LIBRE Initiative launches new Spanish TV ad in Orlando

The LIBRE Initiative, a conservative organization focused on Hispanic outreach, launched a television ad for Spanish television stations in the Orlando market during this last week before the election, with a simple yet powerful message:

Florida is Romney Country

Mitt Romney just finished speaking at his last event in Florida before the election in front of an overflowing crowd at a hangar at the Sanford Airport (just north of Orlando, for those of you not familiar with the area):

FreePAC is in Florida today! Watch the livestream here!

I'm in Orlando for FreePAC today, and it's so nice to be home for one last short trip before the election. FreedomWorks has been doing an amazing job with these events, and the FreePAC last week in Phoenix, Arizona was a blast.

Today's lineup of speakers includes:

Glenn Beck, Florida Senate candidate Connie Mack, Florida Congressional candidate Trey Radel, Judge Napolitano, Matt Kibbe, Reverend C.L. Bryant, Deneen Borelli, and more.

(ICYMI, check out my interview last week with Reverend C.L. Bryant for FTR Radio here, and the rest of the FTR Radio interviews from all the FreePAC events so far this year here.)

You can watch all the festivities on the livestream, which I've embedded below (if it doesn't work, go to live.freedomworks.org). We officially kickoff at 4:00 pm but FTR Radio is doing some pre-show interviews now.

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

Florida: "All your primary are belong to us"

Now the REAL battle begins.

Here's the score so far...

Mitt Romney (Oops, just kidding!) Rick Santorum won the Iowa caucuses,

Romney won the New Hampshire primary, and...

Newt Gingrich won in South Carolina last night. (Final tally: Gingrich 41%, Romney 27%, Santorum 17%, Paul 13%.)

Some tweets from last night's results that I found interesting:

Walt Disney World, The Place Where Dreams Come True...Unless Obama is in Town

President Barack Obama is visiting us here in Orlando today, to give a speech "unveiling a strategy that will significantly boost tourism and travel" and "aid job growth." Apparently the strategy includes a series of executive orders that will not require Congressional approval.

"Cut Spending Now" event tonight in Orlando

~ TODAY ~ 5:30 - 6:30 pm ~

Sheraton Downtown Orlando Hotel

400 W. Livingston St.

Orlando, FL 32801

More details here.

AFP's "Cut Spending Now" Tour in Florida this week [UPDATED]

Americans for Prosperity's "Cut Spending Now" Tour kicked off in Florida today. Here's the link to all the details on AFP  Florida's website, and here's the next few stops:

Listen to Sarah on WMFE 90.7 FM

Orlando's National Public Radio station, WMFE, is starting a new weekly program called "Conservative Voices," and I've been invited to be one of the commentators:

WMFE | Conservative Voices

About Conservative Voices

Conservative Voices is a weekly commentary segment where political consultant, blogger and attorney Sarah Rumpf along with Fred Leonhardt who was voted one of the Top 25 Power Players in Orlando will talk Politics, public policy and more from a conservative point of view.

The segments will air every Wednesday at 1:59 pm. You can listen at 90.7 FM in Central Florida, or www.wmfe.org online.

I've already recorded my first segment and you can tune in this week on October 12th. Make sure to tune in every week to see what Fred and I have to say!

Shameless plug: Some media appearances regarding the Florida Straw Poll

Here's a few media appearances I did over the past week regarding CPAC Florida, the Presidency 5 debate and straw poll, and reaction:

American Spectator | Herman Cain's Magic Moment (quoted in article about Scott Plakon's endorsement of Herman Cain the day before the straw poll)

Flashpoint | 09.25.11 | Guests: Justin Sayfie, Sarah Rumpf, Bill Mick (click link to view video; site does not allow embedding their videos)


YouTube | Sarah Rumpf on Fox 35 Orlando discussing Cain's Florida Straw Poll Win

Adam Hasner's CPAC Florida Speech

CPAC is definitely comfortable turf for Florida Senate candidate Adam Hasner. Here's the video of his speech...you can tell he's having a great time:


YouTube | CPACNews | Adam Hasner at CPAC Florida

Join #TeamHasner:

Adam Hasner website
Adam Hasner on Facebook
Twitter: @AdamHasner

Should have seen it coming [VIDEO]

Herman Cain's straw poll win at Presidency 5 sent shockwaves through the political world. For those of us who were lucky enough to be in Orlando last week, we really should have seen it coming.

The evidence...

2 + 2 about Adam Hasner's CPACFL straw poll win

Herman Cain wasn't the only big winner last week; Florida Senate candidate Adam Hasner also won the CPAC Florida straw poll, with 34% of the vote in a four-way race.

This post is titled "2 + 2" because I've got two important points about this victory and two great video interviews to share with you:

Phone call with Herman Cain

After Herman Cain won the Presidency 5 straw poll, I found State Representative Scott Plakon and his wife Susie in the convention center lobby and we called one of the Cain staffers who had set up the meeting where Plakon had endorsed Cain.

A very happy Team Cain was already on their way to the airport, but Herman Cain had time to briefly chat with us on the phone about how pleased he was with the straw poll results and how grateful he was for Plakon's support. They were nice enough to let me record the call, and I'm happy to share it with you here:

HERMAN CAIN WINS #FloridaP5 straw poll!

"A hurri-CAIN has hit Florida!"
- State Representative Scott Plakon

Scott Plakon endorses Herman Cain [VIDEO]

I was proud to be a witness to State Representative Scott Plakon's endorsement of Herman Cain last night. Representative Plakon is one of my favorite legislators, and it has been great to watch him become a strong, conservative leader in the Florida House. He and his wife Susie and their family are also some of the nicest people you could ever meet, and I am blessed to be able to call them friends.

The impact of this endorsement should not be underestimated. Scott Plakon may not be well known (yet) outside the state of Florida, but he is extremely well-liked here and very active in conservative political causes around the state. Americans for Prosperity's Florida Chapter named him their 2011 State Representative of the Year, and he has been a leader in opposing ObamaCare, sponsoring the Florida Health Care Freedom Act. Plakon is a solid fiscal and social conservative and has owned and operated several successful businesses; he is the exact type of state leader Republican presidential candidates should want on their team.

[more commentary and video after the jump]

BREAKING: State Rep Scott Plakon is endorsing Herman Cain for President!

AFP State Representative of the Year Scott Plakon has decided to endorse Herman Cain for the Republican nomination for President!

I was lucky enough to be in the room as the two of them discussed being business owners and the presidential race. Both Cain and Plakon are committed to retiring Barack Obama and bringing new conservative leadership to Washington. 

This is yet another example of how CPAC Florida & Presidency 5 are shaping the narrative for Florida Republican politics!

I have a short video I'll post later. Stay tuned!

The Truth About the Booing at the Debate

It's after 3:00 am and I have to get up early for another fun-packed day tomorrow (CPAC FLORIDA!) but I want to put this on the record now about an incident that happened at tonight's Republican debate. It's important that the truth is shared, because I have already seen liberal bloggers and some people on Twitter completely distorting what happened.

The debate included video questions that were submitted on YouTube, and one came from a soldier serving in Iraq who is gay and asked about the candidates' opinions on don't ask don't tell. There was audible booing after his question...however, please note that it was not the crowd booing. It was only one or two people.

I was at the debate, in the audience on the right hand side about halfway back (here's my tweet of the video screen that was right in front of us). The person who booed was just a few rows in front of us. The booing got an immediate and angry reaction from nearly everyone sitting around him, who hissed and shushed at him. Lots of loud gasps, "Shhhh!" "No!" "Shut up, you idiot!" etc.

My tweet right after it happened:

FTR that was ONLY 1 or 2 people who booed at the gay soldier's question & LOTS of people shushed at him. #FloridaP5 #gopdebate #sayfieFri Sep 23 02:17:55 via UberSocial for BlackBerrySarah Rumpf
rumpfshaker

Tonight's Debate: What I Want To See

I'm heading down to the Orange County Convention Center for all the Presidency 5/CPAC Florida excitement, and definitely looking forward to tonight's debate. 

I'm a voting delegate for Presidency 5, and for the record, my mind is not made up yet who is getting my vote in Saturday's straw poll. I've been getting lots of mail and robocalls and email messages from most of the candidates but tonight's debate is going to be key in my decision. I know I'm not alone in not feeling completely tied to a candidate yet.

Have a Coke Float with Jeff Atwater

Continuing his tradition of having ice cream sundae parties at Republican events, CFO Jeff Atwater is hosting a "Coke and a Float Party" to wrap up Presidency 5 (which starts tomorrow! Get excited!) on Saturday, September 24, from 8:30 pm to 10:30 pm. Details below:

(Click image to enlarge)

Find this and lots of other great events at the "Events" tab at the top right of this page.