"Perspective"

Math is depressing, isn't it?

[Cartoon by Gary Varvel at the Week]

Catching up with Sean Bielat

Republican Congressional candidate Sean Bielat has been busy this past week, with lots of media appearances and meetings with voters throughout Massachusetts' Fourth District. Here are some of the highlights:

What's behind the shady false attacks on Cliff Stearns?

Cliff Stearns never struck me as controversial. Quiet and unassuming, he's managed to forge a solidly conservative path during his time in Congress, but largely avoided the spotlight until this past year, when he earned accolades for his work leading the Solyndra investigation. So I was, quite frankly, shocked that this election year brought not only a slew of primary challengers against Stearns, but also at the level of vitriol of their attacks on him.

Representative Plakon and Precourt's Role in Inspiring Florida's Lawsuit Against ObamaCare

Thousands protest in front of the Supreme
Court to support overturning ObamaCare

This week, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of Florida vs. United States Department of Health and Human Services (for an excellent recap, please see this write-up by the Texas Public Policy Foundation), the lawsuit filed by the State of Florida against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, aka "ObamaCare."

Florida's previous Attorney General, Bill McCollum, filed the complaint on March 23, 2010. The litigation was joined by attorneys general in numerous other states, and some states filed separate lawsuits, but Florida's case has been the linchpin in moving this challenge forward all the way to the Supreme Court.

ObamaCare and its unconstitutional power grab have galvanized conservatives across the country and united them in their opposition to the Obama administration. What many people don't know is the back story behind how Florida's lawsuit came to be. I recently came across some interesting information when I was doing some research for one of my last Florida clients before I leave for Massachusetts.

No CGI Bunnies Were Harmed in the Making of this Video...

...but we can't say the same for small businesses in the current economy.

The latest video from Cain Connections:

A Message for Monday

So I'm sitting here feeling cranky because I have one week left in this house before the big move to MA and of course nothing can just be simple and now there's some sort of something wretchedly wrong with the plumbing (this isn't my area of expertise, but I'm pretty darn sure that when you run the washing machine, sandy water isn't supposed to flow up into your bathtub) and my new buddy from Roto-Rooter is pulling freaking tree roots out of the pipes (yes, this is a real thing that happens in older houses, oh, such joy) and it's going to cost several hundred dollars, ugh...

And then I came across this photo, and, well, it put things in a little more perspective:

Bill Posey's New Friend

Congressman Bill Posey represents Florida's Fifteenth District, and yesterday, he made a new friend:

Sean Bielat on Monica Crowley's Radio Show Today

Republican candidate for Massachusetts' Fourth Congressional District, Sean Bielat, will be a guest on Monica Crowley's radio show on 77 WABC New York today. Her show starts at 1:00 pm ET, and he'll be on at 1:30 pm.

You can listen online at www.WABCradio.com or Monica has posted a list of all the stations nationwide where her show is syndicated here.

Gotta Love Mia Love

Mia Love is running for Congress in Utah's Fourth Congressional District, and her last name is really well-suited to her: when you get to know her, you're going to love her.

Watch this PJTV video to see for yourself.

Proven track record as a fiscal conservative, smart as a whip, and incredibly nice? More of this, please. And she quotes Bastiat? Sheer awesomeness.

Obama isn't bad at everything...

Barack Obama gets a lot of criticism on this site, so I thought it was only fair to give him credit when he did something right.

Fair's fair. I'll give him credit for doing one thing well...

Dennis Ross knows how to solve Congress' spending problem

The past month has gone by in a blur, traveling to Washington, D.C. for CPAC and then getting everything lined up for my new gig in Massachusetts, so I'm still catching up on the "really want to write a blog post about this but haven't yet" list.

When I was in D.C. last month, Representative Dennis Ross (FL-12) sat down with me for a short interview. We discussed his experiences as a freshman Congressman, his frustrations with how Congress deals with spending, and also his bill for "Zero-Based Budgeting" (more on that below):

Give me coffee or give me death!

From Right Wing News

How the heck did I miss this?

Apparently the recent discussions about Obamacare's health care mandate and the whole kerfuffle surrounding Sandra "my law school tuition is $45,000 a year but I should get free birth control" Fluke have led some people to start examining whether the government should mandate other benefits:

Wall Street Journal | Coffee Is an Essential Benefit Too

It's Going To Be Wicked Awesome, Y'all...

Sunset at the SW Florida ranch of a family friend

The weather in Orlando today is in the high 70s with a light breeze. Florida is an incredibly beautiful state, and in my opinion, it is at its best in the springtime.

It is pretty much heaven on earth here right now.

So what could possibly entice me to leave Florida?

It would have to be something really amazing, a great challenge, a worthwhile cause.

The Florida Legislature: Cooler Than You Knew

Who knew the Florida Legislature was so cool? They apparently now have their own rap song:


YouTube | AssociationStudios | Senator Bennett: "I Drink That Scotch"

Hat tip to Brad Herold, who tweeted out this video last weekend along with a comment that, "I'm so glad that someone is finally realizing my dream of auto-tuning the FL Legislature."

Clear contrast in race for Massachusetts' 4th District

Sean Bielat, candidate (R, MA-4)

What a contrast...

Last Thursday, Republican Congressional candidate Sean Bielat kicked off his campaign for Massachusetts' Fourth Congressional District at a VFW Hall in Needham, a quaint little town of less than 30,000. Bielat asked his supporters to bring friends and make a "suggested donation" of $20.

Meanwhile, Bielat's Democratic opponent, Joe P. Kennedy III (grandson of Robert Kennedy), will be flying to California next week to raise money from some of those Democrats in Hollywood. Tickets start at $500 per person. 

"War on Women?" Ha! Here on the right, we're having a grand old time.

One of the Left's favorite little fear-mongering games is to call conservatives "anti-woman," and accuse the right of attempting to "control women's bodies." Unfortunately for Obama's reelection hopes, the ladies just aren't buying it:

Big Patriotism

Just wanted to share this excellent portrait of Andrew Breitbart, created by Dale Toons:

The only thing better than an op-ed by Marco Rubio...

...is an op-ed by Marco Rubio, and also Jim DeMint, Rand Paul, Mike Lee, and Ron Johnson.

The five senators cooperated to write an op-ed published in POLITICO earlier today, advocating for a balanced budget:

Adams vs. Mica race heats up

Rep. Sandy Adams
(FL-24...soon to be FL-7?)

The battle royale for Florida's Seventh Congressional District continues to intensify as long-time incumbent and Transportation Committee Chairman John Mica works to build an immense war chest, and first-term Congresswoman Sandy Adams reaches out to her conservative base. The redistricting process left both Republicans living in the same district, as well as creating a new district to the north.

The race is drawing comparisons to 2010's race between Charlie Crist and Marco Rubio, with Mica viewed as more of a big government moderate and Adams attracting support from staunch fiscal conservatives and tea partiers.

I'm more of a Hoosier than Dick Lugar

Both of these guys are running for Senate in Indiana.
Only one of them actually lives there.

Indiana Senator Dick Lugar has not owned a home in the state for more than three decades, but he had the audacity to be outraged when a local election board ruled yesterday that he had abandoned his Indiana residence and was ineligible to vote.

POLITICO reported that Lugar characterized the ruling as the result of "a rather concerted campaign by self-appointed persons who believe this is the best way to settle the Indiana election."

Actually, Senator Lugar, it is the United States Constitution that states that this is how Senate elections are supposed to be settled. It's in the third paragraph of Article I, Section 3, to be precise:

Paul Ryan: America Deserves a Better Path [VIDEO]

Reason #7,519,078 why I love Paul Ryan: he gets it, I mean really gets it, regarding the financial crisis that our country is facing.

Watch this video that the House Budget Committee released earlier today:

Priorities

Nice to see our Commander-in-Chief has his priorities straight. Instapundit took notice of something on Drudge Report earlier today:

MATT DRUDGE DEMONSTRATES THE ART OF DRUDGETAPOSITION:

Says a lot, doesn't it?

(Hat tip: @JammieWF)

In Winter Garden, Nice Guys Finish First: Bobby Olszewski Wins Commission Race

Winter Garden's newest
commissioner

In the middle of all the hullabaloo about the Alabama, Mississippi, and Hawaiian primaries (and also American Samoa, don't forget, ha), you might have missed a little municipal election in Winter Garden, but I was very glad to see the results.

My friend and fellow Orange County Young Republican, Bobby Olszewski, was elected to the District 3 Commission seat, winning an impressive 70.17% of the vote against incumbent Harold Bouler.

Let it snow!

You may have noticed a new website layout here at Sunshine State Sarah. The tropical sunset and palm trees have been replaced by a snowy winter scene.

Hmmm...it never snows like that here in Florida...what could that mean?

Stay tuned...big announcement coming soon...

- Sarah

Call-From Home Program for Mitt Romney

Just got an email from my friend Molly Donlin, who helped head up Mitt Romney's victory here in Florida:

"...It’s been a thrill to be out on the road, but we do miss the Florida sunshine and are eager to get back and get to work on defeating President Obama in the General. We all wanted to say thank you for all you have done, not only for our Florida election, but for all the contests afterwards. If folks are looking to help out in these later primary states, we encourage everyone to use our call from home program http://www.mittromney.com/call-home/landing and make GOTV calls into other states. Every little bit helps!"

Tweet of the Day

Andrew Breitbart, father of four, friend to many, and inspiration to countless more, was laid to rest today in California.

Big Journalism Editor Dana Loesch sent out a simple tweet a few hours ago with just "#war" as the only text and this photo:

Remodeling Idea

Heh. This is just something silly I found on twitter, courtesy of @shybullwinkle:

Want to keep up with Congressman Webster? There's an app for that!

My Congressman, Daniel Webster, announced yesterday that he has a new mobile app, available for iPhone and Android.

I downloaded the iPhone version, and it's easy to navigate, with links to Webster's YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter accounts, news updates, lots of information about initiatives that Webster supports, upcoming legislation, tours of the Capitol, and more.

You can download the app at the Android Market or iTunes.

Two videos, one voice: #IAmAndrewBreitbart

In case you missed it, Andrew Breitbart's websites relaunched last night with a fantastic, updated layout and a renewed commitment to do the job that the media failed to do in 2008: vet the record of Barack Obama.

Take some time today and wander around Breitbart.com - there's some incredible content posted there during just the last 24 hours (you will definitely want to check out Andrew's last article: The Vetting, Part I: Barack's Love Song to Alinsky).

Breitbart in 140 or less

Image by Bosch Fawstin

I wrote a post about Andrew Breitbart's untimely passing yesterday. I didn't know him as well as some others, who had these amazing personal stories to share about him, so I wanted to gather as many links as I could find. It  is a great tribute to him that there are so many people out there whom he personally affected.

(Note: I'll probably do one or two more updates, so if your post isn't yet included, please post it as a comment or send it to me on twitter @rumpfshaker.)


Andrew was a creature of social media if there ever was one, and many people took to Twitter yesterday to share their memories of him. Accordingly, it seemed fitting to do one final post in his honor with a collection of tweets.

So, here is Andrew Breitbart, in 140 characters or less...

We have lost a giant: RIP Andrew Breitbart (1969-2012) [UPDATED to include lots of links]

Today, we have lost a giant.

I received a phone call this morning with some incredibly sad news: that Andrew Breitbart had passed away.

I had gotten to know Andrew over the past year, and I am so sorry that more of you will never get to know what a warm, kindhearted, wonderful man he was.

He was incredibly generous with his time, and loved to sit and chat with anyone who wanted to get more involved in politics. Over the next few days you are going to hear many, many stories from conservative bloggers and activists who he personally encouraged (I've linked to some below - if you'd like your post linked, please post it in the comments or email it to me). The word I keep hearing this morning about him is "fighter," and he truly was.