Breitbart TV interview with Sean Bielat [VIDEO]

Massachusetts Congressional candidate Sean Bielat spoke at the RedState Gathering last Friday, and Breitbart TV's Larry O'Connor had a great interview with him after the speech. Watch it here:

Will Weatherford ready to lead "innovative conservative" Florida House

RedState's Erick Erickson and Will Weatherford

Speaker-designate of the Florida House Will Weatherford stopped by the RedState Gathering in Jacksonville last Friday to chat with the conservative activists and bloggers who were attending the conference. 

What I like about Weatherford is that he isn't just a proud Republican, but that he is consistently cheerful and positive about it, treating politics as a method for finding solutions. He truly believes that conservative principles are the best way to provide the most opportunities for success for the most people, and is dedicated to the idea of making government as simple and streamlined as possible.

While Weatherford was at the Gathering, he was nice enough to chat with me for a few minutes. Here is a video of the interview:

Ted Cruz at #RSG12 gives credit to Marco Rubio & bloggers [VIDEO]

Ted Cruz, fresh off his amazing win in the runoff for the Texas Republican Senate primary on Tuesday, is in Jacksonville, Florida today for this year's RedState Gathering. He gave a great speech to kick off the conference (look for it to be posted later at RedState.com) and was kind enough to sit down for a interview with me.

I first met Cruz at CPAC 2011 and have followed his campaign as it has progressed from only getting 2% in the first polls. It's very similar to how Marco Rubio's first poll was just 3%, leading those of us who supported him from the beginning to call ourselves the "Three Percenters." Cruz acknowledged the parallels and gives a lot of credit to Marco Rubio: "he blazed the path that we followed."

RedState is coming to the Sunshine State!

The annual RedState Gathering is coming to the Sunshine State next month, and you won't want to miss it.

Check out www.RedStateGathering.com for all the details, including information on registration (Note: TODAY is the last day for the early-bird price!) and discounted hotel reservations.

RedState coming to the Sunshine State in 2012!

RedState editor Erick Erickson announced yesterday that the 2012 RedState Gathering will be in Jacksonville, Florida on August 2 - 5, 2012:

Perrymania

Here's some of the latest news about Rick Perry...plus some exclusive photos and videos from Perry's announcement at the RedState Gathering earlier this month...

"How am I doing? Best week EVER!"

BOOM. Perry's been in the race for less than two weeks, and look at that, there's a new frontrunner in the GOP Presidential race:

GALLUP | Perry Zooms to Front of Pack for 2012 GOP Nomination

Shortly after announcing his official candidacy, Texas Gov. Rick Perry has emerged as rank-and-file Republicans' current favorite for their party's 2012 presidential nomination. Twenty-nine percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents nationwide say they are most likely to support Perry, with Mitt Romney next, at 17%.

(Click image to enlarge)

Morning Coffee Reading for August 23, 2011

Here's your morning coffee reading for today:

• I don't know what's worse: that Vice President Joe Biden might really say all these awful things without thinking, or believing that he does actually mean them. In case you missed it, while visiting China, Biden commented that he "fully understands" and was "not second-guessing" China's one-child policy. Hey, Joe, you are aware that the one-child policy really means forced abortions and sterilizations and other human rights abuses, right? Right? Sigh...anyway...here's two good commentaries on this:

Michelle Malkin | Doug Powers| Joe Biden 'Fully Understands' China's 'Million of Children Left Behind' Policy 

National Review | Kathryn Jean Lopez | Our VPOTUS at Work in China, Affirming Brutal One-Child Policy

• Here's David Limbaugh displaying his customary ability to slice through liberal spin:

David Limbaugh | Obama Is a Robot That Needs Reprogramming

A Little Sugar 'n' Snark from the L.A. Times

One of my favorite things about attending events like CPAC and the RedState Gathering is the opportunity to hang out with other conservative bloggers and journalists. (By the way, have you signed up for CPAC Florida yet? Get to it!)

This guy rocks.

Last weekend, at the RedState Gathering, I got to meet Andrew Malcolm, who writes the "Top of the Ticket" blog for the L.A. Times. (Yes, the L.A. Times managed to hire a smart conservative. Even a broken clock is right twice a day...)

Back in January, I linked to one of Malcolm's blog posts about the national debt:

Sunshine State Sarah | Here's what one second of national debt looks like

Malcolm was nice enough to send an email thanking me "for the link and nice mention" in that post, which I thought was incredibly gracious. I mean, I've just got my little corner of the internet here, he's with one of the biggest news organizations in the country, and he is sending me a thank you note for linking to him? Wow. That's really cool.

Anyway, my friend and fellow Minority Report blogger Susannah Fleetwood (follow her on Twitter @susannah72) and I hung out with Malcolm for awhile last Saturday evening and had a great time swapping stories. He gave me permission to share this joke:

Barack Obama walks into a bar with a parrot on his shoulder. The bartender said, "Hey, cool. Does he speak?"

The parrot replied, "Unfortunately, not very well without a teleprompter."

Heh. I don't care if it's nice, that's funny.

Don't miss Malcolm's post about his chat with Rick Perry before the announcement:

Los Angeles Times | Top of the Ticket | Rick Perry joins the GOP Fray: 'This is gonna be a fun ride!'

Adam Hasner interviewed at RedState Gathering by FTR Radio

After his speech at the RedState Gathering, Florida Senate candidate Adam Hasner sat down for an interview with FTR Radio.

FTR Radio always does a great job with these interviews; they're fun and informative. Click the link below to listen to discussions of everything from Medicare to University of Maryland's football program (apologies to Adam and Teri, but as a Gator, "Fear the Turtle" just makes me giggle):

FTR Radio | RedState Gathering 2011 Adam Hasner 

Adam Hasner with FTR Radio hosts @TeriChristoph and @FingersMalloy

ICYMI, my post from earlier this week about Hasner's speech at the RedState Gathering:

Sunshine State Sarah | Adam Hasner wows attendees at the RedState Gathering

And if you're in Central Florida, don't miss seeing Hasner at the Senate Debate tomorrow.

Adam Hasner wows attendees at the RedState Gathering

Florida Senate candidate Adam Hasner was a featured speaker at last weekend's RedState Gathering, and received a very warm and enthusiastic welcome.

Here's Hasner's speech - a must watch for any Florida conservative:


YouTube | adamhasner | Adam Hasner RedState Gathering 2011

Sunshine Spotlight on...Richard Mourdock

One of the fun things about attending conservative events like CPAC and the RedState Gathering is the chance to meet other Republican candidates around the country.

One of the candidates who I had the pleasure to meet this past weekend at RedState was Richard Mourdock, who is running against Senator Dick Lugar in the Republican primary for the United States Senate in Indiana. Senator Lugar has a long history of taking moderate positions and allying with Democrats. Mourdock has a more solidly conservative platform, which has earned him the endorsements of Mark Levin, Erick Erickson, Herman Cain, and others (see endorsements here).

I really enjoyed chatting with Mourdock. He's a very humble, down-to-earth, sincere guy who has a good practical head on his shoulders that I think would be an asset in the Senate. I encourage all my Hoosier readers to check him out.

Here's Mourdock's speech at the RedState Gathering:

Sunshine Spotlight on...Nikki Haley, Ted Cruz, and Rick Scott

I decided recently to start a new feature here at Sunshine State Sarah: fun, short interviews of Republican elected officials and candidates called "Sunshine Spotlights." The RedState Gathering has been the perfect place to get some comments from some of the "conservative rock stars" in attendance, so here are your first batch of Sunshine Spotlight interviews, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, Texas Senate candidate Ted Cruz, and Florida Governor Rick Scott:


YouTube | Sunshine Spotlight on Nikki Haley


YouTube | Sunshine Spotlight on Ted Cruz 


YouTube | Sunshine Spotlight on Rick Scott

Sunshine State at Red State!

Hello everyone! I am in the lovely city of Charleston, South Carolina for the 2011 RedState Gathering and having a great time. I love events like this...it's very energizing to be with so many other smart conservatives who are so passionate about politics and protecting our country's future. (Missed out on the RedState Gathering? Fear not, you can come hang out with me in Orlando at CPAC Florida next month!)

RedState contributor Moe Lane wrote earlier tonight that this year's RedState Gathering is showing "enthusiasm" at a "higher intensity" than in past years, and one of the RedState founders, Josh Trevino, put up a great post aptly titled "This Day. This Moment." about how RedState is proud to be a part of the conservative movement and very excited about tomorrow's program. (If you somehow missed the chatter, besides all the great conservative speakers, Texas Governor Rick Perry is apparently definitely going to announce he is running for President during his speech tomorrow afternoon.)

The Sunshine State is well-represented in Charleston this weekend. Besides your humble blogger, Governor Rick Scott spoke earlier tonight and State Representative Scott Plakon traveled with him. I got a quick, fun interview with our Governor and will post it later. YouTube... uploading... takes... forever... sigh...


Charleston's Southern hospitality apparently meant that the city wanted us Floridians to feel welcome...it is hot and humid as it is at home. Everyone is melting into little puddles but we're all having such a great time that no one cares too much. ;)