Sarah Unleashed

As I wrote last week, I've moved on from Breitbart and I'm now contributing at several different sites now.

I'll have some more news to share soon but wanted to thank all of my followers who have cheered me on and continued to read my work at other sites. I also wanted to make sure you saw some of my latest work, in case you missed it.

I've been hanging out at a Starbucks today, keeping myself highly caffeinated and typing away. There will be several more pieces coming under my byline from various corners of the internet soon, so stay tuned.

(As always, the best way to stay up-to-date is to follow me on Twitter or Facebook. Everything gets posted there first.)

Young Republicans Reject Current Texas GOP Platform

I just started writing a few articles for Breitbart Texas, and my first byline appeared this afternoon. Check it out:

Op-Ed: Obamacare closes door to opportunity

Today, I had an op-ed published in the Austin American-Statesman on the topic of the effect of Obamacare on young entrepreneurs. You can read it on the Statesman's website here, or I've reprinted the text below:

My plans for world domination are proceeding nicely

Forgive me this little bit of bragging, but I can't help but think this is pretty cool:

SocialSphere | The #MAPoli Top 25 of 2012

I debated Alan Grayson...well, sort of...

Earlier this month, I debated the once-and-future Congressman (sigh...) Alan Grayson on Fox 35 Orlando regarding whether ObamaCare was at fault for announced layoffs at Orlando Regional Healthcare Systems. 

Well, OK, I didn't really debate him in person. But we were both invited to comment on the story and I believe my analysis up very well against Grayson's predictable talking points:

#CNNdebate: River City Rumble!

Press filing room at the UNF student union.

Welcome to the #RiverCityRumble! (Credit for that hashtag goes to @AbelHarding, I believe.)

I'm here in the press filing room at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, getting ready to watch the latest Republican mud wrestling match debate, which will air on CNN starting at 8 pm.

You can follow my commentary at my twitter feed (@rumpfshaker) and I was also invited to live blog the debate for Sulia.com. Follow along at this address:

http://www.sulia.com/channel/gop-primaries-2012/

If you want just my feed, click here.

Novel idea: Florida primary analyzed by actual Floridians!

You may have heard that we are having a little election here in Florida next week.

Interesting, after many of the talking heads insisted that we had doomed ourselves to irrelevance by losing half of our delegates for moving our primary date to January 31, we find ourselves basking in the warm glow of a national media spotlight, as everyone now seems to be in agreement that the Florida election is a pretty big deal.

The difference between me & Glenn Beck is when I rant and rave, I make sense!

On Tuesday, I was on The Ed Dean Radio Show to discuss Glenn Beck's comments about Newt Gingrich, his feud with Andrew Breitbart, and the latest on the Republican primary presidential race. Oh, and I go on a rant or two about the damage caused by unrealistic conservative commentators, the quest for a "perfect" candidate, and flirting with third parties.

My first WMFE podcast: "Procrastinating Politicians"

My first contribution to WMFE's new "Conservative Voices" commentary program aired yesterday. In case you missed it, click the below player to listen:



If the embedded player doesn't work, try this link:

WMFE | Conservative Voices | Sarah Rumpf - Procrastinating Politicians

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!

David Limbaugh: May 2012 Be a Referendum on Obama's Perverse Vision for America

David Limbaugh has an excellent blog that you should be reading anyway, but this week it's a don't miss:

David Limbaugh | May 2012 Be a Referendum on Obama's Perverse Vision for America

It's clear that Obama's re-election strategy is to demonize conservatives and his Republican opponents as extremists, "small," intolerant and morally deficient. That's a safer course, I suppose, than running on his miserable record.

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

Morning Coffee Reading for September 2, 2011

Here's your morning coffee reading for today:

• Sweet. I'm number one again on the list of "Florida's Top Political Tweeters." Well, technically I'm tied for first with Progress Florida, but I think they have several people working that account and I'm just little ol' me, so I'm going to go ahead and declare victory. High five to State Representative Scott Plakon, who improved his score an amazing 27 points, making him the 2nd highest ranked politician, right after Allen West.

Saint Petersblog | Florida's Top Political Tweeters for September

• The Jim Greer situation continues to slog on through the courts and the media, causing nightmares for a number of Florida politicians, including Florida Senate candidate George LeMieux:

Miami Herald | Jim Greer TV Tell-all is bad news for George LeMieux 

And that's bad news for LeMieux as he runs in a crowded Republican primary where he's trying to shake the legacy of calling himself and acting like a "Charlie Crist Republican." Judging by the first night's installment, the TV piece won't have much new in it. But it raises the issue of Greer and it specifically highlighted LeMieux, thereby making the old story news again. And campaigns are all about examining a candidate's past to help determine his future. 

LeMieux has tried to distance himself from his old boss (and Greer) by saying that Crist drifted left after he left the governor's office as chief of staff. But Greer told us a while back that he inked a little-known $10,000 monthly Republican Party of Florida contract — ultimately worth $150,000 — to pay LeMieux to continue giving Crist advice through a company called MTC Strategies. 

Greer owes a measure of his chairmanship to LeMieux, who was Crist's top campaign and gubernatorial advisor early on and therefore rounded up the votes on the Republican Executive Committee of RPOF to help make Greer chairman.

Morning Coffee Reading for August 12, 2011

Here's your morning coffee reading for today:

• First, ICYMI, my Twitter trending topics analysis of last nights debate:

Sunshine State Sarah | Twitter Analysis of the Ames Debate

• RedState's Erick Erickson gives his thoughts on the GOP presidential candidates and last night's debate:

RedState | The Horserace for August 12, 2011

• Another excellent commentary on the debate by Melissa Clouthier:

RedState | Presidential Primary Priorities - UPDATED

• The hands-down, most blazingly stupid, #headdesk moment of the debate was when Byron York asked Michele Bachmann whether wives should be submissive to their husbands.

Gateway Pundit | At GOP Debate Michele Bachmann Asked Whether Wives Should Be Submissive

Awww, shucks

Very cool...another "Best of Orlando" award for Sunshine State Sarah as "Best Local Blogger," this one from Orlando Magazine.

Thanks to everyone who voted for me. I've enjoyed sharing my little corner of the internet with you.

Previous contest: Orlando Weekly Best of Orlando, Local Color, Best Local Blog

You like me, you really like me!

Awww, thanks, y'all. I found out this week that I came in first place in the Orlando Weekly 2011 Best of Orlando Contest in the "Local Color" category for Best Local Blog.

Congratulations to The Daily City, which won the Best Local Website category, along with two other categories, and Nerdy Show, which describes itself as "the only nerd podcast dedicated to every aspect of nerdom: nerd culture, nerd news, and nerd music."

I went with my friends Sarah and Nick (follow Nick on Twitter here) to the Best of Orlando Party at The Beacham (formerly known as Tabu) on Wednesday. We found local performance artist and fellow Best of Orlando winner Brian Feldman doing his thing outside the club, hanging out inside an Orlando Weekly newspaper box, passing out copies of the paper:

Two Sarahs and Brian Feldman

A better view of the Man in the Box. Photo by Peter Murphy.

Anyway, I'd like to send a special thank you to my friend and PR-guru Alan Byrd, who helped me with promotions for this contest, and of course, thanks to all of you who voted and read this blog. I enjoy sharing my little corner of the internet with you and appreciate your continued feedback and support.

Morning Coffee Reading for July 7, 2011

Here's your morning coffee reading for today:

• Here's two great posts by Yid With Lid blogger Jeff Dunetz, analyzing several recent polls about how Jewish voters (even Democrats!) are increasingly disapproving of President Obama's job performance:

Yid With Lid | Why Gallup's Analysis of Jewish Voters is Dishonest

Yid With Lid | New Poll Shows Jewish Vote Abandoning Obama

• Obama's White House is meddling in a Texas case where a Mexican citizen brutally raped and murdered a teenage girl, and was convicted and sentenced to death. His sentence is scheduled to be carried out today, but Obama is seeking to block the execution and submit the courts of Texas to the World Court and the United Nations. Senate candidate Ted Cruz (R-TX) had previously successfully represented Texas at the U.S. Supreme Court on a similar issue, and posted a statement on his campaign website in defense of Texas and American sovereignty:

Ted Cruz | Continue to Preserve U.S. Sovereignty

• Earlier this week, the delightful Jenny Erikson, who I met at CPAC, invited me on her podcast to talk about why I'm a conservative, and my thoughts on the Casey Anthony trial. By the way, the tagline on her blog, "God. Family. Politics. Wine." might be one of the best ever.

Jenny Erikson | Jenny Erikson Radio Show - Episode 0019

• A friend of mine who lives in Washington, D.C., Kevin Eder, is even more of a Twitter-holic than I am, if you can believe it. Kevin frequently will send out tweets posing hypothetical, taunting questions to liberal politicians and media outlets. Apparently he's also become Public Enemy Number One to the White House, as recent articles have noted that Obama's new "Director of Progressive Media," Jesse Lee, has directed a curious 15% of his tweets to responding to Kevin. The conservative blogosphere has taken notice:

Daily Caller | White House uses Twitter to bully critics

Hot Air | WH tweeting at gnats

Moe Lane | Of two minds on this @keder thing

I spoke to Kevin last night, and he had this to say about the whole kerfuffle: "I don't think Jesse Lee is a bully, but I'm not sure what they're trying to accomplish with this effort. They're emboldening their opponents."

• Orlando's iconic Lake Eola Fountain is back! The renovated fountain made its debut during this past weekend's July 4th celebrations downtown. 

Orlando Sentinel | July Fourth fireworks show caps Lake Eola fountain rededication

Photo by Stephen M. Dowell (see more photos here)

• From LifeNews.com, a recent British study has shown that women who have an abortion are significantly more likely to have complications in future pregnancies, including premature birth. (Hat tip: Steven Ertelt)

 Life News | Women Having Abortions Up Premature Birth Risk 34% Next Time

So, this is pretty cool...

For several months, Peter Schorsch at Saint Petersblog has been publishing "Florida's Top Political Tweeters," a ranked list of Twitter accounts (based on Klout.com score).

When Schorsch released the first list back in March, I was thrilled to see that I had ranked, as he put it, "a surprising fourth." Joy Reid (@TheReidReport) has been at the top of the list each month...until now.

Yes, slowly and steadily I've been climbing in the twitterverse and I am happy to not-so-humbly announce that I am now the number one, top-ranked political tweeter in Florida!

Florida's Top Political Tweeters - For July

The Democrats may have won a mayor's race or two lately, but the Republicans are dominating Twitter. The top ten politicians on the list includes only one Democrat:

1. @AllenWest
2. @DWSTweets
3. @MarcoRubio
4. @FLGovScott
5. @JebBush
6. @AdamHasner
7. @MattGaetz
8. @JeffAtwater
9. @George_LeMieux
10. @RepDennisRoss

It goes without saying that if you're not already following @rumpfshaker on Twitter, you really should join the fun.

Well, heck, maybe I should run for office...

Here's the video from my appearance on the Ray Junior Show on June 7th:


YouTube | RayJuniorShow | Tuesday June 7, 2011 - Sarah Rumpf Interview

Just a reminder, this is the same radio program where Mike Haridopolos crashed and burned just a week before I was on.

Ray Junior did ask me some tough questions, but I think I held my own. Heh. I at least managed to not get kicked off the show.

Maybe I should run for office? ;)

New Website: Indie Politics

Filmmaker and BigJournalism.com blogger Lee Stranahan has launched a new website, IndiePolitics, describing it as "a new, unique vision of political blogging that’s coming just in time for the election."

The site is still under construction but the idea is to be a political discussion forum that's not strictly partisan. As Stranahan posted on the Indie Politics Twitter account:

Is there a place for a political site that goes past partisan ideologies & tries to present fresh, lively ideas...without insulting your IQ?Fri Jun 17 09:08:23 via webIndie Politics
IndiePoliticsUS

I've been invited to contribute content and will be posting over there from time to time when I have something that fits the site.

Here's my first Indie Politics post:

Indie Politics | Sarah Rumpf | Who won the GOP debate? The answer may be on Twitter

Stranahan is still looking for additional contributors to Indie Politics, so if you're interested, email Lee@Stranahan.com and put "IndiePolitics Blogging" in the subject line.