It's good to be back at Red County. I know it's been a while.


I opposed the stimulus because of philosophical differences. I feel that government spending only creates debt. Are there any private investors out there willing to take a chance on America? Just wondering. I can only hope there are no strings attached to that money. I feel that unfunded federal mandates are an irresponsible abuse of power and should be ended.

I was not surprised that FL Gov. Crist took the stimulus money. It was a practical decision, that although I disagreed with it, I can understand why he did. The Republican base is not happy about it at all. He did not do well in a straw poll at CPAC. I am wondering what Crist will do to shore up conservative support of him in Florida. If I had a better relationship with RPOF I'd like to be able to persuade them to accept an invitation to Bay County for a town hall meeting. (I was rudely barred from entering the RPOF Annual Meeting this January. I have still not received an explanation why, or why I was given a green stripe on my name tag.) I refrained from mentioning the incident for nearly 2 months to allow time for a response and I have yet to receive one.

Here in Bay County, FL we are focusing on expanding our membership. We are also getting ready for the Lincoln Day Dinner April 10th featuring columnist Ron Hart, a self-described "Southern libertarian". It should be pretty interesting. I'm looking forward to it.

Another thing I am looking forward to is attending the Republican Liberty Caucus Day at the Capitol and meeting with legislators about economic issues. At the end of the month the Florida RLC will be having its Convention in Jacksonville where we will elect new leadership.Some of the speakers at the Convention will include 2006-2008 Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio, who is a potential contender for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Mel Martinez, and Lawrence W. Reed, president of the Foundation for Economic Education.

I am considering a run for Chairman and I will announce my intentions in the near future. My agenda would include supporting the creation of a PAC, building our field operations and media/online presence, traveling state-wide to meet with members, as well as improving our relationships with legislators and RPOF. The relationship between RPOF and the RLC has been pretty rough since last summer. I am in favor of having a dialogue with them because in the end, we are not their enemy. We're on the same team and have the same goals, electing Republican candidates to office who believe in "low taxes, less government and more freedom".

Thanks again to Red County for giving me this opportunity and I will continue to give my direct and honest appraisal of politics in Florida, even if it gets me in trouble.You can also follow me on Twitter.