Grayson Leading In REPUBLICAN Primary

Republicans like a politician who stands up for what he believes -- even if he believes the Republican Party is populated by a bunch of "knuckle-dragging Neanderthals."

The candidate leading the Florida GOP primary to determine who will take on Rep. Alan Grayson, the Democrat who represents the Orlando-based district, is none other than Grayson himself, according to a poll paid for by his campaign. Grayson is a freshman congressman who has drawn scorn from the GOP and has quickly built a nationwide following of progressives.

The poll has Grayson leading the 13 Republicans -- among Republicans -- with 27.8 percent of the vote. The congressman who mocked the GOP health care plan by saying that it amounts to telling people not to get sick and if they do, to die quickly, received more support than all of the Republican candidates combined.

No GOP candidate scored above 3.7 percent; 57.7 percent said they were undecided. Grayson did particularly well with women, undercutting the notion that referring to a Washington lobbyist as a "K Street whore" would turn female voters away. (Grayson later apologized for the word choice.)

The poll was conducted on Feb. 26th. There were 324 respondents, all registered Republicans in Florida's eighth district. The poll was conducted by Middleton Market Research.

Naturally, the national GOP establishment dismissed the results -- "This is the most bogus thing I've ever seen in my life," said Andy Seré, Regional Press Secretary for the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Grayson told HuffPost that some of the support comes from Republicans who appreciate that he speaks his mind, while some is due to his far-superior name recognition. But the poll also found at least one area where Republican voters thought favorably of him.

In 2009, Grayson, who carries a copy of the Constitution with him, passed a resolution calling on schools to teach the document for one week in September each year.

Over half of the Republicans polled said that they were more likely to vote for Grayson because of the resolution. He has distributed tens of thousands of copies of the Constitution throughout the district, including one to each high school senior. This September, he said, he plans to go to high schools and teach the Constitution personally in the district.

Comments

[Needawinner]

07:33 AM on 03/08/2010

Grayson Rocks!

[Al Nava]

03:14 PM on 03/06/2010

Perhaps Mr. Grayson should run against Obama for the Democratic Primary in 2012, and see how he polls then among actual voters. There is a chance he would either barely lose or barely win, regardless of the results, this threat from a Progressive would loudly send the message to the Obama Administration and the nation that we need bold leadership, not conciliatory weakness.

[blackjedi47]

01:48 PM on 03/06/2010

But of Course he is!..some truths MSM and trick polling just can't suppress.

[thats funny]

01:38 PM on 03/06/2010

woo hoo! i love me some alan grayson!

[Willow207]

01:35 PM on 03/06/2010

How reassuring to learn that Disney World did not suck all intellectual ability from the brains of Central Flroidans!

[UkrainianPrince]

01:29 PM on 03/06/2010

Interesting, I met Alan Grayson BEFORE he was a name in Florida politics and when he was just starting his run to replace that worthless, wet dream Republican Stearns in our district... I'm in Ocala.
The first thing I asked him was if he was a fighter...because I was digusted with the wimpy, cowardly Democrats (read Nelson of FL) and in the country. I was convinced (due to his background) that he was.. . and he has proven to be a fighter (been to several district town hall meetings) and not a boot licker, as Dems tend to be with Republicans.
He is the real thing and he knows that to get your ideas out in this MSM world (unfortunately), you neet to make some noise. Notice how with the Recovery Act and jobs, generally Americans THINK its not helping... when there is proof that it does (not enough however) BUT the Dems don't seem to care about communicating their success. Small voices by small politicians (especially weak ones who will not defend porogessive principles) are not taken seriously. That includes Prof. Obama.

[justobserve]

04:46 PM on 03/06/2010

Yes, that the thing I don't understand about the Dems: they let the GOPers make a meal out of the Dems's success as if it is a failure without the Dems raising their voice to advertize their success!

[Darc]

11:17 PM on 03/06/2010

When we have Democrats that will make comments like this...

Quote:
Notice how with the Recovery Act and jobs, generally Americans THINK its not helping... when there is proof that it does (not enough however) BUT the Dems don't seem to care about communicating their success. Small voices by small politicians (especially weak ones who will not defend porogessive principles) are not taken seriously. That includes Prof. Obama.
UnQuote

They should really keep there mouth shut... isn't that what you are saying?

BTW: I get really sick of hearing Dems put down dems. Don't you?

[Vetinari]

01:23 PM on 03/06/2010

so a democrat now beats republicans in a republican primary...

ouch.

But hey, rightards, I'm sure you are relevant somehow, somewhere... I head AQ is recruiting...

[Edward Molen]

11:26 AM on 03/06/2010

This story is like a big hug from Jesus!

[applescruff]

11:07 AM on 03/06/2010

It's not that our governement isn't working. It's just no longer working for the American People.
It has become a tool of Big Business. Senators and Congressmen are simply doing thier internships for a lucrative lobbying gig or CEO position. The more inefficient and Industry friendly these planted grifters can make governmnet the better they have performed their jobs and the worse off we are.
Too many Americans don't quite grasp who is pulling the strings anymore. If Governmnet was as it was intended these corperations would be making American's lives better not the other way around.
Until we get the corporate money and influence out of our representation we will not have representation.

[Vance Carruth]

12:12 PM on 03/06/2010

Applescruff, your spelling leaves a little to be desired, but the message you present hits the nail squarely on the head!

Until we, as a people, demand public financing of elections in this country, the political system in Washington is going to continue to be a revolving door from political office to the lobbyist office. The greedy puppeteers, Giant Profit Driven Corporations, will continue to pull the strings of the puppets they finance and put in office.

Wake up America, our voices have been drowned out ...our Government has been hijacked by the wealthiest 2% of our population! Voting all the "bums" out with the current system in place, isn't going to stop those puppeteers from being in the drivers seat. Unbelievably, I'm guessing there are perhaps 2% of elected officials in office who actually ARE on our side, so be careful who you choose to replace or we could end up with 100% being controlled by Big Money!

[Slimey Republican]

11:01 AM on 03/06/2010

My vote is for Grayson here in sunny Orlando.

We need more Backboned Democrats like him in office.

[applescruff]

10:52 AM on 03/06/2010

Grayson's advantage is that he fights on a Republican level. You don't need to be too smart just know what punches to pull at the right time. Republicans are unimpressed by facts and reality. Those are "elitist" traits.The one that speaks loudest wins.
Unfortunately a good hunk of the country responds to the same kind of showmanship that Grayson displays. In other words a loud mouth with no manners or respect for his opponent. I don't dislike Grayson. I just find it sad that we have become a country no longer capable of cooperation and thoughtfulness.

[Vance Carruth]

12:27 PM on 03/06/2010

I agree with you, it is sad when the only voices that can be heard or listened to are the ones that are the loudest and the most shocking! I agree with you about Grayson's ability to capture and put forth a "message" that, like the other harsh and often vulgar rhetoric in politics today, gets noticed and played by the MSM.

I would point out, however, that Grayson, to his credit, is not owned by Corporate interests since he is a millionaire in his own right, and he appears, therefore, to be speaking for many of us who understand how politics works today, and is willing to use the tactics that have worked so well for Republicans in recent years. He is willing to fight for what "we the people" want and need from our government. He's one of those small few who are not puppets installed by outside moneyed interest. I'm not at all surprised that his message is resonating with many in the Democratic Party as well as many in the Republican base in Orlando.

[lynn1219]

12:35 AM on 04/09/2010

Right on point, but the Repugs set the tone for the lack of civility and cooperation that pervades every policy issue. What the Dems need to "get" is that the abrasive way that Grayson deals with the Repugs is the only language they understand. It's sad that our Congress has been reduced to this type of infantile behavior, but being nice to these people just doesn't work. We need a lot more Graysons to call out these obstructionists!

[bentenrai]

12:41 AM on 03/06/2010

I gotta respect Grayson for being the only Democrat who gets the Republicans' tactics and use them well.

[justobserve]

10:16 AM on 03/06/2010

Agree! I like it that he talks about the Constitution. The only difference is he talks in an inclusive sense while the GOPers talk in the sense of "us vs. them" division.

[Willow207]

04:06 PM on 03/06/2010

And wasn't the original intent of the Constitution to be all about "inclusion". Grayson has a grasp of both the spirit and letter of the law regarding the Constitution, good on him!!!!

[Pretrib]

06:38 PM on 03/05/2010

Central Floridians formed My Congressman Is Nuts PAC as a response to the outrage and embarrassment within Central Florida over Alan Grayson's liberal positions and childish approach in Washington, D.C. We could no longer sit by and accept his inappropriate behavior and leftist big government agenda. He does not represent the values of Central Florida.

http://www.mycongressmanisnuts.com/

[tundramonkey]

09:13 PM on 03/05/2010

Those values are pretty sad. Central Florida is not famous for being a nice place to live, it is notorious for Klan racism, meth, and highway robberies, IIRC.

[SteveDenver]

10:27 AM on 03/06/2010

Looks like "the shoe fits."

[Dnietz]

10:01 PM on 03/05/2010

And just like all the other little organizations that you guys keep creating, the numbers are tiny compared to what you would like to believe and pretend exist.

Your CPAC and Teabagger conventions have been an embarrassment. The marches and gatherings became points of ridicule. I'm sure whatever organization you are part of has all of 2 dozen people in it, all of whom are also member of some other organization that is fond of the letter K

[StillAmused]

06:21 PM on 03/05/2010

.

"We have met the enemy and he is us." -- Pogo
.

[uniquelyme]

04:17 PM on 03/05/2010

"This September, he said, he plans to go to high schools and teach the Constitution personally in the district."

I'll give him kudos for this. Waaay too many people in this country have no idea of what is or isn't covered in the Constitution. I've so had it with the ridiculous and uneducated conservatives I work with talk about how "Socialism is against the Constitution." No kidding, and they're serious. It's scary, really scary.

[larry278]

09:25 PM on 03/05/2010

Rep Grayson knows that the Bible & Constitution remain popular among Americans because when one quotes the words of either document out of context-you can say it (they) authorize any crime that appeals to you.
A graduating senior needs to know this to survive in the USA in the 21st century. America's young adults have known that since 1789 or so till the end of the 20th century. That's how the USA acheived its manifest destiny & all other crimes which had allowed the USA to wax rich till 9/15/08, aka the Meltdown. When the commercial property bubble pops, whenever, we'll have another Meltdown. The current mother of all depressions will become much worse.
Young people will need all of the help that they can get to steal what little money that's in circulation then. Give all high school graduates the Bible, Koran & Constitution so they won't be ashamed of what they are doing to survive.