Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.), who will not return to Washington in January after losing his midterm contest to Republican Dan Webster, has responded to conservative columnist George Will's branding of him as "America's Worst Politician" in a pre-election piece.
"I wonder if [George Will] ever comes out of the small dark room he works out of?" Grayson told The Hill in a recent interview.
Following up, The Hill asked Will if his workspace could actually be considered a "dark room," to which the columnist responded that he worked "out of a building that's one of the older townhouses in Georgetown, 1811 or 1812. It's very light and pretty."
In his column, Will attacked Grayson for a number of his political ads and called his political rhetoric "schoolyard crude."
While the tone of his piece would suggest that Will likely took pleasure in Grayson's defeat, news Tuesday is propping up reports that the fiery progressive congressman is unlikely to fade away into obscurity after he is replaced early next year.
According to Roll Call, Grayson blasted out a message to supporters Tuesday reminding people that the progressive cause will be championed after he departs Congress, and perhaps hoping to ensure that his own profile isn't forgotten:
"I'd like you to get to know Reps. Ellison and Grijalva, and for them to get to know you," Grayson wrote. "So I've set up a webpage -- RIGHT HERE -- where you can offer a comment, an idea, a suggestion, a hope, or a prayer to these two leaders." The e-mail takes supporters to a Web spreadsheet where they can give "ideas and advice" to Ellison and Grijalva.
"In January, I will no longer be in Congress. But the truth is that whatever power I have had always came from you. From people with a conscience. Reps. Ellison and Grijalva recognize that, too," Grayson wrote. "Let them hear from you."
Some have posited that Grayson, with his often heated language and speaking style, is warming the airwaves for a potential foray into the cable news circuit while he mulls a possible return to electoral politics.