Heck yeah, I'm biased! And proud of it!

Thanks, troll! 

"You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood for something in your life." 

- Winston Churchill

The fun part about blogging is I always know when I've been effective: if some anonymous troll attacks me personally, that means I've hit home. 

So this morning, when the so-called "Florida Conservative News" website slammed me, I just had to laugh:

Florida Conservative News | Biased Blogging Awards: Sarah Rumpf Fibs About Getting Paid By the Hasner Campaign

The article says that they are starting a series called "Biased Blogging Awards," because "A lot of bloggers out there represent themselves as unbiased, just reporting 'the facts,' and very seldomly do they disclose their true motivations."

And, oh, what's this? I'm the first winner! 

[Sorry...had to take a moment and clean up the coffee I spit on my computer screen after laughing too hard.]

FCN links to another post where they slam what they call "Astroturf Blogging," in which a blogger claims to be objective, gets paid advertising dollars by a candidate, and then writes positive posts about that candidate. That's not what I do.

FCN also complains about fake Facebook and Twitter accounts. Again, that's not something I do. I'm blogging and posting on Facebook and Twitter under my real name. (I do have two Facebook accounts, one personal and one for this blog, but they are both very clearly identified and neither is anonymous).

I also have to laugh at the irony of an anonymous website complaining about "astroturfing bloggers" who use anonymous accounts, and then attacking me using the same words as another anonymous Twitter account:

Classy @rumpfshaker. Why did you fib about the @AdamHasner cash you got? Too "caffeinated" that day? #sayfie #flsenFri Nov 11 18:51:36 via Mobile WebTeaParty Mom
TeaPartyMom1

[Cough...cough...hypocrite...cough...]

Back to the original charge...OF COURSE I'm biased! I've never claimed to be anything but biased! I've never claimed to be objective! This is my personal blog, with my opinions.

From a post back in September:

Sunshine State Sarah | If I were any more transparent, I'd be invisible

My original - and current - purpose for this website was simply to share my opinions and start some discussions. I decided from the beginning that I was going to be as transparent as possible. I directly and explicitly declare my allegiances, and I believe I am one of the very few bloggers who discloses their endorsements. I've certainly never seen one do so as openly as I do, with an "Endorsement" link viewable from every page on this site. I want to share my opinions, advocate for candidates I support, and argue for my causes...

There is a lot of talk today about bias in journalism, but I do not see any way to completely remove bias from the media business. Every person has opinions and biases; that is part of what makes us human.In my opinion, the best solution is not to give in to the fallacy that truly unbiased reporting is possible, but to be as transparent as possible about the biases of the person reporting the story, and let readers decide for themselves the merit and trustworthiness of that story. 

On the note of "business practices," I am not a blogger. I am an election/campaign finance law attorney and political consultant who happens to have a blog. There is no way to completely separate what I do for a living with what I write here. I have worked for too many candidates and organizations to be able write about Florida politics and not occasionally write about someone for whom I've worked.

What has FCN's feathers all ruffled is a $549 payment I received back in August. I was asked at the last minute to assist the Hasner campaign at an event in August and was compensated in a one-time expenditure. In fact, on August 25th, when I wrote the post, I had not received any payment at all. I didn't even know that the August 24th check had been cut or was in the mail. 


I was not on the payroll of the campaign and had no contract for any additional services at that time. I was not actually offered a contract to work for the campaign until early October. As soon as the contract details were finalized, I publicly announced that I was working for the campaign, posting the news on Twitter and on my blog. 


I joined the campaign payroll in October, not August. Again, I go back to what I wrote on August 25, that even if I were being paid a million dollars, no one has offered anything to refute what I've written.


And to anyone who thinks I can be bought for only $549, I encourage you to make a donation at this website's PayPal link and I'll get back to you. ;)

So, to the anonymous trolls out there, thank you! I greatly appreciate the feedback and encouragement. I'll just keep doing what I'm doing, since you've proven I'm effective! 


XOXO,
Sarah