No, there isn't a Romney Conspiracy against Allen West

There's a quote oft attributed to Mark Twain, "A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes."

In the past few days, we could say that a lie can travel across twitter the same way.

I Support Sharon Day and Paul Senft

I've publicly said that I want Florida to have an early presidential primary date. I understand why people in Iowa and New Hampshire like their early primaries, but I don't think it's in the best interest of the country (e.g., Iowa's disproportionate power in the presidential primaries is a large part of the reason why we have the wasteful and destructive ethanol subsidies).

As a Republican, I want Florida to have a prominent role in picking our nominee. We are a large, diverse state with complicated issues, so any candidate who can succeed here has proven the ability to succeed on a national scale.

That being said, news has broken today that the committee in charge of setting Florida's primary date is planning on scheduling it for January 31, 2012. Earlier tonight, Republican Party of Florida's National Committeeman Paul Senft sent out an email criticizing this date and laying out his reasons for opposing it. After reading the email, I agree with Senft that we should wait until early March.

I've cut and pasted the email below the jump. Read, and judge for yourself:

Insiders say Adam Hasner is favorite to win GOP nomination

Here's an interesting survey conducted by the St. Pete Times:

St. Petersburg Times | The Buzz | The Fla Insider Poll: Adam Hasner is early favorite to win GOP Sen nomination

The Times reached out to people who they deemed to be "dozens of smart Florida politicos...the savviest political minds in the state - professional strategists, fundraisers, lobbyists, and grass roots activists" and questioned them about the 2012 U.S. Senate race in Florida. The respondents' names are listed in the article, but their responses are reported anonymously. Looking over the list, it does include a solid cross-section of known liberals, moderates, and conservatives from all over the state.

More than half of the 79 respondents said Adam Hasner was the most conservative candidate in the race, and 35 predicted that Hasner would win the GOP primary. Most also believe that Bill Nelson is likely to win re-election.

Nelson being tough to beat is a given. A long-time Democrat incumbent who's already raised millions of dollars and has the direct backing of the White House will definitely be a tough foe. But we're over a year away from the election, and a lot can happen in that time. Nelson's road to re-election will be a lot rockier if Obama's approval ratings continue to tank.

What really intrigues me about these results, however, is these are experienced politicos who know all the candidates, know the Floridian political landscape very well, and when questioned anonymously (i.e., they can answer freely without fear of reprisals from employers, co-workers, clients, etc.), they say that (1) Adam Hasner is the most conservative candidate, and (2) the most likely to win the primary. The results also show that neither Haridopolos nor LeMieux are viewed as very conservative, so that leaves Adam Hasner as the only actual conservative with a chance of beating Nelson.

I agree with my fellow conservative blogger Robert Stacy McCain: "it's important to unite conservatives behind one candidate," and Adam Hasner is the best choice.

There's a reason that conservative leaders like Erick Erickson, Mark Levin, Monica Crowley, Ken Blackwell, Hugh Hewitt, and others are with me on Team Hasner: we believe that the 2012 election is vitally important, and electing strong, principled conservative candidates is our best hope for getting our country back on track.

To learn more about Adam Hasner:

Adam Hasner official campaign website
Adam Hasner on Facebook
Twitter: @AdamHasner

[Cross-posted on The Minority Report Blog, RedState, and RedCounty]

UPDATE: RedState lets registered users cross-post their content as a "diary." Frequently, liberal bloggers and MSM writers will misinterpret these diary posts, quote one of them and say "Conservative blog RedState says _______!" I cross-posted this post over at RedState, and sent out this tweet as a joke...

This is what cross-posting on @RedState looks like. It does NOT mean @EWErickson said it, but I think he might agree! http://t.co/n7Qnbo7Thu Jul 07 02:53:45 via Tweet ButtonSarah Rumpf
rumpfshaker

...and Erick Erickson responded with this...

@rumpfshaker You might should recheck your post. ;)Thu Jul 07 03:12:18 via Twitter for MacErick Erickson
EWErickson

...and promoted my post to the front page of RedState! Very, very cool. Thanks, Erick.

Eeeeee! Check http://t.co/uP8D87n RIGHT NOW! My post about @AdamHasner is on the front page! #excitedThu Jul 07 03:22:07 via Tweet ButtonSarah Rumpf
rumpfshaker

Only $141,512.10 to go!

Senate President Mike Haridopolos justified his book deal with Brevard Community College by saying that the college would earn some money from the sale of the book.

Well, thanks to a public records request by liberal group Progress Florida, we now know how profitable the book has been for BCC:

$487.90

Ouch. The book, which BCC paid Haridopolos $152,000 to write, has earned less than five hundred bucks.

So, hey, only $141,512.10 to go! (Somehow I'm not optimistic.)

"Only $487.90? Really? Awww, darn!"

Note also that Progress Florida has set up a mean little website called "Dirty Hari," where they are gleefully publishing this lack-of-a-profit report and other negative items about Haridopolos. Florida Republican primary voters should look through that website and ask themselves if they think this is the best candidate for us to send up against Bill Nelson. This is what they are publishing now - they certainly won't get nicer during the general election.

Ouch! American Spectator has some harsh words for Haridopolos

In an article published yesterday, Larry Thornberry at American Spectator covered the Republican primary for the 2012 Senate race in Florida:

American Spectator | A Florida Senate Primer

Thornberry notes that Adam Hasner "appears to have a lead in the race to be crowned the real and true conservative," following the Marco Rubio campaign blueprint:

In a campaign that mimics Rubio's 2010 race both in ideology and strategy, Hasner is crisscrossing the state highlighting the urgency of cutting federal spending and regulation and following a strong foreign policy based on defending America's security interests. He was the first of the candidates to endorse the Ryan plan for dealing with Medicare.
 
Just as Rubio's 2010 campaign attracted the support of Florida and national conservative household names, bagging almost all of them well before Election Day, Hasner so far has collected the endorsements of conservative broadcasters Monica Crowley and Mark Levin, Red State's Erick Erickson, and Pass the Balanced Budget Amendment Chairman Ken Blackwell.

The article continues, noting that it will be difficult for George LeMieux "to rid himself of the Ghost of Charlies Past," and "deal with [his] image of a Washington insider," but Thornberry's harshest words are saved for Mike Haridopolos:

...Florida conservatives sniff that Haridopolos got far less than he could have, considering the Florida Legislature is 2-1 Republican and the governor and all cabinet members are Republican. His opponents particularly like to point out that Haridopolos was unable to get any meaningful immigration legislation...

...though Haridopolos is 41 he looks 25 and sounds 16. He has a high-pitched voice that is so squeaky it sounds like his nickname should be "Sparky." He can't help this, and it's not fair. But these things might cost him a few points. If he were running for student-body president he would be perfect.

Sparky? Like the cartoon fire safety dog?

Ouch. Not the best image for someone who wants to get taken seriously as a Senate candidate.

After Haridopolos' brutal ejection from the Ray Junior Show and end of session meltdown, it may be too late to makeover his image in the minds of Republican primary voters. Having the national conservative media basically call him a kid does not help.

Haridopocalypse: Mike Haridopolos meltdown on talk radio program

Mike Haridopolos' campaign strategy has been looking more and more like it's being run by the Titanic's navigation team. After what happened yesterday, it's getting closer to the Hindenburg-crashing-into-Titanic level of disaster.

Haridopocalypse 2012: World's Worst Campaign Strategy?

Haridopolos made an appearance on conservative talk radio host Ray Junior's program, and ran into a pile of trouble when he was asked about Paul Ryan's budget plan. Haridopolos repeatedly refused to answer the question, over and over, making Junior extremely frustrated, to the point where he kicked Haridopolos off the show.

Here's the video of how it all went down:

YouTube | RayJuniorShow | Tuesday May 31, 2011 - Haridopolos Kicked Off Show

Marc Caputo has an excellent blog post about the incident here, with a transcript of the show, and this great comment:

After repeated efforts to get a straight answer out of Haridopolos, the exasperated host finally said "get rid of him." Will voters do the same if Haridopolos keeps it up?

Exactly. I am absolutely flabbergasted that someone who wants to run for the United States Senate refuses to answer a simple question about how he would vote on a significant and current Republican budget proposal. Haridopolos' answer that his vote on the Ryan plan is nothing more than a "hypothetical" is one of the worst waffles I've heard from a politician in a long time.

The Waffle™: The Official Mascot of the Haridopolos 2012 Campaign

Someone needs to get Haridopolos a dictionary so he can look up "hypothetical." (Heck, it comes from a Greek word, "hupothetikos" so you would think he might understand it!) A hypothetical is a situation based on conjecture, a statement or idea thought to be true but unproven. The Ryan plan is no hypothetical. It's a real and specific budget plan that was brought up for a vote this week. It's on the internet! You can read the entire plan, along with summaries and discussion notes yourself.

Also, it's not like the Ryan plan just came out yesterday. Ryan's catchy little YouTube video describing his plan was posted on April 4th, almost two months ago. Haridopolos has had plenty of time to hire someone to read it for him and advise him what's in it. Instead, Haridopolos has repeatedly refused to give a direct answer about how he would have voted on this important legislation.

For the record, note that George LeMieux has also repeatedly ducked the question about whether he would have voted for the Ryan plan.

Only Adam Hasner has had the backbone to step forward and say that he would have voted for the Ryan budget, telling Ken Blackwell at the National Review that he would vote for it "without hesitation," because "the alternatives are rationed care and declining healthcare options, watching Social Security and Medicare slowly go bankrupt, or America faltering under the weight of unsustainable entitlement programs.”

Friends, we have three choices in the 2012 Republican Senate primary: a waffle, Charlie Crist's "maestro," or an actual conservative who has the backbone to give a straight answer to the vital question for any candidate for public office: how will you vote?
 

As for my vote, it's going to Adam Hasner.

UPDATE: Here's some more articles about Haridopolos' talk radio disaster:

RedState | Erick Erickson | Why Adam Hasner remains the conservative choice for Florida
POLITICO | David Catanese | Host hangs up on Haridopolos
Huffington Post | Mike Haridopolos Kicked Off Radio Show For Refusing To Say How He'd Vote On Paul Ryan's Budget (VIDEO) 
Post on Politics | Senate prez booted off conservative talk show
Orlando Sentinel | Central Florida Political Pulse | Haridopolos gets hung up on by Ray Junior Show
Orlando Sentinel | Orlando Opinionators | Mike Haridopolos implodes
Wall Street Journal | Radio Host Hangs Up On Mike Haridopolos After He Ducks Questions On Ryan Plan

UPDATE #2: The damage control efforts have begun. Good luck with that. Note that even in the text of a press release that was presumably written and vetted by his communications staff, he still isn't giving a direct answer.

The Shark Tank | Haridopolos Goes on the Record with Support of Ryan Plan
Orlando Sentinel | Central Florida Political Pulse | So Senator H., tell us what you really think

[Cross-posted at The Minority Report and RedState]

Allen West "Disappointed" in Senate's Failure to Pass E-Verify

Javier Manjarres, CPAC 2011 Blogger of the Year and Editor of The Shark Tank, interviewed Congressman Allen West after a recent town hall meeting and discussed the Florida Legislature's failure to include an E-Verify measure in this year's immigration bill.

West joined Rick Scott and many other Floridians in being disappointed in the failure of the Legislature to pass the tough immigration reform that was promised at the start of session.

Among other politicos that have expressed concern and disappointment of this failed measure is Congressman Allen West. West has long been a supporter of ‘legal immigration’, [supports the] movement to secure the nation’s borders, has expressed his concerns over the threat of illegal immigration and the criminal element that comes with this threat.

At his townhall meeting in Pompano Beach, Florida, West expressed to the 200+ attendees that he felt that the Legislature let down Floridians, and later lamented on this very issue after the townhall ended...

YouTube | Thesharktank1 | Allen West Disappointed in Florida E-Verify Debacle

Let's be clear about what happened with the immigration bill. 

By "legislature" he really means "Florida Senate." RT @THESHARKTANK
Allen West Disappointed in FL Legislature E-Verify http://bit.ly/imJhBSWed May 18 01:13:53 via webAlberto Martinez
albertemartinez

Senate President Mike Haridopolos promised E-Verify would be a part of the bill at the beginning of session, the House's version of the bill included E-Verify. but the Senate was unable to get their act together. The blame for the failure of this important immigration reform lies with the Senate, and nowhere else.

He ain't the only one. RT @THESHARKTANK1: Allen West Disappointed in FL Legislature over E-Verify http://bit.ly/imJhBS #sayfieWed May 18 00:47:12 via ÜberSocialSarah Rumpf
rumpfshaker

Congressman West, I share your disappointment that E-Verify failed this year. It's sad and pathetic that so many promises were made and now we're left with, well,  nothing but more promises about what the Senate plans to pass "next year."

Yeah. I'll believe it when I see it. Fool me once...

[Cross-posted at RedCounty]

Discussing the Senate race on yesterday's Ed Dean Radio program

Yesterday I was a guest on the Ed Dean Radio show to discuss the  Florida Republican primary candidates for the 2012 Senate race. You can listen to the show here (I'm on at the top of the second hour):

Ed Dean Radio | May 17, 2011

Matthew Falconer appeared at the beginning of the program. Yes, that Matt Falconer.

Falconer attempts to defend an article he wrote defending Senate President Haridopolos' management of the Senate this year, an article for which he is rightfully getting shredded.

Falconer gets confused several times about what he's trying to say, flip-flopping from his  article's "most conservative Senate" statement to whine that Haridopolos' failures were due to the Senate being filled with liberals. Ummm, can't have it both ways, Matt. Either it's the "most conservative" Senate or they're a bunch of Lefties.

He also laughably claims he is not defending Haridopolos but then turns around and attacks anyone who would criticize Haridopolos, saying that it risks muddying up the eventual Republican nominee and making them vulnerable against a Democrat opponent.

What. A. Hypocrite.

This is the same Matthew Falconer who lied so much during his failed Orange County mayoral campaign, I'm surprised his pants didn't spontaneously combust.

He lied in his attacks on Teresa Jacobs, most egregiously sending out mailers and robocalls falsely claiming Jacobs was pro-abortion. Gosh, Matt, if the rule is "don't criticize Republicans," I'm fairly sure that covers making up complete and total lies to attack a Republican.

But Falconer has a long history of making up figures when it suits him and telling blatant lies, getting caught, and almost always refusing to apologize or issue a correction.

So, yeah, if Matthew Falconer wants to be the champion for Mike Haridopolos, I think that's perfect...

...because only someone with a history of being a blatant and unapologetic liar, only someone who is very talented at sticking his head in the sand and ignoring obvious facts, only someone whose political ambitions lack an anchor in reality, could look at Mike Haridopolos' disastrous legislative session, failure on the immigration issue, and rude dismissal of the tea party and still call him a great, conservative, tea party candidate.

Make sure to tune in to my part of the program too (starts at the top of the second hour), where we debunk Haridopolos' attempts to dodge blame for the crash-and-burn of E-Verify, have a good laugh at Charlie Crist's expense, and discuss other factors that may impact the 2012 Senate race.

UPDATE: Matthew Falconer sent me an email this morning, saying that he apologized to Teresa Jacobs for lying and saying that she was pro-choice. I checked with someone with Jacobs' campaign and verified that, yes, Falconer did apologize after the primary. So I've corrected the statement above that "Falconer has a long history...of refusing to ever apologize or issue a correction" to "Falconer has a long history of...almost always refusing to apologize or issue a correction."

But the larger point is that he shouldn't have said it in the first place. To make the accusation that someone is pro-abortion in a Republican primary when the candidate has never, ever made a statement to that effect, and your source is just some person passing on unfounded hearsay ("I heard she was pro-choice...") is outrageous. Falconer admits this in his email, stating that, "with that issue I should have heard it directly from the candidate."

My point exactly. Falconer has an ugly habit of creating out of thin air an attack to throw at an opponent and his excitement for the battle leaves him no time for fact checking.

UPDATE #2: Falconer also posted his email as a comment to this post, which you can see below. I don't have time to go line-by-line through all of it, but there are a few points I'd like to make.

Falconer repeats Doug Guetzloe's lie that I made "vile attacks" on Rick Scott. I endorsed Bill McCollum in the primary and did write some posts supportive of McCollum and critical of Scott but also wrote a lot of favorable things about Scott after he was our nominee and I had a chance to meet him (see here, here, and here). I thought it would be dishonest and hypocritical to go back and purge this blog of the posts I wrote in favor of McCollum, so I left them as is. The Rick Scott campaign clearly thought I was on their team, as they invited me to be listed on the blogroll on their campaign website, and I also did a lot of volunteer work for the campaign.

Falconer slams me for using the "politics of personal destruction" and suggests that it's not acceptable to criticize other Republicans. Again, I say: what a hypocrite. Falconer is absolutely lousy at practicing what he preaches. The Orange County Mayor's race was just last year - we all remember the attacks he waged on Teresa Jacobs, and can easily do a Google search to refresh our memories.

More recently, Falconer accused any legislator who performs consulting work as being corrupt per se. "Per se" is a Latin phrase meaning "by itself," meaning that the accusation stands on its own without any further proof needed. In other words, Falconer is suggesting that the mere fact that some elected officials who work as consultants or in the business sector is automatic, irrefutable proof that they are corrupt. One legislator that Falconer singles out is State Senator Mike Fasano, a Republican. As usual, Falconer's rule that no one is allowed to criticize Republicans must not apply to him.

There are many, many other examples of Falconer attacking Republicans, usually with little merit behind the attacks. Back in March, he wrote a post viciously attacking Congressman John Mica, claiming that Mica had awarded two $1.6 million earmarks to two companies that contributed $500.00 and $1,250.00 to his campaign fund. Seriously? Look, special interests' influence on elected officials is a legitimate topic of concern, but accusing a Republican Congressman of selling his vote for $500.00 is just plain ridiculous.

I also find it interesting that Falconer goes after me for criticizing Haridopolos, saying "Instead of tearing down Mike I plan to continue to influence him to get more conservative legislation accomplished," but apparently that same standard does not apply to Congressman Mica. If Falconer is going to write the rulebook for how conservatives are allowed to act, then maybe he should figure out how to agree with himself on what those rules are first.

Falconer also directs me to "try outlining policy differences." That's funny, that's exactly what I am doing when I point out issues with legislation and how this year's session went. If a Republican is doing something that in my opinion is unethical or not true to conservative principles, I'm going to criticize them.

Erick Erickson, the Editor of RedState, has stated that RedState's mission is "to fight the left and clean up the right," and that their philosophy is to be "conservatives in primaries and Republicans in general elections." I couldn't agree more with both of those statements, and I will continue to exercise my First Amendment rights to point out when Republicans are failing to "walk the walk."

Adam Hasner: Conservative Before It Was Cool

I had the privilege of meeting with potential (hopefully soon-to-be-actual) Senate candidate Adam Hasner earlier this week when he was visiting Central Florida. To best understand Hasner, we need to review a little Florida political history...

Orange you glad I'm no longer Governor?

In 2006, Floridians elected a very friendly Ooompa-Loompa named Charlie Crist to be our Governor.

Charlie was very, very popular. In fact, he was so popular, he was convinced that he was very special and the normal rules of politics did not apply to him.

Charlie was elected as a Republican, but almost immediately turned to the left.  Charlie and his friend George LeMieux told all the other Republicans that they needed to be more "moderate" and act more like the Democrats.

While Charlie and George were trying with all of their might to steer our state to the left, some of the people who actually liked being Republicans pushed back. One of those people was Marco Rubio, who was the Speaker of the House.

Charlie wasn't the only one with a friend. Marco had a friend named Adam Hasner, and Marco picked Adam to be the Majority Leader. Marco and Adam fought together against Charlie's liberal policies while they were both in the Legislature.

Charlie did a lot of stuff to make conservatives unhappy. Then, in 2009, Charlie decided to run for Senate instead of running for re-election as Governor, and Marco ran against him. Marco's friend Adam supported him from Day One.

At the beginning of the race, Charlie claimed he was a "Jeb Bush Republican" and a good conservative, but it didn't work.

Charlie officially abandoned the party that he'd philosophically left years ago, and attacked Marco, saying he was "too conservative," and "too extreme." It didn't work.

Then, Charlie tried snuggling up to Democrats, tried to bully Kendrick Meek out of the race. That didn't work either.

Charlie ran a TV ad, claiming that as an independent, he was better than Democrats and Republicans. That also didn't work.

Charlie chased after polls, did whatever focus groups and consultants told him to do, pretty much just blew around in the wind like a plastic bag, but nothing Charlie tried worked and Marco won the election. 

So now where are we today?

Democrat Bill Nelson is up for re-election in 2012, and Republicans are starting to line up for the chance to challenge him. Some people have officially entered the race, some have exploratory committees, some are just talking about it, but no matter what, it's going to be an interesting primary.

So who should we pick? Who's the best candidate?

Well, in my opinion, I have been very impressed with what Marco Rubio has done since winning the election. Marco's done more than just vote the party line, he's been a voice for conservative principles. He's resisted the pressure of the media, K Street, and even the GOP leadership to stand strong and fight for what he believes in. He's been an especially strong advocate on fiscal issues.

I've met Mike Haridopolos and George LeMieux several times. They're nice, friendly guys. But so was Charlie. I want more than nice. More importantly, with the problems our country is facing right now, we need more than nice: we need tough.

Back when Adam Hasner was in the Legislature, battling with Charlie Crist, his position was (as it it today) that Republicans "don't need to be less partisan, we need to be more principled."

I want a Senator who will go to Washington and stand strong, stick to conservative principles. I want a Senator who will refuse to cave under pressure. I want someone who knows what it means to be a conservative, someone who doesn't just know how to say the sound bites and slogans, but who carries the philosophy deep in their heart. I'm looking for a candidate who doesn't just say "I'm a conservative" because it's cool and trendy now, but who actually is a conservative. I want to be able to point at a track record, a voting history, and be satisfied that the overall scope of it is unequivocally, undoubtedly, unquestionably conservative.

There's only one Marco Rubio. But he's one heckuva fantastic blueprint to follow for a conservative Senate candidate.  

Who better to send to the Senate to work with Rubio to fight against the liberal policies of Barack Obama and Harry Reid, than the very man who worked with Rubio to fight against the liberal policies of Charlie Crist and George LeMieux?

 If you call yourself a conservative, then Adam Hasner is your candidate. As soon as he officially announces his candidacy, he will also officially have my endorsement. I support him enthusiastically and without reservation.

Last night, Adam Hasner spoke at an event sponsored by the Eastern Orlando Tea Party and the Seminole County / Altamonte Springs Tea Party. I recorded the entire speech and want to share it with you so you can see for yourself.


Adam Hasner - 04.06.2011 from Sunshine State Sarah on Vimeo.

Hasner's own words, near the end of the speech:

I can tell you this, this is not going to be an easy challenge to undertake...I'm going to be outraised and outspent.

I know that some of them are going to try and reinvent themselves in 2012 as conservatives, after years and years and years of fighting against the conservative agenda.

Why? Because now, it's actually popular to be a conservative. The good news for me is that in 2012, I don't have to reinvent myself as a conservative. I can go out with the same passion and the same energy that I have every year prior to talk about the issues and the challenges that we face.

But I can't do it alone. I need your help.

If you are looking for another voice, if you are looking for a strong voice on economics, if you are looking for a strong voice on national security and on social issues, who is going to stand up and speak out and challenge on these issues, even when it's not popular, I would ask you to join me...

To learn more about Adam Hasner:

Adam Hasner website
Adam Hasner on Facebook
Twitter: @AdamHasner

Adam Hasner, hopefully my next Senator!

[Cross-posted at The Minority Report, Red County, and RedState]

UPDATE: Since Adam Hasner has now officially declared his candidacy, he also officially has my enthusiastic endorsement.

Now that I've met him, here's some more thoughts on Rick Scott

Kudos to the Orange County Republican Executive Committee yesterday on a great Republican Unity Rally yesterday.  It was great to see so many local elected officials, candidates, party activists, volunteers, and supporters.  The room was packed, standing room only.  After talking with my friends who set out the chairs we estimated the crowd at 275-300 people.  

It was great to see incoming Speaker of the House Dean Cannon and Senate President Mike Haridopolos speak so eloquently about party unity and their sincere and honest acknowledgment of Rick Scott's primary victory.

Here's part of Haridopolos' statement to Fox 35 News last night:

[Rick Scott] has done a really good job of focusing on what's most important - creating jobs and opportunities in this state.  He's got a track record of creating jobs, high quality jobs, and that's what we're focused on.

...[T[he Republican Party is unified - Jeb Bush, myself, Dean Cannon, we've all rallied behind Rick Scott.  The voters have spoken, they want Rick Scott to be the Republican nominee, [and] I strongly support him.

...Jeb Bush, the incoming Speaker, the incoming [Florida Senate] President, the party chairman John Thrasher, we're all rallying behind Rick Scott because the voters matter, they're the ones who are the ultimate endorsement.

Well said, Senator.  I strongly believe that one of the major challenges facing RPOF (as well as the Republican Party nationally) stems from a failure to remember that the voters are the ones who matter.  Jim Greer is now 0 for 3 in getting his chosen statewide candidates across the finish line, as his attempts to clear the fields for Bill McCollum, Jeff Kottkamp, and most spectacularly Charlie Crist, have all fallen short.  

As for Scott himself, he gave a warm and heartfelt talk thanking everyone for their support, and pledging dedication to the conservative ideals that Republicans all share.  This was the first time I saw him speak in person, and I'm not easily impressed by politicians,  can smell a canned speech from a million miles away, but it was a solid speech.  He received a lot of applause and even several standing ovations.  

Keep in mind that Orange County is McCollum's home turf.  There were a lot of people in the room that were not just McCollum supporters, but personal friends with Bill and Ingrid.  Scott was respectful of the situation and gracious in his victory.  I believe Scott's positive speech last night went a long way towards speeding up the healing process and unifying the party.

Here's a photo from Scott's speech, with former Governor Martinez, Haridopolos, Cannon, Daniel Webster, and Sandy Adams behind him, and his wife Ann by his side:

After the speech, I had the opportunity to meet Scott, as well as his charming wife Ann.  In person, Scott is warm and genuine, gave me a solid handshake, looked me in the eye, asked my name and thanked me for my support.  Also, in real life he looks a lot less like Voldemort. ;)  Seriously, though, he really does seem to have a natural and charming friendliness about him and a sincere belief in conservative issues.

I think the Democrats are vastly underestimating Rick Scott.  I can't think of anything new Alex Sink can throw at him that McCollum and his backers didn't already try.  It will be very hard to get the voters' attention with the same old message that they didn't seem to buy during the primary.

As I said a few days ago, I'm in the process of reading through Scott's platform and I really like what I'm seeing.  There's a common-sense practicality to his approach to issues that I find refreshing.  You can read for yourself on the "Issues" section of his website.

I must admit too that I really like the idea of an elected official that doesn't owe a darn thing to any of the typical power brokers, isn't held hostage by the media, isn't in debt to the party structure, and is absolutely independent of the lobbyists and special interests.  

Mike Thomas of the Orlando Sentinel summed up Rick Scott's independence well in his commentary in Sunday's paper, noting that "Scott's appeal is based on his separation from the corrupt, rusting machinery of political parties and special-interest groups:"

For those of us in the media, the worrisome thing about Scott...is that he has completely dissed us at a time when we are feeling very insecure about our role as major players.

He treats us like Tiger Woods treats golf reporters.

He doesn't answer our questions or take our advice.

He doesn't pay homage to our editorial boards.

He just blows us off and buys another round of ads.

And it's working. Thirty seconds on "Dancing with the Stars" trumps 30 pages of media rants.

Meanwhile, the guy who played by our rules, Bill McCollum, lost.

Every major newspaper endorsed McCollum, and he lost.

That raises a very disturbing question. What if the other politicians see this and think, "Hey, maybe he's on to something.''

By no means are we the only Lilliputians exposed by Scott.

He treats Republican Party bosses with equal disdain because they are Exhibit A in his crusade against career politicians. They threw every dime and every endorsement at their favorite career politician. And he lost.

Even worse, Jeb Bush campaigned for McCollum. And he lost. Losing a Republican primary with Jeb's endorsement is like being rejected at the pearly gates when you arrive arm in arm with St. Peter.

The Republican special interests turned their backs on Scott — the social conservatives, the business interests, even Big Sugar.

...The fear of a renegade candidate is eclipsed only by the fear of a renegade governor.

The next few months will show whether Rick Scott really deserves the "renegade'" moniker (I must admit I am having reluctant flashbacks to the overuse of "maverick" during McCain's train wreck of a campaign in 2008) but I've got a pretty good feeling about his chances for success in November.  

One thing is certain: politics in the Sunshine State is guaranteed to continue to be interesting for quite a while...

UPDATE: Frank Torres, once again, took great pictures at last night's event...and his commentary is not to be missed.  Check out his blog here.