Despite the censure vote on Governor Charlie Crist last week that evenly divided Palm Beach County Republicans (it failed to pass as the group deadlocked at 65 votes apiece), the head of the Palm Beach County Republican Executive Committee says his membership is united.

They’re ALL disappointed in Governor Crist.

“There was not a single person last night out of 130 votes, and about 30 or 40 speakers, who got up there to tell us what a good job the governor is doing,”  said Sid Dinerstein, the chair of the Palm Beach County REC.

That vote comes a week and a half after the Volusia County GOP voted “overwhelmingly” in a voice vote to censure the governor.  The list of his perceived transgressions is long, including the governor’s enthusiasm for Barack Obama’s stimulus package and his failure to endorse certain GOP Congressional candidates. But for many, the most damning was his selection of liberal Justice James E. C. Perry to the state Supreme Court last March.

From speaking to several conservatives last week, it seems to be the selection of Perry to the high court that rankles most severely.

That was the last of the unprecedented four new Supreme Court Justices that Crist has had the opportunity to select, more than any previous governor in state history.  And after nominating several solidly conservative justices (among them former Polk County-based U.S. Congressman Charles Canady, best known nationally for being one of the 13 House Managers who argued before the Senate for the impeachment of Bill Clinton),  Crist emphasized his centrist credentials by selecting the 65-year-old Perry, only the second black to be named to the Supreme Court.

But Perry’s selection was part of the old Charlie Crist, the raging moderate who debated Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal earlier this year on Meet The Press regarding what philosophy best represented where the GOP should move next in the wake of its shellacking at the polls last November.

The new Charlie Crist is one strongly motivated by the stirrings in the state party for his rival, Marco Rubio.

Although the governor is thoroughly whipping the former House Speaker when it comes to fundraising, it is the 38-year-old Cuban-American from Miami who is turning on the base, not the man who is collecting censure votes from various county political parties.

In recent weeks the guv, celebrated by environmental groups throughout Florida for being in the small vanguard of GOP leaders with a vision regarding global warming, has strongly hinted that he will cancel his climate change summit, and is also backing away from advocating a cap and trade energy policy.

This follows his failure to veto Senate Bill 360, the controversial anti-growth management bill that has engendered the wrath of both liberals and conservatives throughout the Sunshine State, but was strongly supported by the developer community.

And then there’s the strange case of his lack of support for recently appointed U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

Last month, while the whole nation was buzzing (pro and con) about the self-proclaimed “wise Latina,” Crist originally told reporters when asked his opinion that he had no opinion about her, even as the Senate Judiciary Committee began their hearings.

Then, after his close ally Mel Martinez spoke movingly in support of her in what was ultimately a valedictory of sorts, the governor aligned himself with the other 31 GOP senators who somehow found her to be outside the mainstream of contemporary American jurisprudence, alienating some Latino groups.

As University of Central Florida Political Science Professor Aubrey Jewett said last week, “I found it interesting that when he didn’t really have an actual vote, he took the symbolic gesture of going out of his way to say he would not vote for her if he was in there.  Yet, when he had the chance to put a conservative on the Florida Supreme Court (which he did the first couple of times), the last person was a more liberal judge from Central Florida.  So, it’s interesting to see the Governor maneuver.”

Interesting, indeed. Crist has apparently learned his lesson of appearing to be too close to Barack Obama.  After being one of the few noted Republicans in the country to embrace the federal stimulus package this winter, the Governor is staying far away from any type of endorsement of the health care proposals that the president and Congressional Democrats are stumping for.

No, instead, he is touting his own Cover Florida proposal as a “national model that the feds could be wise to emulate as a private sector alternative.”

One problem, though —  hardly anybody in Florida is on the system.  As the Miami Herald reported last week, in a state with nearly 4 million uninsured people, only 3,757 have signed up (less than 1 percent).

And what about the stimulus plan that the governor has taken so much heat for supporting?  Although conservatives nationally have already declared the bill a failure, most neutral analysts have reasoned that too much of it is designed to kick in later this year and much of next year to give it a final grade.

But it doesn’t help to learn that the state ranks dead last in the country when it comes to spending highway money approved in the program (though Crist and other state officials have denounced that finding, claiming that the state’s spending has been characterized by “integrity, rather than speed”).

Nevertheless, the twisting and turning of positions could expose independents and Democrats to what hardcore Republicans (like PoHo contributor Chris Ingram) have been saying for a while — that Crist’s integrity, if not his overall record, is spotty, and he may not deserve a coronation to the U.S. Senate next year.

But the maxim in state politics for the past couple of years in Florida has been that Charlie Crist is untouchable. Marco Rubio and Kendrick Meek certainly don’t think so.  The question is whether the rest of the Florida electorate will follow them.

His candidacy has been called “quixotic” as he flies into the face of a Republican challenger who likely will be Charlie Crist, but Kendrick Meek is strongly confident in his ability to force Floridians to examine the real record of their favorite, white-haired governor.

Meek is a rising star in the Democratic Party, finding himself with a seat on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee after just four terms in office. Helps to have a progressive voting record and agenda. It probably also doesn’t hurt when your mom served on the House Appropriations Committee with (now Speaker) Nancy Pelosi, as Congresswoman Carrie Meek did.

He’s largely untested (he won his seat in Congress unopposed after his mother retired so close to the qualifying deadline that nobody could mount a real challenge to her son) but he’s shown great energy and won a good deal of the hearts and minds in the Florida Democratic Party, so much so that a few major challengers have stepped aside rather than force an expensive primary race with him.

Meek was in Tampa today and stopped by the Creative Loafing offices. We talked about how to pay for health care reform, whether the stimulus is working, his role in forcing smaller class sizes in public schools and his famous 2000 showdown with then-Gov. Jeb Bush over the dismantling of affirmative action in the state, which resulted in a 26-hour sit-in at the lobby of the Governor’s Office after Bush refused to meet with him and another lawmaker.

He also had this to say when I asked him why he is so confident he can beat Crist:

Meek: Well, first of all, I am running for the people of the state of Florida, and the governor happens to be a candidate in the race. That’s the way I look at it. It’s hard for me to have you see what I see, throughout the state of Florida, I see a very strong will and the desire of the people of the state of Florida to better their community and their state. I offer myself as a member of the House of Representatives from a safe district where I can be a member of Congress for a very, very long time. My grandchildren could see me be a member of Congress, because I work hard on behalf of not only my district but also the state of Florida.

When the election day rolls around, titles will not be on the ballot, only the name and the track record. This is a very historic campaign, because there hasn’t been a statewide elected official that has qualified by petition, that’s 112, 476 signatures. It’s important that we qualify that way so we can hear the stories of Florida. Just because I’ve been … in public service 15 years, that doesn’t necessarily mean I understand all of the issues and know what’s going on in the homes of every Floridian. But I can tell you in the 57 counties of the 67 counties that have turned in petitions to help place my name on the ballot, it is already made me a better candidate and eventually will make me a better senator. That experience will allow us to rise up from the primary experience into a general election, and as we start to look at the issues that are facing Florida, as we start to look at who will be in the majority and who will be in the minority in Washington, D.C., I think one of the bigger questions for this entire Senate race will be: Governor, you’re the most powerful elected official in the state of Florida, politically. You could sign a piece of paper and change the outlook for Floridians. You’re relinquishing that and that position in the majority in Tallahassee, [where] you have the House and the Senate supermajorities that are there, you could help us. But you have opted to run for the US Senate, going to a legislative mode from an executive mode to then serve in the minority in the US Senate, and you’re saying that you’re doing all of this for us. And in many minds of Floridians, I believe, that goes against good common sense and logic, if you’re doing it for the people. So there has to be something a little different there, and he’s going to have to explain that, more than I have to explain why I am running for the US Senate as a member of the House of Representatives. My intentions are pure.

My track record has been one of helping people, helping small business, and and being a fighter on behalf of the poeple that I represent. And I want to represent all of Florida, and that’s the reason that I got into this race first. That’s the reason I am qualifying by petition. And that’s the reason we will continue to build this grass-roots campaign throughout the state. And when I’m elected, God willing, I want to be one of the best senators Florida has ever seen as it relates to constituent service, as it relates to giving a strong voice for Florida and in the US Senate, and I’m very excited about the response that we’ve seen thus far.

We’re a year and a half before the election, and there’s a lot of ground to cover.

To listen to the entire podcast, Download here.

By Mitch Perry
PoHo contributor and anchor of the WMNF Evening News on 88.5 FM community radio.

For weeks, state and national political reporters have been anticipating that the Charlie Crist/Marco Rubio race for the Republican nomination for Senate in Florida next year will be a barn-burning battle between competing philosophies in the party.

That’s despite a poll released last week that shows the governor with an overwhelming lead in the match-up.

And now Rubio doesn’t necessarily have a hold on all those disaffected Republicans who think the Governor is too moderate for their tastes.

Enter Sarasota resident Bob Smith.

He’s not your average disgruntled conservative but in fact a former two-term U.S. Senator from New Hampshire who also (sort of) ran for President.

Smith declared his candidacy officially last week for the nomination last week. Here’s video of his announcement:

In an interview, the 68-year-old Smith, who moved to Sarasota in 2003 after losing to John Sununu in the New Hampshire GOP Senate primary in 2002, said he’s motivated to run by the liberal leanings of Gov. Crist.

“I think Governor Crist wants to take the party in a different direction than I do,” Smith said. “I’m a Reagan Republican, a conservative on the issues.” He then spouted that he’s tough on immigration, pro-gun, pro-life. He knows that’s not Crist’s style, and that bothers Smith.

“We need conservative leadership that will come forth and say these are the principles of our party, and winning simply with an ‘R’ next to you name is not enough, because the victory is shallow.  What’s a victory if you’re Democrat-lite?”

Conservative principles are what animate Bob Smith. In our 15 minute phone conversation, the word ’principles’ was uttered no less than at least half a dozen times.

His disdain for the moderate politics practice by Charlie Crist is not an uncommon feeling among rank and file Republicans, and thus, we also have Rubio’s candidacy.

Rubio is three decades younger than Smith, smoother, and frankly, more telegenic than the former New Hampshire lawmaker. So, other than ego, why does Smith think he has what it takes over the former House Speaker?

Smith talks about style and experience as differentiating himself from his fellow conservative. Style, Smith explains, in the respect that he says Rubio is better at party politics, having maneuvered his way to leadership in the Florida House.

And experience? Well, yeah, Smith has it in spades over Rubio. Two decades in Washington-type experience, which may not necessarily be what Florida GOP voters are clamoring for in 2010.

Last week, in arguing that perhaps Kendrick Meek or another Democrat would be a better choice for Floridians if they’re main issue was property tax or insurance reform, Palm Beach Post editorial writer Jac Wilder VerSteeg wrote:

Gov. Crist promised to lower property taxes and get property insurance premiums under control. So did former House Speaker Marco Rubio. Neither fulfilled his promise. Now the two are running against each other for the 2010 Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. Takes some nerve.

Can Smith be the Republican Party recipient of voter disgust? Not if the voting populace doesn’t know who he is.

“Money is very important”, he admits. “ I’d by lying if I said it wasn’t. You need to get your message out.”

But Bob Smith can dream.  And he would no doubt love to get back at those Republicans who he says have lost their way.

“I believe if I were to win this election,” Smith said, “we would send a message to the rest of the country, that we can win on conservative values. “

This is the story of a little-known South Florida mayor, a progressive anti-automatic weapons kinda politician with little name recognition and labeled with the tag “the gay candidate” in his quest to be the next U.S. senator from Florida. His name is Kevin Burns. More about him after we set the rest of the field.

Charlie Christ’s decision to wait until the end of the legislative session before declaring his political future has frozen most Republicans with fanciful ambitions of higher office through the first part of 2009.

But with three weeks to go before the popular chief executive announces whether he’ll run for re-election or opt to set his sights on Mel Martinez’s seat in Washington, some members of the GOP last week realized they can’t wait any longer.

Agriculture Secretary Charles Bronson, who by name recognition from his movie star namesake alone should do well with the law-and-order crowd, acknowledged the unusual election cycle in 2010 last week and said he could run for governor. If Crist does run for the Senate, it could mean every statewide constitution could be open.

Also, former New Hampshire Senator Bob Smith, now a Sarasota resident, says he is seriously considering a return to the nation’s capital.

But for other Republicans, it’s wait-and-see time.

Ditto for the Dems. Speculation is rampant that CFO Alex Sink will make a run for the governor’s office IF Crist decides not to run for re-election. The dominoes could continue to fall if her seat then becomes available (Tampa Bay mayors Pam Iorio and Rick Baker come to mind).

What is interesting is that before it became a possibility that Charlie Crist might not want to run for re-election, nary a whisper was heard about ANY Democrat taking him on.

Conventional wisdom is that if Christ wins the GOP Nomination for Senate next year, he’ll be a strong favorite to win the seat.

But at least the Democrats are fielding candidates in that race.

Kendrick Meek has been the star in the early going, both with his key union endorsements, and impressive fundraising totals.

Miami Beach State Sen. Dan Gelber has been in session for the past 6 weeks, but has still reportedly raised more than $400,000 in the race.

The third declared Democratic candidate is North Miami Mayor Kevin Burns.

Kevin who?

It’s OK if you haven’t heard about him yet. But he hopes to change that in the next year and a half. Among some political analysts, he’s known simply as “the gay candidate.” But as he is quick to respond to those who label him as such, asking a reporter, “Do you call Kendrick Meek the African-American candidate, or Dan Gelber the Jewish candidate?”

But if that sounds as if he responds defensively to the question, that’s surely not the case.

And for being the mayor of a not-so-big city (population: 65,000), Burns has shown ambition in his two terms in office (he’s term-limited this year). He’s been active with the U.S. Conference of Mayors, is on the Executive Committee Steering Committee with Chicago 2016 Olympic Bid Task Force, and is also with the group Mayors Against Illegal Guns.

Speaking to me on a recent Saturday morning, less than 24 hours before 8-year-old Paris Whitehead-Hamilton would tragically be shot three times in the back and die in a fusillade of bullets in St. Petersburg, Burns said he wanted the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban reinstated.

“I’ve been called too many times at 1, 2 a.m. from my police chief, calling me about another drive by shooting. I’ve gone hunting, and it’s a great sport. But I’ve never seen any hunters use AK-47 or an automatic assault weapon to shoot a deer. It’s not necessary.”

The issue may not be at the top of topics in this time of economic unrest, but Burns says it should be. He says that as a Mayor, he gets the issue of gun violence in a way that those governing from Tallahassee or Washington can’t.

”We’re the closest representatives to the people”, he says. “If you see a problem in your city, you call and complain to the Mayor or your City Council member.”

When asked where he gets the cojones to think that he can be a serious contender in a mammoth state like Florida, Burns says the election of Barack Obama shows that anything is possible now. And that answers goes double for his sexual orientation.

“I think people are over the labeling. I think the last election proved that with the almost election of a woman (Hillary Clinton) and the actual election of an African-American,,,,I think people are looking for problem solvers.”

Burns said he and his partner participated in a civil union in Vermont, and they have a 7 year old daughter, named Autumn. ( If you’re asking: Is he circumventing Florida’s ban on gay adoption? he’s not. At the time of his civil ceremony, the couple had dual residency in Vermont and Florida, which is where they adopted her).

When asked about how strong can a gay candidate run in a state that strongly supported Amendment 2 last fall (the measure that bans same sex marriage in the Sunshine State), Burns is sanguine, saying that he’s been out and honest about his relationship seemingly “forever,” and that his being gay had no impact on North Miami citizens voting for him twice as mayor “It never was an issue in my elections”, he insists.

(And he references Kevin Beckner’s success in Hillsborough County last year as further evidence of the growing acceptance of competence over cultural issues).

On gay marriage, which seemingly looked down for the count nationally after the measure went down to defeat overwhelmingly in Florida last November as well as California, but has now been revived with recent actions in Iowa and Vermont, Burns sounds just like Obama, Clinton and other mainstream Democrats, who always appear to be sympathetic to the notion but are reluctant to support it outright.

He says he sees marriage as a religious institution, and believes religious organizations shouldn’t be forced by the government to do something against their religious beliefs.

But he is passionate about being discriminated against.

“I believe that if I’m in the hospital, my partner should be able to come and visit me and make medical decisions for me… I believe our banking , real estate shouldn’t have a special contract… We should be entitled to some of the 1500 federal laws that straight people are allowed to.”

Burns’ campaign consultant, Broward County strategist Stephen Gaskill, acknowledges that his man is a dark horse but believes Burns story will play well in the anti-Washington ethos felt by Floridians in the post-bailout era.

“Connecting with the people is what matters,” Gaskill wrote to me in an e-mail. “Yes, it will be an expensive campaign, and Kevin will be competitive.”

That remains to be seen. But the debate could be all the richer in the next year and a half as state Democrats try to find the candidate who might do the seemingly impossible in Florida politics: defeat Charlie Crist.

Now, there will be quite a few people up in arms about this. I’m sorry. Maybe this will make them work harder to prove me wrong. One of those things where knowing the future could change the future… but I digress.

There are quite a few reasons why I think he will lose, and none are related to the color of his skin.

Money: It’s a Gas

First, he will have a tough time raising money. According to his FEC report, Meek had about $430,000 cash on hand at the end of last year. Now, I know he hasn’t had to raise a lot of money in recent elections – winning without opposition will do that.

But power fundraiser Chris Korge organized an event for him last week. On hand was former President Bill Clinton to effectively “endorse” Meek. Yet despite these two important allies, Meek only managed to scrape together $300,000. This gives him about three-quarters of a million dollars – he will need 10-15 times that amount to be successful in this state.

He’s [not] a magic man

Second, he does not have Obama’s magic touch. To be sure, he has a little of the preacher-politician in him. But he doesn’t have the same panache at delivering a vision.

Admittedly, I have not seen much of him in action in Congress. My opinions of him are based on how he served in the Florida House and Senate. Many know I used to work for State Sen. Victor Crist, the lead Republican on public safety issues, when he was in the House. Meek was often the minority lead on public safety — so I had the chance to watch him.

Let me say I am thoroughly underwhelmed. I’ve never seen him able to grasp difficult issues or understand the nuances of public policy decisions. From his appearances on cable talk shows, he seems to be more style than substance. He will be taken apart in debates (especially against State Sen. Dan Gelber or Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio).

I work so hard, I think I deserve a trophy

Third, he’s never had to work hard for an election. This is not to say he couldn’t work hard, he just hasn’t had to. He served in the Florida House and Florida Senate, easily winning election to both. It helps that his mother was a former State Representative and State Senator, and a sitting Congresswoman when Meek ran in 1994.

He has not had to do any major campaigning for any elected office in his life. Running a statewide campaign is not easy, and will require more discipline and effort than he has had to learn.

I’ve got the power

Finally, he has no real base of power. To be sure, the African American community will come out in force for him. But that will not be enough. Obama did not win Florida because of black voters, but because of a more diverse base of support.

Some may point out that he is from South Florida, which is true. But he is from Miami-Dade, a more balanced county than Broward and Palm Beach to the north – where he will battle Dan Gelber for votes.

He will also have a difficult time reaching what may be the only real swing block in the primary race: Hispanics. The Hispanic voters in South Florida are predominately Republican. The Democrats are concentrated along the I-4 coordidor: Cubans in Tampa (who will back Iorio) and a diverse group (mostly Puerto Rican) in Orlando.

Sorry, Congressman, this is not your race to win.

In the last eight years, we have seen incompetence and bad decision-making by too many in Washington.  We have sacrificed our children and grandchildren’s future by saddling them with unprecedented deficits. We borrow money from foreign countries in order to give tax breaks to the wealthiest people. And now we have corporate bailouts with some CEOs abusing tax-payer dollars, continuing with their multi-million dollar salaries, bonuses, corporate jets – and yet they refuse to be accountable to how OUR tax dollars are being used to bail them out.

Today, I call on those corporate leaders to not take one dime in salary or bonus until their business is back on solid ground and they have paid the government back every dollar.

OK, good luck with that request, Kendrick.

His full remarks (as prepared) follows the jump, courtesy of his campaign (which has hired former Barack Obama deputy national campaign manager Steve Hildebrand as the top honcho):

U.S. Congressman Kendrick B. Meek Formally Announces Run for Florida’s Open U.S. Senate Seat

Miami Gardens, FL – Congressman Kendrick B. Meek (D-FL) announced this morning that he is running for Florida’s open U.S. Senate seat in 2010.

Joined by his family outside his home in North Miami-Dade County, Congressman Meek laid out his vision for the future of Florida by emphasizing his commitment to alleviating current problems such as the increase of foreclosures throughout Florida, rising unemployment rates, the loss of senior citizens’ retirement funds, ending the war in Iraq, and resolving healthcare inequalities.

“Public service and a commitment to make a better life for the people of Florida has been my mission. I’ve given Florida a strong voice on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee and was appointed by the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives to the House Leadership,” said Congressman Kendrick Meek.  “But never in my lifetime, have the people of Florida been faced with so many big problems.  Our state needs bold leadership at every level, and that and it is why I’ve made the decision to run as a candidate for the United States Senate.  This race is not about me — it is about Floridians.  I am running for Florida, and I am asking Floridians to run with us in this race.”

“Thanks to the leadership of President-elect Obama, change has come to Washington. But it won’t be easy. There will be opposition from many powerful forces who have stopped us before. We cannot let obstructionists stand in the way of helping the people of Florida,” Congressman Meek added. “I want to be a fighter for Florida with a strong voice that won’t let the special interests stand in the way of what’s right. Too many in our country are hurting. Too much is at stake. We have no time to waste.”

Congressman Meek was first elected to public office at the age of 27. He is currently serving in his fourth term in the U.S. House of Representatives. Congressman Meek is the lone Democratic Floridian sitting on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, is a member of the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, and also serves on the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. Congressman Meek is the Co-Chair of Speaker Pelosi’s “30-Something” Working Group, which articulates Democratic positions to the public on critical issues before the U.S. Congress.

Prior to his election to the U.S. Congress, Congressman Meek served eight years in the Florida House and Senate and was a captain in the Florida Highway Patrol. He graduated from the Miami-Dade Public School System and received his bachelor’s degree from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University.

Congressman Meek is married to the former Leslie Dixon of Brooklyn, New York for seventeen years, and they have two children, Lauren and Kendrick Jr. Congressman Meek is the son of former Congresswoman Carrie P. Meek.

The complete text of Congressman Meek’s statement appears below.

Remarks of Congressman Kendrick Meek (as prepared for delivery):

Thank you everyone for coming here today. This is a day of great joy and emotion for my entire family.

Earlier this morning, pastors and faith leaders gathered here in our Florida home to pray and reflect on this momentous occasion, and more importantly, for those who are hurting in our state and country.

Today I stand before you

·     A son of Florida, born and raised in Miami

·     Educated in our public schools and a graduate of Florida A  M University

·     Who proudly wore the uniform of the Florida Highway Patrol

·     Who served in both the state House and Senate

·     And for the last six years served the people of this 17th District in Congress

Public service and a commitment to make a better life for the people of Florida has been my mission. I’ve given Florida a strong voice on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee and was appointed by the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives to the House Leadership.

But never in my lifetime, have the people of Florida been faced with so many big problems.  Our state needs bold leadership at every level, and that and it is why I’ve made the decision to run as a candidate for the United States Senate.

This race is not about me — it is about Floridians.  I am running for Florida, and I am asking Floridians to run with us in this race.

Around our dinner table, we gather to bless our food, give thanks to this country, and hold conversations like every family does who see an uncertain future

We know that so many Floridians don’t know who to turn to for answers.

The high school senior who asks their principal, how can I afford college tuition?

The service industry worker who asks their union leadership, can I ever rebuild my retirement account?

The senior on a fixed income who asks their doctor, how can I afford my health care coverage and the medications I need to get healthy?

The father and mother who asks their lender, how can we save our home and avoid foreclosure?

In the last eight years, we have seen incompetence and bad decision-making by too many in Washington.  We have sacrificed our children and grandchildren’s future by saddling them with unprecedented deficits. We borrow money from foreign countries in order to give tax breaks to the wealthiest people. And now we have corporate bailouts with some CEOs abusing tax-payer dollars, continuing with their multi-million dollar salaries, bonuses, corporate jets – and yet they refuse to be accountable to how OUR tax dollars are being used to bail them out.

Today, I call on those corporate leaders to not take one dime in salary or bonus until their business is back on solid ground and they have paid the government back every dollar.

As we vote on public policy in the Congress, I have always put the public first. And as we set forward on a course for change, so ably lead by our new President-elect, all of us who serve this country need to set our own agendas aside, work together, and make bold decisions that help everyday Americans.

We must work quickly to see that no more Florida families are the victims of foreclosure. We must create good paying jobs and put people back to work. And we have to stop the bleeding as millions of people have seen their hard-earned retirement funds take a disturbing hit.

These have to be the guiding principals in any stimulus plan that we pass in Congress.

I’m anxious to work closely with Senator Daschle to finally achieve access to health care for all Americans.

We must work urgently to solve the increasing problem of Climate Change – before it’s too late.

Immigration reform must be handled appropriately and compassionately.

And as soon as it is safe to do so, we must bring our soldiers home from Iraq. And we must pay close attention to the unrest that we see in Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Middle East.

Thanks to the leadership of President-Elect Obama, change has come to Washington. But it won’t be easy. There will be opposition from many powerful forces who have stopped us before. We cannot let obstructionists stand in the way of helping the people of Florida.

This is why I’ve decided to run for the U.S. Senate – to be a fighter for Florida with a strong voice that won’t let the special interests stand in the way of what’s right.

I stand here today, with my wife Leslie, our children Lauren and Kendrick Jr., my mother Carrie Meek, my sister Lucia Raiford and mother-in-law Lois Johnson.

We gather here as a family because public service is our family’s calling.

So, after extensive conversations with Floridians all across our state, I am running for the U.S. Senate.

Too many in our country are hurting. Too much is at stake.  And we have no time to waste.

Thank you.

Headlines after the jump …

• Serial adulterer Cong. Mahoney’s unique house-sharing arrangement with his wife.
• Gov. Charlie is still popular.
• The slow gutting of Florida’s higher ed continues.
• Gelber: Fighting the fiscal crisis with one hand behind our backs.
• Lakeland, the next Phoenix.
• Safety Harbor commission ready for some election politicking.
• Run, Kendrick, run.
• Making another run at gay marriage in New Hampshire.
• Closer to home, making a run at gay adoption in Pinellas County.
• Muslim family tossed off an AirTran flight.
• Some Bush aides say Cheney wasn’t a “puppetmaster.”
• The GOP diaspora begins.
• Not much changed in Pasco County government in 2008.

One year in 40 seconds from Eirik Solheim on Vimeo.

Headlines after the jump:

• No more Daily Show after tonight?!? No Colbert??? (OK, screw you Viacom, we’ll just watch them online.)
• FLA’s budget solution? Higher taxes on ciggies, booze and stogies? Nooooo. Instead, raiding trust funds and charging criminals and speeders more. Way to go, numnuts in the Legislature.
• Barkley beats the rush, gets a dooey early.
• Why the Burris issue in Illinois isn’t about race.
• “The newspaper industry is dying before our very eyes.”
• Hundreds of pro-Palestine protesters gather on Dale Mabry in Tampa.
• The best US House campaigns of 2008 (none in FLA, sorry).
• Old Jeb! foe Meek travels state setting groundwork for US Senate bid.
• Wage slaves get a minimum raise.
• FLA’s Jim Greer tests the waters for an RNC chairmanship bid.
• TV station cancels interview with authors once they realize their book is critical of the media.