Florida Congressional District 8 is the infamous home of national jerk Alan “Die Quickly” Grayson. In a Zogby poll Todd Long was leading Grayson by 8%. Grayson is despised by both independents and the right for his outrageous statements pandering to the left. Whoever wins the August 24th primary will have little trouble firing up the base. Grayson is probably the most hated congressperson since Dan Rostenkowski had the nerve to tax the gimme generation for the Medicare catastrophic coverage act of 1994. Grayson is truly a despicable devil’s spawn bastard who needs to be in a psychiatric ward and not congress. And with that here they are.
Todd Long on the campaign trail with his book “The Conservative Comeback” that has been reportedly sent to 30,000 Republican voters in Florida District 8. Quite a impressive logistical feat.
Todd Long is a local lawyer who has written a campaign book, The Conservative Comeback, where he expresses his desire to return the federal government back to its original small size and purpose of basic national functions like defense and environmental policy. He would like to eventually eliminate over time all social engineering programs from the federal government like Social Security and Medicare and delegate those responsibilities to the states or local government. He understands the Laffer Curve which states that when you increase taxes more than 30% revenue collection declines not increases in most cases and especially in the area of the productive sector of the economy, translated personal taxes, corporate taxes and capital gains taxes. He along with Rubio is one of the few politicians with the balls to admit Social Security and Medicare are unsustainable and will bankrupt America. He has my support and I would “walk for this man” as they say in politics. His volunteer workers have distributed his book to a reported 30,000 potential voters in District 8. Clearly the best educated and economically Austrian candidate of the bunch. Clearly he has a dedicated army of volunteers who believe in his message.
On the negative side Todd has quite a colorful past including a DUI in 1998, a “drunk and disorderly” warning at the local Orlando Millennium Mall in 2005, allegations of sexual harassment (denied 8-16-2010), allegations of financial hard times (denied 8-16-2010) and a police report of how a cop found Mr. Long drunk and asleep on a sidewalk in Tallahassee in 2007. There is a reason when I get trashed I do it at home Todd. The worst thing that happens to me is I say something stupid on face book or my wife kicks my ass. Enough said.
Patricia Sullivan is living the American dream with four home schooled children, a loving husband and running for congress at the same time.
The press certainly would enjoy a Todd Long congressional tenure. Todd claims to have found salvation in Christian principals and no matter what happens in this election I hope he keeps his faith strong. We all need our faith in these times of trouble.
Patricia Sullivan is living the American Dream. She is the mother of four and has home schooled all of them. Her first daughter is graduating and on her way to college. She is the organizer of the 2009 Tea Parties in Lake County. She has no political connections or great wealth but has amassed a sizable army of volunteers to spread the message of this citizen warrior. Despite being on a shoe string budget of $56,000 she will finish well in the August 24th primary.
What she has going for her is charisma. She speaks strongly with a slow clear purpose and cadence making her thoughts clear to her audience expressing her anger over the current state of affairs. I suspect this comes from her years of homeschooling trying to make lessons both interesting and clear to her children. Whatever it is it creates compelling political drama from the normal political speech. Charisma is hard to define but she clearly has it in abundance.
Dan Fanelli is a former Navy pilot and former commercial airliner pilot.
Negatives: I have been involved in Orlando politics regularly for a year now and have talked with hundreds of volunteers and politicians. Nobody has said a bad thing about Mrs. Sullivan. She is highly respected by friends and foes. She is a very inspiring local figure to everyone who knows her. If there is any criticism of her is she lacks (she has an Associate of Arts degree) the depth of understanding a graduate degree provides in law or business. Life is complex and knowledge is power.
Dan Fanelli is a Navy pilot veteran and if you don’t know that talk to him for five minutes. He will surly remind you. He is the only military veteran in the race and a formal commercial airline pilot who was flying when 9-11 happened. He is an honorable man and as far as we can tell has never been awaken by police for sleeping on a sidewalk in public.
Ross Bieling is a successful businessman who earned his law degree as a non traditional student in 2008
He is most famous for being trashed by Jon Steward for his politically incorrect ad telling the public to “send me to Washington and I will send our enemies to where they belong and that not to a courtroom” and “send me to Washington and get rid of that bum Alan Grayson.” So he’s not on Michael Moore’s Christmas list. We all love Dan but in a seven candidate race his message is falling on deaf ears. There are no negatives for Dan other than his fund raising has been the second worst of the other six and even falling behind third party candidate Peg Dunmire of the now infamous Florida Tea Party. His volunteer force is minimal compared to Long, Kelly or Sullivan. Mr. Fanelli is a very honorable man who has had a very hard time gaining momentum in this hotly contested race.
Ross Bieling is a very intelligent self made businessman and I would be comfortable if he was elected to congress. His list of accomplishments with his private business in the medical field is impressive as well as his education obtaining a law degree as a working nontraditional student in 2008. Very impressive.
Businessman Bruce O’Donoghue is the most successful Republican fundraiser but has a recent 2008 DUI. A very organized and intelligent political foe.
On the negative side he has not filed a fund raising report at this time according to Open Secrets. He has no name recognition that I am aware of. His public speaking is more suited for a business meeting than inspiring the troops. I respect this man but come August 24th it would not surprise me if he finishes seventh.
Bruce O’Donoghue is a local small businessperson who started in his parent’s traffic engineering business and eventually took it over. He has raised an impressive $478,000 in contributions (compared to Todd Long’s $220,000) with 79% from fund raising efforts and not his personal financing. On the issues he is standard Republican fare, cut waste, taxes, spending, repeal Obamacare. In person he is very articulate and in command. Mr. O’Donoghue is a very respectable opponent and very intelligent.
On the negative there is a report of a 2008 DUI and tax trouble in 2009. The recent DUI is very damaging to Mr. O’Donoghue. I think everyone is having recent financial troubles with the exception of government workers. The recent DUI drops Mr. O’Donoghue from second to fifth, what a shame. He is a very accomplished and polished individual.
Kurt Kelly’s vote supporting a multibillion dollar federal government rail system has been costly for his chances in District 8.
Kurt Kelly is another challenger who is a strong passionate speaker but lacks the charisma of Sullivan. On the positive side he has a clean record and brags about it every chance he gets. He is an adequate fund raiser and has a good volunteer army.
On the negative side he can be a weak speaker when trying to justify his stand on the ground rail system here in Central Florida. He has a hard time justifying his votes for massive government projects that will waste billions while touting himself as a fiscal conservative. Pathetic political double talk. We don’t need double talk we need a leader with a clear vision to reduce the federal governments share of the GDP.
Daniel Webster is the former Florida Speaker of the House. He is the Republican establishment candidate in a very anti-establishment year. He has been endorsed by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and Mike Huckabee along with much of the Republican establishment. His fund raising is slightly above average at $228,000 with no personal contributions. He is an honorable man who is a career politician.
On the negative side he is elderly and not a very inspiring speaker. Unlike O’Donoghue or Long you don’t get the sense that there is much in his intellect beyond the standard Republican talking points. His biggest claim to fame is he has never lost a election. One could attribute that to his skills but one could also comment on the fact that he has one of the most universally recognizable names in modern political history. Who knows how many last minute voters who failed to research the candidates voted for him simply due to his name recognition? Hopefully the District 8 voters will be educated come August 24th.
Daniel Webster’s days of never suffering a political defeat are about to end August 24th. Uninspiring and standard Republican establishment candidate in a anti establishment year.
August 15th, 2010 at 3:31 pm
[...] act in 1994. Grayson is truly a despicable devil’s spawn bastard who needs to be … dan rostenkowski – Google Blog Search Thread Tags: Archive, blog, Congressional, Florida, USAwethepeople.com This entry was posted on [...]
August 16th, 2010 at 8:40 am
dude, no offense, but your anecdotal evidence is way way off. first, let’s come clean about patricia sullivan. everyone hates her because she says such nasty things about other candidates, including dan fanelli who is an amazing man, as well as bruce and kurt. no one has attacked her back except for dan. plus she’s an awful speaker, prone to uttering lines such as “I am nobody. I am everybody.” that leave everyone wondering if she has a clue. she will finish 4th in the race if she’s lucky.
the race is frankly between kurt kelly and daniel webster. kelly’s volunteer army is, like you said, pretty good, though not as numerous as webster’s, at least in orange county where i live. on the other hand, kelly is an electric speaker and by far the best of the group. this one will go down to the wire.
August 16th, 2010 at 8:46 am
Todd Long is a business genius with the book and campaign if you ask me. He sells the book to his campaign, which then pays him! So, lets say he makes $3 a book, then he personally makes $100,000! This outta be investigated by the FEC!
August 16th, 2010 at 10:07 am
Phil you probably know more about Sullivan than I do. I just am not into attacking a mother of four even if she is trying to score political points. I think my comment “Life is complex and knowledge is power” sums up how I evaluate her.
Kelly seems like a RINO and Webster seems nearly dead. Totally over the hill.
As for the armies when you stuff and distribute 30,000 books thats impressive. Combined with the 2008 name recognition and the Zogby poll results.
I will predict Todd gets 27% of the vote and squeaks out the win.
August 17th, 2010 at 6:49 am
If Ross pulls it out I will be the first to join his Campaign and assist wherever needed.
Fanelli is the only candidate that has proposed any legislation to fix our problems. As well as the fact that Grayson called him out in a Press Release and has essentially picked his top Threat of Ousting him in November.
Kurt Kelly voted for Sun Rail so that is an automatic no vote sorry Kurt if it wasn’t for that I could have voted for you.
Long was the only name on the zogby poll. It’s hard to lose when you don’t put any of the other Republicans in the Poll. Long always brings up that he is the only one to support Arizona but there is a problem with that because the biggest controversy of this Primary is the infamous support Arizona tea party where Sullivan’s camp changed campaign signs to read as if they supported her instead of the candidate they really supported. So Todd if that happened at an Arizona rally how can you be the only one to support Arizona.
Bruce if you really want to be in GOVERNMENT just wait for the IRS to finish investigating you, then just join the Obama Administration because you will be more than qualified.
We were told in the Debate on the 12th that we can’t criticize Sullivan because she is a Woman and a Mom and if you do she will place you in Time Out without Milk and Cookies. So I will hold criticism of her Goon squad I mean Patriot Army.
Webster just seems like he is on a Rolling Stones comeback Tour.
August 17th, 2010 at 11:00 am
I agree Ross is quite a accomplished and impressive conservative. I just think Long has outrun him and will get the prize. If Long does win be prepared for the negative ads to come fast and furious. I hope Long is up to the challenge.
August 18th, 2010 at 4:31 am
Phil, I have attended many forums, etc. and heard Mrs. Sullivan speak. By her nasty comments about other candidates, you must mean her pointing out that she was the only candidate to get on the ballot by petition. William, you referred to the musical CD for “Rivoli Revue” that was produced from the Arizona rally. It was not produced to be a political CD as Mr. Fanelli’s camp was trying to do.
Preacher Kelly is loud, reminds me of Grayson, and voted for Sun Rail.
I agree knowledge is power but knowledge doesn’t have to come from a college degree. One can become widely read, informed and educated. That with common sense is admirable.
August 18th, 2010 at 6:56 am
Once again Patricia WINS in a Poll of ALL candidates on the ballot!
UNITED STATES CONGRESS – DISTRICT 8
Ross Bieling (REP) 4 – 1.1%
Dan Fanelli (REP) 20 – 5.6%
Kurt Kelly (REP) 37 – 10.4%
Todd Long (REP) 26 – 7.3%
Bruce O’Donoghue (REP) 4 – 1.1%
Patricia Sullivan (REP) 128 – 36.0%
Daniel Webster (REP) 68 – 19.1%
Alan Grayson (DEM) 59 – 16.6%
Peg Dunmire (TEA) 4 – 1.1%
George L. Metcalfe (NPA) 5 – 1.4%
Write-in 1 – 0.3%
Total Votes 356 – 100.0%
August 18th, 2010 at 9:32 am
Conservative Republican PATRICIA SULLIVAN stands head and shoulders above the other candidates. Her tireless work the last year has paid off in a big way. Due to her stunning performance in the last few candidate forums and her lop sided victories in the final straw votes it is obvious she is the peoples choice. When the candidates are compared side by side it’s a runaway conclusion PATRICIA SULLIVAN is the only candidate who can defeat Al Grayson.
August 18th, 2010 at 9:42 am
Is it not disheartening when people start spreading lies in order to bring down the opponents. Please show where Patriciia Sullivan goes around trashing her competition, because I have never heard her say anything like that. I guess that the opposition knows who the front runner is, and are doing whatever they can to pull her back.
The bottom line is that Alan Dis-Grayson WILL run a mud-slinging campaign, which has already started. So our GOP candidate needs to be squeaky clean, and all other things being equal, being a woman will help too. But notice how Dis-Grayson is highlighting the ones trailing in the poll, a calculated move to split the vote more. But don’t worry Alan, your defeat at the hands of Patricia Sullivan is not far off. Roll on No-Dem-ber!
August 18th, 2010 at 9:51 am
Patrica Sullivan has been remarkably restrained in not using personal attacks, and has said if she doesn’t win, she will support the candidate of choice.
That being said, we have only recently regarded an advanced degree as “neccessary” for political office. If you look through our history, many effective and strong figures have had little or no formal education. Ever hear of a guy named George Washington? How about Daniel Boone? Ronald Regan ring a bell?
On the other hand, lets look at some “well educated” politicans. Roosevelt, who barely passed his exams, or the bar, and whose law partners felt sorry for his inablity to come to a rational legal conclusion. Jimmy Carter, need I say more? Barak Hussain Obama. There is a winner for you.
You don’t need an advanced degree to serve in congress for a reason. YOU DON”T NEED ONE.
August 18th, 2010 at 9:51 am
I agree heartily with Richard Riker and Patriot Come Lately about Patricia Sullivan. She has run a completely clean and above-the-board campaign, addressing the issues and not putting down any of the other candidates. She is above reproach, is a strong citizen soldier, and is the only candidate with the character and commitment to represent us in Congress. Her outcomes in all the recent polls shows how strongly Floridians support her. She will bring grassroots leadership to Congress, and we will all be the beneficiaries. I am proud to support her!
August 18th, 2010 at 10:03 am
Too bad conservative republicans tend to “eat their own”. Webster had no business entering this race and Mrs. Sullivan (IMO) would be an excellent and refreshin upgrade to “die quickly” Grayson. Sullivan is a 100% class act – my prayer is that she can pull this off.
August 18th, 2010 at 10:41 am
Phil, the paranoia thing is getting pretty old. No one is saying nasty things about your guy Dan Fanelli. In fact, no one is saying anything about him. I mean, he’s certainly a nice enough person, but politically speaking, he’s a non-factor and every poll shows it. He needs to stop blaming other people for his poor performance. That’s Obama’s job.
August 18th, 2010 at 11:12 am
I unashamedly admit to being one of Patricia Sullivan’s volunteer army. I have never heard her speak negatively about another candidate ( publicly or privately.) She does not need a degree to be well versed on the political issues, as evidenced by her speaches. She has a very quick mind, is well read, loves God and has a desire to restore government back to THE PEOPLE.
Todd Long’s platform is similar to Patricia’s, but his questionable background will make him fodder for Alan Grayson. Patricia is above reproach and will frustrate Grayson by not taking the low mucky road he loves to wallow in.
Patricia Sullivan is a true citizen candidate and the best conservate hope for District 8.
August 18th, 2010 at 11:31 am
Thanks for this article discussiong the positives and negatives of each candidate. This makes it really simple; Patricia Sullivan is the one I want to represent Florida Congressional District 8. I will take Patricia’s hard work, honesty and a true desire to serve the people over a bunch of academic degrees anyday.
August 18th, 2010 at 12:19 pm
The candidate who stands out from the crowd is conservative Republican PATRICIA SULLIVAN. Her campaign started out as just another grassroots campaign but now when it really count it has become a steamroller. The other candidates have been looking over their shoulders to see which campaign will be rolled over next. But that has all changed because their are no other candidates left without tread marks. She absolutely dominated the last candidate forums and ran away with straw poll wins.After PATRICIA SULLIVAN wiins the primary the only advice I could give Al Grayson is “Fasten your seat belt it’s going to be a bumpy ride.”
August 18th, 2010 at 4:02 pm
I too am a proud member of Patricia Sullivan’s Patriot Army, over 500 strong. I have been working for her since she first announced her intention to run and have NEVER heard her say anything negative about any other Republican candidate. In fact, a strong tenet of her campaign is to avoid the usual mud-slinging that most candidates resort to. Patricia will stick to the issues. She has won the hearts of the people who support her because she IS “nobody” & “everybody.” She is one of the PEOPLE & she will represent the people better than anyone in the race. She will represent us with dignity, integrity & grace, attributes that have been sorely missing in our representation of late.
August 19th, 2010 at 3:37 am
Isn’t great to have so many “conservative” candidates vying to represent the people of the 8th district? We need to change Washington and not replace our representatives with other career politicians. We need representatives who not only have a strong conservative background, but who are not a part of the same old established political machine. We need a patriot and not a politician. I am convinces, after listening to what all of the candidates have to say, that Patrician Sullivan is the person we need in Washington.
August 19th, 2010 at 3:48 am
Yes, there are several good guys going up against Grayson. However, we need to take a closer look. We have 2 that are career politicians,(ties with the establishment), we have 1 that owns a business that has ties with the government, we have 1 that is a lawyer, we have one that hasn’t filed the first FCC report that is required by all candidates(what is he hiding)and who has been placing signs illegally on private property(police reports have been filed) and then we are left with 2 that are from the people. When you narrow it down to these two, you have one that has a few people behind him that I don’t believe has the passion or backbone to really stand firm up against Grayson and has spread lies about a music video(saying it is a campaign video). Then you have Patricia Sullivan the one that has no ties binding her to the good ole boy politics. Sullivan will and has been the voice of the people, she has shown she can stand up to Grayson already with the ethics complaint filed back last Oct that within 24hrs had Grayson making a change on a website. She is also the only one with the “Patriot Army” that is bigger than the others working for her. Because of this army of volunteers, she was the only one to get on the ballot by petition, none others came close. They had to buy their way on. Patricia is the VOICE of the people, she is EVERYWHERE and she is the ONE that CAN BEAT GRAYSON!!!! If you haven’t been to her website yet, please go, check her out and then donate to help her continue her fight for you to Washington. http://www.patriciasullivanforcongress.com
So who will you stand behind, a career politician, one tied to government businesses, lawyer, or with the People’s Voice “Patricia Sullivan”. Do you want the same thing you have now or do you want to take back Washington?
August 19th, 2010 at 4:46 am
Have we forgotten the nasty fight between Rick Keller and Todd Long for the 2008 Republican seat for District 8? This fight is why we have Alan Grayson today! Todd Long was looking great and was definitely on track to win over Rick Keller until the last week of the campaign when Keller sent out copies of Todd Long’s Tallahassee arrest record for being passed out drunk in the street. The Republicans did not want an out-of-control alcoholic in the U.S. House but they were disgusted with Rick Keller and his sleazy politics. An unknown Alan Grayson slipped in amongst the two dirt throwing Republicans. Given Todd Long’s history of substance abuse, Alan Grayson would eat him alive.
August 19th, 2010 at 5:27 am
I have listened to Patricia Sullivan speak on numerous occassions and have never, ever herard her say anything bad about any of her opponents. The only one she speaks badly about is Alan Grayson and his gang of thugs in Washington, D.C. I believe that strong conservative values, such as fiscal responsibility,free market solutions,limited government and following the Constitution are more important than degrees and pedigrees and all the other stuff the thugs in D.C. now have in abundance. I am praying that Patricia gets to go against Grayson in November because she is the right person for the job.
August 19th, 2010 at 10:18 am
Well one thing is certain Patricia Sullivan has a big army and a lot of enthusiastic supporters. They blew this comment section out of the water with their support.
August 31st, 2010 at 9:40 pm
The marketplace here in Myrtle Beach has been doing much better – I would not think we will ever see sales like we had in 2005
September 1st, 2010 at 6:35 pm
Thanks for not only taking the time to write this, but to even improve the information by making it easy to read and understand. Words cannot convey my gratitude.