What I Like About Sandy Murman
August 20,2010 | 07:52 PM
What I like About Sandy Murman
by Johnnie ByrdWith a nickname like ‘the Murmanator’ you’d expect high energy, and that’s what you get with Sandy Murman.
When we served together in the State House, I used to kid Murman that whenever I had an idea for a great bill - she had already filed it. Just take a look at Sandy’s profile page while she served in the Florida House. You can see that no mere mortal could keep up with Sandy Murman for legislative and community service, not to mention endless accolades from every known constituent support group.
I like Murman’s platform. It’s conservative and straightforward; it’s solid and measurable. She wants a performance based budget and 5% less taxes. On the economic development front Sandy knows that most new jobs in any community come from growth of existing small businesses, and she will require that economic development programs are accountable, not millstones around the neck of taxpayers and their children and grandchildren (that would be a first).
But, knowing Sandy as I do, there is something more profound going on with her these days. What do I think? Sandy has finally realized that the silk stocking crowd is out of touch with the people she wants to represent.
Yes, Sandy is more conservative today than ever, and I am proud of her for it. She’s come a long way from being the moderate darling of the Tampa Tribune and the Davis Island crowd. Sometimes it is a wake up call when the Trib dumps you like last years prom date and the in-crowd has move on to a newer, younger, stronger golden boy. It hurts, but it awakens. Now we’ll see the real Sandy Murman.
How do I know that Sandy believes in the fundamental righteousness of conservative, free market philosophy? Because, she was there when I brought in the big name free market economic gurus, like Stephen Moore and Arthur Laffer, to address our Republican caucus meetings. And, for those of you who wonder about her stands on social issues, there’s never been a doubt that Sandy is a social conservative. She was our ‘go to’ member when a pro-life bill needed to be moved through the Florida House. (I’m sorry Sandy, the silk stocking crowd may not have heard this.)
This time Sandy knows that the ‘folks’ count - Yes, the ‘folks’ that don’t read the Trib and have never been on a host committee for a ritzy downtown fundraiser. But, Sandy knows that the folks have the final say on just who THEY want to lead.
Sandy’s become a ‘believer’ and that’s what I like about Sandy Murman.
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What I Like About Jim Norman
August 20,2010 | 07:19 PM
What I like about Jim Norman
by Johnnie ByrdIf Ralph Hughes liked you, I like you. If Ralph Hughes didn’t, I don’t either. Ralph liked Jim Norman a lot, and so do I.
Ralph Hughes was a great American who had unqualified disrespect for what he called the “so-called editorial committee” at the Tampa Tribune. He taught me that the Tribune editorial pages were a quick way to discern whether a Republican was a RINO, or not. If the Trib sang praises for a Republican candidate, we had better watch out. Even better, if the Trib waged war against a particular Republican, you could put your money on that person being a true conservative.
Would you like a case in point?
This morning I stopped in a local convenience store, and the newspaper rack caught my eye. Lo and behold, you’ll never guess whose picture the Trib had above the fold on the front page? Well, it was none other than Jim Norman! Of course, it was a non-story with a headline that some fools at the Trib had spent all Thursday afternoon brainstorming to sound like Norman was some kind of ax murderer. (And, newspapers wondering why their readership is in the toilet.) At any rate, the Trib made its contribution to Norman’s opponent and proved my case.
Unlike his opponent, who I can tell you from first hand experience is unpredictable and is soft on conservative Republican ideas, Norman is right on the issues. And, did I forget to mention Norman is willing not only to vote against new taxes but he has taken the lead to fight against crazy boondoggles, such as the Hillsborough Rail Tax. RINOs are saying that, “If we only had enough money, we could do better job in government.” Norman is saying, “Live within your means, just like the rest of us!”
Norman will be tough on illegal immigration. He will continue to support Jeb Bush’s education reforms – the only reforms that have made measurable changes in outcomes for Florida’s school children.
You should also know that Norman likes to talk to the ‘folks’ instead of the silk stocking, downtown Tampa crowd. Jim is an ‘animal’ at walking door-to-door to thousands of homes and hearing what ‘just people’ have to say about their vision of our State and Nation, not the elite vision for the great unwashed. Jim will not cater to those ‘wanna be’ political prognosticators with an irrelevant view, who are bought and sold by the old media and idle class. The silk stocking crowd will have their sad, pathetic minions trying to ‘take out’ Jim Norman with every known ‘black ops’ tool (unfounded ethics complaints etc.), but don’t be fooled - Norman is a conservative who will take things up a notch in Tallahassee.
As someone who has been on the front lines battling with Republican RINO State Senators in Tallahassee, I will tell you that there is one thing that would be a breath of fresh air in Tallahassee: If you want a change in Tallahassee, stop sending ‘moderates’ to the Senate and replace them with tough, knowledgeable and principled Republican conservatives.
That’s why I like Jim Norman. Read More...
Tampa Tribune Lipstick
July 30,2010 | 08:04 PM
As the downtown Tampa ruling class continues its push for a massive tax increase on Hillsborough’s ‘great unwashed’, the Tampa Tribune dutifully endorsed all of the pro-tax county commission candidates it could this week.
As a preface to their high praise for Republicans who dared to support taxes, the editors lamented that, “Although only one in three voters registered in the county is a Republican, the party is positioned to wield disproportionate power, giving the primary extraordinary importance.” Let me read between the lines. This is what the Trib means: “Why on earth are lots of Democrats voting Republican or just not voting? Man, it’s just not fair! Just think of the People’s Republic of Hillsborough we could create with a few good liberal Democrats on the commission. Well, we will have to settle for a few tax and spend Republicans instead.”
After pouring praise on Commissioner Sharpe for being a ‘natural leader’ (I wonder if he would have received the ‘natural leader’ award if he had voted against the tax?), the editors crank up the doublespeak apparatus with this curious observation, “While a proven fiscal conservative, Sharpe broke ranks with some Republicans to support giving county voters a chance in November to increase the sales tax.” I’ll interpret. Sharp is not really a strong fiscal conservative, but if you are gullible enough to believe it when the Trib says it, the joke’s on you.
If you need more study on the definition of “fiscal conservative”, then my condolences, but here’s the wiki definition:
Or, you might just take a look at the real fiscal conservative in the race... Read More...
As a preface to their high praise for Republicans who dared to support taxes, the editors lamented that, “Although only one in three voters registered in the county is a Republican, the party is positioned to wield disproportionate power, giving the primary extraordinary importance.” Let me read between the lines. This is what the Trib means: “Why on earth are lots of Democrats voting Republican or just not voting? Man, it’s just not fair! Just think of the People’s Republic of Hillsborough we could create with a few good liberal Democrats on the commission. Well, we will have to settle for a few tax and spend Republicans instead.”
After pouring praise on Commissioner Sharpe for being a ‘natural leader’ (I wonder if he would have received the ‘natural leader’ award if he had voted against the tax?), the editors crank up the doublespeak apparatus with this curious observation, “While a proven fiscal conservative, Sharpe broke ranks with some Republicans to support giving county voters a chance in November to increase the sales tax.” I’ll interpret. Sharp is not really a strong fiscal conservative, but if you are gullible enough to believe it when the Trib says it, the joke’s on you.
If you need more study on the definition of “fiscal conservative”, then my condolences, but here’s the wiki definition:
“Fiscal conservatives often consider reduction of overall government spending and national debt as well as ensuring balanced budget of paramount importance. Free trade, deregulation of the economy, lower taxes, and other classical liberal policies are also often affiliated with fiscal conservatism.”
Or, you might just take a look at the real fiscal conservative in the race... Read More...
Hillsborough Transportation Tax - Part II
June 25,2010 | 09:19 AM
Hillsborough County Transportation Sales Tax - Part II
The proposed Hillsborough County Transportation Sales Tax Increase is a bad idea on so many levels it’s hard to find a starting point. As I discussed in Part I, the Keynesian economic theory of economic stimulation through government taxing and spending has been thoroughly discredited. (If fact, if Keynesian theory worked the national economy would be booming now after the staggering spending going on in Washington. Judge for yourself. )
Besides being bad public policy, there are always winners and losers when the government decides to use its coercive power to extract wealth created by the private sector.
So, who will benefit from this regressive, job-killer?
The winners include:
- The County Administrator
- Public Employee Unions
- Lawyers, engineering firms and consultants of every stripe
- Sellers of rail equipment and services
- Property owners near the rail line
- Transit consumers
- Businesses near terminals
The losers are:
- Future County Commissioners - who have to deal with the burden of bad ideas
- Small businesses - whose gross income is reduces by 1%
- Families, mainly low income families, whose buying power is reduced by 1%
- Taxpayers who don't use transit - that's most of us
- Taxpayers saddled with the cost of more government - again, most of us
- Future taxpayers to prop up this boondoggle in years to come - our children
It's the Young Republicans, Stupid!
May 14,2010 | 12:23 PM
“If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it. The more things you do, the more you can do.” Ball, Lucille
And, Andrew Dorsey is one busy guy. Busy at Starkey Road Baptist Church, busy at the Red Cross, busy at the Civil Air Patrol, and of course busy developing his career dream of forming is own company, Adventures for the Mind, Inc. That’s why he is a driving force as President of the Tampa Bay Young Republicans.
And the point is? Read More...
The Panic of 1893
March 31,2010 | 10:17 PM
What better way to begin a blog than to post an article written by your son and to be proud that he ‘gets it.’
Post by Johnnie Bryars Byrd III
In 1893, Katherine Bates penned the words to “America the Beautiful” after completing a train trip across the country. This anthem has become one of our most well known and beloved national songs, describing our blessed and prosperous country. What many people don’t know of, however, is the Panic of 1893 and how it affected our nation. An immense national economic crisis was set off by the collapse of two of the country’s largest employers, and an economic panic ensued because businesses had overextended themselves. As a result, banks called in their loans creating bankruptcy for over fifteen thousand businesses.
As unemployment soared, groups of workers organized several marches on Washington in order to pressure the government to provide for them a bailout or “stimulus”. One may notice the similarity of this crisis to the current one today, as both parallel each other in many ways. However, at this point in history, the similarities end. A wiser congress prevailed and the government refused to intervene by pouring tax money into failed businesses. Through the “Invisible Hand” described by Adam Smith in his book Wealth of Nations, the natural force that guides free market capitalism through competition was allowed to work, and the crisis ended without one penny of federal government “stimulus” spent on solving the problem.
This leads to the topic of the greatest problem facing America today... Read More...
Post by Johnnie Bryars Byrd III
In 1893, Katherine Bates penned the words to “America the Beautiful” after completing a train trip across the country. This anthem has become one of our most well known and beloved national songs, describing our blessed and prosperous country. What many people don’t know of, however, is the Panic of 1893 and how it affected our nation. An immense national economic crisis was set off by the collapse of two of the country’s largest employers, and an economic panic ensued because businesses had overextended themselves. As a result, banks called in their loans creating bankruptcy for over fifteen thousand businesses.
As unemployment soared, groups of workers organized several marches on Washington in order to pressure the government to provide for them a bailout or “stimulus”. One may notice the similarity of this crisis to the current one today, as both parallel each other in many ways. However, at this point in history, the similarities end. A wiser congress prevailed and the government refused to intervene by pouring tax money into failed businesses. Through the “Invisible Hand” described by Adam Smith in his book Wealth of Nations, the natural force that guides free market capitalism through competition was allowed to work, and the crisis ended without one penny of federal government “stimulus” spent on solving the problem.
This leads to the topic of the greatest problem facing America today... Read More...
