Primary endorsements - part 6

If ye socks needed any indication just how anxious we are in this little corner of heaven to be rid of the walking embarassment who "represents us" in Congress, ye need only take a look at just how crowded the GOP primary is to topple him. The candidates are:

Ross Bieling
Dan Fanelli
Kurt Kelly
Todd Long
Bruce O'Donoghue
Patricia Sullivan
Dan Webster

Of Bieling and Fanelli, I know very little. I don't think anyone considers them to be serious contenders, though they could play spoilers in a race where every percent of the vote counts.

Sullivan is closely associated with the TEA Party folks around here, but her base seems to be primarily in Lake County.

Long comes with some serious baggage, left over from his race for this same seat two years ago. His frequent air time on local radio and the early and broad distribution of a book this year have kept him in the race. But, he is clearly not the best candidate.

The top tier, then, are Kelly, O'Donoghue, and Webster.

Frankly, yours truly would not be disappointed with any of these guys.

Webster has been a personal favorite since he endorsed Mike Huckabee back in 2008. He is a well-known quantity in these parts as the former leader of the state senate and, more recently, for investigating the shenanigans over at the Expressway Authority. The only knock on him is that he explicitly bowed-out of the race last year, only to jump back in later. This leaves me questioning whether he really has the fire in his belly to take on the dastardly incumbent . . .

I have had the opportunity to meet O'Donoghue over breakfast, and found him to be a charming (albeit understated) gentleman. He is "one of us," and as such would truly be representative of the district. But, I am concerned that he may be too urbane. How will he stack-up against the overwhelming personality of the general election opponent?

I have also had the opportunity to meet Kelly on a couple of occasions, most recently just this morning. He has already earned the endorsements of many of my friends and relations. After looking him in the eye and hearing his responses to today's questions about the campaign, I have been swayed into his camp. (Check out Kurt's site at http://www.kellyforcongress.com .)

But, again, I can live with any of the last three candidates. All are infinitely better than the goofball who currently disgraces Florida's 8th District.

And, then there were FOUR?!

The political scuttlebutt around this little corner of heaven is that former State Senate Majority Leader Dan Webster will join the already crowded field of candidates in the Republican primary who are seeking to unseat the shame of Central Florida: Alan Grayson.

Nothing's official, yet. Just heard he's going to be making a statement tomorrow. But, I think we can read the tea leaves on this one . . .

Already in the race are Orlando businessman Bruce O'Donoghue; State Rep. Kurt Kelly of Ocala; and local attorney/radio show host Todd Long.

Hold on to your seats, folks! This could be a game changer!

Breakfast with the candidate

Once again, our little breakfast roundtable welcomed a Congressional candidate to visit with us over our coffee and oatmeal.

Last time, it was Bruce O'Donoghue, who is seeking to unseat Alan Disgrayson in the 8th District.

Today, it was Craig Miller's turn.

Craig recently announced his candidacy in the 24th District, and faces some serious primary opponents. But, the ultimate goal is to defeat freshman Suzanne Kosmas in the general election this November.

Before entering politics, Mr. Miller was perhaps best known as the CEO of Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.

But, in speaking with him this morning, I found him to be more than just a businessman with the ambition to bring some real change to Washington. I also found him to be a sincere, thoughtful, and intelligent gentleman.

Regardless of where ye socks find yourselves on the political spectrum, it's hard not to admire someone who's willing to put themselves under the level of media scrutiny that comes with running for Congress.

So, I wish Craig luck, and will be keeping a close eye on the campaign in the neighboring 24th district.

If ye socks want to learn more about the Miller campaign, check out this website:

http://www.craigmillerforcongress.com/

Who, indeed?

Congressional candidate Bruce O'Donoghue picked up two key endorsements this fine Monday morning at Four Rivers Smokehouse in Winter Park.

The first came from former U.S. Senator Mel Martinez, who has known Mr. O'Donoghue since he was in the sixth grade.

The other was made by former Lieutenant Governor Toni Jennings, whose brothers went to the University of Florida with O'Donoghue.

And, yet, the guy he's campaigning to replace is pretending like he will have no real competition. When asked what he thinks of the new candidate, Alan Grayson's supporters dutifully respond, "O'Donogh-who?!"

A regular laugh riot they are, no?

I suspect, however, the joke is going to be on them come November.

That they profess not to know who O'Donoghue is only highlights how very shallow Grayson's roots are in this community.

His potential successor summarized the situation rather well. "I think that Mr. Grayson is passionate about what he believes, and his style is unique," said Mr. O'Donoghue. "But, he is somebody who doesn't represent the values of the people of Central Florida."

True.

Meet the candidate

This morning, our regular breakfast bunch was honored to welcome a special guest to the table: Bruce O'Donoghue.

As noted in a couple of posts earlier this week, Mr. O'Donoghue recently announced his candidacy for Congress.

Reading the paper, googling, and watching campaign ads on TV are the ways most of us have to learn more about the candidates whose names eventually pop-up on our ballots. But, getting to look them in the eye and ask them direct questions are rare opportunities. And, I'm glad I had both this morning.

Mr. O'Donoghue reassured me that my initial impressions of him as a serious candidate were accurate. This guy can beat Alan Grayson in the general election this fall.

Primary field narrows

Further to my post on Monday, it would appear that the crowded field of candidates who are eager to unseat our insane congressman Alan Grayson has gotten a little smaller.

Armando Gutierrez, the youthful developer and recent Harvard grad who moved to this little corner of heaven last year, decided to bow-out yesterday.

This decision came despite his great fundraising successes.

Apparently, he is putting his political ambitions on the backburner--at least temporarily--to focus his efforts on bringing a major league baseball franchise to Orlando.

I wish him luck in that endeavor.

The departure of Gutierrez leaves Bruce O'Donoghue and Kurt Kelly as the two most serious contenders in this primary . . . at least in my not-so-humble opinion.

A crowded field gets more crowded

Is it ever sickening to see Alan Grayson's image pop up on a national broadcast, letting the whole world know that this little corner of heaven is represented in Congress by a complete nut case . . .

Ye out-of-town socks may be unaware of this goofball, though that's increasingly hard to believe given his penchant for outrageous utterances and outlandish behavior.

If you don't believe me, check out a site that chronicles our shame: http://www.mycongressmanisnuts.com/

Anyway, this guy only managed to buy his seat in Congress due to the very poor record of his predecessor and by riding the ObamaNation wave in '08.

Now, folks are chomping at the bit to unseat him in 2010 and bring this embarassment to an end. Indeed, the field of hopefuls has gotten crowded. There's state rep Kurt Kelly of Ocala; talk show host and personal injury lawyer Todd Long; developer Armando Gutierrez; and Winter Park anesthesiologist Ken Miller, just to name a few!

Today, though, that field got even more crowded with this announcement by local businessman Bruce O'Donoghue: "Over the past year, politicians in Washington have managed to jeopardize the futures of both our parents and our children. We cannot afford to allow this trend to continue unchecked."

With statements like that and his long standing in the community, Mr. O'Donoghue immediately finds himself at the top of the proverbial heap of candidates. To stay there he will have to beat Rep. Kelly in racking-up endorsements and Mr. Gutierrez in collecting campaign contributions. Yours truly will be looking forward to seeing if he can do that before the August primary.

Oh, yeah, and "white rabbit" to ye socks who know what that means!