The four leading candidates for the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson next year took their cases to an audience of Republican activists Thursday during appearances at the American Conservative Unions Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando.
Former Florida House Majority Leader Adam Hasner kicked off the forum by stressing his conservative beliefs and attacking Democrats in Washington -- namely Nelson and President Barack Obama.
This is an exciting time for Florida conservatives, Hasner said, pointing to victories in the Sunshine State in 2010. Hasner told a cheering crowd that Florida would have more Republican victories in 2012, predicting voters would toss Nelson out of office.
Hasner played up his conservative credentials, stressing endorsements he's picked up from prominent national and state organizations, such as FreedomWorks, and pundits like Erik Erickson.
They know my record and they know I am relentless in standing up for our conservative values, Hasner said.
Taking aim at the Obama administration, Hasner called for peace through strength and more fiscal responsibility. Hasner also blasted Floridas senior senator as an Obama backer.
Bill Nelson has been the biggest cheerleader for the Obama administration, Hasner said, maintaining the incumbent talks like a moderate but votes like a liberal. Hasner added that Nelson helped cancel out the vote of Florida Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio.
We need to send conservative reinforcements to get the job done, he said.
Hasner insisted he was the right Republican who could stand up to Democrats and moderate Republicans. He noted that he was the only one of the four leading Republicans in the race who has actually won an election, adding that he carried a competitive House district four times while remaining a principled conservative.
Next up was former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux. Appointed to the Senate by then-Gov. Charlie Crist in 2009, LeMieux called Crist my friend, but said he was proud to back Rubio over the governor in the 2010 Senate race, despite his tenure as the governor's chief of staff. Crist remains unpopular with Florida Republicans after deserting the GOP to run for the Senate in 2010 with no party affiliation.
I was proud to do it, said LeMieux. I put country first.
The former senator offered a quick biographical sketch, talking about his family and role in the private sector.
Its not government that creates jobs. Its the private sector. LeMieux said, following up with an attack on people who have been in politics their whole life.
LeMieux reviewed his time in the Senate and said he took great pride in voting against the health-care law signed by Obama. Focusing on fiscal issues, he bashed career politicians for financial irresponsibility. LeMieux pointed to his 2007 plan which would send federal spending back to what it was in that year.
The former senator said he had the most conservative record of all the candidates in the race.
Talk is cheap, LeMieux said. What matters is our records.
LeMieux took aim at Nelson on a host of social and fiscal issues and attacked him as a career politician.
Bill Nelson has been in office since I was 3, he said.
The former senator said he would take the fight to the incumbent.
Bill Nelson is going to try to run from his record ... if Im the nominee, he can run but he cant hide, said LeMieux.
Retired Army officer, college professor and businessman Mike McCalister, who ran for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 2010, was the third candidate to speak.
Offering words of praise for seniors and veterans, McCalister attacked Obama for bowing to Muslim kings and apologizing for America.
McCalister called for less federal regulation, lower taxes and tort reform to jolt the economy, and stressed the need for better research and technology security. He also backed a greater role for companies in education.
Reviewing threats to national security, McCalister weighed in on terrorism, on what he called an overreaching U.N., illegal immigration, drugs and stolen technology. He also warned about Vladimir Putin in Russia, saying the old Soviet threat could re-emerge from the Kremlin.
On immigration, McCalister said the country needs to deport illegal aliens -- and charge the expense to their country of origin.
No amnesty, he said to a cheering crowd.
McCalister also pledged to fight radical Islam, promising no sharia laws ... in this country.
While he threw some jabs at Obama and Washington Democrats, McCalister ignored his Republican competitors, though he called for serious conservatives in Washington.
McCalister connected with the crowd as he backed the Second and 10th amendments and called for auditing the Federal Reserve. He also called for strict immigration policies and offered advice for new immigrants: Please learn to speak English.
With a party call to retire Obama and Nelson in 2012, McCalister left to a standing ovation.
Air Force veteran and Central Florida businessman Craig Miller, former CEO of Ruth's Chris, was the last of the candidates to speak. Miller told the crowd that he was at an interview and said he hoped he would be hired to represent Florida in the Senate.
Miller played up his roots in Florida, his military experience and his background in the private sector.
We heard three fine Republican conservatives, said Miller, who called himself a businessman and not a politician.
Miller, who sought a Republican congressional nomination in 2010, focused on his roots in the private sector, saying he fought against bad immigration laws and excessive government intrusion in the corporate world.
Describing his Republican rivals as two career politicians and a professor, Miller said he was running for the Senate on a record of moving from the dishroom to the boardroom and creating 40,000 jobs during his time in the private sector. Drawing the differences between businessmen and politicians, Miller promised that he would draft a business plan that would create jobs instead of the usual politicians jobs plan, which almost always fail.
Take a look at my background and my lifetime of experience, Miller said. You will find yourself someone thats been tested by making good decisions.
"Its time to get America back to work, he said. We can do that.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
