Why I Will Miss Alan Grayson
Even though I reside in the “opposite corner” of the U.S., the gentleman from Florida speaks for me and so many others. This clip shows why he was high on the list of those targeted by the right.
I’m so glad he’s going out swinging.
I like much of what Grayson has to say, but I’m sorry, he lost me with his campaign lies and that video he manipulated to make it look like his opponent was saying exactly the opposite of what he really was saying, and his subsequent interview with Anderson Cooper refusing to even acknowledge it.
I like integrity in our representatives, thank you. I know, it’s really rare to find, and that day Grayson showed that he didn’t have it. Hope the next democratic candidate in his district shows better judgement.
Grayson is the best. I’m hoping that despite his loss in FL, he would consider a more ‘national’ Democratic stance. Losing this election may have been the best for ‘all of us’. I think he is better served nationally instead of locally. I’m not sure that the DNC head is the best position for him.
I’ll add this to the “why I’ll miss Grayson” list:
“Fed’s ‘Backdoor Bailout’ Provided $3.3 Trillion in Loans to Banks, Corporations.” By John Nichols.
“With the lifting of the “veil of secrecy at the Fed,” in response to a legislative push led by US Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, reveals that the Federal Reserve gave banks, multinational corporations and foreign financial institutions—many of them with limited ties to the United States—an estimated $3.3 trillion in emergency loans and other forms of assistance during the course of the current financial crisis.
We now know that the Fed loaned trillions of dollars at zero or near-zero interest rates not only to the largest financial institutions in this country, but also to many of our largest corporations—including GE, McDonalds and Verizon. Most surprising, the Fed also lent huge sums of money to foreign private banks and corporations” says Sanders, who since the 1990s has, with Texas Congressman Ron Paul, Florida Congressman Alan Grayson and a handful of others, been an ardent critic of the Fed’s secrecy, unaccountable financial manipulations and coziness with Wall Street.”
balance of story at:
http://www.thenation.com/blog/156794/feds-backdoor-bailout-provided-33-trillion-loans-banks-corporations
see also:
http://projects.propublica.org/tables/treasury-facilities-loans
I like Grayson because he goes toe-to-toe with Republicans who fight down and dirty with low blows, including, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Sarah Palin, and others. I don’t think Grayson “hits below the belt,” like they do, but he confronts them and pushes back – and wins the fight.
Grayson is the best. When Sister Sarah spewed some venom about him, he simply said she was “an inspirations for all quitters,” and noted that his kids were in school while Sarah’s were not.
too bad the idiots he represented voted him out florida is now red red red and not from too much sun..
Of all the Democrats who lost, I was most saddened by Grayson’s loss. We need his voice in Congress. But I’ve no doubt that he will continue to fight for the rights of those who will have no voice from the republican side – it’s been clear for a while that they only care about themselves and their rich friends. After spending 4 hours at my local food bank yesterday hearing how hard it is for families this year, I am so disgusted with anything coming from republicans. Their callous arrogance is astounding.
I am sure, though, that we have not heard the last of Alan Grayson. He is a strong voice of reason and compassion and integrity – something we definitely need.
I am proud to have two “brave” Dems in the Senate: Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley. Jeff has gotten more done in his almost-two years than many other long-time Senators combined. Very proud that I phone-banked for him in 2008, and recently met with him (too briefly, he’s a busy man) in DC. He cares. (Before getting into politics he was Director of Portland Habitat for Humanity.)
Meant to say that I’m very pleased, not proud, to have phone banked for Merkley. LOL. And very thankful that he was running in the Obama year, defeating Republican Gordon Smith, and not this year when I doubt he would have won.
What I love about Grayson is that he tells the truth – unvarnished. I laughed so many times during this video because he is spot on. I doubt he is going anywhere and will be a thorn in the side of the Republicans for many years to come. Maybe he can run for Congress from a Dem-friendly district in the future.
lol…not tear sets…tea sets…but know you all would have figured that out
Agree Zyxomma…..chair the DNC and let him loose on the country…to speak the truth
I have NO idea why so many dems are wimps these days…they all should be telling it like it is…
my own senator…Schumer though…did make me proud the other day when in the senate..he told them you dont represent the tea party..you represent those with sterling silver tear sets..something like that…
now waiting…crossing my fingers..still hoping (hopeless optimist that I am)…that our President will find his spine…start to stand tall…and fight for us the people like many us fought for him…
Grayson…we love you!!!!!
I cried when Alan Grayson lost his election. I lost count of how many times I donated to his campaign, his solicitations were always humorous and a little on the clean but goofy side. Grayson is a wealthy man already & will lose money if the tax cuts for the wealthy expire – yet still more interested in making sure regular Americans are given a safety net and more jobs.
I do hope everyone is correct, Americans need for him to stay in politics and keep speaking for all of us!
Salute !!! Grayson has my support… Always has…
NO REPUBLICAN ALIVE – ANYWHERE would ever utter the words that came out of Grayson lips… They’ve had too much automaton kool-aide…
I only wish he would have illustrated through a poster format how much he himself makes per year and how much he would be sacrificing with the Bush Tax cuts expiring. Grayson is obviously willing to sacrifice his tax cut, but it would have really brought it home to me if he would have put it in poster format for us all to see.
The ole poster/chaulk board/white board trick. All shall await the answers.
Floridians are a bunch of idiots.
I was a floridian for 10 years. I am not an idiot.
True, we shouldn’t generalize. There are smart and not smart people in every state and district.
You can sign-up for his email!!! http://grayson.house.gov/
Keep urging him to give people a voice!!!
I bet Grayson could run as a republican in 2012 and win. Chew on that Esther.
Maybe so, but I think he has too much integrity to be a Republican (no offense to what moderate Republicans used to be – but really, there would be no room for a man like Grayson in that party – too honest).
I never thought he would for a moment. The rethugs would fall all over themselves to have someone of his caliber in their party. All the while the rethugs would love to be unshackled from the likes of Esther. Is this not playing out as obvious?
We need this man, and other like him, in positions of power in our government. I hope and I believe that we have not yet heard the last of Alan Grayson. For that, and for the honesty he has brought to our Congress during his tenure there, I am grateful.
my in-laws live in his district in a retirement vilage/town caled “the villages.” hubby and i can’t bring ourselves to go there. they are avid republicans, fox news watchers, obama haters, sarah palin fans… she visits the villages on occasion. they hated alan grayson, and i’ll bet they knew very little about him. they called him obnoxious yet are fans of sarah’s. it’s amazing how much politics today can easily cause arguments that divide families. the misinformation spread about grayson and the huge amount of money spent against him led to his downfall. thanks for your service rep. grayson! i hope to see you back as a strong voice for the people!
It is truly frightening to realize that people are voting based on the lies and misinformation they get from fox.
They really must believe that EVERY other news source is slanted left. Either that or it’s just too much work to hear any other point of view.
Grayson basically points out the greatest trick the right plays. They have convinced millions in to voting against their own self interests. The sheep listen to the millionaire swindlers of Faux Noise, and jump in lock step.
I have heard coworkers complain about their tax increase since Obama took office. I ask them how that happened, when my taxes actually dropped in 2009. They point to Fox News as telling them about it. I guess they chose believe Fox over their own lying eyes.
Anyone who lives in Anchorage is probably aware of the republican administration’s war on labor. The ironic part is the vast numbers of the Anchorage Police rank and file who support the republicans. It make you wonder sometimes.
With the corporate take over of elections that will be coming our way, things will deteriorate even further. The gap between the super rich, and the regular guy will get bigger and bigger.
I love to hear $15 an hour workers argue around the water cooler if their favorite NFL or NBA player got as much as he should have with his new 15 million a year contract.
M.C. Hammer, who admitted he couldn’t sing a note, summed it best when he won a Grammy for his musical prowess. “What a Country.”
I live in Florida but not in Grayson’s district. I wish I did because I really like his knowledge of the issues and how upfront he is with the Republicans. In fact, he seems to be the only Democrat brave enough to voice his opinion of the Republicans without worring about reprisals from them. I only wish our President was as bold as Grayson in standing against the Republicans. I’m begining to become very discourage by Obama and his seemingly unwillness to fight with the Republicans to get Bush Tax Cuts from being extented for the rich. He made it one of his promises during the campaign and I expect him to hold his ground.
Yes, as much as I respect President Obama, he needs some of Grayon’s pizazz. He can generate heat and enthusiasm upon occasion. Trouble is, it doesn’t seem that he can sustain it on all the important issues. I am getting tired of our President compromising with the Party of No.
sorry – Grayson’s not Grayon’s
I’d pay good money to see him go after Mrs. Grifter. Please, Mr. Grayson, please won’t you help us?
Please give it up. Shut down all the attention focused on ‘all sarah all the time’ We all have many better things to do with our minds, hearts, time.
He may be swinging, but I don’t think we should count him out just yet. He has too much fire and ‘fight for what’s right’ in him; I wish there were more like him.
Dear Alan Grayson,
Please become a blogger. We will follow you.
Yours truly, Moose Pucky
Also, too (sorry, couldn’t resist) please consider exploring the idea of heading up the DNC. You would be fabulous getting the party energized for the 2012 elections.
Alan Grayson is now free of a political “title” He no longer has to conduct “business as usual” .
I say, let him take on Palin,the crazy faction of the right wing, the flat/ignorant/arrogant element of the entrenched GOP, and let him have at it , pedal to the floor.
I think he would open up the flood gates if he’d go that route.
(fingers crossed!)
love that idea. I’m going to send him a link to this page. I think he’d get a kick out of hearing from the ‘other corner’ of the country.
Hey …..Gal:
I think it is more important that Alan Grayson maintains sane behavior. It seems to me that it would be too easy for the ‘party of no!’ to ridicule and diminish the significance of the message. I have lived in Fla, albeit long time ago (’74 to ’84), those communities have changed. We need to bring the snowbirds in the Sunshine state back to how and why they are comfortable there in Florida. They worked hard all their lives and “no uppity cracker (Haley Barber, John Beohner, Spence/Daniels) should think he can speek for me”.
I do not think we are seeing the end of Alan Grayson’s political career. It is not surprising that he lost, given the millions of dollars the Rep political machine pumped into that campaign. His district has voted Republican for decades and his original election was startling.
He is articulate, a little eccentric, but comes across as honest and courageous. I am confident we’ll be seeing him again on the national scene.
Isn’t he awesome?! I just saw a recent clip on the ED SHOW today. He is standing there with pictures of Palin, Limpballs, Hannity, and maybe others showing how much of a tax break they will get if the wealthiest people get a tax break. He tells how much they make and what the benefit is for them. He makes it pretty obvious why these people are fighting for the tax breaks.
I will miss this man too. He will be around, and I am sure he will find a way to say what is on his mind. I wish him all good things.
He needs to start the GOP watchdog patrol. Go get um’ Grayson!
While you’re at it, tell Palin to do several people a favor and put a cork in it for the New Year!!!
Right on Hope
Alan Grayson is one of my FB friends, and I donated to his campaign. I support anything he decides to do.
He was one of the few we donated to as well. We didn’t have much to spare, but unfortunately none of our candidates made it.
Three of mine did,NY Washington and Colorado. four did not. including my own state senator
I also donated a couple of time because I like how he speaks out.He is not afraid to tell it like it is and he can do what palin has done only better and more honestly and without lying and making things up.
I don’t think he will go away. He cares too much to just drop politics. He certainly caught my attention in Ireland.
Shall we start a movement to draft Alan Grayson as Chairman of the DCCC? I surely would love to see what he’d do with that job. I expect, however, that he will use his time to write a (real) book, based on his experiences and observations, and that he’ll become somewhat of a pundit himself.
Blessings on Alan Grayson!
I would love it if he became the head of the DNC. We need another Dean-like leader if 2012 is going to replicate 2008.
The current DNC leader is useless. Grayson would fire up the engines and get things done and Dems elected as well if not better than Dean.
I also would love to see him head the DNC! I am really going to miss him as a representative in the House. ::Big sigh::
Maybe we can make that happen. We could email him, the DNC, the President, and both Speakers. Why not? He deserves it and we need him.
Sound like a good plan to me!
You took the words right off me fingers. Grayson could learn lots from Howard Dean and together separate the woof from the chaff.(?) You weavers can tell me if I got that totally wrong, sorry. Me, I was stunned by Dean’s ‘scream’ but I wasn’t put off. I think Howard Dean is the best thing that happened the the National Democratic Party since LBJ joined JFK.
Warp/weft, grain/chaff.
maybe he can become the opposing palin ya know answering her stupid tweets with something that is actually true and clear
I’d love to see a tweet war between Palin and Grayson. OMG would that be fun!
All of us need to start simply ignoring “all sarah all the time”. The more we talk about her she rises exponentially. Stop.
We shouldn’t really ignore her – we all need to keep track of what she is doing and saying. But I do agree that we need to quit talking about her and responding to her. It fuels her desire to stay in the spotlight in whatever way she can manage – and that’s bad for all of us.
I hope that Grayson will continue to speak out about the issues facing this country. We need him!
Yeah, he at least can actually speak about issues, unlike Grifter Granny.
You know what all these people leave out? It’s a tax break for people with more than $250,000 in TAXABLE income. We’re talking about people who gross much, much more. Plus, it’s an increase from 35% to 39.6% in the top bracket. You’d think the proposal is extending it to 90% or something. Ridiculous.
If I could have my way, I’d make them pay 39% on the entire amount…even below 250K. Make them squeal for real.
We are in that bracket – the 250K one. We have no problem with paying the tax. And, we don’t have a bunch of deductions. We don’t live that lifestyle. We are not fancy people, and there are a lot more not-fancy than fancy, I would imagine, around here. I think the tax is fair.
You may not regard yourselves as fancy people, but you sure are good people.
Agreed ks sunflower, jimzmum and family are good people.
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. You want to better yourself and family,except the economy and job market won’t allow it. Then your told to live beyond your means to help the economy grow. Pretty soon you are buried in debt and all you hear from the RWNJ is you can’t handle finances. We’ll just give all the money to the wealthy,they know what to do with it. We gave big tax breaks to wealthy for ten years and got no jobs in return. Don’t we ever learn?
Yes, but what is the definition of a small business?
I totally agree, AKM. He is one of the most dedicated, articulate, and compassionate politicians we have.
How the people of his district allowed him to lose his seat I do not know, but I have nothing but disdain for them. By losing him, they have injured themselves and the country at large. Shame on their gullibility or inaction.
Representative Grayson, we salute you!
I hope he will chose to run again in some capacity. We need him.
He represented a majority Republican district. I wish my rep was only half as good, but I have Dr. No for East Tennessee.
I know how you feel. We had a decent Democrat, Dennis Moore, who was hard working and kept us all informed through detailed responses to questions and a newsletter of every issue. When he retired this year, we got a hard-right wacko. This used to be a moderate Republican district that sustained Moore for years because he was moderate on the whole. I truly fear for what the new bozo will do. Kansas has gone hard-right, really hard-right this year, and we wish we could just move away from this mentality. So, Smokey Mountain Blue, you are not alone in your pain. Maybe we can keep our spirits up until the next election.
Then there’s that ‘redskin’ who seems to have baffled my friends in Western North Carolina. WTF. There are many great athletes from NC. Why does that matter. Check out the voting record and work your magic in the next primary.
Vote No on welfare for the wealthy:
Senate: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?State=IL
Scrooge got it, GOTP.
Did you know that the average unemployment check is less than $300 a month on average? Can you live off of $300 a month?
I am sickened that we reward big mouths with millions and average person who can’t find a job is labeled as lazy. We have a very skewed world out there. The Ice Princess is selling more books! What a fine Merry Christmas, this make me want to cry. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/03/unemployment-benefits-99ers-obama_n_791682.html
I wish the President would tell the GOP to pledge a large amount of jobs be for any extensions are made. Don’t give in. While I will not group in all the Republicans in one bunch, they are sure showing what they care about the most. Once they get their tax cuts, maybe they will toss some crumbs towards those that need help. 9.8%!!! Show people some jobs.
He’d make a good President some day…just saying.
AGREE
Agree 2x
also agreed!
I would vote for him as well.
Now there’s something to give Sarah hives. I love it!
AGREE!!!
Now we know where Barry’s spine went to.