the TeaBaggers.
Rod Smith told a Tampa fundraiser that the Republicans are so far right wing the Dems are the mainstream. Republicans are out of the mainstream! Say this over and over and over again. Build a narrative around this. It's time for them to go. Post this on your Facebook page. Post this on other message boards.
http://cltampa.com/dailyloaf/archives/2011/05/16/rod-smith-tells-a-tampa-democratic-fundraiser-that-the-florida-gop-has-gone-so-far-right-theyre-now-out-of-the-mainstreamA week after the Republican dominated Legislature passed legislation that critics say will damage the environment, limit access to voting and make it more onerous to get a legal abortion, Florida Democratic Party chairman Rod Smith says he's convinced that the Florida GOP has gone too far outside the mainstream, and says such overreach presents the best opportunity in years for Democrats to start making a comeback in the Sunshine State.
Speaking to a packed house of mostly Tampa area Democrats at the South Tampa home of Stacy Frank, Smith was the headliner at a fundraiser late Saturday afternoon that featured U.S. Senator Bill Nelson, Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, and five of the seven Tampa CIty Council members.
Smith officially took over the Democratic party chairmanship in January, replacing Karen Thurman as the party hit rock bottom in the wake of the 2010 electoral debacle in November. The former state Senator and 2006 gubernatorial candidate has always been known to deliver a thumping speech, and he was in classic form on Saturday, speaking for 15 minutes on how his party's brand had gone up in stock simply by contrasting it with the results of what the Legislature did over the past couple of months.
Smith blasted the Rick Scott agenda going into the session, such as the fact that he intended to cut public education and taxes on corporations as the state dealt with a nearly $4 billion budget deficit, and that he wanted to deal with the "problem" with public employees unions in the state.
"Now I want you to understand for a second, I cannot believe we live in an age, in which people would say the problem with Florida was our school teachers, our police officers, our fire fighters, the people who risk their lives and spend time raising our children, the people who drive them on the buses: That they were our enemies? Well, they couldn’t convince Floridians of that, they couldn’t even convince a majority of their own party about that. "