Despite President Barack Obama carrying Florida and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelsons re-election efforts in 2012, the last five years , on the whole, have not been happy ones for Florida Democrats.

The newspapers are awash every day with stories about the Florida Department of Corrections and the systemic problems a longstanding culture has created.

Don't label Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda as just a Democrat.

Over the last seven years she's represented Tallahassee as a lawmaker in the Florida Legislature, Vasilinda has made the focus of her service to the people of Leon County her primary mission, regardless of party affiliation.

"As a legislator, I think we're solving problems. We are helping to empower the people of the state of Florida live the best life that they can," she explained to Sunshine State News.

When he nominated then-Gov. Al Smith, D-N.Y., for president at the 1924 Democratic National Convention, Franklin D. Roosevelt took a line from a Wordsworth poem and labeled his friend the happy warrior.

It's as if they were waiting, breathlessly. The moment Ted Cruz announced his presidential campaign, the national media proclaimed their horror. He was "brash," a "hardliner," an "uncompromising conservative," they warned. ABC anchor David Muir announced his agenda was the usual No list: "Promising no abortion, no gay marriage, no gun control, no IRS."