Tag Archive for grayson

OPD Chief Val Demings Retires …Run for Office next?

May 4, 2011 Uncategorized 5 comments

Tuesday afternoon, Orlando Police Chief Val Demmings retired. OPD’s first female police chief can say she’s accomplished a lot in her 27 years. Violent crime went down on her watch (during a massive recession), she’s stood at the podium and defended her officers admirably, and from someone who’s actually watched the crime disappear from his neighborhood, community outreach has been awesome.

She’s only 54, too young to pack it in and take up boring hobbies.

It broke on the Twitterverse yesterday, that she might run for office. That’s a very real possibility. She even asked the media on hand for suggestions. Well, let’s take a look at her options.

A few days back, the Orlando Sentinel wrote about possible high profile races, that would happen to be in the same districts that Demings would make a potential run at. So, we’ll hypothetically qualify her in those primaries.

TBD Awarded Congressional Seat: Alan Grayson and Gary Siplin in the same primary? Droopy Drawers vs. Die Quickly? The non-sense in that primary would be epic and after redistricting the new seat might make that happen. Demings might bring a rational voice to the conversation but, Democrats want Grayson back in Washington badly and he’s one of the most gifted fundraisers in the state. Siplin is far more vulnerable with his obsession of baggy pants, but Val Demings would be better off staying as far away from this circus, as possible.

FL. Senate District 19: Gary Siplin’s termed out and so far his wife Victoria Siplin, and also termed out State Rep. Geraldine Thompson have filed to run for it. There is some static over Victoria Siplin’s business dealings, and it can be argued that Thompson has been ineffective working with the Republican super majority in Tallahassee. Demings would fare much better in this race.

TBD FL House seat: Re-districting plays a role here, but at the time of this post no one has filed to run for termed out Rep. Thompson’s seat. It’s early and a name from the past could show up, but this is probably Val Deming’s best shot.

After watching the TV coverage, I saw the look she gave Fox 35′s Mike Syan after she was asked about running, and I knew it. Paired with her reply, it’s the coy kind of response you give someone when, you don’t want to spoil a surprise.

It’s my prediction, that Val Demings will eventually run for office, and if she picks the right race, she’ll win.

It would be a safe bet to say she would be awarded the Law Enforcement Endorsements

The Unfortunate Dan Webster Town Hall

April 27, 2011 Uncategorized 4 comments

C’mon guys, we’re better than this. Have a look.

After I was done watching this, I was worried and I was worried for everybody.

Democrats and Republicans, from all walks of life. All Americans.

When you can’t let your elected representative get through one minute of his presentation before disrupting him. When you start getting in the face of your fellow countrymen, when you walk into a forum and have decided what your opinion of the info given is going to be, before the first word is ever spoken.

That’s how we get weaker.

Alright, I understand. You don’t like the policies, you are a Democrat and you feel the way Republicans felt this time two years ago. You see, it was Alan Grayson time back in 09′ and he didn’t even let his naysayers in the building.

Dan Webster let his critics in, and it turned into a circus, a reason to cater your audience to your message and when that happens, groups feel left out.

When visiting Alan Grayson (Webster’s Liberal predecessor) events. I stayed quiet even though, I disagreed with his policies and you know what I did? I voted for the other candidate.

That’s how it’s done. If you don’t like what your representative is doing you vote him/her out. You don’t try to incite a riot at a townhall, where the majority in attendance voted for the guy.

You want to know who the wisest guy in that building today was? It was the police officer, who said we all needed to start acting like adults.

He was right. They have QA’s for a reason, that is the time you’re suppose to speak. That’s the organized forum, that changes minds and votes.

It was unfortunate…no it was a tragedy. Central Florida looked bad today.

So, what are we going to do to change it?

March Madness and Florida Politics!

March 14, 2011 Uncategorized No comments

I love this time of year. We’ve got session kicking off and controversial legislation taking the floor. We’ve got a wild card Governor that has everyone guessing on Sunrail and teacher merit pay. There are also possible Presidential contenders campaigning without really campaigning. There is a lot of uncertainty in politics right now and what else do we have?

March Madness!

Yes, the exiting college basketball tournament that costs companies millions of dollars every year in losses of productivity. Filling out brackets, taking bets, long day time lunches. It’s an HR nightmare, and it’s also great fun!

Here is my take on March Madness with a Florida political twist:

The East Region: aka the Alan Grayson bracket:

The Alan Grayson bracket has some of the loudest and rowdiest fans in all of college sports. Buckeyes, Tar Heels, Orangemen, Wildcats. They’re almost certainly going to offend someone along the way and just like the politician they’re named after, they’ll drop one by one and be watching the action from home at the end.

Any of the previously mentioned teams are capable of winning this thing, but there are just too many well coached teams and the games will take their toll on the players. I picked this bracket by the numbers or “straight chalk” in bracketology terms. The Ohio state, North Carolina game could be a classic if they meet. I’ll pick the Tar Heels. They’ve been here so many times before.

The West Region aka the Sarah Palin bracket:

Golden Grizzlies, Wildcats, Tigers, Owls, Huskies and she might possibly believe anyone in blue, could in fact be a devil. This bracket is wilder than anything Alaska can throw at her.

I watched Duke beat down North Carolina yesterday and I don’t think anyone else is more prepared going into this tournament than Coach K’s team. There biggest threat will be Texas in the Sweet 16. San Diego State is an attractive pick, but they’ve never played on this big of a stage before with so much at stake. Duke will smoke Uconn in the Elite 8. Keep an eye on Memphis.

The Southwest Region aka the Rick Scott pass/fail bracket:

See all those people from up Florida, and up north heading to Arizona, Texas, and Colorado? That’s what’s gonna happen to us, if Governor Rick Scott can’t get people back to work.

This bracket was the easiest for me to pick. I can’t see anyone slowing the Kansas Jayhawks down, but this is March Madness. Watch out for the Fighting Irish from Notre Dame and always dangerous Louisville.

The Southeast Region aka the Buddy Dyer/Teresa Jacobs bracket:

Florida, Buddy Dyer’s law school alma mater should do pretty well in this bracket. Until they run into BYU, a school that was praised for making the hard right decision, when one of their best players was caught violating the honor code and suspended for the rest of the season. I expect the Gator’s to fall to a better Brigham Young team ala Mayor Jacobs regulating on the Performing Arts Center budget.

I’m worried about picking UCLA over Mich. St. The Spartans are always tough in the tournament.

Pittsburgh should do well, but they could encounter problems when they play Wisconsin if the unions show up and protest the game or if Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker shows up and scares any Liberal referees away thus delaying the game.

I feel good about Jimmer Fredette and BYU.

The Final Four:

Duke vs. UNC: One of the best rivalries in all of sports. I never get tired of watching them play, unlike CSPAN. Where politicians play games everyday that put me to sleep. I’ll take Duke

Kansas vs. BYU: I would take BYU…if that player hadn’t gotten suspended. I think against this great Jayhawks team, that makes the difference.

Duke vs. Kansas: Two legendary college basketball programs. Duke by a touchdown 78-71.

We’ll see how I do. I’ve come to realize that I’m either completely right with these things or completely wrong. I normally pick more upsets. If things don’t get too crazy I should be fine.

My completed Tournament Bracket

Reviewing PolitiFacts “Lies of the year”

December 10, 2010 Uncategorized No comments

TGIF everyone, and can you believe only two weeks before Christmas? I’ve gotten very little shopping done and I gotta tell you, I hate giving people cash as a gift. I’ve got siblings that tell me they want money for Christmas, “No, if I give you cash, I feel like I’m paying a bill” I reply. Santa Claus does not slide down the chimney, look at the base of the Christmas tree and throw down a few dollars, like his tipping a waitress at the Chilis! Make a list of stuff that you would like to receive. Here we got with the last post of the week.

Reviewing PolitiFact’s lies of the year:The fact checkers from St. Petersburg’s Politifacts have had a banner year, getting tons of media coverage and putting dents in the accusations thrown at each other from our law makers. They have published their nominees for lies of the year. Lets have a look.

“The president of the United States will be taking a trip over to India that is expected to cost the taxpayers $200 million a day.” — Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn.-

My Take: You know, people in Bachmann’s position seldom choose statements like these. She must have been fed the info from someone on her staff, who took it from the “Blogosphere”, who in turn took that number from an anonymous source in India. Guys, blogs are fun but are normally, not good for research, when speaking to the media you gotta pull the numbers from dependable sources and dress them with your opinion. That’s analysis folks. Bachmann forgot that.

ObamaCare is a “government takeover” of health care. — Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio; Rep. C.W. Bill Young, R-Fla.; the Republican Party of Florida; Wisconsin Lt. Gov.-elect Rebecca Kleefisch; and others

My take: I’m not crazy about Obama’s healthcare plan. I’ll stand by party leadership on this one.

He needs to ease up on the tears, but I'll be looking forward to his leadership in the house

“Taliban Dan” Webster thinks wives should submit to their husbands. — Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla.

My Take: Ah, home cooking straight from the Lynx building (Grayson’s Office). My coverage of one of the biggest political follies of the year has been extensive. Posts like this one or this one were nothing compared to the beating Alan Grayson took in the media, and eventually the polls. You can’t get overzealous with your video editing and try to fly it by the voters.

“The stimulus has not created one private sector job.” — Gov.-elect Rick Scott, R-Fla.

My take: C’mon Guv! It’s in the past and Florida is open for business, but still…

“Ninety-four percent of small businesses will face higher taxes under the Democrats’ plan.” — Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas, and others

My take: There is a certain amount of spin to this statement. Doing nothing would have indeed raised taxes on every business because of the end of the Bush Era Tax Cuts. The Democrat’s plan to extend them only for the Sub 250 crowd, would drop that number substantially. This then leads to a the argument that is currently raging in Washington, which is another blog post entirely.

The Representative from Texas Randy Negebauer

“Phoenix is the No. 2 kidnapping capital of the world.” — Rep. John McCain, R-Ariz.,

My Take:This isn’t the BCS, I know statistics are powerful speech, but everyone knows how big kidnappings are in South America.

The ethics report “exonerates me.” — Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y.

My Take: Please….

Republicans want to dismantle or privatize Social Security. — Florida Democratic Party and other Democratic candidates

My Take: Look at the source. They can’t even pay there own employees! I suppose that is kind of ironic though, with their financial policies and all. I don’t like partisan shots, but this warrants it.

There are some doozies in there. Some of them make you laugh and others just tick you off. It will be interesting to see who wins.

Have a great weekend everybody!

Reviewing PolitiFacts "Lies of the year"

December 10, 2010 Uncategorized No comments

TGIF everyone, and can you believe only two weeks before Christmas? I’ve gotten very little shopping done and I gotta tell you, I hate giving people cash as a gift. I’ve got siblings that tell me they want money for Christmas, “No, if I give you cash, I feel like I’m paying a bill” I reply. Santa Claus does not slide down the chimney, look at the base of the Christmas tree and throw down a few dollars, like his tipping a waitress at the Chilis! Make a list of stuff that you would like to receive. Here we got with the last post of the week.

Reviewing PolitiFact’s lies of the year:The fact checkers from St. Petersburg’s Politifacts have had a banner year, getting tons of media coverage and putting dents in the accusations thrown at each other from our law makers. They have published their nominees for lies of the year. Lets have a look.

“The president of the United States will be taking a trip over to India that is expected to cost the taxpayers $200 million a day.” — Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn.-

My Take: You know, people in Bachmann’s position seldom choose statements like these. She must have been fed the info from someone on her staff, who took it from the “Blogosphere”, who in turn took that number from an anonymous source in India. Guys, blogs are fun but are normally, not good for research, when speaking to the media you gotta pull the numbers from dependable sources and dress them with your opinion. That’s analysis folks. Bachmann forgot that.

ObamaCare is a “government takeover” of health care. — Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio; Rep. C.W. Bill Young, R-Fla.; the Republican Party of Florida; Wisconsin Lt. Gov.-elect Rebecca Kleefisch; and others

My take: I’m not crazy about Obama’s healthcare plan. I’ll stand by party leadership on this one.

He needs to ease up on the tears, but I'll be looking forward to his leadership in the house

“Taliban Dan” Webster thinks wives should submit to their husbands. — Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla.

My Take: Ah, home cooking straight from the Lynx building (Grayson’s Office). My coverage of one of the biggest political follies of the year has been extensive. Posts like this one or this one were nothing compared to the beating Alan Grayson took in the media, and eventually the polls. You can’t get overzealous with your video editing and try to fly it by the voters.

“The stimulus has not created one private sector job.” — Gov.-elect Rick Scott, R-Fla.

My take: C’mon Guv! It’s in the past and Florida is open for business, but still…

“Ninety-four percent of small businesses will face higher taxes under the Democrats’ plan.” — Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas, and others

My take: There is a certain amount of spin to this statement. Doing nothing would have indeed raised taxes on every business because of the end of the Bush Era Tax Cuts. The Democrat’s plan to extend them only for the Sub 250 crowd, would drop that number substantially. This then leads to a the argument that is currently raging in Washington, which is another blog post entirely.

The Representative from Texas Randy Negebauer

“Phoenix is the No. 2 kidnapping capital of the world.” — Rep. John McCain, R-Ariz.,

My Take:This isn’t the BCS, I know statistics are powerful speech, but everyone knows how big kidnappings are in South America.

The ethics report “exonerates me.” — Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y.

My Take: Please….

Republicans want to dismantle or privatize Social Security. — Florida Democratic Party and other Democratic candidates

My Take: Look at the source. They can’t even pay there own employees! I suppose that is kind of ironic though, with their financial policies and all. I don’t like partisan shots, but this warrants it.

There are some doozies in there. Some of them make you laugh and others just tick you off. It will be interesting to see who wins.

Have a great weekend everybody!

Wikileaks, Buyer goes ballistic, and Christine O’Donnell says she would vote for Hilary

November 30, 2010 Uncategorized 2 comments

A whole list of things to go over today, lets get right to it.

Wikileaks goes too far:250,000 documents of material. Everything from political he said/ she said to Saudi Arabia’s encouragement of attacking Iran. Informants exposed and put into mortal danger says one publication. This is one big mess and one that significantly compromises the security of military operations overseas. We’ve got soldiers that can’t even give details to their spouses and then we have this clown…

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange

putting Americans in harm’s way because it will “deter future war crimes” but Assange is one of the most notorious hackers in the world and is using his resources to release this information because 1) He can and 2) He likes the “Pub”. He’s going after a major U.S bank next, the Department of Justice is looking into espionage charges. This is dangerous and has everyone from George W. to Hilary Clinton calling for action…and speaking of Hilary.

Christine O’Donnell would vote for Hilary Clinton: Calm down, calm down, this video from morning mix (3:24) with Stephanopolus points out that the former Senate candidate from Delaware would pull for the former first lady and current Secretary of State, in a primary against President Barack Obama, because “anyone is better than Obama”. Comedian and Obama supporter D.L Hughley points out that Sarah Palin is not better than Obama and there is some light political sparring that follows. O’Donnell adds that she would of course support anyone from the Republican party that earns the nomination.

Anyone is better than Obama, including Hilary Clinton according to O'Donnell

Rep. Stephen Buyer (R) Indiana flips out on the house floor:: This guy in the video attached is why I’m happy about sending Dan Webster and Sandy Adams to Washington. The representative from Indiana goes ballistic on the house floor when the presiding Democrat hesitated before allowing Buyer to speak (there wasn’t even anyone there). “This is why you were thrown out of power!” he shouts.

I’ve dealt with Alan Grayson for the last two years, I’m picky about my rants on the house floor, you gotta throw some fury they’re way. I would have liked to have seen a little less Jerry Mcguire from this guy and a little more Al Pacino from “Scent of a Woman”.

Buyer should have used this as a guide before flipping out on the house floor.

Take care everyone!

Wikileaks, Buyer goes ballistic, and Christine O'Donnell says she would vote for Hilary

November 30, 2010 Uncategorized One comment

A whole list of things to go over today, lets get right to it.

Wikileaks goes too far:250,000 documents of material. Everything from political he said/ she said to Saudi Arabia’s encouragement of attacking Iran. Informants exposed and put into mortal danger says one publication. This is one big mess and one that significantly compromises the security of military operations overseas. We’ve got soldiers that can’t even give details to their spouses and then we have this clown…

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange

putting Americans in harm’s way because it will “deter future war crimes” but Assange is one of the most notorious hackers in the world and is using his resources to release this information because 1) He can and 2) He likes the “Pub”. He’s going after a major U.S bank next, the Department of Justice is looking into espionage charges. This is dangerous and has everyone from George W. to Hilary Clinton calling for action…and speaking of Hilary.

Christine O’Donnell would vote for Hilary Clinton: Calm down, calm down, this video from morning mix (3:24) with Stephanopolus points out that the former Senate candidate from Delaware would pull for the former first lady and current Secretary of State, in a primary against President Barack Obama, because “anyone is better than Obama”. Comedian and Obama supporter D.L Hughley points out that Sarah Palin is not better than Obama and there is some light political sparring that follows. O’Donnell adds that she would of course support anyone from the Republican party that earns the nomination.

Anyone is better than Obama, including Hilary Clinton according to O'Donnell

Rep. Stephen Buyer (R) Indiana flips out on the house floor:: This guy in the video attached is why I’m happy about sending Dan Webster and Sandy Adams to Washington. The representative from Indiana goes ballistic on the house floor when the presiding Democrat hesitated before allowing Buyer to speak (there wasn’t even anyone there). “This is why you were thrown out of power!” he shouts.

I’ve dealt with Alan Grayson for the last two years, I’m picky about my rants on the house floor, you gotta throw some fury they’re way. I would have liked to have seen a little less Jerry Mcguire from this guy and a little more Al Pacino from “Scent of a Woman”.

Buyer should have used this as a guide before flipping out on the house floor.

Take care everyone!

Things I would like to see in the Lame Duck session.

November 15, 2010 Uncategorized No comments

The Lame duck session, where defeated members of Congress get to head up to D.C for one last party and to trash the place before the new guys take over.

Obviously if your Republican, you have a lot to be happy about. You see, while the Democratic, lame duck house majority is in session, the new guys are training in the same neighborhood. This can make for very awkward encounters on Capitol Hill. What are somethings, I would like to see during this lame duck session?

Just like this duck, Congress probably won't be getting much work done.

1. One more Alan Grayson floor speech: Go to town, Congressman! Just let it all out and remind these fools, how boring things are going to be without you. I want posterboard and easels, insults and puns, I want that gavel to be rocking by the time your through. If your gonna go out, go out with a speech that will have people talking for days and get you a couple of television offers.

2. Extend the dog-gone Bush Tax Cuts for everybody: Yea, I don’t make anywhere near 250K per year, but the business leaders that employ my family members do. People are still afraid to hire, it’s a sad fact and those unemployment numbers aren’t going down. I can understand some of the points that Democrats make against this argument, but if these cuts aren’t extended, the wealthy will still be wealthy and the unemployed will still be unemployed.

3. The promise of teamwork for next year: I was watching Meet the Press yesterday, and I watched David Gregory beat up on David Axelrod for about 10 minutes. Politics hasn’t frustrated me for a couple of weeks now, but the dialogue from that interview gave me a headache. “Is the President willing to compromise?” Gregory asked. Axelrod ducked and dodged. Gregory asked him again “Is the President willing to compromise?”…Once again another non-answer.

Is it really that hard to say? Isn’t marriage a compromise? It was an ugly reminder of how stubborn, the politicians in Washington can be and even though I’ve read that Axelrod is out, in a couple of weeks, it will take a compromise on both sides to get this country moving again.

Take care!

The Top Ten Political Rivalries of Central Florida- Part 2

November 10, 2010 Uncategorized One comment

Happy Wednesday! I hope this first week after the election madness is treating you well. That your exited for the future and the potential accomplishments that your recently elected lawmakers can achieve or, have started sharpening your claws and are well rested to second guess every decision they make. I started my top ten political rivalries of Central Florida yesterday (link attached) and here is the next part.

7. Alan Grayson vs. Orange County Republican Executive Committee Chairman Lew Oliver:
“He’s going to lose” – Lew Oliver – 2009
“We can win every other race in the state, but it’s not going to mean a thing, if Alan Grayson wins”
“If Alan Grayson wins, I’m going to have to cut my wrists”

All of this wasn’t unprovoked of course. Alan Grayson and the chairman traded insults, through the media for over a year.

“Lew Oliver couldn’t find a $20 dollar bill if it was stuck in his….” hey, hey, eh heh…well, you get the point. One of many shots, that Grayson fired in addition to his antics on the house floor.

Can you feel the love here? No, of course not.

It didn’t matter if the Republican nominee from the 8th district was Dan Webster or Elmo from Sesame Street, Lew Oliver was going to find a way for that candidate to win. If he had to knock on every door from the 55 West Luxury Condo building downtown, to the rural agriculture areas of the western part of the district. He was going to make it happen.

Who won?: Dan Webster won by a larger margin than anyone expected and Talk Shows from all of the networks had to scramble to cover the gaps created in their their schedules.

Elmo lower taxes!...yaaaaaaaaaaay

8. The Tea Party Movement vs. The Florida TEA Party:This is by far, the most difficult subject to explain to viewers on television during a 3 minute spot. I’ve done it a couple of times and each of those times, I’ve felt that the average person at home still isn’t going to know, whats really going on between these two. The whole thing gives me a headache but there is no denying, that this was one of the nastiest rivalries in Central Florida, this year.

Movement= Nationally associated initiative i.e Palin’s, Demint’s, Paul’s

TEA Party= Separate group that was able to register the name with the state. Not associated with the major movement.

What do you get, when you put the two together? Craziness. Interrupted press conferences, illegal mailers, “Nader” candidates that can potentially effect important elections, like Peg Dunmire in the Webster-Grayson race. Back and forth insults and a lot of confusing media coverage.

Who won?: The Movement was able to overcome some of the TEA party’s tricks and push a lot of their locally endorsed candidates to victory. On a national level, the movement effected some major races and has “a seat at the table” in Washington.

Whatever you might think of the Tea Party Movement, they make a difference in the outcome of elections

5. Rick Scott vs. The Media:A politician that doesn’t want to speak to the press? Really? Normally, candidates for office can’t wait to get in front of the TV cameras and talk about their platform to a captive audience of thousands. Not Rick Scott. In fact, at the beginning of his campaign the media was a pain in his side. He was spotted quickly walking away from the press corp. He avoided the spin room after debates and as for Newspaper Editorial Board interviews? No, way! I’m worth 218 million dollars, those interviews are for the “normal candidates”, I’m super rich!.

Who won?: Despite forfeiting every Newspaper endorsement in the state, Rick Scott is going to be the next Governor of Florida. He re-wrote the rules for running for State-wide office in Florida and won. He will no doubt take a beating from the media for the next few years, but he’s no stranger to that.

The final part Friday. Some hints, we still haven’t heard the last from our incoming and out-going Governors.

Your Complete Central Florida General Elections Wrap-up

November 3, 2010 Uncategorized One comment

The Hunt for Red November was successful, to say the least.

The Republicans dominated almost every race and sent shock-waves that spread from Orlando, to the rest of the country. Democrats can at least take solace in knowing that they still have the Senate and the White House, but still its kind of a bummer for them. It’s been a great ride, please let me break it all down for you.

Rick Scott Wins Florida Governor’s Race:: Rick Scott re-wrote the rulebook to Florida Politics. It was awkward but in the end, Florida chose to elect a the businessman who touted his job creating experience. Who built a company from nothing. He knew attacking the President was the route to the Governor’s mansion. He ducked Newspaper Op-Ed boards and didn’t talk to the media if it wasn’t a friendly set up. Billion dollar medical fraud? Yeah, but that was like sooo long ago..

He ran Bill McCullom off the road in that pick-up truck of his and took the Republican Nomination. The party quickly united behind him and he picked the remarkable Jennifer Carrol as his running mate to criss-cross the state with, armed with the best tag-line of Florida’s election cycle, told the voters “Let’s get to work”

What did Alex Sink do wrong? Well, that’s a tough one. Her biggest mistake when referring to this race wasn’t done during her campaign or even during her tenure with Bank of America or Nations Bank.

It was the day she registered as a Democrat in the State of Florida.

Her verdict came down along with a lot of other Democrats that ran great races but came up short. It just wasn’t the year to be in the same party as the President and Rick Scott never missed an opportunity to let the voters know that.

Rick Scott is the new Governor of Florida and I know two things. He’s got the ability to get the state back on its feet and secondly no one knows what to expect.

Let’s Get To Work! This guy is going to give me a lot to write about!

Rick Scott broke the rules and won the Governor's race his way

The Rise of Rubio- Marco Rubio wins Florida Senate Race: Yea, it was the perfect ending to a great senate race and a milestone in a career full of limitless potential. Marc Rubio easily won and his victory speech was just phenomenal. Let me give you the highlights.

“It’s a good thing you didn’t start shouting Polo or we’d all be in trouble”

“This is a second chance for Republicans to be what they said they were going to be”

“I know America is great, not because I read it in a book, but because I’ve seen it with my eyes”

“I will always be the son of exiles”

“This race was never about me or us (family). It was about the fact that we are privileged to be part of this great society and that is worth fighting for.”

“It doesn’t matter if your dad was a bartender or if your mom was a maid. You can accomplish anything if you work hard and play by the rules”

Kendrick Meek never stood a chance, but he did stand his ground against amazing pressure and for that he definitely has my respect.

Rubio beat Governor Crist (twice, if you count bailing from the GOP primary), so what’s next for the Governor? “Going fishing and finishing strong for the people of Florida” he said earlier. I’ll miss our wacky Governor’s survival antics and one-liners. This is probably going to be it for him. I actually hope not and would like to see him pop up on television somewhere. He’s just too much fun to watch.

As remarkable as Rubio's story is, this might only be the beginning

Dan Webster wins the 8th Congressional District Race:

In the end, it was the soft spoken statesman from Winter Garden, that defeated the Street Fighting Man from Orlando.

Alan Grayson has lost and as the results were shown, cheers erupted from the Republicans in the 8th district. Two years of vicious dialogue and frustration gone, with a bigger margin that hardly anyone expected. This was a hurricane of a politician, who threw everything nasty he could, at the quiet gentleman who refused to fight back.

“Dan Webster doesn’t care about Veterans”
Say something, Webster

“Webster billed us for a stairway to nowhere”
No he didn’t, come on Dan

“Submit to me” from the heavily spliced Taliban Dan ad
Fight back Webster! I even spoke up for him a few times on television.

It didn’t matter if they were shredding his signs or invading his rallies, Dan Webster didn’t attack. The ruthless Grayson campaign tried to provoke the midnight blue and cotton-white (the colors of the Webster campaign) with everything they could and the only reply they got was polite silence.

They waited for the storm to pass and when it was over they moved forward, got the vote out and defeated one of the most notorious members of the House of Representatives.

Alan Grayson’s concession speech was an eye opener. He displayed a very rare moment of vulnerability. It wasn’t the fire-breathing monster that the country saw on the house floor or on television. It wasn’t the big Hollywood production type of display, that were shown on his commercials.

It was just a guy who loved his country and did what he felt, was sincerely the best way to serve it.

I saw Dan Webster this morning on television, waving thank you signs with children from his campaign that were having a good time, and playing nearby. It was a fitting final image of a political effort that turned away, from the hostility that you saw in almost every other race.

Quiet strength beats anger on full blast any day, and Dan Webster couldn’t have demonstrated that any better.

The same mentality that Webster had in Tally was the same that won him this race

Sandy Adams wins the 24th Congressional District race: Sandy Adams never quit. Not when she was running low on campaign funds, back in June. Not when the NRCC wasn’t paying her any mind and not when the media made sure to point that out whenever possible.

Now she’s my new Congresswoman.

It’s a great story and now the district has the representative that really represents what they’re all about. Strong conservative leadership. Forget money, she had people and they worked as hard as anyone to knock on doors and get those yards signs out.

Did Suzanne Kosmas really want to be there during this last year? I watched her concession speech and she looked almost relieved that she wasn’t going to be the object of attack from angry constituents. I’m probably wrong and it was late, but she has taken so many shots and isn’t a fighter like Grayson. She stays out of the public eye. Suzanne Kosmas means well, but she was in over her head in Washington.

Congratulations to former Orange County Deputy and State Representative Sandy Adams.

She never quit and now she's the new Congresswoman from Florida's 24th district

Teresa Jacobs wins Orange County Mayoral Race:
Now that’s how you run a campaign….Planning+People+Platform+Possible Donors.
Be honest, and don’t promise anything you can’t deliver on. That’s it.
It sounds simple but, it takes the right candidate to do it and ever since she’s entered the race, our new Mayor of Orange County Teresa Jacobs has demonstrated it.

I’ve written a lot about this race and it’s no secret, that I’ve been a Teresa Jacobs fan for a while, and now I’m happy that we’re going to see where she can take this county. A mayor that’s not afraid of the powerful lobbyist or developers and will make the decisions that are right for everyone, not just the wealthy.

I’ll probably never run for office, but if I did, this would be the campaign I would want to run.

Jeff Atwater wins Florida CFO race: He really was the best candidate for the job. Congratulations, Govern..I mean Sena..ahem….to our new CFO!

Adam Putnam wins Florida Commissioner of Agriculture race: My post on this race was one of the most popular in the state. I hope that a lot of people read it and that our new Commissioner of Agriculture will make the day to day operations easier for his constituents.

Pam Bondi wins Florida Attorney General race: Hey America! This is our Attorney General!

She's beautiful and she takes on drug dealers!

What do you got?

My election cycle crush, easily beat her opponent Dan Gelber (and that silly St. Bernard scandal) to become Florida’s new Attorney General. I joke about her appearance a lot but she didn’t take any breaks and worked as hard as any other state-wide candidate I’ve seen.

Congratulations!

Epic Amendment 4 FAIL: That thing was a nightmare. Good work by those guys getting the info out.

Jennifer Thompson wins Orange County District 4 Commissioner race: One of the best run campaigns in the region this year and the right way to combine social media and politics.

Dr. Tina Calderone wins Seminole County School Board Race: Two strong candidates and only one seat. Hopefully, Becky Erwin will run for office again, in the future.

Jason Brodeur wins State House District 33: The red and black was everywhere this year.

Dean Cannon wins State House District 35: The speaker designate had a great team on the ground and a terrific ad campaign.

Scott Randolph wins State House District 36: Downtown missed out on another great candidate by voting for this guy.

Eric Eisnaugle wins State House District 40: What’s an Eisnaugle? A well like State-Rep that is returning to Tally.

Steve Precourt wins State House District 41: A hardworking campaign that was constantly knocking on doors, delivered victory.

Darren Soto wins State House District 49: I don’t always agrees with what he says, but a we need a Hispanic presence in the state legislature.

Mike Horner wins State House District 79 An endorsement from Mike Huckabee and cool commercials with horses, never hurts.

and there you have it.

I can’t say enough about this cycle and all of the candidates. Including the ones from the primaries and even out in Volusia and Lake Counties where I don’t always travel. I’ve had the chance to meet most of the people that ran for office and know who really made it happen.

Their campaigns.

Candidates can only go so far without great people to stand with them. They knock on doors, make phone calls, unload trucks, and talk to voters. Those are the real winners and I hope the candidates realize that.

A candidate without a great campaign staff and volunteers, is like a cowboy without a horse. They might be the right one for the job, but they can’t get anywhere by themselves.

I won’t be posting everyday for a little while. In fact I might take a break for the rest of this week. I have some great ideas and it’s not over, not by a long shot.

I have to start figuring out, who is ready to declare for 2012!

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