Oh, yes, the World's Tallest Oompa Loompa is indeed an inspiring man. Our former governor's latest round of backstabbing political opportunism has driven the Republican Party of Florida to ever-higher pinnacles of creativity.
Karen Harrington, candidate for Florida's 23rd Congressional district, is attending the Right Online conference, and I caught up with her this morning for coffee.
We had a great discussion about the lessons she's learned from her 2010 campaign against Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and what kind of reception she is getting with Democrat and independent voters in her South Florida district.
Catching up from BlogCon last week...Here's a short interview I did with Congressional candidate Karen Harrington when she stopped by our conference in Denver:
As the Crowley Political Report notes, Republican Congressman Allen West raised an astonishing $1.9 million during the last financial quarter, far outpacing his two Democrat rivals:
Just a reminder, you can meet Republican Congressional candidate Karen Harrington tonight at an event at Vida Latin Restaurant in Lake Mary, from 4:30 to 6:00 pm.
An excellent New York Post column by Kurt Schlichter regarding the announced 2012 film focusing on the raid by the Navy SEALs who successfully killed Osama bin Laden:
I just got off a conference call for conservative bloggers with Republican Congressional candidate Karen Harrington. It was the first time I had heard her speak directly (other than her YouTube videos), and I was impressed. Those of you in the Central Florida area, you'll want to come out and meet her on Thursday (event details here).
Harrington put up a decent fight last year as a first time candidate against Debbie Wasserman Schultz, garnering nearly 40 percent of the vote and forcing her to spend about a million dollars to defend what had previously been viewed as a "guaranteed" Democrat seat. DWS is once again raising a boatload of money, but most of it comes from PACs. Harrington noted her opponent's lack of support among actual people living in the district, and proudly touted her own campaign's grassroots support. "She's going to raise a lot of money, but it's not going to come from the constituents. It never has."
According to the Harrington campaign's sources, the redistricting process is expected to shift District 20 about three to four percent more Republican. So, if Harrington got 40 percent last time, with the district's new Republicans being likely to support her, she needs to shift the polls less than ten percent to fire Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
Folks, this seat is absolutely in play. Wouldn't it be fun to knock out the Chair of the DNC? Oh, is that violent rhetoric? Guess I'm one of those tea party terrorists that DWS and her left-wing buddies have been whining about lately...
First, some website notes. I've added an "Events" tab at the top right of this website with lots of great upcoming events for conservatives. Make sure to check it out, and if you have an event you'd like to submit, please contact me at sarahrumpf at gmail dot com.
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Self-proclaimed "Charlie Crist Republican" George LeMieux has been tying himself in knots trying to distort Adam Hasner's record. One of LeMieux's favorite smears is to claim that Hasner isn't really a fiscal conservative. PolitiFact Florida discussed LeMaestro's distortions in detail, going so far as to call him "hypocritical:"
Regular readers of this blog know I am no fan of Debbie Wasserman Schultz, so I was happy to hear that Karen Harrington had launched a new Congressional campaign to attempt to unseat the DNC's favorite attack dog.
State Representative Scott Plakon is hosting a meet and greet in Central Florida this Thursday, so you can meet Karen Harrington yourself:
Here's Congressman Allen West discussing some of the background behind his ongoing war-of-words with Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and stating that he has no intention of apologizing to her or backing down:
West's dispute with DWS goes far beyond the current debt ceiling debate. DWS and her cronies have repeatedly tossed personal attacks and flat-out lies at West, starting during last year's midterm elections.
The Shark Tank has a good write up on a particularly nasty little stunt DWS pulled last October at West's campaign headquarters:
The Democrats are targeting Allen West's district for 2012. Why don't you check out his website at AllenWestForCongress.com and give him a few bucks to help his reelection effort?
Recently, during an appearance on NBC's Meet the Press, DWS made the laughably, ridiculously, unbelievably stupid remark that "under President Obama's leadership, we were able to turn this economy around."
Say what?!
Yeah. Host David Gregory didn't buy it either: "Clearly the economy has not been turned around...Americans don't believe that to be the case."
Cue the RNC's media team, who came up with this catchy little one-minute video:
They'll say anything to save their own jobs, but what have they done to save yours?
Debbie Wasserman Schultz really is the gift that keeps on giving. She has filled the role vacated by my former Congressman, our one-hit-blunder Alan Grayson, as the Democrats' rabid attack dog, but they forget that you win elections by (1) energizing your base AND (2) not scaring the middle.
Robert Stacy McCain has some harsh words concerning the viability of Newt Gingrich's presidential campaign, and links a short video report from ABC's Jake Tapper:
DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz (or as those of us who remember her days in the Florida Legislature know her, "Wasserperson") has taken the offensive and logic-deprived stance that asking voters to show ID is like the "Jim Crow" laws from the early 20th century. Yeah, being asked to show my driver's license is equally as oppressive as segregated schools, poll taxes, and making blacks sit in the back of the bus. Yet another example of "words ceasing to have meanings" when a liberal gets a hold of them.
New York Congressman Anthony Weiner has been getting a lot of attention lately for what has become known as "Weinergate." Here are two of my favorite articles summing up yesterday's press conference, in which Weiner admitted that he had sent the scandalous photo in question, and had engaged in online relationships with other women around the country:
Texas Senate candidate Ted Cruz continues to rack up the endorsements, including Erick Erickson, Mark Levin, Club for Growth PAC and now FreedomWorks PAC.
Here's an interesting analysis of how the 2012 Senate races may breakdown nationwide, and a discussion of some inherent advantages that the GOP may have:
Ari Fleischer, Former White House Press Secretary for George W. Bush, has joined Team Hasner, sending out this tweet yesterday in support of Florida Senate candidate Adam Hasner:
Hasner also added to his list of supporters Former Ohio Secretary of State and co-chair of the group "Pass the Balanced Budget Amendment" Ken Blackwell:
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[Cross-posted at The Minority Report] Since starting this blog, I've regularly engaged in research of online videos regarding Florida politicians and political topics. It's been an easy way to stay on top of the latest current events, very educational...and occasionally eye-opening.
It takes only a short amount of time watching videos before themes start to appear.
We all know that Marco Rubio and Allen West are great, passionate speakers, but I've also learned a lot watching Cliff Stearns lead oversight committee hearings and give interviews regarding fiscal issues. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is heavily involved in South Florida community activities, as well as being a strong and courageous advocate on national security issues.
Well, during the last few months, I've noticed a theme in Wasserman Schultz's videos. When she's not tossing childish insults at Republicans, she loves to talk about her friends - correction, Wasserman Schultz loves to talk about one of her friends - Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who, as you know, is recovering from a gunshot wound to her head from the Tucson shooting.
Immediately after the horrifying events of January 8th, many members of Congress gave interviews where they shared stories about Giffords, how much they enjoyed working with her, how very well-liked she is, how they were praying for her recovery, etc.
Giffords' continued improvement is nothing short of miraculous. For the most part, the media has backed off and left her and her family in peace to focus on her treatment. In the past few months, I've pretty much only seen stories about Giffords when the family has officially released a statement.
However, for some reason, Debbie Wasserman Schultz cannot seem to help hurling herself in front of a camera to talk about Giffords. Google for yourself and see how many interviews she has given on the subject. In my opinion, the frequency with which Wasserman Schultz continues to talk about Giffords seems odd and inappropriate, if not downright creepy. I can't help but get the sinking feeling that Wasserman Schultz is showing something bordering on enthusiasm in discussing her injured friend.
This video, posted on March 18th, is the one that was the straw that broke the camel's back for me:
This video is labeled as a "video update" on Giffords but it's really a campaign fundraiser. Yes, a fundraiser: the link requests contributions to Giffords' reelection campaign account and also to a fund that supports other Democrat Congressional candidates. I can't be the only one who finds this in horribly poor taste.
To draw in sympathetic viewers who are concerned about Giffords' recovery, and then ask for campaign contributions...well, that just seems sick.
I don't know any of these people personally, and I'm not going to question the authenticity of the claimed friendship, but for crying out loud, I can't ever imagine using a friend's injury as a conversation starter to ask for a campaign donation!
Remember, they are not asking for contributions for medical care for Giffords, or anyone else injured on January 8th. They are not asking you to help other victims of violent crime, orphaned children in war-torn countries. They are not asking you to donate to save the rainforest or abandoned puppies. They are asking for money for political campaigns. WTF.
Ignoring for the moment the completely disgusting effort to use Giffords' injury to elicit donations for other candidates, if I analyze this situation as a political consultant, I just cannot see how there is any urgency to fundraise for Giffords' campaign at this point. There are many more risks in looking crass and attempting to profit from tragedy, as well as being unable to satisfy worries that Giffords may not be up to running for office again yet.
Whether or not Giffords runs for reelection is not a question that needs to be answered right now, and it shouldn't be. She has many months to go before that decision must be made, and I am sure that if she reaches the point in her recovery where she does want to run for reelection, the announcement will be national news and contributions will pour in from all over the country. Giffords' 2012 campaign, if it happens, will be easily and quickly funded.
Moreover, as much as I smile every time I get called a "Republican operative" or "partisan hack," I think that the Republican Party ought to just let Arizona's 8th Congressional District go...unless Giffords decides not to run for reelection. I'm not going to grant hand-me-down sympathy to an open seat, but if Giffords decides she wants to run for reelection, I don't see any benefit to running someone against her. Frankly, I also can't see any chance of a Republican victory for that seat. It would be a complete waste of money and - fair or not - make the Republican candidate running against Giffords look like a heartless jerk.
As for Wasserman Schultz, I'll be cheering for anyone and everyone running against her. I hope she gets a serious primary challenger, and I hope whoever becomes the Republican nominee just knocks the stuffing out of her at the ballot box. Excuse me and my violent rhetoric, but Debbie Wasserman Schultz has been an embarrassment to my state for a long time, and her shocking behavior attempting to turn the attack on Gabrielle Giffords into political profit ought to be the last straw for South Florida voters.
Ari Fleischer
