Kendrick Meek will take the money and NOT run

Al’s Loupe

Kendrick Meek will take the money and NOT run

By Alvaro F. Fernandez
alfernandez@the-beach.net

Even the supposed good guys have dirt under their fingernails here in Miami. If there is any doubt… just take a look at the 2010 Florida U.S. senate race which has drawn some interesting names on both sides. And money, not surprisingly, is playing a key role in the dynamics of this race. Whatever the result, it is another example of the further acceleration and deterioration of our political system into a corrupting scheme that is almost totally dependent on the millions of dollars being spent to influence politicians.

Nationally, we’re seeing it daily on the health care issue, as reported in an article from Truthout.org featured in this week’s Progreso Weekly. But my focus this week is right here at home and on someone I once considered a future star in Florida politics, U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek. The fact is Meek’s star may still be rising; it’s his performance which disappoints.

Meek’s star shone brightest when he was in the Florida state senate. Among his accomplishments was taking on Governor Jeb Bush and defeating him at the polls, passing a class size amendment which was supposed to limit the number of students in overcrowded Florida classrooms. The then governor and the politicians who have followed have made sure that this citizen-driven initiative has never been fully enforced.

In a last-minute, almost at midnight move, Kendrick then became one of our South Florida members of Congress when his mother, Carrie Meek, a revered, Miami icon in the African American community, decided to retire and give up her seat as an U.S. representative. The set-up was brilliant. The result was an almost seamless succession from mother to son in our nation’s capital.

Right after Carrie’s retirement and Kendrick’s ascension, skeletons seemed to stumble out of an overpopulated closet. We found out that Carrie was raking in the dough as a lobbyist for a number of public and private sector clients — some who have been charged with fraud and using the public’s money. The most surprising revelation, though, was that grandma Carrie, who plays the venerable octogenarian like a fine-tuned Stradivarius, may have been lobbying — even while still a member of Congress.

Then came the elections of 2008. U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek started out on the wrong side of that battle. He backed Hillary Clinton. He later turned his efforts to Obama when Clinton was defeated in the heated primary scuffles. Throughout, right here in South Florida, Meek, together with another democrat from the area, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, decided they would NOT get involved in three competitive races being run against the area’s congressional republican incumbents — Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. They cited friendship. Maybe… But they forgot to mention the contributions they were receiving — from the anti-Cuba lobby in Washington. To this day, there are still many South Florida democrats very upset at the two “traitors,” as they are often referred to by local Party stalwarts.

Which brings me to the U.S. Senate race to replace Mel Martinez (whose seat is being kept warm for Florida Governor Charlie Crist by George LeMieux). The clear cut favorite is Crist. Although an ineffective and some say do-nothing governor, Crist maintains his popularity in the state which is hard to understand and pin down. He is also a prolific fund raiser. If the election were held today, the experts claim Crist would win in a landslide.

Earlier this year when Martinez announced he would not be running for reelection, Meek was one of the first to announce he would be seeking the senate seat. Meek is a tireless worker. A tall, handsome and charismatic figure on the campaign trail, Meek has been on the stump for about nine months — raising considerable amounts of campaign contributions. Still, Crist has outraised him at least two to one. And the polls have never shown Meek gaining traction in the race.

So what will happen?

In the end, Meek’s seat in the House is almost assured. I doubt there is anyone in Miami who can beat him right now. He sits on influential committees, including the House Ways and Means. Meek has traveled with and has the ear of President Obama. In other words, as a member of the House, Meek has great influence. I doubt he will discard that influence in order to pursue an almost quixotic quest for the U.S. Senate.

Don’t be surprised, then, if sometime in 2010, Meek announces he is dropping out of the senate race. It makes sense, for him. In the meantime, he will continue to collect campaign contributions, which are coming at a brisk pace. As of the last reporting period (June 30), he had raised $2.6 million and maintained more than $2.3 million in hand. Next week, by law, he will be reporting his latest haul on the money side. Meek will continue to milk this race turned money machine until the last possible minute. When he drops out, he will have accumulated millions of dollars that he will offer to return, but with the influence those dollars have over your member of congress… how many do you believe will ask for its return?

In the end, what saddens me most about the system, though, is that if the election were held today, and the two candidates were Crist and Meek, I would still have to vote for the best option available, who happens to be Meek. And that choice tells me that this system I work so hard for… is broken.