So, the shutdown's over...at least this particular fight is over. We'll probably be right back here in a few months because they only managed a short agreement, but whatever. This image sums up what I, and I think many Americans, are thinking:
Anyway, in the various conservative corners of the internet, a lot of the most impassioned discussion has focused on the roles of certain Republican members of Congress and whether they were "sellouts," "unrealistic," "radical," "RINOs" or a million other unflattering descriptions. Far too much of this chatter was not only petty, it was unproductive or even destructive.
My friend Kathleen McKinley has written a very thoughtful piece for the Houston Chronicle today, focusing on the two Senators from the great state of Texas:
Today, Texas Senator Ted Cruz introduced legislation, co-sponsored by Senators Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Jim Risch (R-ID), Mike Lee (R-UT), Rand Paul (R-KY), Roy Blunt (R-MO), John Barrasso (R-WY), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Paul Isakson (R-GA), and Dean Heller (R-NV), to fully defund Obamacare. The bill is appropriately named the "Defund Obamacare Act of 2013."
Today, the Senate voted on the misleadingly-named "Violence Against Women Act," and a number of conservative Republican Senators voted against it. Predictably, the Left is in a self-righteous fury over this, and are falling all over themselves to see who can be the one to call these Republicans women-hating jerks in the loudest voice.
I ran into Matt Kibbe, the President of FreedomWorks, earlier today in the Google Lounge at the Tampa Convention Center. Here's his comments on Paul Ryan as the Republican Vice Presidential nominee and why conservatives need to unite behind the Romney/Ryan ticket to defeat Barack Obama:
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."
During his victory speech last night, Cruz made reference to the fact that he only received 2% of the vote at the first poll that was taken in his race, providing yet another parallel with Marco Rubio's Senate race in Florida. Both Rubio and Cruz are attorneys with Cuban heritage, strong conservatives, and Rubio initially had a weak showing in the first public polls that were taken in his race.
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.
Yesterday was a sad day for Florida Republicans, as RPOF Chairman David Bitner died after a valiant battle with ALS. Saint Petersblog has done an excellent job collecting messages from leaders around the state in reaction to Bitner's passing:
Texas Senate candidate Ted Cruz released his twelve step "Jobs and Growth Agenda" earlier this week, and posted some of the reactions to it on his campaign website's blog. I'm thrilled that my blog post was quoted right after conservative stalwart Senator Jim DeMint:
The myth that moderates are more "electable" is debunked in this American Thinker article, with a discussion of the 1964 Goldwater-Johnson race, the 1980 Reagan-Carter race, and several recent Senate races:
The plan (also available at www.tedcruz.org/jobsandgrowth) has twelve steps. Contrasting himself with the Obama administration, Cruz stated that he believes that "government doesn't create jobs, but it can kill jobs," characterized the first six steps of his plan as defensive against the President's "war on jobs," and the last six as proactive, designed to spur growth and stimulate job creation in the private sector.
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:
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. ;)
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:
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:
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.
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:
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.
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)
DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz (or as those of us who remember her days in the Florida Legislature know her, "Wasserperson") has taken the offensive and logic-deprived stance that asking voters to show ID is like the "Jim Crow" laws from the early 20th century. Yeah, being asked to show my driver's license is equally as oppressive as segregated schools, poll taxes, and making blacks sit in the back of the bus. Yet another example of "words ceasing to have meanings" when a liberal gets a hold of them.
New York Congressman Anthony Weiner has been getting a lot of attention lately for what has become known as "Weinergate." Here are two of my favorite articles summing up yesterday's press conference, in which Weiner admitted that he had sent the scandalous photo in question, and had engaged in online relationships with other women around the country:
Texas Senate candidate Ted Cruz continues to rack up the endorsements, including Erick Erickson, Mark Levin, Club for Growth PAC and now FreedomWorks PAC.
Here's an interesting analysis of how the 2012 Senate races may breakdown nationwide, and a discussion of some inherent advantages that the GOP may have:
Ari Fleischer, Former White House Press Secretary for George W. Bush, has joined Team Hasner, sending out this tweet yesterday in support of Florida Senate candidate Adam Hasner:
Hasner also added to his list of supporters Former Ohio Secretary of State and co-chair of the group "Pass the Balanced Budget Amendment" Ken Blackwell:
Don't forget to sign up for my free email subscription to this blog, "A Daily Dose of Sunshine." You'll get a maximum of one email a day (any day I write new posts) and I promise not to sell your email addresses.
Republican Texas Senate candidate Ted Cruz is going to be in Miami on Thursday for a meet-and-greet and fundraiser. I met Cruz at CPAC and was really impressed:
Anyway, the event will be at the popular Versailles Restaurant from noon to 1:30 pm. All the details are on the flyer (click to enlarge):
I strongly encourage you to stop by and meet Ted Cruz. I expect you'll find him as impressive as I did. As an added bonus, Versailles is probably one of the best Cuban restaurants in Florida so you're guaranteed to get a great lunch. Their coffee is excellent as well.
Earlier this month at CPAC, I had the privilege of meeting Ted Cruz, a 2012 Republican candidate for Senate in Texas. He attended several of the events, including the Blogger Bash on Thursday night, where I had the opportunity to talk at length with him about his background and why he's running for Senate.
Cruz has been getting a lot of favorable comparisons to Florida's own Marco Rubio, and for good reason. Beyond their shared Cuban heritage, Cruz is also dedicated to fiscal conservatism and respect for our Constitution. He's an attorney (just like Rubio and yours truly) and actually worked on Bush v. Gore. As an election law attorney, it was a real thrill to hear some first-hand stories from him about that famous (or infamous, depending on your opinion of the ruling, ha!) case.
I found Cruz to be sincere and thoughtful. This is a candidate who is a Republican not because he checked a box at some point, but because he has seriously and carefully considered the issues and truly believes that the conservative position is the best solution for preserving what makes America great. He carries his conservatism deep in his heart and discusses the issues with a calm intelligence. In my opinion, he would be an asset for our party in the U.S. Senate, and a true advocate for conservative principles.
I'm not the only one to make the comparison between Rubio and Cruz. From The Shark Tank:
Cruz’s background is similar to another young Cuban-American Senator, one Marco Rubio, recently elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010, Marco Rubio. Cruz’s father escaped Cuba at the age of 18 and came to the U.S. where he like many other immigrants struggled but was able to provide for his family and successfully assimilate into the American society. Cruz’s father instilled in him the value of education and hard work, and he stressed the importance of an environment that allows every American the opportunity to achieve the American dream. Cruz clearly appreciates and understands the true meaning of Conservative principles and values, and he could very well be the next Rubio-esque candidate elected to the U.S. Senate.
Shark Tank blogger Javier Manjarres conducted a great interview with Cruz at CPAC. Here's the video:
Ari Fleischer
