Sarah Rumpf: Why I’m Endorsing Kurt Kelly
By Sarah Rumpf
[Originally posted along with some other local endorsements on my blog at http://www.sunshinestatesarah.com/2010/07/new-endorsements-kurt-kelly-greg.html]
I took my time making a decision on this race. I live in District 8, and it embarrasses the heck out of me that Alan Grayson is my representative in Congress. Part of the reason I waited so long to make an endorsement is I wanted to wait and see which candidates really were capable of knocking out Grayson, a multimillionaire and darling of liberal nuts across the internet.
I can say with confidence that I make this endorsement as fully informed as I can possibly be. I have spoken with every single one of the Republican candidates (one I spoke with on the phone, the rest I have met in person), I’ve reviewed their websites, listened to speeches and debates, looked over their campaign finance reports, and done my own research.
Kurt Kelly has impressed me from the beginning and has always been on my “short list.” He has a solid conservative record from his time in the Florida House, he’s warm and sincere, but also not afraid to discuss tough issues or directly attack Grayson and the Democrats controlling Washington. Kurt has put together an amazing grassroots network. A lot of my Young Republican friends have been long time supporters of Kelly and every HobNob I’ve attended lately always has a noticeable group of Team Kelly people running around in those bright green shirts. Kelly has has been consistent and solid with his fundraising and won a string of straw polls with respectable margins.
I believe the Orlando Sentinel made a mistake in their endorsement of Dan Webster. Don’t get me wrong, I like Webster, I have a lot of respect for his accomplishments and record in the Legislature, but the Editorial Board’s dismissal of Kelly for Webster seems to rest solely on Webster being more “experienced.” Hogwash. OK, Webster has more years in the Legislature than Kelly, but that doesn’t automatically mean that he would be a better choice for Congress than Kurt Kelly. That’s like saying “Mrs. Smith has been teaching for 20 years, and Mrs. Brown has been teaching for 10 years, so therefore Mrs. Smith is a better teacher than Mrs. Brown.” Ummm, no, that’s not how it works.
Just because one person has a few more years working at a job, doesn’t necessarily mean that person is “better.” Neither Webster nor Kelly are political rookies, and Kelly actually has broader experience than Webster, having worked in the private sector as well as spending many years working for conservative causes outside of elected office. I understand the current popularity of opposing “career politicians,” but experience in government should be viewed as an asset. And Kurt Kelly is far from a career politician, having first been elected to the House in 2008.
Regarding the other candidates in District 8, Bruce O’Donoghue and Todd Long have both shown strong conservative credentials and a willingness to go after Alan Grayson’s jugular, and they’ve earned my respect for that. Patricia Sullivan strikes me as very sincere and her grassroots volunteers are an impressive hardworking bunch, but her inability to make significant fundraising progress makes me hesitate. District 8 is large and an expensive media market; taking on Alan Grayson will require a strong candidate and a pile of money. It might not be fair, but it’s reality. I hope Sullivan considers running for office again after this – she’d be great in the Florida Legislature – because I think she has a lot to offer, and she’s young enough to run for Congress again later.
Webster, O’Donoghue, Long, and Sullivan are all good conservatives but when I look at the big picture, Kurt Kelly is simply the best candidate across the board, and the best chance for the Republicans to beat Alan Grayson.
On August 24th, I will be voting for Kurt Kelly. If you live in District 8, I encourage you to do the same. Thank you.
Sarahs’ Bio on her twitter: Native Floridian, bleeding-orange-and-blue-Gator, Orlando Magic fan, caffeine addict, political junkie, attorney & campaign consultant. Impressive enough but it make me wonder why she wants politics as usual. Let’s elect another career politician another good-old-boy to do the same thing the politicians have been doing for the last hundred years. We know the Kurt is a yes man for the party, he would rather vote for Sun Rail at his parties request than stand for what the people want and that’s one BIG reason we as a nation are in the mess we are now. We need fresh citizen politicians in Washington who have the courage to stand up for the people against the special interests. That’s the reason we need conservative Republican Patricia Sullivan .
I was a Kurt Kelly Fan, I even got in an disagreement with I-Caucus because I posted an event where you could ask Kelly questions. They took down my post because they had’t endorsed anyone from Dist. 8 yet and that it was against their policy. Well, I went to that meet and greet where Kurt Kelly spoke that night and I video taped it. I like the guy, but I decided to pull my support for him, due to his answer to why he voted for the SunRail. You can watch this to see for yourself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSinalov6nU
A very wise choice! Thank you for endorsing the winner of the primary and the general election! Go Kurt Kelly! http://www.kellyforcongress.com
kelly’s certainly more fun to watch… will be fun to see whoever wins go against grayson. if webster wins, it will just be carnage on a scale weve never seen. if kelly wins it is going to be mutual assured destruction. i like it.
Sarah,
I consider the FL-District 8 race one of the most important races in the country. Alan Grayson is poising himself as a leading voice in national progressivism. He uses his position to bully his viewpoint on the people instead of representing our district as a servant. If there was opportunity to use the power of government to silence his opponents he would use it which makes him dangerous as a potential dictator over Florida District 8. That attitude would be contagious to those who work on committee with him and have to work around him, so I agree it is time to remove him from office. He is the leading reason for me to come off the bench and begin taking political action and has motivated me to be a Tea Party Movement supporter.
I have a former co-worker and friend ask me to sign a petition to get Kurt Kelly on the ballot early on, which I gladly did. Later I attended a Tea Party Live sponsored event at Orlando City Hall to meet more candidates prior to Daniel Webster’s entry in this race with my understanding that I was looking for a candidate to replace Alan Grayson. This is where I met Patricia Sullivan. I challenged her eye to eye and asked her why she believed she could beat one of the most aggressive bullies in American politics. She confidently and calmly responded to my question stating that she would know how handle an out of control child that challenges our Constitution. Later she became the ONLY candidate to get on the ballot by petition. All others purchased the right to be on the ballot. That act saved her campaign $10,400 and is representative of Grassroots over Money. She is a mother of four, a non-politician, who decided to do something to take our country back away from the current progressives. She is the Co-Founder of the North Lake Tea Party out of Eustis and represents the voice of Main Street America. I was proud to attend the Stand With Arizona Rally which was well attended in June that she helped organize. Over time I have come to realize that her voice is my voice so I will continue to support Patricia’s campaign and leave it in the hands of a greater power to the outcome.
For those who would like to know more you can go to:
http://www.patriciasullivanforcongress.com
Kurt is a great communicator. He has a Chris Christie quality.
Brascoboy is disingenuous about being openminded about Kurt Kelly. He and I discussed it and it appears he is more interested in telling lies about Kelly to help Sullivan.
He labels Kelly, the one term state rep, as a “career politician”. Then he quotes the unreliable MATT FALCONER in his video to make some incoherent point about sunrail.
I am a proud Kurt Kelly supporter and if Richard Riker’s ad hominem attacks are any indication of how he goes about his life, I am glad he is not also a Kurt Kelly supporter.
Kurt Kelly is not a career politician, that would be Dan Webster who has been in politics since 1980! Kurt Kelly is a small businessman also who knows what it takes to balance a budget!
Check out this video that Brascoboy posted that fawns all over Sullivan. He is such a fanboy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-RUtkcRXFk
Richard,
Are you suggesting that because I’m an attorney and work in politics, that my opinion is somehow invalid? That’s just silly. If someone worked at Disney and told you that Space Mountain was their favorite ride, would you question that too?
In fact, I think the fact that I am involved in election law and political consulting gives me an additional method by which to judge these candidates. I pay close attention to the various messaging, promotional, fundraising, etc. that campaigns use, and I am actually very accurate in predicting a candidate’s viability or vulnerability.
In District 8, I want someone who is a solid conservative AND can beat Grayson. One or the other won’t cut it, we need our Republican nominee to have BOTH characteristics.
Oh, and one quick note on SunRail: I believe that there is room for reasonable people to disagree on the program. Personally, I’m not 100% convinced it’s the best solution, but I also recognize that the only way to control sprawl is through long range planning. We can’t just put 100 lanes on I-4. There’s never a “good time” to begin a project like this. Anyway, the point I want to make is I strongly disagree with anyone who rejects a good conservative Republican on the basis of just the SunRail vote. No elected official can promise to vote your way every single time, and it’s a little nuts to point to one vote out of thousands and claim that one vote defines someone
Matt Falconer, Brascoboy’s source about SunRail was caught in a lie about economic figures recently. Here is the story in the Sentinel blog:
Orange Comptroller to Falconer: He needs to ‘check his facts’
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2010/07/orange-comptroller-to-falconer-he-needs-to-check-his-facts.html
Interesting that you just now issue your endorsement since you have been working for the Kelly campaign since early on. Just follow Sara’s commentary and blog posts.
I am not working for the Kelly campaign. I have never worked for the Kelly campaign. I have not received any offer to work for the Kelly campaign.
Campaign finance reports are public record. If I was working for Kelly, it would be disclosed.
To be clear, I have done no work, paid or volunteer, for ANY of the District 8 candidates, except to promote the Republican slate in general.
I have made a few posts about positive news regarding Kelly on my website. You can see what I wrote at http://www.sunshinestatesarah.com and search for posts labeled “kurt kelly.” For example, you’ll see on June 18, I wrote “I honestly haven’t decided 100% who I will support in District 8 to take on Alan Grayson, but I am finding Kurt Kelly very impressive.”
Nothing has been going on except my honest and earnest work to investigate these candidates and make a decision. I have taken my time over these past few months to study the candidates, their records and experience, their campaigns. After all that, I’ve been able to make my decision.
A quick search for kawigirl’s comments shows she is in the tank for Sullivan:
http://www.orlandopoliticalpress.com/2010/06/18/tom-gaitens-of-florida-freedomworks-org-personally-endorses-patricia-sullivan-for-congress/
“kawigirl says:
July 14, 2010 at 6:29 pm
@BrascoBoy – Love the Flip Flop all in the same speaking engagement. Looks like Kelly is a true Career Establishment Politician – DO as I Say Not as I DO kinda guy, What say you Citizen Patriots?
Kelly was even graded a “C” for his SunRail vote, Patricia Sullivan-A, Alan Grayson-F, see all the District 8 candidate grades at http://www.PatriciaSullivanForCongress.com“
I can certainly appreciate Kurt Kelly’s speaking skills. However, I am going with Ross Bieling. He also is a passionate debater, but is not an incumbent! We need to start over and elect the best of the private sector.
Kurt Kelly is not an incumbent, Alan Grayson is the incumbent. As the original Sam Adams said, ‘Public officials should not be chosen if they are lacking in experience, training, proven virtue, and demonstrated wisdom.” Kurt Kelly has shown all of these things and is the one that we should be electing.
Question for all of the Patricia Sullivan drones, If i have been active in politics in the past, my opinions do not matter because I am a so called good ol boy, which i am not. While, the apathetic people that have just woken up and decided to get involved are the ones that we should be listening to? NO! You are part of the reason that we are in this mess, if the people were not apathetic in 2008, then we would not have Obama or Grayson.
You know what drives the Sullivan drones nuts? That Kurt Kelly has better grassroots than they do. Brascoboy, Riker, and Kawigirl are the same old astroturf on every article.
Hahaha yes, they cannot match the green machine!!!
Gabe, Gabe Gabe. Babe Ruth’s Brother. When are you going to stop acting like a child. I am letting you know that I have notified Youtube about your copyright infringement on my video as well as the defamation of my name in that false channel you are falsely calling my own. I will also get my Lawyer involved as well if needed. This channel is one you created and used my copyright protected video as well as my name(http://www.youtube.com/user/TheMikeDroog). No Wonder why you hide behind the name of Babe Ruth’s Gay Brother. it suits you. and you will be hearing for youtube shortly.
If anyone would like to see my Channel, not the one Gabe Ruth made illegally. click on my name or click on this link.
http://www.youtube.com/user/mddroog
The green machine was at it again tonight! They won yet another straw poll! That is five in a row, tonight it was the Orlando Republican Women’s network!!! Congrats Kurt Kelly!
Brascoboy, You are a liar and I love watching you lose your mind when you are called on it.
Ah I’m gay now. thanks for demonstrating maturity. Let’s get serious for a moment. Here is the truth about Brascoboy. He has a political hit on Kelly and has to resot to lies. This video corrects the record.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQZgmVO5NbM
Last nights candidate forum in Tavares was very enlightening. Five candidates showed up but Dan Webster left after a half hour. That snub in itself should put Webster in the looser column and if it doesn’t, his blase’ attitude will put him there. Dan Fanelli was his usual weak on issue uninspiring self. Todd Long mumbled politically correct answers to questions but was to enamored with the book he wrote to say anything more than read the book. Where Long was enamored with his book, Kurt Kelly was enamored with Kurt Kelly. His bombastic presentation reminded me of Al Grayson. The only candidate who spoke to the audience and not at them was conservative Republican Patricia Sullivan. Her answers to questions were concise, she connected to the audience, and when attacked by Dan Fanelli she didn’t back down, she soundly put him in his place.
That is what i thought Sullivan drones, dont answer my question
I agree with Sarah that Kurt Kelly is the candidate to beat Grayson.
The whole district should get behind Kurt Kelly, which it looks like they are beginning to do! Go Kurt Kelly!
Most people who hear Kurt Kelly speak, come away knowing that he is the only candidate in Congressional Dist. 8 who can do the job to begin taking America back!.
Our country is going down the drain. We are on our knees. Yet I hear a few people claiming that they were “going to vote for Kurt Kelly, until they heard his position on one single issue, or another single issue”.
No candidate will agree with you 100% on every single issue. But Kurt Kelly is a man of honor. He is a true conservative, who will represent all of our views 99% of the time.. He has and will continue to fight for us. I would encourage people to look at the conservative principles he stands for, and the fact that he can articulate his/our positions with dignity. He is a brilliant and influential orator (which is what we need in Congress). He can out-debate any of the candidates. Once you do this, please do not throw our country away, because you disagree with him on one issue.
There is no other Republican Candidate who can stand up to Alan Grayson’s bully tactics, and do it brilliantly, effectively, and with dignity. Not only is Kurt Kelly the man we need in Congress, but I am certain he defeat Alan Grayson !
I totally agree with Marty, Orlando Voter, and Sandi Trusso! Kurt Kelly is the man for the job!
My real name is not Sandra- I had to change my name to protect my identity -here’s why.
I agree with Marty and the other Kurt supporters. I was at the forum at Liberty Baptist Church last night. I was one of the Patricia Sullivan shirts. After hearing Kurt for the first time, I went up to on of the Kelly people and told them that I want Kurt to win. It would be hard to change from Patricia to Kurt, but this is not a contest of popularity.
I want the BEST person to win who is qualified and experienced for this job in U.S.Congress. I will vote for him- just not able to campaign for him.
Kurt is a godly young man. He was terrific.I know others that saw Kurt- saw the difference between the other candidates.
Patricia is one of us, but Kurt is the one who we need to represent us. I met Kurt’s mom- what a wonderful lady.
Undercover Kurt voter- on August 24- Kurt gets my vote. Yes- after looking at his web site- I agree- Kurt does have the fire in his belly to beat Grayson.
Kurt is the one that WILL beat Grayson.
Thanks Sandra, you have made the right choice and i hope that you can tell all of your friends that you realize that Kurt Kelly is the right choice to go against Alan Grayson.
Sam Adams, you thought you were being clever not using your other pseudonym Abigale Adams didn’t you? Yeah, Doug I’m being facetious. I wonder whats in it for you to write such complimentary comments about Kurt. It would be my guess you think your Grayson supported, Florida Tea Party candidate has a better chanced against him than lets say conservative Republican Patricia Sullivan. Well, for once your right. Patricia Sullivan is the candidate that has captured the attention and support of the voters. So, Doug Guetzloe, man up and start using your real name, enough of these foolish pseudonyms.
Richard, what is in it for you to do the same thing for Patricia Sullivan? you think that i am doug guetzeloe. never, doug guetzloe only wishes that he could be smart enough to make up a pseudonym. What makes you think these foolish things? I am a bonafide conservative republican.
Patricia might have captured the support of some of the voters, but as sandra from eustis shows, once people here kurt kelly, they like him and want to vote for him!
http://www.kellyforcongress.com
Yeah Doug I figured you would say that.
Richard, what is your reasoning for saying that I am Doug Guetzeloe?
by the way, is richard riker a psuedonym? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Riker
Yes Richard, if you were born in the 1700s you look good for your age. There has been a lot of handwringing over the use of pseudonyms lately, but nobody blames the ecosystem this comment forum exists in.
If you want to try an experiment, ask TomT to post each story from the Political Press to a public Facebook group and compare the quality of the comments. There are benefits to both systems, but I think anonymity allows the most robust debate.
I like OPP in its current form because it gets to the heart of the matter in ways that traditional media does not. Most people have to work with obama fans and have too much to lose to attach their names to an opinion forever.
Flattery will get you far, Gabe! LOL
Doug Guetzloe and his groupies are known to use pseudonyms on blogs. However, I don’t think that “Sam Adams” here is Doug. Guetzloe’s goons NEVER write anything positive about me, and usually can’t resist calling me a Democrat or a witch or some other nonsense.
Thank you sunshine state sarah,
I still have not heard a reason why Richard Riker thinks that I am Doug Geutzoloe, it is a baseless charge. Why would a Geutzoloe goon support Kurt Kelly? Makes no sense to me.
It’s not flattery if its true! I will take it a step further and say that TomT was brave when he was taking on the Guetzloe goons because his identity actually IS on the site. You are a brave man since we now know that Fred and Doug are ruthless.
The more I find out about Kurt Kelly- the more I like this guy. I’m so glad to have heard him on Sunday night at Liberty Baptist. I will tell my friends. I want to remain their friends- so one at a time I will talk with them. All this time all that matters is that we get someone who can beat Grayson. I am convinced that now that is Kurt Kelly.
Patricia is a nice lady- just has no experience and lacking in leadership.
Go Kurt! You have my vote on August 24.
http://www.kellyforcongress.com
I agree with your assessment of Patricia Sullivan. She should not cut her teeth running for Congress, i believe that she would make a great county commissioner or school board member, or even a state legislator. Maybe some of the “patriot army” can tell her this and convince her to run in a less important race in 2012. I would most likely support her.
Hang on Richard – there you go again. Sam Adams is not me and my name is my own. You need to come up with something better than that.
Sarah, how can you or anyone else here endorse or vote for Kurt Kelly – a man who by signing the Sun Rail bill has put a good share of the citizens of Florida in serious debt for something most of them will NEVER use and he did it when the citizens told politicians a loud and hardy NO! Then they catch him on this video stumbling all over himself and he could not justify that vote other than they all lost sleep over it! THEN WHY DO IT! I can’t speak for anywhere else but Sun Rail is scheduled to cost Volusia County homeowners each home in excess of $6,000 per family. That is not chunk change when your district has an unemployment rate of 17.4% and foreclosure’s are the norm.
We, the taxpayers will have the financial responsibility of this boondoggle for 97 years and what makes anyone think it will work any better than the Miami Tri Rail, Lynx or Am Track? Oh I guess it will be ok because then the federal government will send earmarks to cover it and the whole country can pay for something they had nothing to do with.
I am NOT Doug Guetzloe either! Seems to me he does a good job of putting his own foot in his own mouth. Must be Richard you think that no one else has any sense of what is happening in this country – that you are the only one that knows what is best for all of us. Well you have your opinions and so do we!
Gabe, What’s your real name? I know it’s not Gabe. What I do know is, you illegally used my video’s and Youtube has deleted those videos and channels impersonating me. That’s not just unethical, but illegal. You attack me personally because my videos are effective at showing Kurt Kelly’s Policy views. I don’t personally attack anyone, yet you feel it’s necessary to do so with me. I show Kurt, in his own words on why he voted for the SunRail, and how I feel about those Policies. That is an important issues that voters need to hear and see for themselves. If you disagree with my Title of the video(SunRail Kelly – Career Politician?) Fine. I Disagree with you. I even have Kurt on video bragging about the 9 years he has been in public life. I personally don’t think time has everything to do with it. To me it’s also how a candidate acts. If Carey Baker votes no on the SunRail fully aware how unpopolar it will be with the Republican Leadership, he is think of his constinuents, If Kurt Kelly votes yes in the SunRail and gets endorsed by those leaders, he is thinking of himself and not the people. Others have heard him say he’s a “Superior Speaker”, How about a Superior Listener? Florida already said no to the Train, and yet he didn’t listen. The Voter’s know what is Genuine and what is Disingenuine and I think you know what you have been lately. People know my name I don’t hide it. I am happy to show people that my name is Mike Droog. I don’t live in District Eight but I know the district well enough to know who I would like to see up against Grayson in November. I have been completely honest and don’t hide behind fake names. I use Brascoboy because that is the name I have chosen to promote my videos from youtube. This Race has gotten really Dirty and I ask of all of you,is to be more thoughtful when you support your candidates of choice.
Quick question for you Brasco Boy and all anti- Kurt Kelly/Sunrail people, do you not support Marco Rubio because he voted for Sun Rail? In fact, in his 100 Ideas for Florida book he said that rail has “job-creation potential.”
Great response Sam Adams!! Rubio and Atwater voted for the Sunrail.
Sam, Who is Rubio running against? Charlie Crist and Alex Snitker. Of the 3 candidates, I hold Snitker in the highest Regard, then Rubio and forget Crispy. I wouldn’t agree with Rubio on the SunRail anymore then I do Kelly. I don’t have much of a choice in the Senate Seat since Snitker is being ignored and probably won’t win. I will probably vote for Alex unless for some unforseen reason. If Rubio Wins I will be happy and support him as my Senator since he will do a better job than a Crist or a Meeks. In the 8th Congressional District, we have several choices. I find that refreshing for once. to actually have a real choice in whom to vote for. I choose Patricia since she’s the strongest candidate in my opinion. I hope that you can respect that.
So if, and when, Kelly wins the primary you will support him because he is running against Grayson?
Also, does Marco’s vote for Sunrail make you question his conservative credentials?