Tea party movement sets record straight: They #StandWithSandy

The District 7 Republican primary continues to be a roller coaster. The infamous troublemaker Doug Guetzloe sent out a mailer through his "Ax the Tax" organization in support of John Mica, falsely claiming that he had tea party support. Guetzloe made headlines in 2010 for his creation of a third party political party using the name "Florida Tea Party," that was frequently accused of being a plot to divide conservative votes and assist in the reelection of Alan Grayson and other liberal Democrats.

Despite Guetzloe's best efforts, the hard working conservative activists who are actually part of Central Florida's tea party movement know the truth, and aren't going to sit silently while he attempt to peddle this nonsense. Tea Party Express chair Amy Kremer came back to Orlando today to counter this story, emphasize that the Tea Party Express organization did indeed endorse Sandy Adams, and state clearly the conservative principles that inspired their endorsement.

Here is the video from the press conference earlier today:

It's election season, so Doug Guetzloe is making up stories again

It's election season, and a perfect time for a reality check: just because someone posts something on the internet does not mean it is true. 

Exhibit A: Doug Guetzloe's repeated claims about supporters of Lawson Lamar being charged with ethical violations. He, both individually and through his "Ax the Tax" group, has been sending out mailers, making robocalls, and writing too many Facebook posts to count, with a wild assortment of false accusations.

Facts are pesky things to people like Guetzloe, so I thought I'd just share some information as a reminder to question what you read and demand evidence of his claims.

Shady intimidation tactics by campaign manager for Jeff Ashton's State Attorney campaign

The race for the Ninth Circuit (Orange and Osceola County) State Attorney took an unfortunate turn this week, with the already heated political rhetoric boiling over into actual threats. 

Current State Attorney Lawson Lamar is facing a challenge from Jeff Ashton. Both candidates are registered Democrats, and no one else is on the ballot, so under Florida law, all Orange and Osceola County voters can participate in this election, no matter what their party registration is. 

The unusual open primary has introduced some interesting dynamics to the race. Because the Democrats have very few contested primaries on the ballot, Republican turnout is expected to be higher, and both Lamar and Ashton are seeking Republican votes. 

Lamar, as a military veteran, former Orange County Sheriff, and current State Attorney with a long history of involvement in the Central Florida community, has easily won Republican votes in past elections. 

Ashton seems to be finding trouble attracting similar support from Central Florida Republicans, and some of his campaign's allies are not helping matters. 

Is George LeMieux working with Guetzloe?

Why would George LeMieux willingly work with Doug Guetzloe, the man who spent last year engaged in a direct assault on both the Republican party and many tea party movement organizations and activists around the state (see my post from last month here with lots of links about Guetzloe)?

Or - and maybe this is worse - is LeMieux really that ignorant about the tea party? That doesn't seem that farfetched, considering the swirling gossip about LeMieux's contempt for grassroots conservatives. Or is he so desperate for positive press as L'affaire de Greer grinds on, that he'll take it from any source, no matter how low he has to stoop?

Here's what we know so far:

[Crickets]

Oh, what an interesting day.

At 7:29 am Wednesday morning, I hit "Publish Post" on this:

Sunshine State Sarah | Connections between Mike McCalister and Doug Guetzloe?

...got a cup of coffee and waited...and waited...

...and waited...

I mean, surely, Colonel Mike McCalister would have something, something, to say in response, right? Right?

There's no way that McCalister, the self-proclaimed "National Tea Party Star," would join forces with Doug Guetzloe, the guy who spent 2010 threatening tea party movement groups and activists around Florida, the guy who helped organize a third party political party that was designed to split conservative votes and make it easier for Democrats to win, the guy who was repeatedly tied to liberal bomb-thrower Alan Grayson?

Of course the campaign will have a response. There's some excuse. There's some explanation. I mean, McCalister's excuse for the whole "I-testified-before-Congress-except-I-didn't" kerfuffle was that he had a "bad memory." Was that it?

I'm sure the McCalister campaign will have some sort of excuse for working with a guy like Guetzloe: "We're new to politics and didn't know any better." "We don't have Google." "No, seriously, we don't have Google."

But...nothing.

Connections between Mike McCalister and Doug Guetzloe? [UPDATED]

After getting caught in what is, at best, a misrepresentation about testifying before Congress, and facing mounting questions about his record, new information has been discovered that is likely to further damage Colonel Mike McCalister's credibility in the Florida Republican Senate Primary.

Previously under fire from Florida tea party organizers for his "bold self determination" declaring himself a "national Tea Party star," McCalister appears to have made the unfortunate decision to ally himself with Doug Guetzloe.

In case you are not acquainted with Mr. Douglas M. Guetzloe, let me introduce you to some of his "greatest hits:"

• For years, Guetzloe has repeatedly been accused of being paid consulting or advertising fees that were more extortion payments to ensure loyalty than payments for actual services. A grand jury said that their "inescapable conclusion" was that Guetzloe was paid "hush money" as part of the "culture of corruption" present at the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority, as one example.
• After he was removed from the Orange County Republican Executive Committee, he helped start a third party political party with the misleading name "Florida Tea Party." Guetzloe and others involved with the "Florida Tea Party" repeatedly engaged in attacks against legitimate Florida tea party activists, threatened lawsuits (and actually filed several), and had troubling ties to former Democratic Congressman Alan Grayson.
• In the 2010 elections, Guetzloe and the Florida Tea Party worked to defeat Republican candidates by running FTP candidates in swing districts, in an attempt to split the conservative vote and give the advantage to the Democrats, because they would be listed on the ballot as (TEA).
• Many of the FTP candidates were previously registered Democrats, students with no explainable reason for running for office, and family members or roommates of FTP officers. The vast majority of them showed very low contributions and expenditures on their campaign finance reports and rarely appeared to actually campaign for votes. Fortunately their attempts to be "spoilers" failed, but RPOF and the targeted Republican candidates were forced to spend several million dollars to educate voters about the difference between the fake tea party political party and the actual tea party movement.
• Guetzloe has a history of violating election laws and failing to pay the fines imposed on him.
• And let's not forget that $1.61 million verdict against Guetzloe in a defamation suit earlier this year.

The bottom line is that Doug Guetzloe is no friend to the tea party movement or the Republican Party. As one Central Florida tea party organizer said to me (name withheld upon request), "I would go out of my way to not have my name associated with Guetzloe, in any way."

Despite all of this history, the McCalister campaign is running ads on Guetzloe's websites and on the website for the "Phoenix Network," where Guetzloe's internet radio program is broadcast. All of the McCalister banner ads on Guetzloe's websites link directly to the McCalister campaign website. I have taken screenshots of the websites just in case the ads are removed after I post this information (click images to enlarge):

Schadenfreude

"Schadenfreude" is a German word that has been adopted into English, and is defined as "taking pleasure or satisfaction at someone else's misfortune." ("Schaden" means injury or disadvantage, "Freude" means joy or delight.)

So, here's your Schadenfreude moment of the day:

Orlando Sentinel | Jury in defamation case finds against Doug Guetzloe for a total of $1.61 million

Wow. $1.61 million dollars is a LOT of money. As expected, Guetzloe is showing no remorse and vowing to appeal, but still, this verdict shows that not only did the jury think he was liable, but the large punitive damages component shows they found his conduct especially malicious and reprehensible.



"One meeeee-lion dollars...plus another six hundred and ten thousand!"

Howard Marks, the attorney for the successful plaintiffs said, "This was never, to begin with, a case about money. It was a case to stand up against a bully, to stand up against someone who has intimidated people for years with lawsuits."

Job well done, Mr. Marks. Free speech does not include the right to falsely call someone a pedophile...oh, excuse me, insinuate that someone "might" be a pedophile, or whatever Guetzloe was trying to argue he meant by saying that Richard Mask was "trolling for young boys," etc.

As someone who has also been a target of Guetzloe's fantastical lies and malicious attacks, I am greatly cheered by today's verdict and commend Richard Mask for his bravery and commitment to see this case through to the end.

Guetzloe has never called me a pedophile (golly gee whiz, thanks for that, Dougie), but he's used every word in the thesaurus to call me corrupt and unethical, attempts to attack my reputation every chance he gets, and keeps calling me a Democrat.  (If I'm a Democrat, I'm doing a reeeeeeeally bad job at it.) Entertainingly, during last year's  election he even tried to claim I was a double agent for the Alex Sink campaign. Thanks Dougie, we all got a good laugh over that.

Guetzloe also hasn't sued me in court yet, although he's certainly made the threat several times, but he has filed several complaints against me with the Florida Elections Commission. I just got word from them earlier this month that they had dismissed the latest case against me entirely. Ol' Dougie is now 0-for-3 against me with the FEC: he filed a complaint against me in 2008 which was immediately dismissed, I filed one against him in 2008 which settled with a consent order and a fine earlier this month, and then he filed this one against me in 2010, which was dismissed entirely.

I'm just waiting to get my copy of the written order (I called and checked and the orders were mailed yesterday) and then I'll share the fun little story with all of you. Doug Guetzloe is a bully and a jerk (that's my opinion, Dougie, go ahead and try to sue me for that), but the Florida Statutes and the administrative procedures of the FEC have some major areas that are ripe for improvement.

Stay tuned...

Facebook Censorship

I just posted this as a note on the Sunshine State Sarah Facebook page:

Hello friends,

It seems like Doug Guetzloe or one of his little minions has reported me to Facebook.  They have removed one of my notes about Guetzloe (which was just a copy of a post from my blog), saying that it violated their terms of service, prohibiting notes that are "hateful, threatening, or obscene" or notes "that attack an individual or a group."  The highlight of the email was the ominous warning that "Continued misuse of Facebook's features could result in your account being disabled." 

Who knew?  Apparently you are not allowed to write a note that says anything mean or critical about anyone else.  So that means that all the political candidates' pages need to come down right now if they are talking about why they are better than their opponents.  And that post you wrote last week complaining about the idiot who cut you off in traffic or the waiter who gave you bad service?  Not allowed.  Anyone who has written that the Democrats or Republicans are corrupt or liars?   Verboten. 

There is some seriously bizarre selective enforcement going on here. 

The note in question that FB removed did NOT say anything obscene, and made no threats, and in my opinion, was nowhere close to hateful.  I have been covering the activities of Doug Guetzloe, Fred O'Neal, Peg Dunmire, their attempts to hijack the tea party movement through their third party "Florida Tea Party," and their connections to Alan Grayson.  I provide links to local news articles and court records to back up my points.  Discussing local news and political topics should not be viewed as an "attack." 

I'm not so naive as to claim this is a First Amendment issue.  Facebook is NOT the government, it's a private company whose services I'm using voluntarily, so the state is not infringing on my right to free speech.  However, if this is truly Facebook's policy and how they are going to enforce it, then I am seriously wondering if it's possible to have any political discussions on this site at all.

I have said all along, that if I am on Doug Guetzloe's enemies list, then I am doing something right.  I find it highly ironic that the Guetzloe Goonies are reporting me to FB for telling the truth about him, at the same time as they are engaging in attempts to spread malicious lies about me.  Guetzloe himself has emailed my clients, telling them I am under ethics investigation with the Florida Bar (not true - I even called to check to see if Guetzloe had filed a complaint against me) and he has emailed political candidates I work for telling them to fire me. 

Guetzloe and his supporters have also posted libelous and false things about me on the Sentinel blogs and on his Ax the Tax message boards, and elsewhere on the internet.  There is something seriously creepy going on when an overweight middle aged guy is constantly attacking a young woman by calling her a slut.  That's the go-to insult for anyone without a real argument, isn't it?  Can't argue with me on the facts and issues, so just lie and tell people I'm sleeping around?  The reality is far less interesting...I'm a single girl with a cat [insert easy joke here].  ;)

Anyway, I have turned off the automatic posting of my blog posts to this FB page.  I will post links here to the main blog page instead, so you'll still know when something new is posted. 

Thank you all for your support.

Sarah Elizabeth Rumpf

Selected Lyrics from "I Won't Back Down" - Tom Petty

Well I won't back down, no I won't back down
You could stand me up at the gates of hell
But I won't back down

Gonna stand my ground, won't be turned around
And I'll keep this world from draggin' me down
Gonna stand my ground and I won't back down

Well I know what's right, I got just one life
In a world that keeps on pushin' me around
But I'll stand my ground and I won't back down

Important Reading for anyone concerned about the "Florida Tea Party" third party

This is definitely one of the best summaries of the Fake Tea Party shenanigans I've seen yet...

The Smell In the Room: Controversy Over Florida’s New Ballot-Qualified TEA Party | RES PUBLICA

Read the article, the whole thing.  

Seriously.  Get out of here.  Go read that article.  I know I have a pretty little website here, with the lovely palm tree background, ahhh so nice, but go away, go read that article, and then you can come back here.

Forward it to your friends and family.  Forward it to everyone you know who is a registered voter in Florida. 

Thank you.

World Net Daily dumps Florida Tea Party as a sponsor

Love this...

WND's Miami conference dumps Florida Tea Party

World Net Daily is sponsoring a "Taking America Back National Conference" in Miami next month, and the Florida Tea Party Fake Tea Party had originally been listed as a sponsor of the event.  However, after WND's investigation led them to conclude that the group "was misrepresenting itself" FTP's sponsorship was rejected:

"We are returning the money this group paid for sponsoring the conference and rejecting its participation," said Joseph Farah, editor and chief executive officer of WND. "This event and the tea-party movement are not about making money. They are about changing the direction of our country. It's clear to me that the Florida Tea Party...has an agenda all its own."

Two thumbs up to World Net Daily for seeing the light about the Florida Tea Party. 

As expected, Doug Guetzloe and Peg Dunmire are screaming bloody murder about this, but too darn bad.  WND is a private organization and it has the right to refuse FTP's money and reject their sponsorship for any reason they chose.  It does not matter that the many lawsuits facing Guetzloe and FTP are not yet concluded; WND has the right to reject what their leadership views as a controversial group in order to avoid distractions from the purposes and goals of the event.  

I find it highly entertaining when Guetzloe & Gang cry that their First Amendment rights are being trampled when someone doesn't want to hear from them or doesn't want to invite them to something.  News flash: the First Amendment means you have a right to speak, it doesn't mean we have to listen...and it definitely doesn't mean we have to use our speech (or our time, energy, money, or resources) to promote your speech.  

Don't say I didn't warn you...

I have had several people tell me that they enjoy reading the blog, love the snarky humor, but also said, "I hope I never end up on your bad side!"  Well, fear not.  Nixon had an extensive "enemies list," but it's really easy to stay off my "list," two simple rules:

Rule #1: Don't lie.  If you do say something that's not true, then admit it, say you're sorry, and correct the mistake. 

Rule #2: Don't be a jerk.  Criticizing political opponents based on their voting record, the feasibility of their campaign promises, and their statements and actions is legitimate, and a valid way to illustrate differences between candidates.  Misrepresenting an opponent's record so you can call them a "liberal" or issuing personal attacks, not cool.    

So there you go.  Two simple rules.  Follow them, and you can sleep well at night without worrying I'm going to "target" you.  

Craig Miller got my attention after he misrepresented Karen Diebel's record on taxes and spending, and attempted to distort his own record on immigration.  Matthew Falconer gets attacked frequently here because it seems like every word out of his mouth is either a false attack on someone or a misrepresentation about local government.  As for Doug Guetzloe...wow, where to even begin with him and his Fake Tea Party?  Here's one example: at the recent Central Florida Tiger Bay Club debate between the Orange County Mayoral candidates, one of the few issues upon which all four candidates agreed was that they all publicly denounced Guetzloe and denied that they were working with him or would work with him.        

About two months ago, I wrote a post about Seminole County Commissioner Mike McLean's purchase of about $9,000 of new furniture for his office right after running a campaign claiming he was a "fiscal conservative."  Shortly after the post went up, I got a call from McLean's campaign manager, worried that I was planning a series of "hit pieces" on McLean.  I said, no, I didn't have any major issue with McLean, I actually had never even met him.

I also explained that I had known John Horan since I had a summer internship with his law firm back in 2002, and knew him to be a dedicated Republican and all-around good guy.  I had written the article about the furniture issue because I just thought it was kind of funny and there was a news article that easily verified the facts and details for me.  Doing a detailed "hit piece" on a county commissioner regarding specific votes, statements at county commission meetings, and policy positions requires a lot of time and energy to properly research, and I lacked the time or interest to scour over McLean's record like that.

I have continued to get messages from McLean staffers and supporters, worried about my involvement in the race, trying to argue with me about the minutiae of Seminole County Commission budget issues and McLean's voting history.  I don't know how many more times I can say this without turning blue in the face, but I am not working for the Horan campaign.  I've knocked on some doors once or twice, but that's it. 

It never ceases to amaze me how a certain mythology has risen up regarding me, this blog, and my political activities.  People have accused me of working for candidates I've never even met.  If I was working on even half of the campaigns I've been accused of working for, I'd be a millionaire.  Remember, campaign finance reports are public record.  If I'm working for a candidate, you'll see it eventually.  My work shows up on the reports as either my name or "Caffeinated Campaigns" or "Caffeinated Campaigns & Consulting, LLC." 

Since writing that article, I have met McLean at a recent HobNob event, and he certainly seemed like a friendly and affable fellow, exactly as I have heard him described.  Unfortunately, this nice and friendly-seeming guy has also made some extremely questionable and disappointing decisions regarding his campaign messaging.

The McLean campaign sent out a mailer comparing John Horan with Barack Obama and attempting to paint Horan as an amnesty-loving liberal.  Scott Maxwell doesn't always get his stories straight, but I think he has this one pegged pretty well:

Just by looking at [the McLean mail piece], one obviously assumes Mr. Horan is some sort of liberal, amnesty-loving Democrat who wants to take his open-border, Obama-loving ways to Washington, D.C.

Except he’s not.

Horan is a Republican. And the office he’s seeking isn’t federal. It’s for Seminole County commissioner — one that has virtually nothing to do with immigration.

But who cares? Immigration is the scare tactic and wedge issue of the day. So Seminole County Commissioner Mike McLean (who’s apparently a little nervous about his ability to retain his seat) decided to opt for scare tactics … whether they are relevant or not.

I don’t know John Horan. But I know McLean. He’s an affable enough guy — but also one who has a series of enough bone-headed (and sometimes ethically questionable) moves from his past that he’s right to be nervous.

But I don’t think he’s right to play these silly scare games. County commissioners have about 1,000 things more relevant to their jobs than immigration.  

Want proof? How about the fact that McLean’s been on the board for four years and hasn’t done a single thing regarding immigration. (He said he once tried, but the county attorney said his effort his proposal was unnecessary.)

That means that, if voters in Seminole elect a guy who does absolutely nothing with regards to immigration, they will have selected a guy who’s done precisely what McLean has accomplished when it comes to immigration: nothing.

I asked McLean about his mailer, and he said: “I stand by it and feel it is important for voters in the upcoming Republican Primary to be informed on my opponents views on key Republican issues.”

It’d probably be more important for them to be informed of you and your opponents’ views on Seminole County issues.

...Perhaps McLean’s nervous about the embarrassing headlines he’s made during this past term — including the time he reimbursed himself with almost as much taxpayer money for local mileage as the entire rest of the county commission combined.

There was also the time when — fresh off campaigning as a fiscal conservative — he spent more than $8,000 in taxpayer money redecorating his office … including $1,200 for a high-back chair. (McLean said he felt an obligation to make the office look nice, because it really belongs to the taxpayers.)

And then there was the time McLean  used county records to get the addresses of county employees, so he could solicit them for his insurance business. (His excuse? Just “trying to make a living.”)

Maybe you can see better now why McLean wants to distract voters. The question is: Will they fall for it?

Mike McLean should be ashamed of himself.  This despicable mailer is nothing more than a pathetic attempt to distract from his own record.  The Orlando Sentinel was right to endorse John Horan: 

Mr. McLean's early tenure on the commission was marred by episodes of poor judgment. He ordered more than $8,800 worth of new furniture for his county office. He obtained a list of hundreds of county employees to solicit as customers for his insurance business. He billed the county almost as much for travel in his first year as the other four commissioners combined.

These episodes would be easier to overlook now if Mr. McLean were more contrite. Instead, he dismisses them as having occurred during "different times," when public money wasn't so tight — as if it's OK to gouge a healthy budget.

And Mr. McLean has chosen to go after Mr. Horan for a 2008 guest column in the Sentinel that called on Congress to secure the nation's borders and permit "a market-driven flow of legal immigrants needed for the American economy."

Pretty reasonable stuff. And yet, Mr. McLean's campaign has likened him to President Obama. This is silly, and it's irrelevant in a county commission race.

We endorse John Horan.

So there you go.  Don't lie, and don't be a jerk, and you won't have a problem with me.  If Mike McLean or his campaign has a response to this, please email me or post a comment.  I would hope that the response would come with an apology, but I won't hold my breath.  

Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Political HobNob - some thoughts, gossip, and other random musings...

Last night, I attended the 2010 Political HobNob held by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Orlando at the Crowne Plaza Hotel by the airport.  Having attended what seems like a million of these HobNob events in the past few years, the HCCMO should be commended for the excellent job they did with this event. 

 

Of course with any large gathering of politicos, there's always something interesting going on.  Here's a few of my thoughts and observations from last night:

 

The way they handled the candidate speeches was great - lined up the candidates in groups, gave them 30 seconds each and that was it.  Short and sweet.

A lot of the candidates, even those who are not native speakers of Spanish, made an effort to at least say a few words in Spanish. Having attended other area Hispanic community political events over the past few years, I know that gesture is appreciated and a great way to show respect.

However, if you're attending a Hispanic event and you don't speak Spanish, that's fine, but for heaven's sake, don't just get up there and yell "Hola!" and then continue on in English.  Several candidates did this last night and sounded like total goobers.  Seriously though, how hard is it to learn a short phrase?  Try this: "gracias por su apoyo."  It means "thank you for your support."  Nice and polite.  C'mon now, if you're smart enough to run for office, you're smart enough to memorize four words.

Why do so many HobNobs insist on having attendees vote before they get inside the event and actually talk to the candidates?  Seems sort of silly to vote in a race where you don't know much about the candidates, when the actual candidates themselves are standing 50 feet away, waiting to meet you.

I was disappointed to see two of the guys running against one of my candidates putting up their yard signs and actively campaigning at the event, even though they hadn't bought a table.  It was very disrespectful of a great organization and all the hard work by the people who planned the event - it's just blatant, obnoxious, pathetic freeloading.  If you think the event is worthy enough to attend, then show some respect by buying a table.  

Music last night was fantastic.  Live guitar and singing.  Another fun bit was when they blasted the "Star Wars" theme before reading the results of the straw poll.  One of the things I like best about the Hispanic events is that while they take politics very seriously, they have fun too.

Yesterday was District 5 County Commission candidate Ted Edwards' birthday, and his present was a landslide victory in the straw poll.  He received 142 votes (40% of the vote), Doug Kinson, who did not attend the HobNob, received 66 votes (19%) and Robert Shelly Talley received 25 votes (7%).

Looks like the Republicans are in pretty good shape in our local Hispanic community.  Alan Grayson and Suzanne Kosmas both won their straw polls, but only because the Republican slates are so crowded.  I am confident that Republicans will rally behind our nominees in Districts 8 and 24 when we vote in November.  

 

Specifically in District 8, Grayson got 96 votes (27%), and the next top three vote-getters were all Republicans: Daniel Webster (68 votes, 19%), Kurt Kelly (40 votes, 11%), and Todd Long (38 votes, 11%).  "Other" candidates got 48 votes (14%) and Fake Tea Party candidate Peg Dunmire got 29 votes (8%).  So if you add up just the top three Republicans, you get 41%, and most of the "other" candidates on the ballot were Republicans as well (O'Donoghue, Sullivan, etc.) so the total votes cast for Republicans last night was probably close to 50%.  

 

This poll also shows what happens to Dunmire when the Republicans are included on the ballot.  Doug Guetzloe and his slime squad, I mean "supporters" were out in full force last night, and I assume that the approximately two dozen candidates and other people I saw wearing "Florida Tea Party" shirts and pins voted for their candidates.  So if you don't include the people that Guetzloe and Dunmire brought with them, the total votes she received would be in the single digits, or close to it.

Regarding District 24, Kosmas received 69 votes (20%), Sandy Adams received 63 (18%), Karen Diebel and Tom Garcia both tied at 50 votes (14%), and Deon Long 28 votes (8%).  So that gives total Republican votes at 54%, more than double what Kosmas received.  

Congrats to Teresa Jacobs, Bill McCollum, Marco Rubio, John Mica, Dean Cannon, Chris Dorworth, Bryan Nelson, Steve Precourt, John Horan, Fred Brummer, Rand Wallis, and Frank Attkisson on their straw poll wins.  

You can see full results of the straw poll here.  Note that all their percentages include under votes, which would not factor into the numbers when we cast our ballots in the real elections.  If I was feeling industrious, I would recalculate the above figures for the vote percentages, but I'm just not feeling like doing a lot of math this morning, sorry.  Anyone else want to do so, please post in the comments.

Managed to get my hands on a copy of Matthew Falconer's book last night.  It's already providing me with so much joy and entertainment.  From the back cover:

(click image to enlarge)

Good job, buddy.  You're running for the highest elected office in Orange County, and you can't even spell "government?"  Before you think I'm being overly critical, Falconer's book has been out for at least a year, and I've seen and heard plenty of other people comment on the numerous spelling and grammatical errors throughout the text (see, e.g., page 98, with the headline "SMALLL SCHOOLS").  He's had plenty of time to make corrections with new printings.  Really though, how do you miss such an obvious error on the back cover before going to print the first time?  And is someone who apparently can't even understand how to use his computer's spell-check program really competent to run Orange County?

Motion to Dismiss filed against Doug Guetzloe

Today, attorneys for South Florida Tea Party Movement activists filed a scathing Motion to Dismiss (coupled with an even-more-scathing press release) in the lawsuit filed against them by Florida Tea Party Fake Tea Party leader Doug Guetzloe:

No, Doug Guetzloe is not "winning" all of his lawsuits

When asked about the multiple lawsuits or criminal investigations that have been following him around for the past few years, Doug Guetzloe always brags that he is "winning" all the lawsuits and gets all the criminal charges "dismissed."  

Sorry, Doughboy, but, in the famous words of Congressman Joe Wilson, "You Lie!"

I've covered some of Guetzloe's past troubles here (most notably, that his constant claims that he has "won" the appeal and gotten his criminal conviction "overturned" are not true, merely that the 14 counts to which he pled no contest and for which he was convicted have now been consolidated into one count).

And now, today, something new and fun.  WKMG Local 6 posted today a copy of a October 2007 grand jury report on the "culture of corruption" at the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority, which was released to the public today after Guetzloe's lawsuit to keep the report private was officially rejected by the appellate court, after 18 months of legal acrobatics by Guetzloe's favorite attorney/attack dog, Fred O'Neal.  Read Local 6's article here.

The grand jury report describes how OOCEA paid $107,500 to Doug Guetzloe and his company, Advantage Consultants, for what was claimed to be a consulting fee for a public opinion study about paying tolls.  However, "no scope of work was delineated" for the work, and [n]o expectations or goals were outlined in writing" for Guetzloe's work, and all he apparently did was produce a "two and a quarter page" report.  

The grand jury report also describes how the Advantage Consultants contract was concealed by hiring them as a subcontractor and the normal OOCEA bidding process was circumvented.

Considering the short and flimsy report that was generated, the large fee that was paid, the efforts to conceal the contract, and Guetzloe's activities with "Ax the Tax," a group that had been a loud and vocal opponent to toll increases in the past, the grand jury came to what they termed the "inescapable conclusion" that the payment was "hush money," and notes that "a quieter Ax the Tax did seem to flow from the $107,500 payment to Doug Guetzloe."

The hypocrisy of this just amazes me.  Doug Guetzloe has championed himself as the local champion in all fights against tax increases for years, but here is yet another example of his support or opposition of an issue being for sale.  Toll increases are a form of a tax increase, and for him to do a complete 180 in his position on the issue after getting over a hundred thousand dollars illustrates, in my opinion, exactly how true and honorable (or should I say false and dishonorable) his beliefs really are.

Anyone associated with the Florida Tea Party should really question what's motivating Guetzloe's loyalty now.  If Guetzloe is for sale, who's paying the bill this year?

Best Typo EVER

As most of you know, there are several lawsuits between the Florida Tea Party Fake Tea Party, Doug Guetzloe, and some people involved with the actual tea party movement.  

Last week, the mediator assigned to the South Florida Tea Party litigation issued a Notice of Mediation Hearing, directing the parties and their attorneys to attend a mediation conference on September 20, 2010.  For my non-lawyer readers, this is basically a settlement conference conducted outside the courtroom, with the mediator acting as "referee" and trying to encourage the parties to settle the case.  

Anyway, this is all fairly standard civil litigation procedure (most judges require the parties to attempt mediation at least once before agreeing to set a case for trial), except for an absolutely delicious little typo in the caption:

"Dough" Guetzloe?  Awesome.  I've heard a number of people refer to ol' Dougie as a doughboy, but I guess it's legally official now.  ;)

Is Doughboy a fair nickname for Guetzloe?  Judge for yourself:

That's a pretty old picture.  Doughboy looked a little rounder last time I saw him.  You can see him in some videos from last month here.

Fake Tea Party starting to fall apart

Oh, this just makes me smile...

The Florida Tea Party Fake Tea Party has been having a rough time lately.  Doug Guetzloe's long-running relationship with Alan Grayson has been highlighted, WKMG Local 6 exposed several financial connections between Grayson, Guetzloe, and the Fake Tea Party, Guetzloe's radio program was canceled, and then Guetzloe, Fred O'Neal and several of their FTP candidates and operatives got into an embarrassing altercation at a recent press conference held by local tea party movement activists.

Now, this week, several of the FTP candidates for legislative seats withdrew from their races. Then, on Wednesday, Nick Egoroff publicly resigned as the party's Communications Director, and disassociated with the party altogether.  Egoroff and Guetzloe have been described by many as "thick as thieves" for several years, even to the point of both of them getting excommunicated from the Orange County Republican Executive Committee last year.  Time will tell whether this resignation is truly sincere, or some type of bizarre attempt at distraction, but in my personal opinion, I've never detected in Nick Egoroff the stench of scheming and corruption that always seems to follow after Guetzloe and O'Neal.

Keep up the good work, everyone.  There are many, many people working hard to keep shining a bright light on Doug Guetzloe, Fred O'Neal, the Fake Tea Party, and their nefarious activities, and we must not let up in the months to come.  Remember, cockroaches always flee from the light...

Central Florida Tea Party Council press conference

Here's this week's press conference with Jason Hoyt's speech in its entirety. You can see and hear Doug Guetzloe acting like a petulant child and a number of his Fake Tea Party buddies participating in the heckling. (The person who shouts "You lie!" was Jim "Heinie" Heinzleman, a TEA candidate running against Bryan Nelson...more on him later)

Central Florida Tea Party Council press conference 6-24-10 

A lovely portrait of Doug Guetzloe

Winter Garden is well-acquainted with the dirty tactics of Doug Guetzloe and his minions.  The most recent edition of the West Orange Times has a great editorial discussing Guetzloe, Alan Grayson, and Guetzloe's activities with the Fake Tea Party.  

 

Read it here:  

http://www.westorangetimes.com/articles/2010/06/24/news/editorial/editorial01.txt

 

The best part of the article, though, is their editorial cartoon depicted Guetzloe as a certain barnyard animal:

Well done, West Orange Times, well done.

   

Money Trail Links Grayson To Fla. Tea Party Consultant, Candidates - Video - WKMG Orlando

The latest report from Local 6...

Money Trail Links Grayson To Fla. Tea Party Consultant, Candidates - Video - WKMG Orlando

More Ugliness From Convicted Criminal Doug Guetzloe and his Thugs

Jason Hoyt and other members of the actual tea party movement (as opposed to the Florida Tea Party Fake Tea Party) held a press conference today at the Orange County Supervisor of Elections office, denouncing Doug Guetzloe and his minions for their activities with their third party, and their ties to Alan Grayson.

Here is a link to Jason's remarks this morning.  I encourage you to read it in its entirety.

Unfortunately, as often happens when you take on Doug Guetzloe, it gets messy.  Guetzloe showed up at the press conference with some of the Fake Tea Party candidates (I know  Peg Dunmire and Jim "Heinie" Heinzelman were there) and also several young tough looking guys.

Guetzloe and his thugs yelled insults at Jason and others during the press conference, harassed the tea party movement activists in attendance, pushed around members of the press, and I have a report that Doug himself said some very hateful words to a handicapped man who was there to support the tea party movement.

Here is a video Jason Hoyt took right after he finished his remarks.  You'll see Local 6 WKMG's Tony Pipitone attempting to question Guetzloe, while one of Guetzloe's goons puts his hands in front of the camera, pushes the cameraman, and yells.

Doug Guetzloe demonstrating his level of class

Local 6 will be running a story on all this tonight.  

Here's more coverage on the connection between the Grayson ads and Doug Guetzloe:

WKMG Orlando

Orlando Political Press

Doug Guetzloe is clearly getting desperate, and unfortunately it seems he may be dancing on the edge of becoming dangerous.  Today's altercation is only the latest example of Guetzloe's thuggery, threats, and nasty tactics.  

How Dunmire, Heinzelman, and rest of the Fake Tea Party candidates can continue to work with this convicted criminal and witness his unethical tactics, and then turn around and claim that they are just conservatives looking to reform government confuses the heck out of me.  Unbelievable.  

UPDATE:  Here's the Orlando Sentinel coverage of today's events.   
UPDATE: Here's Tom Tillison's discussion at Orlando Political Press.   Tom was there in person and saw all of the ugly, nasty behavior by Guetzloe and his goons, including the despicable attack on a handicapped man.
UPDATE: From FakeTeaParty.com