With less than a week remaining until the election, prominent national conservatives -- including Sarah Palin, Ralph Reed and Newt Gingrich -- are taking center stage in Florida, trying to turn out the vote for Republican candidates.
Former Alaska Gov. Palin took aim at 20 congressional Democrats who voted for new federal health-care laws and who represent districts carried by the Republican presidential ticket in 2008 -- including two Florida Democrats.
Its been six months since President Obama signed his health-care bill into law, wrote Palin at the site for SarahPAC, her leadership PAC. Despite overwhelming public dislike of Obamacare, we were told that Washington knows best and there is nothing to worry about. Nancy Pelosi said Congress has to pass the bill so that Americans can find out what is in it. We found out that its even worse than we feared.
Palin backed two Florida Republicans -- Steve Southerland and Rep. Sandy Adams of Oviedo -- running against Democrats who backed the health-care laws. Southerland is taking on U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd and Adams is challenging U.S. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas.
Lets replace them with good conservatives who will vote to repeal and replace Obamacare with patient-centered, results-driven, free-market reform that provides solutions to people of all income levels without bankrupting our country, wrote Palin. Lets reclaim the power of the people from those who disregarded the will of the people.
The Faith and Freedom Coalition, led by former Christian Coalition Executive Director Ralph Reed, announced late Tuesday that it will be spending more than $500,000 to beat the drums to increase voter turnout among faith-based voters.
The group has launched radio ads in 18 U.S. Senate and congressional races across the nation, including two close contests in Florida. The Faith and Freedom Coalition launched a radio ad supporting Republican challenger Allen West. West is looking to defeat Democratic U.S. Rep. Ron Klein. It has also unveiled a radio ad backing Southerland against Boyd.
Besides Palin, other possible Republican presidential hopefuls are hitting the Sunshine State this week.
U.S. Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, best known for defeating Democratic Senate Leader Tom Daschle in 2004 and a possible Republican presidential candidate in 2012, campaigned across Florida on Wednesday for Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott.
Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is considering running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, attempted to rally Republicans for the elections coming up on Tuesday.
With your votes and a mandate from the American people, the next Congress can repeal and replace Obamacare, wrote Gingrich and his wife Callista to supporters on Wednesday morning. They can make sure that cap-and-trade never sees the light of day. And they can stop the impending tax increase set for early next year.
But undoing what's been done by the party that's offered little more than Food Stamps is only the beginning, continued the Gingriches. A decisive victory will allow the party of paycheck policies with majorities in the House and Senate to set the agenda for prosperity by cutting taxes, cutting spending, setting priorities, and beginning the process of returning our government to the constitutional limits set by our Founding Fathers. By keeping government small and the American people big, we can achieve our potential by freeing the entrepreneurial American spirit that has made us the most successful and prosperous civilization in human history.
Gingrich noted in the e-mail that he is closing his tour of the nation pushing for new jobs with a stop in Jacksonville on Thursday. The former House Speaker will be on the First Coast as part of his Jobs Here, Jobs Now tour. Gingrich, who was in Iowa last week, will also be speaking in Georgia and South Carolina on Thursday. South Carolina has traditionally helped winnow the Republican field after the first caucus in Iowa and the first primary in New Hampshire
Gingrich also cut a radio ad for Republican candidate former Rep. Dennis Ross in the race to replace U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam. The controversial and colorful U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., also endorsed Ross and recorded a radio ad of her own on Tuesday. In their radio ads, Bachmann, a favorite of the tea party movement and the founder of the Congressional Tea Party Caucus, and Gingrich slammed the Florida TEA Party and Polk County Commissioner Randy Wilkinson, their candidate in the race. Bachmann and Gingrich insisted in their recorded messages that the Florida TEA Party was being backed by liberals and the Democrats to split the conservative vote.
On Saturday, prominent businessman Herman Cain, a favorite of the tea party movement and a possible Republican presidential candidate, will be joining Scott and Republican Party of Florida Chairman Sen. John Thrasher of Jacksonville at a tea party event in Middleburg.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting(850) 727-0859end_of_the_skype_highlighting.
