Allen West calls Obama a "lamb standing before lions"

I've made no secret of my admiration for Florida Congressman Allen West, and his tough, no-nonsense way of speaking...

...and West has made no secret of his disapproval of President Obama's foreign policy strategies.

In a Facebook post this afternoon, West posted a blistering critique in response to Obama's visit to Fort Bliss earlier today:

Zing! RPOF Chair sends DWS a "preview" of Crist's DNC speech

I've had a lot of fun following the Republican Party of Florida's communications over the past few years. They've been doing a great job with some pithy, snarky attacks on the Democrats, like Alex Sink's "iCheat" kerfuffle during the 2010 gubernatorial debates.

When the news broke that our former Governor (and World's Tallest Oompa Loompa) Charlie Crist was endorsing Barack Obama for president, RPOF was quick to respond with a press release condemning Crist's political opportunism and a detailed list of quotes Crist had said when he was still trying to run as a Republican.

Now that the Democrats have announced that Crist will speak at the Democratic National Committee, the RPOF was once again ready with a sharp response:

Jeb! at #GOP2012

[Live-blogging at the RNC...please forgive any errors. Make sure to follow me on twitter: @rumpfshaker]

My former governor (and the first one for whom I could vote), Jeb Bush, entered the stage at the Republican National Convention to a standing ovation and thunderous applause. 

Here are Bush's remarks, along with a teacher and school choice advocate who joined him on stage:

Rep. Connie Mack's #GOP2012 speech

Florida Congressman and Senate candidate Connie Mack gave a positive and uplifting speech to open tonight's Republican National Convention, telling the crowd that "once again, it's morning in America," a tribute to Ronald Reagan. 

Mack delivered his speech and closed with, "Thank you! God bless America!" and then, "I love you, Florida!" as he pointed at the Florida delegation and then exited the stage. 

Excerpts from Mitt Romney's speech tonight

[I'm live-blogging from the Tampa Bay Times Forum, so please forgive any errors. Also, follow me on Twitter @rumpfshaker for more updates as the evening progresses.]

The Republican National Convention concludes tonight with speeches from Florida Senate candidate Connie Mack, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, a surprise guest (widely rumored to be Clint Eastwood), and the official acceptance speech from our nominee for President, Mitt Romney.

Here are excerpts from Romney's speech that he will give tonight:

Excerpts from Paul Ryan's speech tonight

Here are some excerpts from the speech Paul Ryan will give tonight:

#GOP2012 interview with Matt Kibbe

I ran into Matt Kibbe, the President of FreedomWorks, earlier today in the Google Lounge at the Tampa Convention Center. Here's his comments on Paul Ryan as the Republican Vice Presidential nominee and why conservatives need to unite behind the Romney/Ryan ticket to defeat Barack Obama:

Media Malpractice

The MSM's coverage of the Republican National Convention last night was completely ridiculous. 

Ann calls Mitt "The man America needs" in her speech tonight

The Republican Convention has released some excerpts from Ann Romney's speech, scheduled for 10 p.m. tonight:

Turning Massachusetts Red, Part II

Almost two months ago, I wrote a post titled "Turning Massachusetts Red," about several of the Republican Congressional candidates running in Massachusetts, Sean Bielat, Jon Golnik, Jeff Semon, and Chris Sheldon:

New Square app for donating to Romney

The Romney Square card reader

I ran into my friend Justin Hart earlier today, who is part of the Romney campaign's Digital Team. He told me about a new grassroots fundraising program that they are launching using the Square card readers for smartphones.

If you haven't seen this before, Square is an app that lets any smartphone accept credit card payments. You just plug the tiny device (it's about 1" square) into the headphone jack on your phone, download the app, and you're ready to go. Lots of small businesses are using them and Square is starting to be used by campaigns and charities now too.

The Romney campaign has a special app and are giving away the card reader devices free to anyone who signs up at www.mittromney.com/square. Justin was nice enough to chat with me on video about the Romney Square app and share how it works:

RIP Neil Armstrong: 1930 - 2012

Hero.

Astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon as part of the Apollo 11 mission on July 20, 1969, passed away earlier today at the age of 82.

His family released a moving statement to the media, which I've excerpted below:

Neil was our loving husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend...

"Woman Up!" Pavilion at #GOP2012

My friend Brian Hughes at Meteoric Media just sent me an email about the "Woman Up!" Pavilion at the Republican Convention next week in Tampa that his company is helping the YG Network promote.

There will be a lot of great speakers, panel discussions, interactive displays, and more throughout the week. Make sure to stop by and check it out! Here's the email with all the information:

A quick note regarding Todd Akin's consultants

Politico posted an article this morning discussing Rex Elsass and Strategy Group for Media, the consultants managing Todd Akin's hot mess of a Senate campaign in Missouri. There's one quote near the beginning, about how SGM's response to the backlash against Akin's ridiculous "legitimate rape" comments was to have the candidate film a TV ad apologizing:

Repeat after me: "No changes to Medicare for those 55 and older!"

I've been saying for awhile that every single Republican candidate needs to start every speech they make from now until November 6th with "By the way, Paul Ryan's Medicare plan doesn't change a darn thing for seniors 55 and older!" and then segue into whatever topic they actually wanted to discuss.

Podcasts and a #GOP2012 Convention Preview

Sorry about the lack of posts the past few days. I've been busy getting ready for the Republican Convention in Tampa next week. It's going to be an amazing time and we're not going to let some stupid hurricane spoil our party.

Anyway, I may not have had much time to write, but I did manage to chatter away on some podcasts this week. I've also included some links and news about the convention below the break:

"Look Who's Going Negative!"

My friend John LaRosa posted this cartoon on Facebook yesterday, and when I tweeted it late last night, it received almost 60 retweets. Guess it struck a chord:

Paul Ryan's First Week, By The Numbers

"America's Comeback Team"

The Romney campaign sent out a memo earlier this morning, detailing some of the positive effects from Paul Ryan joining the ticket. The enthusiasm that I have been seeing online and hearing from fellow Republicans is backed up by hard numbers that show a clear enthusiasm for the Romney-Ryan ticket:

Tea party movement sets record straight: They #StandWithSandy

The District 7 Republican primary continues to be a roller coaster. The infamous troublemaker Doug Guetzloe sent out a mailer through his "Ax the Tax" organization in support of John Mica, falsely claiming that he had tea party support. Guetzloe made headlines in 2010 for his creation of a third party political party using the name "Florida Tea Party," that was frequently accused of being a plot to divide conservative votes and assist in the reelection of Alan Grayson and other liberal Democrats.

Despite Guetzloe's best efforts, the hard working conservative activists who are actually part of Central Florida's tea party movement know the truth, and aren't going to sit silently while he attempt to peddle this nonsense. Tea Party Express chair Amy Kremer came back to Orlando today to counter this story, emphasize that the Tea Party Express organization did indeed endorse Sandy Adams, and state clearly the conservative principles that inspired their endorsement.

Here is the video from the press conference earlier today:

Sigh. I'm revoking my endorsement for Judge Plogstedt.

I hate to do this. Hate, hate, hate it. I've met Judge Plogstedt several times, and like her personally. She has done a lot of great work to support our alma mater, the University of Florida College of Law. But there have some shenanigans in this race, and I am no longer willing to sign my name to it.

Awww. Poor Obama. Paul Ryan is stealing all of his thunder.

Lots of reasons to smile.

The internet exploded with excitement since Mitt Romney announced Paul Ryan as his running mate, with the new official Twitter account for the campaign, @PaulRyanVP, getting over 50,000 followers in the first day. The account now has almost 80,000.

The buzz translated in to real world effects too, with the thousands of conservatives using their wallets to show their pleasure with Romney's choice of Ryan. The campaign raised over $1.2 million in the first few hours after the announcement, and $3.5 million in the first 24 hours, as reported by campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul:

Lawson Lamar, In His Own Words [VIDEO]

As I posted a few days ago, some of the most damaging arguments against Jeff Ashton's candidacy for State Attorney come from his own words:

Most telling is Ashton's admission that the one time he was in a management position at the State Attorney's Office, he "hated it" and demanded a transfer. 

The same guy who "hated" managing one division at the State Attorney's Office and couldn't even stick it out for a year, is now asking Central Florida voters to put him in charge of the entire office...

As a contrast, let's take some time to hear what the current State Attorney, Lawson Lamar, has to say in his own words. Lamar sat down for an interview with me earlier this week, and I've broken it up into several short video segments, posted below.

ROMNEY-RYAN 2012 - November, here we come!

FoxNews.com graphic headlining their website this morning

It's official! Confirming what Twitter knew last night, Mitt Romney has confirmed that Paul Ryan will be his running mate. Here's the official press release from the campaign:

Don't wait for the app...IT'S RYAN! [UPDATED]

PLEASE SEE UPDATE AT BOTTOM OF POST...

Well, the promises from the Mitt VP app that we'd "get the exciting news before just about everyone else (except maybe Ann)" are up in smoke.

Romney VP Pick announced today!

Mitt Romney is announcing his running mate tomorrow morning...err...make that today, since it just passed midnight on the East Coast...

Anyway, it's official. Romney will announce his pick for vice president tomorrow in Norfolk, VA at 8:45 am. Excerpt from Romney digital team email I just received:

Paul Ryan for VP? Charter flight tracker might have the answer

UPDATE: Reports are saying that Romney will make the announcement at the U.S.S. Wisconsin, currently docked in Virginia, tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. Hmmm...the U.S.S. Wisconsin? Interesting...

At National Review a few hours ago, Robert Costa posted a link to a charter flight tracking website that showed a plane going from Boston to Janesville, Wisconsin earlier today:

Sarah Palin robocall urges voters to support "conservative reformer" Sandy Adams

Sarah Palin, who endorsed Sandy Adams in the Republican primary for Florida's Seventh Congressional District, recorded a robocall in support of her campaign:

Jeff Ashton, In His Own Words

My concerns about Jeff Ashton's ability to lead the Ninth Circuit State Attorney's Office aren't based on just the ridiculous Facebook comments by his campaign manager or the campaign's willingness to accept support from shady characters like Doug Guetzloe. 

Specifically, I have concerns about Ashton's temperament and suitability for the job itself. Running the State Attorney's Office for a large metropolitan area like Orange and Osceola Counties is not a job for an amateur.

It's election season, so Doug Guetzloe is making up stories again

It's election season, and a perfect time for a reality check: just because someone posts something on the internet does not mean it is true. 

Exhibit A: Doug Guetzloe's repeated claims about supporters of Lawson Lamar being charged with ethical violations. He, both individually and through his "Ax the Tax" group, has been sending out mailers, making robocalls, and writing too many Facebook posts to count, with a wild assortment of false accusations.

Facts are pesky things to people like Guetzloe, so I thought I'd just share some information as a reminder to question what you read and demand evidence of his claims.

Democrats trying to help Todd Long?

Is it just me, or do the Congressional primaries in Florida this year seem weirder and wackier than usual?

Latest Romney ad fits religious freedom and foreign policy in 30 seconds

The latest Romney ad, "Be Not Afraid," featuring footage from Mitt and Ann Romney's recent trip to Poland, has a short but powerful message about religious freedom:

Shady intimidation tactics by campaign manager for Jeff Ashton's State Attorney campaign

The race for the Ninth Circuit (Orange and Osceola County) State Attorney took an unfortunate turn this week, with the already heated political rhetoric boiling over into actual threats. 

Current State Attorney Lawson Lamar is facing a challenge from Jeff Ashton. Both candidates are registered Democrats, and no one else is on the ballot, so under Florida law, all Orange and Osceola County voters can participate in this election, no matter what their party registration is. 

The unusual open primary has introduced some interesting dynamics to the race. Because the Democrats have very few contested primaries on the ballot, Republican turnout is expected to be higher, and both Lamar and Ashton are seeking Republican votes. 

Lamar, as a military veteran, former Orange County Sheriff, and current State Attorney with a long history of involvement in the Central Florida community, has easily won Republican votes in past elections. 

Ashton seems to be finding trouble attracting similar support from Central Florida Republicans, and some of his campaign's allies are not helping matters. 

New Romney ad uses Democrats to hit Obama on welfare issue [VIDEO]

It's no secret to my readers that I think Barack Obama has been a colossal failure as a president.

Forty-one straight months of unemployment over eight percent is nothing to cheer about, but Obama seems to think that moving more people out of the job market and into entitlement programs is a positive development.

How else to explain his decision a few weeks ago to cut out the heart of the 1996 welfare reforms that were passed by Bill Clinton and a Republican Congress? 

The Romney campaign is seizing the opportunity, using harsh language from members of Obama's own party to tell the story in a new ad, just released late last night:

Romney VP announcement coming soon...tomorrow?

 There has been endless speculation about who Mitt Romney will pick for his running mate - not just who he will pick, but when the announcement will be made. 

As TechPresident reported yesterday, watching Wikipedia to see whose biography page gets a sudden flurry of updates and edits may be a sign. Checking out airplane hangars was a source of intel in 2004, when an airplane mechanic saw John Edwards' name being added to John Kerry's plane.

The Romney campaign has launched an app for iPhone and Android, "Who Will Be Mitt's VP?", and they may have given an important clue at least about the timing of the announcement.

Steve Oelrich changes his story again, explanation still lacking

Say what?

Third time apparently isn't the charm for Steve Oelrich. His third attempt to explain his military eligibility has left us with just as many unanswered questions as the first two.

As I wrote last week, the Oelrich campaign issued a press release claiming that an injury he received in the line of duty as a police officer was the reason he was ineligible for the draft, but publicly available documents show that the eligibility-ending injury actually happened years before his law enforcement career began. 

The story got even stranger when the campaign reacted by deleting the press release and replacing it with a new one (back-dated to the date of the original release) as if nothing had ever happened. 

Then, last weekend, the Florida Times-Union ran a story about the controversy, and Oelrich's response raises even more questions:

Breitbart TV interview with Sean Bielat [VIDEO]

Massachusetts Congressional candidate Sean Bielat spoke at the RedState Gathering last Friday, and Breitbart TV's Larry O'Connor had a great interview with him after the speech. Watch it here:

Will Weatherford ready to lead "innovative conservative" Florida House

RedState's Erick Erickson and Will Weatherford

Speaker-designate of the Florida House Will Weatherford stopped by the RedState Gathering in Jacksonville last Friday to chat with the conservative activists and bloggers who were attending the conference. 

What I like about Weatherford is that he isn't just a proud Republican, but that he is consistently cheerful and positive about it, treating politics as a method for finding solutions. He truly believes that conservative principles are the best way to provide the most opportunities for success for the most people, and is dedicated to the idea of making government as simple and streamlined as possible.

While Weatherford was at the Gathering, he was nice enough to chat with me for a few minutes. Here is a video of the interview:

John Mica: Obama's best cheerleader [VIDEO]

In case you missed it, the Sandy Adams campaign released a hard-hitting ad that highlights comments that her Republican primary opponent, John Mica, made recently, calling himself Obama's "best cheerleader," in addition to Mica's role in passing the recent transportation bill that Obama supported:

Join Sandy Adams tomorrow for a major endorsement

Sandy Adams' campaign sent out a press release earlier today about an event tomorrow in Winter Park hosted by Tea Party Express, and Amy Kremer, the Chair, will be in attendance to announce the organization's latest Congressional endorsement.

I don't think this is really revealing anything, but it is safe to assume that if the announcement is being sent on Adams' campaign email, that the endorsement is for her. Tea Party Express will be joining Sarah Palin, Allen West, RedState's Erick Erickson, and many other conservative leaders and organizations in supporting Sandy Adams in the District 7 Republican primary.

I'll be there in Winter Park tomorrow. Hope you can join us! Here is the announcement:

Ted Cruz at #RSG12 gives credit to Marco Rubio & bloggers [VIDEO]

Ted Cruz, fresh off his amazing win in the runoff for the Texas Republican Senate primary on Tuesday, is in Jacksonville, Florida today for this year's RedState Gathering. He gave a great speech to kick off the conference (look for it to be posted later at RedState.com) and was kind enough to sit down for a interview with me.

I first met Cruz at CPAC 2011 and have followed his campaign as it has progressed from only getting 2% in the first polls. It's very similar to how Marco Rubio's first poll was just 3%, leading those of us who supported him from the beginning to call ourselves the "Three Percenters." Cruz acknowledged the parallels and gives a lot of credit to Marco Rubio: "he blazed the path that we followed."

The Taxman Cometh...Even to the Olympics

"I owe how much?"

Athletes across the country grow up dreaming of one day bringing home  an Olympic medal. Unfortunately for those who do, Olympic glory comes with a price: a bill from Uncle Sam. 

Any of our athletes who win a medal will also  receive a cash prize from the U.S. Olympic Organizing Committee, and some sports have additional prizes, and the IRS expects to get their cut. Even the medals themselves could incur a tax bill.

Americans for Tax Reform calculated what the taxes would be for Olympic medal winners:

Sean Bielat on "He Said, She Said" on CDNews Radio

Sean Bielat was a guest on the "He Said, She Said" Blog Talk Radio program last night with Demetrius Minor and Stacy Washington. It was a fun show, covering everything from the latest updates from the campaign trail to Sean's upcoming appearance at the RedState Gathering this week.

If you missed the show, you can listen here:

Oh, Canada!

Canada: Home of moose, hockey,
and well-capitalized banks

Looks like our neighbors to the north are doing something right.

Correction: they are doing a lot of things right.

Canada is succeeding by doing things "right," literally. They have implemented many of the same economic policies championed by fiscally conservative Republicans here in the United States, and swiftly began seeing positive effects.

Ted Cruz: "Stronger than Garlic"

What an incredible, amazing, wonderful night for Ted Cruz!

In less than two years, he managed to go from "Ted Who?" and polling in the low single digits, to winning the Republican primary for the Texas Senate by a decisive margin, earning the support of conservative activists across the country along the way.

During his victory speech last night, Cruz made reference to the fact that he only received 2% of the vote at the first poll that was taken in his race, providing yet another parallel with Marco Rubio's Senate race in Florida. Both Rubio and Cruz are attorneys with Cuban heritage, strong conservatives, and Rubio initially had a weak showing in the first public polls that were taken in his race.