Adam Hasner running for Congress; gets Allen West's endorsement

Adam Hasner announced today that he was shifting his Senate campaign to run for Congressional District 22, and the announcement included an immediate endorsement from Allen West. In an elegant game of dominoes, Congressman Tom Rooney will run in a new congressional district that includes parts of Martin and Charlotte County, and Allen West will run in Rooney's current district. 

On the campaign trail with Adam Hasner

Here's the latest update from the campaign trail from Florida Senate candidate Adam Hasner:

Will McBride endorses Adam Hasner for Senate

We've got yet another conservative endorsement for Adam Hasner today, and it's someone who is personally familiar with running for Senate in Florida: Will McBride.

McBride, who came in second in the 2006 Republican Senate primary, was widely viewed as the grassroots conservative alternative to Katherine Harris, who went on to get defeated by Bill Nelson. I voted for McBride in the primary, and it was disheartening to see Harris fail to generate excitement and then watch Nelson waltz to an easy reelection. True, Harris was burdened by Democrat and media attacks based on her role in the 2000 recount, but her inability to connect with voters also played a big role in her defeat.

The 2006 race provides an important lesson for Republican primary voters: we need to elect a candidate who the grassroots can trust to fight for conservative principles, and who is free from baggage that Nelson and the Democrats could exploit.

There's only one candidate in the race who meets that description: Adam Hasner.

Happy Birthday Adam Hasner!

Today is Florida Senate candidate Adam Hasner's 42nd birthday. Adam's wife, Jillian, sent out this message earlier this week:

This is always a very special time of year for our family.  Not only do we get to observe Thanksgiving and all the ways we've been blessed, but we also get to celebrate Adam's birthday which happens to fall on the day after Thanksgiving.

May your Thanksgiving be full of Sunshine

In preparation for this post, I spent some time this week looking up past Thanksgiving presidential proclamations and quotes, collected statements from some politicians (at least those who were smart enough to not ask for campaign donations in their Thanksgiving messages. You know who you are. Tsk tsk!), and some other fun stuff. Enjoy:

Reactions to the Super Committee Super Fail

File this under "News that Surprised Very Few People:" Turns out that Joint Deficit Reduction Committee, aka the "Super Committee," wasn't so super after all, and officially announcing today that they had failed to reach a deal.

RT @KatiePavlich: pretty sure the new word is for #fail is going to be #superMon Nov 21 12:57:47 via Twitter for iPhoneMichelle Malkin
michellemalkin

And, file this under "News that Surprised Absolutely No One:" Obama gave a prime time press conference in which he blamed the Republicans, demanded that people "pay their fair share" several times, blamed the Republicans, claimed that the failure to reach a deal jeopardized health care for the poor and medical research, blamed the Republicans, called for tax increases, blamed the Republicans, and oh, yeah, blamed the Republicans. 

Dramatic Chipmunk is shocked
that Obama blames the GOP.

Our president seems to lack the ability to give a press conference when things don't go his way without sounding like a petulant child.


I'm waiting for someone to make a mashup YouTube video with Obama press conferences and a toddler having a temper tantrum. Or maybe a remix of "Blame Canada!" from the South Park movie as "Blame Republicans!" Seriously, feel free to take these ideas, they're beyond my tech abilities, but just give me credit! (And a linkback, of course.)


Anyway, here's some reactions to the Super Committee Super Fail today from Marco Rubio, Adam Hasner, Newt Gingrich, and around the conservative blogosphere:

Conservative Media Conference Call with Adam Hasner

Earlier this week, Florida Senate candidate Adam Hasner held a conference call for conservative bloggers and media outlets.

Adam talked at length about his conservative principles and what motivated him to run for the United States Senate, stating that "2010 was only the beginning...not enough has changed in D.C." Drawing a distinction from the rest of the field, saying that Florida "doesn't just need someone who's electable," but instead "someone who will stand firm on principle."

"It's not just about electing any Republican, but electing the right Republican." - Adam Hasner

Heck yeah, I'm biased! And proud of it!

Thanks, troll! 

"You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood for something in your life." 

- Winston Churchill

The fun part about blogging is I always know when I've been effective: if some anonymous troll attacks me personally, that means I've hit home. 

So this morning, when the so-called "Florida Conservative News" website slammed me, I just had to laugh:

FIFTEEN TRILLION DOLLARS?!

Ugh...our national debt hit fifteen trillion dollars today.

$15,000,000,000,000.00!

(and the numbers continue to spin)

On the Road with Adam Hasner

Here's the latest video from Adam Hasner, following him on the campaign trail:


YouTube | On the Road with Adam

Another poll asking the wrong question

Here we go again...every time someone does a poll on the Florida Senate race, it's followed by a flurry of overexcited articles and blog posts. Quinnipiac University published their latest poll this week, along with some breathless predictions about what the numbers mean. Crowley Political Report has some good comments here about why the Q-poll goes too far here ("Florida Republican voters can stay home next year because the nominee for U.S. Senate has already been decided, according to Quinnipiac University...").


The primary election isn't until August 2012, and the simple reality is that most people just aren't paying much attention to the Florida Senate race yet. This is reflected in the fact that "Undecided" is still winning the race (45% of Republicans, and 59% of Republican women, have not made up their mind yet).


I'm a political junkie. I live, eat, breathe politics. I love reading the latest news about the candidates, debating proposed legislation, analyzing communication strategies, and finding intriguing little details in campaign finance reports. But most people aren't like me. Even those who almost always vote in almost every election aren't really engaged in this race yet. They'll figure it out by the time next August rolls around, but until then...meh...

More conservative legislative endorsements for Adam Hasner

Adam Hasner announced another group of endorsements from conservative legislators today. Something I've noticed about many of Hasner's endorsements is that they have made a point to say that he is the "only candidate" in this race that they trust to hold conservative principles, often even specifically naming George LeMieux to point out that they will not support him (See endorsements from Carole Jean Jordan, Kathleen Shanahan, and Sally Bradshaw).

This most recent round of endorsements also draw a connection to Marco Rubio and how well Hasner and Rubio worked together when they were in the leadership of the Florida House, as noted by Sunshine State News' headline: "Connecting Him to Marco Rubio, Three Legislators Back Hasner in Senate Race."

Here's the press release from the campaign:

LeMieux falters, DC establishment panics, Team Hasner keeps marching forward

Awww. Another bad week for George LeMieux.

He has been completely unable to wash off the orange tint from his years with Crist. Since L'Affaire de Greer continues to be an irresistible story for Florida's political reporters, it's not going to get any easier for him. 

This was blatantly clear in an interview LeMieux gave to Adam Smith, in which I'm just going to assume he was extremely sleep deprived, because I cannot for the life of me figure out why a political candidate would say so many dumb things in one conversation. Either that or Charlie Crist has pretty low standards for what constitutes a "maestro." 

Seriously, someone please explain this trifecta of stupidity to me:

Come hang out with me at the Villages tonight

The Villages Republican Club of Sumter County is having an "Old Fashioned Rally" tonight, and I'll be there representing Team Hasner. They'll have live music, hot dogs, and lots of candidates have been invited.

Come say hi if you're in the area:

TODAY! 6:30 - 8:00 pm

Savannah Center

1545 Buena Vista Blvd.

The Villages, FL 32162

Remember, you can find lots of great conservative events at the "Events" tab at the top right of this page.

"Thanks, George!" Love, Obama

In case you missed it, I wrote a post about a month ago debunking the myth that George LeMieux was a "conservative" during his few months in the Senate:

Sunshine State Sarah | Reality check on LeMieux's "conservative" voting record 

Well, looks like I have an addendum to that post. Check out this press release from the Adam Hasner campaign earlier this week...it doesn't sound so conservative when Obama is thanking LeMieux for breaking ranks with Republicans, does it?

RedState coming to the Sunshine State in 2012!

RedState editor Erick Erickson announced yesterday that the 2012 RedState Gathering will be in Jacksonville, Florida on August 2 - 5, 2012:

Can someone please tell George LeMieux how a blogroll is supposed to work?

Oh, George LeMieux. You may not be much of a conservative, but you sure are funny.

I had heard that LeMieux had some sort of "Bloggers for George" group on his campaign website, and I was curious to see who might be listed.

Team Hasner!

Exciting news! Starting this month, I'll be the Conservative Media Outreach Director for Adam Hasner's Senate campaign. I thought it was fitting for "Florida's Top Political Tweeter" to break the news on Twitter:

Dick Morris endorses Adam Hasner

Another great endorsement for Florida Senate Candidate Adam Hasner was announced today:

Today, Adam was proud to announce that he has earned the endorsement of famed political expert and Fox News contributor Dick Morris.

This is what he had to say about Adam:

Adam Hasner to address Tampa 912 on October 10th

Florida Senate candidate Adam Hasner will address the South Shore Chapter of Tampa 912 on Monday, October 10, 2011 at 5:45 pm. Event flyer with all the details after the jump: