Monday each of the Republican candidates for District 24 were emailed a questionnaire from Central Florida Politics.  The only campaign that contacted me back was Karen Diebel.  All of the candidates face an uphill battle in defeating Suzanne Kosmas.

Here is a copy of the questions emailed to the candidates:

1. Will you cosponsor and call for roll call votes on the Audit the Fed bill, designed to bring transparency to the Federal Reserve (H.R. 1207/ S. 604 in the 111th Congress)?

2. Will you support legislation removing capital gains and sales taxes on gold and silver coinage?

3. Will you vote to oppose any legislation that allows the federal government to prohibit the sale, use, or carrying of firearms?

4. Will you support a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution that includes hard spending limits and allows for no increase in taxes or other federal revenue enhancements?

5. Will you support legislation that forbids U.S. troops from serving under United Nations command?

6. Do you support and will you vote to protect states asserting their rights under the Tenth Amendment?

7. Will you oppose Big Labor’s Card Check bill and any other legislation designed to empower union bosses?

8. Do you support U.S. withdrawal from the United Nations?

9. Will you support the American Sovereignty Act to restrict the Executive’s ability to forge international agreements that lessen our sovereignty?

10. Will you oppose using U.S. forces to occupy a foreign nation without a declaration of war?

11. Will you oppose any attempt to nationalize our health care system, including any sort of public option for insurance?

12. Will you oppose so-called “Cap and Trade” legislation?

13. Will you vote to eliminate the IRS?

14. Will you vote against any budget that increases our debt?

15. Will you oppose federal power grabs like roving wiretaps and warrantless searches, and oppose Patriot Act renewal that includes such items?

16. Will you oppose any legislation that requires states and citizens to participate in a National Identification Card program?

17. Will you oppose the so-called “NAFTA Superhighway” and any move toward a North American Union?

18. Will you support legislation that ensures Members of Congress have at least 72 hours to read any bill before it is allowed to come to the House floor?

19. Will you oppose all tax increases?

20. Indicate the tax cuts you are willing to vote for: 
Across the Board Income Tax Cut 
Capital Gains Tax Cut 
Business Tax Cut 
Estate Tax Cut

———-

update the other candidates in the race contacted me tonight.  I expect their answers back by next Friday.

Marco Rubio

Miami, FL – Grover Norquist, one of the most prominent pro-taxpayer leaders in the country and a board member of the National Rifle Association, today announced his endorsement of Marco Rubio for U.S. Senate.

“I have followed Marco Rubio’s career very closely and am proud to support him in his bid for U.S. Senate,” said Norquist.  “In closely examining his record, I remain convinced he has been the most courageous, pro-taxpayer legislative leader in the country and will continue this path in the U.S. Senate.

“In fact, Marco Rubio’s vigorous advocacy of his property tax reform plan remains a shining example of his willingness to stand up for pro-taxpayer policies, even in the face of opponents committed to the status quo.  Just as Marco fought for revolutionary tax reform, he also held the line on spending during challenging budget years when others were clamoring for more revenues and more ways to fund government.

“Marco Rubio is the only consistently anti-tax candidate in Florida’s U.S. Senate race.  When Marco Rubio makes promises to not raise taxes on taxpayers, he keeps them. I am proud to support Marco Rubio and am excited by the things he will do in Washington to stand up for taxpayers and advance free market, limited government principles.”

Welcoming Norquist’s endorsement, Rubio said, “Grover Norquist is the nation’s leading pro-taxpayer grassroots leader, and I am honored to have his support.  For decades, his advice and counsel have shaped tax policies that have unleashed America’s entrepreneurial spirit and made us the most dynamic economy in the world.

“Grover Norquist is not only a friend of the taxpayer, he is a protector of the taxpayer who holds candidates and elected officials accountable.  Having studied my record, I am honored to have his support as confirmation of my commitment to protect taxpayers and promote limited government principles.”

About Grover Norquist: Norquist has been one of Washington’s most effective issues management strategists for over two decades.  He currently serves as president of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), a coalition of taxpayer groups, individuals and businesses opposed to higher taxes at  the federal, state and local levels.  Norquist also serves on the board of directors of the National Rifle Association of America and the American Conservative Union.  He is also the author of “Leave Us Alone – Getting the Government’s Hands Off Our Money, Our Guns, Our Lives.”

Mr. Norquist holds a Masters of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics, both from Harvard University. He lives in Washington, DC with his wife, Samah and his daughters, Grace and Giselle.

#

Charlie Crist

Governor Charlie Crist wants to increase state spending while lawmakers are looking for ways to reduce government. Crist’s plan holds state workers harmless, increases school spending and pumps millions into environmental projects. As Whitney Ray tells us, lawmakers call Crist’s plan “ambitious.”

After four straight years of declining revenues, Governor Charlie Crist is calling for an increase in state spending.

“We have got to move forward on education, that we have a re commitment to our environment and I think those two things are important to Florida’s economy,” said Crist.

Crist’s budget increases education funding by half a billion dollars, pumps 100 million into the environment and offers tax breaks to businesses. Florida Tax-watch calls the proposal optimistic.

“It doesn’t really get into cutting government and getting into what normal Floridians are doing, tightening their belt, finding ways to do more with less, focusing on core services and eliminating operational expenditures,” said Rob Weissert a spokesman with Florida Tax-watch.

Crist’s spending plan relies heavily on money from increased gambling, raids on trust funds and an uptick in revenue collections.

Over the past five months the state has collected more money than predicted, that trend is expected to continue.

Money from fee increases could also pump millions into the state’s checking account, but state lawmakers aren’t sure the boost will be enough.

“It’s ambitious. It’s our job to look at his categorization of the various priorities of spending and then craft a budget in cooperation with the senate,” said State Representative Dean Cannon.

If revenues don’t increase as much as the governor predicts, and a gaming compact isn’t reached, lawmakers will have to make tough decisions that could include spending cuts and possible layoffs.

One of Crist’s ideas receiving applause from Republican legislative leaders is reworking the class size amendment. State lawmakers are scheduled to unveil a plan tomorrow that would base class size on school populations instead of individual classes.

Charlie Crist & Marco Rubio

Over the last few weeks have you noticed how the media has been presenting Crist in a positive light?  They haven’t been hitting him like they were on his endorsement of Obama’s stimulus, for the last 2 weeks I have been hard pressed to find anything remotely negative about Crist in the mainstream media.

After the shellacking the Democrats took in Massachusetts you can expect the media to essentially take the gloves off now.  This past weekend the Liberal media attempted to paint Rubio as a horrible carnivore.   Then you had the Press Corps meeting in Miami.  None of the questions they used in their video or reporting had to do with the issues.

This morning on a conference call Rubio noted, “You’re going to see a very aggressive mainstream media in the aftermath of the Massachusetts Senate race. There wasn’t enough time for them to have an impact on a late-breaking phenomenon, and I think you’re going to see them react to that experience… The mainstream media agrees with this administration and its view on the role of government, and they’re going to be very aggressive against anyone who challenges that. When we were just a blip on the screen, we were an interesting curiosity, but now that we’re in the lead, they’re going to be very aggressive.”

Today the Rubio campaigned announced a fundraising blitz.  They want to raise $1,000 for every $1 Billion of the wasted $787 Billion of the so-called stimulus.  February 10^th marks the one-year anniversary of the Crist-Obama man hug that has haunted the Crist campaign.

Donate online right now at marcorubio.com

Marco Rubio

This morning I woke up to a Google Alert that I thought was very interesting.  NBC Miami had a story that basically called Marco a pig killer.  The story was regarding a picture that Future Sen. Marco Rubio uploaded to Twitter around Christmas.  It showed a hog that was about to be slaughtered for the families Christmas.

Being from Polk County and growing up in Frostproof I found nothing weird of the picture.  We are humans we eat animals!  I believe these Liberal pundits just want to imagine that their food beef, pork, or chicken comes from some magical place, a place where the animal is treated like a princess.   This is just one example that shows how far out of touch with reality these people are.

Do Liberals hunt?  Most likely not, they oppose guns most of the time.  Do Liberals Eat?  Michael Moore doesn’t look like he has missed a meal to me.  Is it really that big of a deal to butcher an animal for food?  What have we become a nation of sissies? (No offense to anyone named Sissy)

Is it a crime to provide for one self?  To provide for ones family?  I think not!  Even the Liberal Media is in on the hits.  They never once asked Marco anything on the issues at the Florida Press Corp. conference.  Instead they chose to keep trying to ask tricky questions about Ray Sansom.

I think I might go to pig fest in Lakeland after all today.  Maybe I will be labeled a pig killer too.  Hopefully someone will ask me about it… then I can respond that the pig was so damn delicious I couldn’t resist!  Don’t talk with your mouth full Liberals!

Tonight I had the esteemed pleasure to listen to Polk County Commissioner Randy Wilkinson and John Lindsey Jr. discuss running for Congressional District 12 seat being vacated by Adam Putnam.  Dennis Ross was notably absent from the event.  His assistant provided an excuse stating that he was making the rounds in Osceola County, which has a small sliver of District 12.

The candidates speeches were mediocre Randy Wilkinson did have a prop to help him start off.  He held up a princess tiara and said that he had brought it for Dennis because Dennis feels that he has been coroneted by the Republican Party.  Dennis has been absent from 3 events that both other candidates have been participating in.

Shortly after the speeches the question and answer period began.  John Lindsey really knocked it out of the park on this.   His views resonated with the general consensus of the group.  Both candidates took several questions, however I feel that Randy beat around the bush to get to the answer.  John was very clear and concise in his answers.

Both candidates said they would like to fix the 14^th amendment that allows for the offspring of illegal aliens to be automatic citizens.  This is in contrast to the voting record of the current sitting Congressman Adam Putnam, who has voted in FAVOR of amnesty for illegal aliens.

The primary for the District 12 seat will be one to watch, especially if you’re a liberty-loving individual such as myself.

Bill Posey

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Bill Posey (R-Rockledge) introduced the Deficit Reduction Check-Off Act, legislation designed to give the American people a stronger voice in reigning-in out of control government spending. Posey’s bill, H.R. 4308, which already has the support of 17 of his colleagues, would create a means by which the American taxpayer could put a small portion of their tax refunds toward deficit reduction and the government would then be obligated to match it $9 to $1 and lower spending accordingly.

“In recent years, Washington has taken us down a dangerous, irresponsible and unsustainable path of overspending,” said Congressman Posey. “This month our national debt exceeded $12 trillion for the first time in our nation’s history and as early as tomorrow the Speaker may bring a bill forward to raise the debt limit to $14 trillion.  Last year alone put a record $1.4 trillion on the next generation’s credit card – more than three times the previous record.  Unfortunately, Washington seems dead to the common sense idea of lowering spending.  Many constituents have indicated they feel powerless and my bill gives them a direct way to cut Washington spending.”

Specifically, the Deficit Reduction Check-Off Act would add a new “Deficit Reduction Check-Off” line to IRS tax forms. Individuals would be given the opportunity to direct up to $10 of their tax rebate/refund for deficit reduction ($20 for joint filers). While the individual’s tax return would only be reduced by a maximum of $10, Posey’s bill directs the Office of Management & Budget (OMB) to cut federal spending by $100 ($200 for a joint return). A $10 check-off translates into $100 in direct deficit reduction.

“For every $10 dollars you give, Washington would be required to cut $100 in spending – $200 for joint filers,” said Posey. “For example, if 40 million Americans ‘check-off’ a total of $300 million on their tax returns, the Federal government would be directed  to cut spending by $3 billion. It adds one more deficit reduction tool and it will also give Congress an idea of just how serious the American people are about cutting spending.”

Bill Posey

WASHINGTON, DC – In a recent letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Congressman Bill Posey (R-Rockledge) joined with 25 of his fellow House Members in calling for documents detailing the Fed’s handling of the AIG bail-out to be made available to Members of the House Financial Services Committee and its staff. Aides to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs have already been granted access to such documents on the matter, but not in the House.

“We still have many serious questions surrounding the AIG bailouts,” said Posey. “Every taxpayer has the right to know the role of the Federal Reserve and the Treasury in these monumental and costly decisions.  I join my colleagues in calling for transparency and accountability in this and other actions by the Federal Reserve throughout the financial crisis. The American people deserve to know all the facts and by continuing to withhold information on how billions of dollars in taxpayer money was spent, the Federal Reserve is further abusing the taxpayer.”

The letter to Chairman Bernanke states “the ongoing government rescue of the American International Group, Inc. (AIG) has raised serious concerns regarding a lack of transparency surrounding the commitment of billions of taxpayer dollars, including the payment of over $60 billion to AIG’s counterparties on certain credit default swap transactions. Recent disclosures that the New York Fed attempted to prevent public disclosure of information related to these transactions by directing AIG to delete the counterparty names and payment information from the company’s draft regulatory filing are extremely troubling.” To view the letter in full, click here.

Marco Rubio

The Florida Democratic Party and Republican Marco Rubio have enjoyed an uneasy alliance in the past few months over a common enemy. Numerous times, Rubio and the Democrats have sent out e-mails within minutes of each other with mirror-image attacks on Republican Gov. Charlie Crist.

But today Democrats are turning their sights on Rubio, whose primary campaign against Crist been gaining momentum. By our count, it’s the first Democratic press release dedicated solely to Rubio since May 5, when Rubio formally announced his candidacy (just a few days before Crist’s own announcement).

The press release today hammers Rubio for receiving a $135,000 equity loan from a politically-connected bank. The loan came after Rubio bought a West Miami home for $550,000 in 2005 and had it valued at $735,000 a month later. The peg for the release is Rubio’s opposition to President Obama’s so-called Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee.

The aim of the White House plan is to recover projected losses from the government’s bank bailout. Rubio called it a “bank tax.”

We’ve got a feeling Rubio’s camp is giddy about the turn of events. From Rubio spokesman Alex Burgos:

“When the time comes to debate Democrats, we will have had plenty of experience highlighting the policy deficiencies they share with Charlie Crist on out-of-control stimulus spending, cap-and-trade, higher taxes and policies that trade individual freedom for more government.”

Charlie Crist

Governor Charlie Crist bluntly tried to shed two big image problems — his hug of President Obama and past support of the $787 billion federal stimulus package — in a unity party-unity plea Saturday that sounded like a preview of his U.S. Senate campaign theme.

Crist told more than 200 members of the state Republican Executive Committee that “this guy in the White House” is doing more to build the GOP than they could do for themselves. But he stressed that “I do not apologize” for welcoming Obama to Fort Myers or his acceptance of Florida’s share of stimulus cash, which he said kept cops and teachers on the job.

Former House Speaker Marco Rubio, the aggressive conservative Miamian who has been building momentum in the Senate race, signaled that he won’t let the Obama-stimulus controversy subside in Republican ranks. However Crist explains it now, Rubio said, the governor “cut the legs out from under” the GOP economic alternative in Congress and happily applauded Obama on the president’s first visit to Florida last February.

“Some people criticize me for going down to Fort Myers, being nice to the president of the United States of America. I do not apologize for it and I never will,” Crist said at the state GOP meeting. The governor, who is known for being effusively polite to everyone he meets, said his parents brought him up that way.

“I don’t agree with the guy on hardly anything he does but that’s OK,” he said of Obama. “That’s also part of our great democracy. I mean, what they are doing with health care right now is unbelievable — raising your taxes for it, raising rates for it, taking half a trillion dollars out of Medicare, and the part that bothers me most is, the whole thing has become a covert operation.”

Crist appeared with Obama in Fort Myers last February and thanked him for the stimulus plan, saying it was important for Congress to pass it. When Obama visited Jacksonville late last year, after Crist’s poll numbers had fallen and Rubio’s had risen, the governor did not join the president and said he didn’t even know Obama was in the state.