Reflecting the conservative nature of the state in which they live, both candidates are pro-life. They both oppose off-shore drilling, which most Floridians are not happy with right now. Therefore, they both seem to give the people what they want. Sort of.
When Greene and Meek get together for a debate, that's when the fireworks really start to go off. Both men make wild allegations toward one another and the argument gets heated. Greene has taken the Michael Bloomberg route, funding his campaign with his personal fortune. This allows him to criticize Meek for taking money from special interest groups. What is interesting, however, is that wealthy politicians can become their own special interest group, using their personal wealth to buy public office to align their political power with their massive economic power. The only thing standing in the way of a wealthy businessman is the government, so if he owns stock in both, he can get away with murder.
"Special interests are in the pockets of every politician. When I get elected I'm going to Washington and end earmarks forever," Greene said in a recent debate. "I will never take a penny of special interest money."
"Jeff Greene, you are a special interest," Meek replied. "It's interesting how you come to Florida and play the advocate as a Wall Street insider. It's like showing up at an intersection after a collision and saying we need a stop sign."
Both Meek and Greene have accused each other of being a crooked insider. Meek points to Greene's involvement with credit default swaps on Wall Street, and says that he's one of the people responsible for the financial crisis. Greene refers to Meek's connections to a deal with Dennis Stackhouse, a man who was arrested for stealing money with fake invoices and double billings. Stackhouse took good care of Meek, his mother and his former Chief of Staff. None of this looks good for him.
According to Politifact.com, both men have been added to a list of "crooked candidates," so really this might be a case of the pot calling the kettle black. This reminds us of the nature of politics: Most politicians care more about themselves than they care about you, and most politicians are probably breaking some kind of ethics rule that you don't know about. Your choice, in the end, is to decide which crooked politicians is crooked in your favor. There isn't much virtue in Washington.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action Resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.