For Massachusetts voters, Red Sox fans, and anyone in a blue state

In all the election coverage I've read in the past month or so, one of the posts that stuck out as making a particularly good argument was written by Cat del Valle Castellanos at CNN.

In the post, Castellanos responds to a recent CNN piece about undecided young female voters, and says that she had made a choice, and that she was voting for Mitt Romney.

Rejecting any suggestion that she was merely adopting the politics of her Republican strategist father, Castellanos goes on to articulate several well-reasoned arguments for her support for Romney, including this passage:

Orlando Sentinel Endorses Romney for President!

Wow. The Orlando Sentinel has endorsed Mitt Romney for president, and it's a solid endorsement (as well as a brutal takedown of the many failures of the Obama administration):

This is a MUST READ:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/os-ed-endorsement-president-mitt-romney-101912-20121018,0,6927962.story

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:

Sigh. I'm revoking my endorsement for Judge Plogstedt.

I hate to do this. Hate, hate, hate it. I've met Judge Plogstedt several times, and like her personally. She has done a lot of great work to support our alma mater, the University of Florida College of Law. But there have some shenanigans in this race, and I am no longer willing to sign my name to it.

Sarah Palin robocall urges voters to support "conservative reformer" Sandy Adams

Sarah Palin, who endorsed Sandy Adams in the Republican primary for Florida's Seventh Congressional District, recorded a robocall in support of her campaign:

Join Sandy Adams tomorrow for a major endorsement

Sandy Adams' campaign sent out a press release earlier today about an event tomorrow in Winter Park hosted by Tea Party Express, and Amy Kremer, the Chair, will be in attendance to announce the organization's latest Congressional endorsement.

I don't think this is really revealing anything, but it is safe to assume that if the announcement is being sent on Adams' campaign email, that the endorsement is for her. Tea Party Express will be joining Sarah Palin, Allen West, RedState's Erick Erickson, and many other conservative leaders and organizations in supporting Sandy Adams in the District 7 Republican primary.

I'll be there in Winter Park tomorrow. Hope you can join us! Here is the announcement:

BREAKING: Allen West endorses Sandy Adams

"I fully endorse Sandy Adams...she represents a new generation of Republican
Conservatives who have come to the Halls of Congress to find solutions..."

Sandy Adams locked in another powerful endorsement for her reelection campaign today from one of her fellow freshmen members of Congress, Allen West.

Sandy Adams on Greta: "Washington as Usual Has Got to Stop."

Freshman Congresswoman Sandy Adams was on Fox News Channel's "On The Record" with Greta Van Susteren last night regarding her calls for a Congressional investigation into a multi-million dollar conference held by the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Manufacturing Extension Partnership at a resort near Walt Disney World in Orlando:

BREAKING: Sarah Palin endorses Sandy Adams for Congress!

BREAKING NEWS: Sarah Palin has endorsed Sandy Adams in the Republican primary for Florida's Seventh Congressional District.

Palin's endorsement follows a series of conservative endorsements for Adams such as National Right to Life, Concerned Women for America, Maggie's List, the SBA List, the Central Florida Tea Party Council, David Barton, Sheriff Joe Arapaio, RedState's Erick Erickson (and yours truly!).

Here is the press release from Sandy Adams' campaign:

Turning Massachusetts Red

As you know, I am in Massachusetts right now, helping Sean Bielat's Congressional race. I miss my family and friends in the Sunshine State, but this has been an incredible experience so far. One of the more interesting aspects for me has been observing the activities of the Massachusetts Republicans, and some very promising developments in conservative grassroots activism around the southeastern part of the state.

FreedomWorks endorses Mack, calls LeMieux a RINO

Try as he might, he just can't get
 the Oompa Loompa off his back.

Throughout his campaign to be Florida's next Senator, George LeMieux has claimed that he had a "conservative" voting record during the sixteen months he served in the United States Senate after former-Governor-and-former-Republican Charlie Crist appointed him.

I thought that was nonsense, and a little quick research gave me several good examples why in a post I wrote back in September:

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

How this right-wing nut came to vote for Romney

I voted for Mitt Romney last week during early voting. To be completely honest, if you had told me that I would vote for Romney last year, I would have laughed at you. It took me a long time to make that decision, and I did not make the decision lightly.

I also spent some time debating about how publicly I was willing to discuss my vote. Considering that one of the major services I provide for my political clients is paying attention to what teh internets are saying, I'm well aware that Romney is not popular in certain circles. However, there are a number of points I'd like to share.

Scott Plakon, the Lucky Charm Legislator

They put athletes on Wheaties boxes. Maybe they
should replace the leprechaun with Scott Plakon?

There's being in the right place at the right time, and then there's Florida State Representative Scott Plakon.

Plakon seems to be a lucky charm for presidential candidates: within 24 hours of his endorsement, things start going well for that candidate - very well.

I endorse Eric Lasso for Orange County Commissioner

A friend of mine from college, Eric Lasso, announced today that he is running for the District 3 Seat on the Orange County Commission. I enthusiastically endorse Eric without reservation, and encourage you to check him out and consider supporting him as well.

BREAKING: Rick Perry dropping out of race; endorsing Newt Gingrich

Fox News just announced that Governor Rick Perry will announce today that he is dropping out of the presidential race, and that he will endorse Newt Gingrich.

Sarah Palin sorta-kinda-almost endorses Newt [VIDEO]

Tonight on Hannity, Sarah Palin gave the Newt Gingrich campaign one heckuva sound bite. After praising his performance at last night's debate ("I do think that Newt is the one that won the debate"), Palin danced on the edge of an endorsement:

Nikki Haley to endorse Romney? [UPDATED: Yes, she did]

POLITICO is reporting that a major endorsement is coming Mitt Romney's way:

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.

Does Emperor Romney Have No Clothes?

For months, we've been hearing that Mitt Romney is the "presumptive Republican nominee." He's the permanent frontrunner, the "inevitable" candidate, the polished professional running a machine-like campaign. Each stumble by any other candidate has been viewed as bequeathing benefits to Romney, further forging his armor as the almighty invincible candidate.

"But he isn't wearing anything at all!"

But is Romney really invincible? Is his selection as the Republican nominee for President really inevitable? Or does Emperor Romney have no clothes?

Interview with Karen Harrington [VIDEO]

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:


YouTube | Karen Harrington at #BlogCon11