Moe Lane

The fellow is planning to run for Congress again.  Alan Grayson is, of course, the frothing lunatic who was elected to FL-08 in 2008… and then promptly lost his first re-election in 2010, mostly because he was, well, a frothing lunatic who called his opponent (one Daniel Webster*) a member of the Taliban and made up stuff about Webster at a level not usually seen outside of a special Mighty Morphin Power Rangers episode about corrupt politicians… assuming such an episode was ever made.  And I kind of hope that one was; Grayson was and is certainly oily enough to be a live-action cartoon villain.

Mind you, Grayson may not be actually in FL-08 when this is over – or Rep. Webster may not be, for that matter.  The Florida legislature is in the process of redistricting the state to reflect their picking up two seats in Congress, and they’re not really keen about outsiders interfering in the process.  This is partially due to state legislators’ fairly standard reluctance to not let what will already be a fraught situation be made worse by rampaging incumbents; but it’s also partially due to the so-called “Fair Districts” constitutional amendments that passed last year.  Those amendments were designed to reform the redistricting process, and in the long run they may even actually do that.  But in the short run they promise to touch off what could be an epic battle in the courts over whether said amendments should take precedence over the racial gerrymandering guidelines set up by the Voting Rights Act.

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It’s a pleasure to hear it, in fact.

“I think he’s trying to stay in the political scene,” said Jim Kitchens, a Florida-based pollster who worked for [former Congressman Alan] Grayson and who remains in his inner circle. “He enjoyed being in Congress, he really did.”

I mean, it would just purely suck if my helping to throw this idiot out on his ear caused him to simply shrug philosophically and go on with his life.  Bitterly nursing a grudge is just what the doctor ordered.

Moe Lane

Via Hot Air Headlines.

Only… don’t run for the House, OK?  Your talents would be wasted in the House.  Senate!  You want to run for Florida Senate!  Sure, there’s a sitting Democrat there right now, but your allies among the netroots would line up to throw money at your candidacy against Bill Nelson*.  It would be a glorious sight.  GLORIOUS!

I won’t beg – I suspect that you enjoy that sort of thing far too much – but I will say this.  This is your destiny.

Your destiny.

Via Hot Air Headlines.

*Admittedly, about a quarter of them would be throwing money at you because they thought that they were throwing money at a primary challenge to Ben Nelson of Nebraska, another quarter of them would contribute thinking that they were funding a primary challenge to Ben Nelson in Florida, and a third quarter of them would donate because they thought that you were running in the Nebraska primary against Bill Nelson – but, hey!  The money doesn’t decrease in value just because it used to be held by idiots, am I right?

Why, it’s our old friend Mister Alan Grayson!  Hi, Mister Grayson!  Can you tell us about your footwear?

A Bronx native with a fondness for steel-toed cowboy boots (the better to kick Republicans with, he jokes)

Oh, Mister Grayson.  Have you not been taking your pills again?

…because that doesn’t look like you were quite… up… for kicking anybody last November.

Mister Grayson.

Moe Lane

PS: Now that it’s all over…

…you really shouldn’t have shoved that guy.  Be seeing you! – Oh, wait: no, I won’t.

*Classical reference.

In fact, the rest of the article is kind of superfluous:

Two blue plastic dumpsters, filling up with trash, ornament the reception area of Alan Grayson’s Capitol Hill office.

I mean, really: do you care about anything in said article that was written after that?

Via Hot Air Headlines.

Recently, I compared Alan Grayson to an ex-KGB agent who was now engaged in a second career as a Mafia pimp.  I don’t know what I was thinking: the KGB tried not to hire babbling fools, and neither does the Mafia.

Incompetent babbling fools, at that.

The short version: Grayson just got caught by the papers indulging in some sloppy video editing to make it look liked Daniel Webster said the exact opposite of what he did say*.  You can see the original video here (complete with Grayson’s habitual aroma of eau de fearstink): below are Webster’s actual remarks.

As my colleague Erick Erickson just noted, Grayson’s the kind of politician who would attack his opponent’s daughter for being a thespian.  And remember: Grayson is one of the netroots’ paragons.  They’d clone this doofus, if they could.

Moe Lane

*Extra points: he’s got a female staffer to make his excuses for him.  I wonder if she had to be the one to have to explain away the ‘whore’ comment?  Did she get drunk that night, and cry a little?

No, I’m actually sympathetic.  It’s not easy to find a job, these days.  Sometimes you have to do what needs to be done, and worry about the hit to your self-respect later.

Because he’s a poor excuse for a man and I won’t insult women by suggesting that he was one, of course.

The NRCC wasted no time at all in reminding the world of what Alan Grayson likes to, frankly, spew on a regular basis:

It’s actually an impressive video in its brevity: the temptation to make it a twenty-minute highlight of every vicious, sexist*, and bigoted thing that Grayson’s ever said must have been difficult. Which reminds me, Grayson: that Senior Policy Advisor of yours, Matt Stoller? The one who hates Jews the ADL and the military? Does that ever lead to awkward moments at staff meetings?

Daniel Webster for FL-08. Because sometimes the cliche applies: Enough. Is. Enough.

Moe Lane

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I’m debating whether to make this a regular feature, or not.

Links:

The Campaign Spot.

Daniel Webster.

Moe Lane

Sorta crossposted at RedState.

You get the feeling that possibly Democratic politicians are starting to get nervous about November: they’re starting to advertise anywhere that they can.  Third Base Politics has the saga of Mary Jo Kilroy (D, OH-15), who put up a big honking sign at her HQ, then had to bring it back down for a zoning violation.  Kilroy, of course, is the Congresswoman currently trying to lie about being an anti-TARP warrior; I’m noting this latest mistake by her campaign for three reasons.

1. It reminds me of the saga of Alan Grayson (D, FL-08), who has likewise gone the route of the Really, Really Visible Sign in order to hide a deep-seated insecurity about the rapidly-approaching November elections (Cook rates both seats as Toss-Ups).
2. There’s something deeply entertaining about watching advocates of more and bigger government get caught in red tape and onerous regulations (it’s always onerous when it happens to you).
3. Ironically, it’s not like big signs will even help.  The problem isn’t lack of name recognition; the problem is too much recognition of the ‘D’ after their names.

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(Via @davidhauptmann) Regarding Alan Grayson’s latest, predictable attempts at outrage, I offer a prayer:

Dear Lord,

Please never let me be in a situation where I need to do things like this in order to achieve an erection.

Love,

Moe Lane

PS: Mere mortals can always contribute here.

Let me put it this way: below (in no particular order) is my Top Ten List of Democratic Members of the 111th Congress Whose Presence There Personally Offends My Sense of Civics.

David Obey
Jack Murtha
Alan Mollohan
Eric Massa
Charlie Rangel
Russ Carnahan
Carol Shea-Porter
Alan Grayson
Jim Moran
Patrick Kennedy

It’s going great. Thanks for asking!

Moe Lane

This is via That’s My Congress, which is about to become very confused about why it’s getting traffic from a VRWC site. Here’s the list:

Lois Capps
Michael Capuano
Ben Cardin
Diana DeGette
Eliot Engel
Barney Frank
Alan Grayson
Carolyn McCarthy
Bill Pascrell
Adam Schiff
Allyson Schwartz
Heath Shuler

…and they have two things in common. First, they’re all Democrats. Second, they all have email addresses with Erickson & Company. And what is Erickson & Company? As That’s My Congress puts it:

Erickson & Company is not a lobbying firm. Instead, it helps set up events like the Heath Shuler’s BBQ, at which lobbyists and other people seeking special favors can come, check in hand, to pay for access to elected officials and their aides.

In other words, it’s a legal [and Democratic-aligned] money-laundering facility for lobbyists. Need to toss Heath Shuler some cash, but you’re a dirty lobbyist? Well, go to Shuler’s little BBQ (run by a go-between), drop a grand for a plate of food, and say hi! No fuss, no muss, no need for disclosure. Shuler’s happy: he’s getting his cut of your entry fee. The go-between is happy: it’s getting its cut of your entry fee. And you’re happy: this is a lot cheaper than a maximum campaign contribution would be.

So remember this, the next time anybody on that list – or, honestly, any Democrat – talks about the evil of lobbying: the sound you hear isn’t scorn towards those who would try to pay for influence.  Nope.  It’s scorn towards the rubes who don’t know how to tell when a Democrat is gaming the system.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.