Sandy Adams defends bloggers, leads effort to ask DOJ to investigate SWATting

We should be clapping for her.

I am just so darn proud of the Republican freshmen that Florida sent to Congress in 2010. They are a tough, feisty bunch who are dedicated to making the tough choices to get our government back on track.

Congresswoman Sandy Adams fits in well with this group, making a name for herself for her perfect attendance record and for taking a lead role in legislation like the Violence Against Women Act.

This past Monday, Adams again took a lead role on an important issue, sending a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, encouraging the Department of Justice to investigate recent SWAT-tings of conservative bloggers. "SWAT-ting" is when someone calls 911 (often using VOIP or other technology to spoof the name and number that is calling), claiming that a violent crime has been committed at their target's address, with the goal of sending law enforcement to the location and inciting a dangerous confrontation. Fortunately, the bloggers who have been targeted recently, including RedState's Erick Erickson and Patterico, were not harmed, but the potential is definitely there.

What happens in Vegas, isn't going to stay in Vegas

I'm in Las Vegas at the Right Online conference, sponsored by Americans for Prosperity, today and tomorrow.

There's a packed schedule with some great speakers, and you can watch the livestream of the conference here.

We will be having a tribute reception in honor of Andrew Breitbart later, followed by a screening of Occupy Unmasked. We saw a preview of the film at BlogCon earlier this year in Charlotte, and I'm looking forward to seeing the completed film. (If you missed it, my post collecting tributes to Andrew is here.)

Something fun to do in D.C.

Saw this on Facebook earlier, and thought it would be a fun thing to try next time any of you are visiting our nation's capital...

Sunsets and Palm Trees

I decided to switch the background image of this website back to the sunset and palm trees. Yes, I'm still in Massachusetts, but I'm proud of my Florida roots. The blog is still called "Sunshine State Sarah," after all. And besides, it's not exactly snowing here:

I love ya, Florida, but Massachusetts
definitely wins the June weather contest.

The return of the sunshine is also appropriate this week because I will be headed to warmer climes for a few days: the annual Right Online conference, which will be in Las Vegas this year. Stay tuned...

Grassroots vs. Michael Moore

I've seen a lot of different types of campaign fundraising strategies, but I have to say I'm really enjoying what the Sean Bielat campaign posted today: "Match Michael Moore." (Disclaimer: I work for the campaign...but you probably already knew that.)

Moore (along with a number of other liberal Hollywood elites) donated $2,500 to Joe Kennedy III. Team Bielat is asking grassroots supporters to match that by midnight tomorrow, and we're chatting about it on Twitter under the hashtag #MatchMichaelMoore.

Keep punching back, Romney!

"Oh, Obama made an infographic
with a fictional character named
Julia? That's cute."

One of the major frustrations I (and many other Republicans) had with the 2008 McCain campaign was how timid and reluctant they were to respond to the negative attacks from Obama's campaign.

Romney was - rightfully - criticized during the beginning of the primary for seeming to "play it safe" during debates, and many had fears he might follow the McCain example. I was glad to see him show a tougher, feistier side during the debates in Florida in January, and  I was thrilled to hear about Romney's surprise press conference in front of Solyndra last week, and I'm glad to see that he's not showing any signs of letting up.

Job well done, New Jersey!

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Newark Mayor Cory Booker have made national news for both their efforts to reform government and their very active online personalities (follow on Twitter: @GovChristie and @CoryBooker). 

Last night, Christie tweeted a link to a hysterical little video featuring the two, which you really don't want to miss:

Here's a fun idea: Elect people who know how to manage money!

My friend Eric Lasso is running for the District 3 seat on the Orange County Commission, and Frank Torres posted a short interview with him on his blog earlier this afternoon:

Florida Politics with Frank Torres | Interview with Eric Lasso, Candidate for Orange County Commission District 3

Ouch! Gallup numbers are UGLY for Obama

I bet my mother would not approve of the language they used at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue when they saw this map. 

A Gallup survey of state-by-state presidential approval numbers taken earlier this year painted a very ugly picture for Obama's reelection chances.

Jon Lovitz, Tax Expert? [VIDEO]

In an appearance on Piers Morgan's CNN show last night, comedian Jon Lovitz managed to expose the fallacy of the Democrats' economic policies in less than ten minutes.

In a series of rapid-fire comments, he went through his frustrations with President Obama's class warfare rhetoric, explained why capital gains are taxed at a different rate, smacked down the idea that raising taxes on the rich would solve all our problems, refused to give in to Morgan's repeated attempts to blame Wall Street for the economy, and blew apart the idea of the "1%" versus the "99%" that the Occupy movement promotes.

More on the Rubio Family's History as Exiles

Here we go again.

The Left, cognizant of the threat Marco Rubio poses to the panderer-in-chief's ability to capture Hispanic votes in November, continues its efforts to smear his reputation any way they can, no matter how ludicrous.

The Washington Post attacked Rubio last October (see my posts here and here), claiming Rubio had falsified his family history. While that article was thoroughly debunked at the time, it seems that liberals are not willing to drop this particular line of attack just yet.

Congressional Muppets

This was too funny not to share:

Cloture Club | Top 21 Members Resembling Muppets

Yes, it's exactly what it sounds like. Photos of members of Congress with Muppets that they resemble (in some cases more than others).

There's a first time for everything...

 

Last week, I led a conference call with MA-4 candidate Sean Bielat (disclosure: I work for the campaign) and several bloggers and local press. Peter Ingemi (@datechguyblog) noted a comment I made and wrote a blog post about it:

Once a Soldier...

...ALWAYS a Soldier... 

#CaffeineAddict

Just in case anyone thought I was joking in my bio about being a "caffeine addict," here's some evidence from this weekend:

Morning Coffee Reading for April 23, 2012

Here's your morning coffee reading for today:

• Love this write-up about BlogConCLT from the Republican Security Committee, which called Sean Bielat a "conservative dynamo" and "the most popular candidate at BlogCon." 

• • Hard-hitting column from Michelle Malkin: No More "Mr. Obama is a Nice Guy."

• Wow: Utah Senator Orrin Hatch was unable to fend off a primary challenge from Dan Liljenquist, despite spending a bazillion dollars. (OK, $5.7 million. But still, that's a heckuva lot of money for an incumbent to be forced to spend.) John Fund at the National Review thinks Hatch is vulnerable, and FreedomWorks for America is happy. Really happy.

1 > 43

Democrats must have magic powers. They are able to change the basic laws of math.

Barack Obama has proved that 1 > 43 ...

Tribute to Andrew Breitbart at #BlogConCLT

I'm at BlogCon in Charlotte, North Carolina, and we just had a special screening of the new Stephen Bannon film, Occupy Unmasked, which features a lot of footage of Andrew Breitbart.

After the film, Jim Jamitis (@anthropocon on Twitter) presented Dana Loesch, Brandon Darby, Larry O'Connor, and John Nolte with a portrait he created as a tribute to Andrew for the Breitbart offices.

What a perfect way to honor the man...with his own words:

Joe Kennedy III: Out. Of. Touch.

Ever since he entered the race for Massachusetts' Fourth Congressional District, Joseph Kennedy III has been facing criticism for avoiding discussing any substantive issues. Even left-leaning blogs have pointed out that his website lacked an issues page.

Well, Kennedy finally stepped up this week and gave the voters some idea about where he stands on the issues:

Morning Coffee Reading for April 17, 2012 (Yep, I'm Still Here)

OK, I have been a ridiculous slacker in posting here for the past two weeks. No, the blog isn't going away (as much as a few chuckleheads out there might wish that it might), I've just needed a little time to take care that whole "pack up my entire house, spend three and a half days driving to Massachusetts, and hit the ground running with a new campaign" thing.