It's easy to
say you're a Republican, to
claim you're a conservative, to
promise to uphold the ideals of the tea party movement.
Yes, like most other things in life, talk is cheap. It's far easier to talk the talk than actually get out there and walk the walk.
That's why I'm impressed with how Adam Hasner spent his weekend. While the other Republican Senate candidates have been tying themselves in knots to trying to convince anyone who will listen that they are the "true conservative" and "solid Republican" in the race, Adam Hasner just went out there and
actually
was a Republican.
Adam started on Friday at the
Republican Party of Florida's Quarterly meeting at the Rosen Plaza in Orlando, where he met with leaders from the county party committees from around the state. I personally saw how many people were interested in what Adam had to say and were excited about his message.
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| RPOF Quarterly meeting in Orlando |
Saturday, Adam drove to Jacksonville to attend the
Florida Federation of Young Republicans' annual meeting, where he made a speech to the attendees. I wasn't able to go to the FFYR meeting, but from the comments I saw on Twitter, Adam was very warmly and enthusiastically received.
You can watch his FFYR speech on YouTube. Here's a highlight:
While I may not be young enough anymore to be a Young Republican, during my time in Tallahassee while I was in law school, I actually served as the President of the Tallahassee Young Republicans...
The one thing I would tell you is that, more and more, speakers would come before us, at YRs or the YR state convention, they would always tell us, "You're the future of the Republican Party." Well, I have a message. And it is, this is your party today. You have more at stake in the future of this country. This is your fight, and you need to be engaged because you are going to make a difference in 2012 and beyond and we need your help and we need you involved today. You are not just the future of the Republican Party.
Adam had a similar message when he came to our Orange County Young Republicans meeting last week; that as YRs, we need not wait "our turn" to be leaders in the Republican party, we were more than just "the future," we should find ways to get involved and contribute
now.
This is an important message that all Young Republican groups need to hear, but sadly, I have rarely heard anyone other than Adam Hasner say it. As YRs, we need to take a strong and active role in our party, run for office within our county executive committees and local and state governments, volunteer on planning committees for Lincoln Day dinners and big events like
Presidency 5, and be confident in voicing our concerns and priorities to Republican candidates and elected officials.
After the FFYR meeting, Adam stayed in town the next day to help fellow Republican
Mike Hogan in the Jacksonville Mayor's race. Sunday was the last day of early voting, and Adam and his wife Jillian joined other Hogan supporters in sign waving and phone banking.
There's not too many Senate candidates who would take time off from their own campaigns in a highly contested primary to campaign for a city mayor's race, and Hogan definitely appreciated Adam and Jillian's help:
It's no wonder that Adam Hasner is continuing to gain the support of grassroots conservatives around the state.
Here's more background on why I am on Team Hasner.
For more information about Adam Hasner:
Adam Hasner website
Adam Hasner on Facebook
Twitter:
@AdamHasner
UPDATE: This is
exactly what I'm talking about: while Adam and Jillian Hasner gave up personal and campaign time to stay in Jacksonville and campaign for Mike Hogan, how did Mike Haridopolos contribute?
By sending a tweet...and he didn't even write it, just retweeted what someone else wrote:
Wow. That's really gonna sway the results of tomorrow's election. Way to go.
Here's your morning coffee reading for today:
