Dan Webster for Congress

In 2008, a lot of folks rode the coattails of "hope and change" into high public office.

In the years since, they've demonstrated why they shouldn't be there.

No one exemplifies this more than the incumbent in Florida's 8th Congressional District.

Alan Grayson is nothing more than a purveyor of "fear and loathing," who deals in polemics and hyperbole rather than thoughtful solutions to our country's many problems.

In no way does he truly represent the people of Central Florida.

Dan Webster, on the other hand, offers a record of leadership in the state legislature. He is thoughtful and urbane. And he knows how to work with people of all political stripes to craft meaningful legislation and get it enacted.

Grayson cannot run on his record. Instead he has spent the last few months attempting to paint Webster as a member of the Taliban and misdirecting blame for the area's expensive toll roads. Sadly, we've grown used to this sort of outrageous behavior from our Congressman in this little corner of heaven.

Hopefully, most voters will be able to see beyond all of Grayson's red herrings and elect the better man.

The better man is Dan Webster. And I encourage you to vote for him if you live in Florida's 8th Congressional District.

Crotty thinks higher tolls are the answer

In a stunning display of arrogance today, Orange County Mayor Richard Crotty (who also sits on the board of the local expressway authority) announced that commuters in this little corner of heaven will have to forego all the free lunches they've been enjoying lately.

He rammed thru a system-wide toll increase, hoping to make up for recent revenue shortfalls.

Yeah, that's solid thinking, Rich. People aren't using your toll roads, because they're watching their personal budgets. So, raise the costs and you'll get more of them to drop quarters in your buckets!

This poor decision comes on the heels of a lot of bad news about the authority that has eroded the public's already low level of confidence in it, including:

* CEO Mike Snyder's blatant disregard for a grand jury investitgation.

* Using a disgustingly large portion of tolls collected to overpay for lobbyist schmoozing instead of servicing the authority's debt and paying for road construction/upkeep.

* A huge payroll of $46 million for just 58 employees, making them more highly compensated than just about any other toll system in the country.

It is time for folks like Crotty and Snyder to realize that their authority must undergo the same sort of belt tightening that their "customers" are having to do.

I would encourage my fellow Central Floridians to send the authority a clear message by refusing to use their toll roads until they rescind this increase and come up with a fiscally responsible solution to their money woes.