is nearly 11 points ahead of Crist in the RealClear Politics average of polls. Meek trails Rubio by 24 points and has no chance on election day. Realizing this, the White House sicced Bill Clinton on the hapless Meek:
Bill Clinton sought to persuade Rep. Kendrick Meek to drop out of the race for Senate during a trip to Florida last week - and nearly succeeded. Meek agreed - twice - to drop out and endorse Gov. Charlie Crist's independent bid in a last-ditch effort to stop Marco Rubio, the Republican nominee who stands on the cusp of national stardom.
Meek, a staunch Clinton ally from Miami, has failed to broaden his appeal around the state and is mired in third place in most public polls, with a survey today showing him with just 15 percent of the vote. His withdrawal, polls suggest, would throw core Democratic voters to the moderate governor, rocking a complicated three-way contest and likely throwing the election to Crist.
The former president's top aide, Doug Band, initially served as the intermediary between Meek and Crist, and Clinton became involved only when Meek signaled that he would seriously consider the option, Clinton spokesman Matt McKenna confirmed to POLITICO.
"The argument was: ‘You can be a hero here. You can stop him, you can change this race in one swoop,'" said another Democrat familiar with the conversations, who said Clinton had bluntly told Meek that he couldn't win the race.
Perhaps not wanting the onus for kicking a black man to the sidelines, Crist went on TV last night and told the world that the White House was involved with the effort: In an appearance on Fox news Thursday night Republican-turned-independent Senate candidate, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist said he spoke with Rep. Kendrick Meek and "several people" at the White House about having Meek step out of the race.
Crist would not specify to whom he spoke at the White House, but he did say he spoke to Meek about the possible shift and that Meek was "considering it."
Crist confirmed that he spoke with Doug Band, a counselor to former President Clinton, who Crist said acted as an intermediary, relaying information about whether or not Meek would end his Senate bid.
It is unknown how this news will play with rank and file Democrats who probably don't cotton to turncoat Republicans getting involved in their private party affairs. But as long as Meek stays in the race, Rubio will almost certainly win the seat.
Share