Rep. Kendrick Meek's attempt to build a plurality victory with Democratic stalwarts in Florida's Senate race looks as if it's stalling as Election Day grows ever closer. While Meek has improved in the polls as Republican turned independent Gov. Charlie Crist sinks, conservative Republican Marco Rubio has taken a commanding lead. Short of a major shift in the race, it seems Rubio, a Tea Party favorite, will take the Senate seat.
This raises the question of whether Meek ought to drop out and throw his weight behind Crist, consolidating the Democratic vote in a moderate rather than the more extreme Rubio. It's hard to see Crist dropping out now, since his political fortunes depend on a victory here after Rubio whipped him in the Republican primary.
Strategically, Markos Moulitsas points out that if Meek stays in the race (as, by all accounts, he will) he'll create a turnout advantage for Democrats in the state's gubernatorial contest. A win there gives the Democrats an advantage in congressional redistricting -- a major factor in control of the House for the next decade -- and a well-positioned ally in a major state in the run-up to the 2012 presidential campaign.
But on a normative level, I think it would be a mistake for Democrats to urge Meek out of the race, a prospect that has had Jon Chait salivating for months. But since Crist's defining characteristic is his ability to blow where the wind takes him, there's no reason to think he'll be anything but a typical member of the GOP caucus should he win, and much harder for an actual liberal to unseat later down the road. Crist would be like a less cooperative Joe Lieberman, or more accurately, a second coming of fake maverick Sen. John McCain. That sort of expediency isn't something we should encourage in our politicians.
-- Tim Fernholz
