Auld Lang Syne

"Remember no man is a failure who has friends."

To those of you who were my friends in 2011, I'm deeply and profoundly grateful. Some of you I've known for years, some of you are new, but you're all a blessing in my life. Thank you.

May you and your loved ones have a happy and blessed 2012.

No, Marco Rubio does not support SOPA

The internet makes sharing information quick and easy, but sometimes it also facilitates the spread of misinformation. Such is the case with HR 3261, the Stop Internet Piracy Act ("SOPA").

Reality check on Voter ID

From the Republican National Lawyers Association's blog:

Ron Paul Bumper Stickers!

Heh. These are great, from the blog Woody's Place:

Interesting perspective on welfare abuse

Earlier this month, Christine Rousselle wrote a thought-provoking post at The College Conservative, detailing her observations of welfare fraud as a Wal-Mart cashier:

"That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown."

YouTube | Charlie Brown Christmas

"Glory to God in the Highest, and Earth, Peace, and Good Will toward Men."

"That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown."

Well said, Linus.

Thanks for sharing my little corner of the internet for another year. May God bless you and your families on this Christmas Day, and continue to do so in 2012 and beyond.

- Sarah

Ronald Reagan's 1981 Christmas Address

Last year on Christmas Eve, I posted the video from President Ronald Reagan's 1981 Christmas address to our country, the end of his first year in office:

Why I don't give a flying you-know-what about Ron Paul's economic ideas

Liberty! Constitution! I win the debate!

For the past year, every time anyone criticizes Ron Paul's ridiculous foreign policy, his minions supporters leap to his defense, demanding that you admit how obviously brilliant his domestic economic policies are.

My response to this has always been that a great economic policy won't help much if we embrace a suicidal foreign policy. Arguing that the United States should exercise prudence before intervening in the affairs of other nations is one thing, saying that it's "understandable" that Iran wants a nuclear weapon and blaming America 9/11 is something else altogether.

I'm now beyond the point of just disliking Paul's foreign policy. The ugly bigotry that this man has openly encouraged among his supporters is absolutely inexcusable, and he deserves nothing but scorn from respectable conservatives.

A lesson from the Florida Bar Exam for the Presidential candidates

I was sharing a few law school stories with a friend recently, and was reminded about something entertaining that happened when I took the Florida Bar Exam (and yes, this really does relate to the presidential race).

Rubio: "We Are a Nation of Haves and Soon-To-Haves"

Here's the floor speech Senator Rubio gave this week commemorating his first year in the United States Senate:

Rubio Exposes Idiocy of Obama Administration's Cuban travel program

Senator Marco Rubio gave a rousing speech from the Senate floor this week in which he sharply criticized Obama's relaxing of restrictions on Cuban travel, pointing out that the Castro regime was taking advantage of the White House's weakness:

Nikki Haley to endorse Romney? [UPDATED: Yes, she did]

POLITICO is reporting that a major endorsement is coming Mitt Romney's way:

Meatloaf and Mulligans

Yesterday, the Leon County Circuit Court issued a ruling that removed Amendment 7, also known as the "Religious Freedom Act," from the 2012 ballot:

The difference between me & Glenn Beck is when I rant and rave, I make sense!

On Tuesday, I was on The Ed Dean Radio Show to discuss Glenn Beck's comments about Newt Gingrich, his feud with Andrew Breitbart, and the latest on the Republican primary presidential race. Oh, and I go on a rant or two about the damage caused by unrealistic conservative commentators, the quest for a "perfect" candidate, and flirting with third parties.

Senator Rubio's Christmas message for the tea party [VIDEO]

Senator Marco Rubio's office released a video message this week, with a holiday greeting and special thanks to the many tea party activists across the state who helped support his election:

Hello there

Hello, friends. Sorry I haven't posted anything in a few days. I'm not gone, just the real world has intruded a little bit. (Hey, if you want me to be a full time blogger, hit the tip jar and let me know that you appreciate what I'm doing or help me find some of that eeeeeeeevil corporate sellout sponsorship cash that conservative bloggers are always accused of getting.)

Attorney General George Costanza

Attorney General Eric Holder may have no clue what's going on in his Justice Department, but the situation is crystal clear to Florida's Republican Congressional Representatives (see my post yesterday with Representative Sandy Adams grilling Holder).

Here's a clever little video put together by Representative Dennis Ross' office:

On the campaign trail with Adam Hasner

Here's the latest update from the campaign trail from Florida Senate candidate Adam Hasner:

Fast and Furious: I don't want resignations, I want handcuffs

The more I learn about Fast and Furious, the angrier I get. Recent congressional testimony by Attorney General Eric Holder and his subordinates is making it clear that the entire AG's office is infected with epidemic-level incompetence, stupidity, corruption, or a combination of the three.

Free advice for Eric Holder: your goal should be to appear incompetent, because the alternative (liar) makes prison a solid possibility.Thu Dec 08 18:11:39 via EchofonSarah Rumpf
rumpfshaker

Dear GOP Candidates, Come Get Me

As I noted last week, I've been officially "undecided" about who I'm supporting in the Republican presidential primary for a few weeks. 

Will McBride endorses Adam Hasner for Senate

We've got yet another conservative endorsement for Adam Hasner today, and it's someone who is personally familiar with running for Senate in Florida: Will McBride.

McBride, who came in second in the 2006 Republican Senate primary, was widely viewed as the grassroots conservative alternative to Katherine Harris, who went on to get defeated by Bill Nelson. I voted for McBride in the primary, and it was disheartening to see Harris fail to generate excitement and then watch Nelson waltz to an easy reelection. True, Harris was burdened by Democrat and media attacks based on her role in the 2000 recount, but her inability to connect with voters also played a big role in her defeat.

The 2006 race provides an important lesson for Republican primary voters: we need to elect a candidate who the grassroots can trust to fight for conservative principles, and who is free from baggage that Nelson and the Democrats could exploit.

There's only one candidate in the race who meets that description: Adam Hasner.

Herman Cain: Wasted Potential

In case you were under a rock today, Herman Cain announced earlier that he is suspending his presidential campaign. There's a million articles up already with the details of what he said, so I'm not going to bother with rehashing the announcement. Instead, I'd like to put down a few thoughts on the campaign and where it all went wrong.

My name is Sarah, and I'm a lightbulb hoarder

The ban on incandescent bulbs is one of those egregious abuses of Congressional authority that just illustrates everything that's wrong with our federal government.

Another hurricane season ends and Florida keeps playing Russian Roulette

November 30 was the official end of the 2011 Hurricane Season, marking the sixth consecutive year that Florida has dodged a bullet:

Stupid peasants, you're not supposed to ask questions

Earlier this week, I referred to Mitt Romney as "Emperor Romney" in a post...

Sunshine State Sarah | Does Emperor Romney Have No Clothes?

...and an interview he gave with Bret Baier on Tuesday made me think that this nickname might actually be pretty appropriate:

Polls: Do they matter?

An interesting look back...here's the Real Clear Politics Average from the GOP Presidential primary race four years ago (figures from November 30, 2007):

Rudy Giuliani - 28.5%
Fred Thompson - 14.2%
John McCain - 12.8%
Mitt Romney - 12.7%
Mike Huckabee - 9.2%
Ron Paul - 4.2%