2012

Alan Grayson Running In 2012 To Stop Democratic 'Appeasement'

Benjy Sarlin | July 12, 2011, 11:32AM

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL)

Alan Grayson, the liberal firebrand best known for his combative style and otherworldly ability to raise cash, is plotting a return to Congress after being ousted in 2010.

And in case you were worried his defeat at the hands of Rep. Dan Webster (R-FL) has mellowed him out, fret not. In an interview with TPM, Grayson, stood by his famous claim that the Republican health care plan is to "die quickly," among other similar policy prescriptions.

"It's exactly like I said, the Republican health care plan: don't get sick," he said. "The Republican unemployment plan: go find a job. The Republican homelessness plan: move in with your relatives. They have no answers to anything."

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2010 elections

Alan Grayson's Political Career Dies Quickly

Eric Kleefeld | November 2, 2010, 8:48PM

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL)

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL), the freshman Democrat who defeated a Republican incumbent in 2008, and then became a star of the blogosphere and cable TV for his full-throated attacks against Republicans, has now gone down in crushing defeat, so soon after he burst onto the national scene.

With 160 of 239 precincts reporting, Republican former state Sen. Dan Webster leads Grayson 57.4%-39.2%, and has been projected as the winner by CNN and the Orlando Sentinel.

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FL-08

Susquehanna (R) Poll: Alan Grayson Trails By Seven Points

Eric Kleefeld | October 26, 2010, 3:55PM

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL)

A new Susquehanna (R) poll, commissioned by the conservative Florida news site Sunshine State News, has first-term Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson trailing his Republican opponent, former state Sen. Dan Webster.

The numbers: Webster 48%, Grayson 41%, Tea Party candidate Peg Dunmire 4%, and independent George Metcalfe 1%. The survey of likely voters has a ±3.46% margin of error. In the previous poll from a month ago, Webster had 43%, Grayson 36%, Dunmire 6%, and Metcalfe 3%.

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Jack Conway

Six Brutal Ads That Put Conway's Aqua-Buddha Segment To Shame

Brian Beutler | October 19, 2010, 8:51AM

Kentucky Senate candidates Jack Conway and Rand Paul talk with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

The campaign season was rocked this weekend when Senate hopeful Jack Conway (D) unveiled an ad raising questions about the sincerity of his opponent Rand Paul's faith in the deeply Christian state of Kentucky.

The ad quickly became the most contentious of the cycle. On Sunday, the two met for their second-to-last scheduled debate, which ended with Paul refusing to shake Conway's hand and threatening to skip their final encounter.

As is common when Democrats punch below the belt, the episode inspired an earnest round of handwringing among party members and progressive commentators, some of whom went to go so far as to call Conway's segment "illiberal" and "despicable."

Looking back on the past several weeks, though, there have been a number of ads (both Democratic and Republican) that are -- pick your adjective -- harsher, sleazier, bolder and more damning. Here are our top six.

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FL-08

NRCC's Anti-Grayson Ad Stars Creepy Clown (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | October 18, 2010, 3:18PM

NRCC ad attacking Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL)

The National Republican Congressional Committee has a new attack ad against Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL), the fiery liberal who is being challenged by top-tier GOP recruit Dan Webster. And while this ad seeks to obviously turn voters against Grayson, it might especially alarm a particular sub-group of the electorate: People with clown-phobias.

The ad goes after Grayson's rabble-rousing image by having a person dressed up in clown makeup and a business suit, possibly meant to be a stand-in for Grayson. (From a distance, you can't tell if the clown actor is a man or a woman -- but the whole scene sure is creepy.) The ad also goes after the recent news over Grayson's "Taliban Dan" ad, which led to attacks that Grayson was selectively quoting Webster out of context.

"You've seen the headlines. Freshman Congressman Alan Grayson is a national embarrassment," the announcer says, as the clown comes into view. "But it's not just Grayson's behavior that's out of line -- it's his votes. Grayson backed a government takeover of health care. Grayson wanted a more radical takeover than the plan Congress passed. Grayson pushed a national energy tax that would cripple Florida's economy. We can't let Alan Grayson embarrass Florida anymore."

An interesting part of the ad, of course, is that the news quote about Grayson's anti-Webster spot being "one of the worst ads I've ever seen, one of the most dishonest," was cited to Sean Hannity -- who as we all know, is a paragon of honesty and virtue when it comes to using quotes from those he opposes.

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FL-08

Susquehanna Poll: Alan Grayson Trails By 7 Points

Eric Kleefeld | September 29, 2010, 9:52AM

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL)

A new Susquehanna (R)/Sunshine State News poll of Florida's 8th District shows fiery liberal Democratic Congressman Alan Grayson trailing his Republican opponent, former state Sen. Dan Webster.

The numbers: Webster 43%, Grayson 36%, plus 6% for Tea Party candidate Peg Dunmire and independent George Metcalfe. The survey of likely voters has a ±4.14% margin of error. There is no previous poll of this race by this firm for direct comparison

The pollster's analysis finds that Grayson's unfavorable rating is at 51%: "He's even more unpopular than the president, which is not surprising given how controversial he has been with his rhetoric, overall style and TV ads."

Grayson's district has historically voted Republican, but swept him into office with the 2008 Obama wave. Since then, he has distinguished himself mainly by his over-the-top attacks on Republicans. In some ways, it seems like he's made a point of attacking Republicans with the same vitriolic rhetoric they use against Democrats. For example, he famously said the Republican health care plan is for people who get sick to "die quickly," imagined Dick Cheney as a vampire, and recently released an ad dubbing Webster "Taliban Dan," declaring that Webster is out to oppress women -- and in the latter case, appearing to take Webster's full comments out of context from the original video.

2010 elections

AFL-CIO Drops Millions Of Mailers In Key Races

Eric Kleefeld | September 27, 2010, 4:50PM

Richard Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO

The AFL-CIO is continuing to throw its weight into the midterm elections, Politico reports, with a whole new load of mailers in different key races.

All in all, the AFL-CIO is dropping 3.5 million mailers into 66 races this week. Among the key picks:

• A mailer in the Connecticut Senate race, featuring a pro-wrestler in a mask, with the text proclaiming: "Don't let Linda McMahon put the smack down on Connecticut workers.

• A mailer in the West Virginia Senate race, hammering Republican businessman John Raese and promoting Democratic Gov. Joe Manchin: "After the deadliest mining disaster in 40 years, one Senate candidate wants to 'unshackle' management from safety regulations, and one is fighting to make them stronger."

• A mailer in Florida's 8th District, home to the fiery liberal Dem Congressman Alan Grayson, attacking Republican candidate Dan Webster for wanting to renew the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy: "Wall street wrecked our economy, and America's middle class paid the price. Now, Daniel Webster wants to repeat the past."

2010 elections

Tea Party Fakers? Dems Blamed For Co-Opting 'Tea Party' Label To Split Conservative Vote

Evan McMorris-Santoro | September 27, 2010, 8:22AM

At a tea party rally.

In many ways, 2010 will be the Year of the Tea Party. The angry conservative movement has bumped off a number of moderate and establishment Republicans in the primary season, packed huge rallies across the country and provided most of the best drama of the political year. But the success and prominence of the tea party movement has led to another trend: across the country, Democrats have been accused of helping get phony "Tea Party" candidates on the ballot in competitive races, in an attempt to split the vote between the Republican and fake "Tea Party" nominee so the Dem can cruise to victory.

It all made a lot of sense at the start. Back at the beginning of 2010, the tea party movement was showing real signs of splitting off into a separate political party. This was before the tea partiers set their sights on remaking the GOP with Senate nominees like Sharron Angle, Ken Buck and Christine O'Donnell, and, in turn, the GOP embraced the movement with both arms. A few clever Democratic activists, it appears, set about to take advantage of the schism between the GOP and tea party.

Evidence of the alleged plan has popped up in Florida, Michigan, New Jersey and Pennsylvania this year. Time will tell how successful it's been, but so far it's had very little effect.

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Alan Grayson

Grayson Knocks 'Taliban Dan' Webster For Supporting 'Covenant Marriage'

Brian Beutler | August 23, 2010, 10:23AM

Republican congressional candidate Daniel Webster

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) isn't taking any chances with his re-election, attacking all of his potential opponents as they fight each other in the GOP primary. But he's saving his harshest line for his likely rival, Daniel Webster -- or, as Grayson calls him, "Taliban Dan." Why? Because in 1990, Webster sponsored and supported legislation in Florida that would have made it much more difficult for people to divorce -- a policy called "covenant marriage."

In a letter to supporters, Grayson described it like this: "Dan Webster's bill reduces the institution of marriage to a roach motel: You can check in, but you can't check out."

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FL-SEN

Big-Name GOPer Running Against Grayson -- Six Months After He Previously Opted Out Of Race

Eric Kleefeld | April 23, 2010, 12:18PM

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL)

Republicans have landed a top-tier candidate candidate to run against Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL), the fiery liberal best known for his over-the-top comedic insults against the Republicans. But before this new candidate, former state Sen. Dan Webster, can take on Grayson, he'll first have to make it through a crowded Republican primary -- which is itself full of candidates who got in when they thought Webster wasn't running.

Webster announced in October 2009 that he would not run, declaring at the time: "When in doubt, don't." Six months later, he enters the race saying that his family had previously not been united on the idea of running, but now are behind him.

Webster has the endorsements of former Gov. Jeb Bush and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. He must still run in a Republican primary against businessman Bruce O'Donoghue, state Rep. Kurt Kelly and others who might not have run if Webster had gotten in six months ago.

Alan Grayson

Top GOP Prospect Dan Webster Not Running Against Grayson

Eric Kleefeld | October 13, 2009, 5:52PM

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL)

Republicans just lost their top prospect to run against Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL), with former state Sen. Dan Webster announcing that he won't make the race.

"This has been a very difficult decision for me personally, especially because of the tremendous outpouring of support that has flooded me from all sides," said Webster, a big name among the state's religious conservatives. "However, in spite of this incredible encouragement, I still have a certain check in my spirit, prompting me to follow a principle that has always served me well: 'When in doubt, don't.'"

Grayson, of course, is the Democratic Congressman who has attacked the Republicans as having a health care plan for Americans to "die quickly," called them "knuckle-dragging neanderthals," and even borrowed the late GOP Vice President Spiro Agnew's words and called the GOP "nattering nabobs of negativism." The national GOP does not have a candidate yet, but has set up a special fund to raise money for the eventual opponent.

Florida's 8th District historically voted Republican, but went 52%-47% for Barack Obama in 2008, and elected the now-famous Grayson by 52%-48% over a Republican incumbent.