Last Saturday in Brandon’s Clayton Park, approximately 200 citizens gathered for a TEA Party (Taxed Enough Already) organized by conservative activist Terry Kemple, and featuring a rally-the-troops speech by State Senator Ronda Storms (right).

It was one of what was supposed to be over 1,000 such expressions of outrage at government spending under the Obama administration around the country on Independence Day, and followed a similar outburst of conservative sentiment at the first “Teabag” parties held on Tax Day, April 15th.

That day was also dedicated to federal largesse, though you may recall it more as a media battle between the seeming outright advocacy of the Fox News network, and the derision of it by more liberal commentators, including way too many allusions to what the phrase ‘teabagging’ meant. (This Keith Olbermann bit was just part of that onslaught.)

The growing federal deficit was on the minds of most of the citizenry. Despite the fact that a large part of the current deficit can be laid at the feet of former President George W. Bush (as my previous column, referring NY Times columnist David Leonhardt, can attest to), those in attendance on Saturday were of no mind to hear such specific facts.

Susan O’Connor from Valrico said indignantly, “Now you have to remember the debt that Obama has given us is what? Quadruple what any other president has ever put us in. You can’t even compare that debt. What he’s done in 6 months is how many trillions more than all other Presidents combined.”

Mary Tyer from Brandon identified herself as a “proud American” who said the country couldn’t afford the change Barack Obama is advocating. She grew increasingly more irritated by my questions. “He’s stealing our money every day!” When I politely mentioned that though there would be tax increases in a health care reform package, the only taxes that have gone up so far under his administration have been for people who purchase cigarettes, this senior citizen didn’t want to hear about it.

““Oh yes, this country was in good shape when he came into office. Look at it now! Do you like it?” Her voice grew more agitated, and at this point I think she just didn’t like me anymore.

“You know something, young man, you’re going to have to have to pay it, too!”

“But ma’am…he really hasn’t raised taxes yet,” I interjected. “The deficit grew tremendously under George Bush-”“

“PLEASE DO NOT BRING GEORGE BUSH INTO THIS! OUR COUNTRY WAS SAFE WHEN THAT MAN WAS IN OFFICE. WHERE ARE WE NOW? DO YOU KNOW?” And with that she skulked away.

I then walked around looking at the various signs in the crowd. One depicted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and President Obama as “The Axis of Evil.”

Another sign, held by Bob Hunter from Sun City Center, included photos of Pelosi, Reid and California Representative Henry Waxman, co-author of the Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade legislation that barely passed the House late last month. His sign was captioned “The Three Stooges.”

Hunter is a recent transplant from Pennsylvania. His face grew red after I mentioned the words “Arlen” and “Specter” to him. Commenting on the Senator’s conversion to the Democrats, he wondered how he could have been re-elected so many times. Then the answer came to him.

“If it wouldn’t be for Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Those were the two areas with the greatest population in Pennsylvania, and all the people on welfare, that’s where they live, and they’re not going to kick out the Golden Goose.”

Elected officials and those aspiring to higher office spoke in the park.
Two Congressional candidates vying for the Republican nomination in District 12 (the seat being vacated by Adam Putnam) — Thomas Snider and Polk County Commissioner Randy Wilkinson — gave short speeches. As did District 56 House Representative Rachel Burgin.

But the star of the afternoon was Hillsborough area State Senator Ronda Storms, who touched on a variety of issues in her 10-minute address.

Looking patriotic in her stars-and-stripes blouse, Storms stayed on the main theme of the afternoon: too much dependence on the federal government. And she blasted some of what she called the excesses of Hillsborough County’s indigent health care system, effusively praised recently in the wake of the passing of Phyllis Busansky, who helped craft the program back in 1991.

Storms said that the program paid for a citizen to be flown to New Orleans for, “I kid you not, the medical replacement for Viagra. That’s the kind of program we want to avoid.”

Somewhat stunned by this comment, I asked Storms about that allegation in a follow-up individual interview. She said that she’s been amazed that the local media have not done a comparison between the indigent program and what’s happening in Washington. “We learned that given unlimited amounts of money, it reduces the motivation for efficiency.”

Storms says she does believe the health care system needs to change, and is not a fan of managed care.

Also in her speech, the State Senator remarked that in addition to the federal government taking over banks and car companies, they were also taking over the media. To buttress her point, she cited as her main source for this allegation veteran White House reporter Helen Thomas, generally the butt of tasteless jokes by the Republican right.

In fact last week, Thomas called out Press Secretary Robert Gibbs for controlling the press in a way she said was worse than Richard Nixon.

Storms added, “You know what? You and I know, it’s the truth.”

In our interview, Storms also predicted that Hillsborough County voters will reject the one-cent sales tax for transit that is expected to be on the 2010 ballot.

“It’s going to go down in flames. It’s not going to pass, because people are sick of it. There is an anti-rail system sentiment, and an anti-tax sentiment. It’s being generated by a narrow group of people …and most of those people have something to gain from it. There are a few true believers, but the people don’t want it.”

There has been much blather in the media this year about who speaks for the Republican Party. With over three years before the next presidential election, that may not be the right question to ask (especially in a week that saw the fortunes of Mark Sanford and Sarah Palin diminish). But Democrats emerged from the desolation of John Kerry’s loss in 2004 by having grass-roots groups like MoveOn.Org coalesce around opposition to George Bush. Excessive federal spending on behalf of the Obama administration seems to be the one thing conservative activists are excited about, in what could be the most important year for changing domestic policy in a generation.

Florida, of course!

But not Disney World — he’s been living in Fantasyland for too long already. No, the Palm Beach Post reports that he will be joining his wife tomorrow, no doubt with tail between legs, at her family’s place in a gated community called Loblolly Bay in Hobe Sound.

And you were dreading your family’s July 4th get-together. Who needs fireworks?

Three Republicans continue The Suck.

Ralph Hughes died owing more than $60 million in back taxes.

Brian Blair beat the shit out of his teenage sons on Father’s Day.

Mark Sanford cheated on his wife.

None of this surprises me.

A rich man gets greedy and leaves his heirs to deal with the consequences? Yawn. Wake me when Wall Street 2 comes out.

A former wrestler produces two problem children and beats them when they turn out like their old man? Yawn. Wake me when Brian Blair and Hulk Hogan star in their own reality show.

And I don’t even care about what Mark Sanford does… I mean, have you seen his wife or heard her go on and on about The Lord? Christ. Don’t cry for him, Argentina.

I try very hard not to get angry about what is typical. What really pisses me off is the goddamn hypocrisy.

Ralph Hughes, Mr. Moral Courage Award, supported politicians who railed against welfare moms and illegal immigrants. He hailed himself as fiscally conservative and hated people or policies that drained our society of precious resources.

Yet he was fleecing more money than a Mexican Mama with a dozen brown babies.

Brian Blair benefited from Ralph Hughes’s donations and influence. In return, Blair voted against protecting gay victims of bullies in school and bemoaned the lack of traditional family values in our morally bankrupt society.

Yet he’s a piss-poor parent, the head of a traditionally dysfunctional family.

But perhaps worst of all, Mark Sanford is a man who would take rights away from others in order to protect the “sanctity of marriage.” He dared to get on national television and hold himself up as a man of God and used the power of Jesus to get elected.

Then he goes to South America for some strange.

Again, it’s the hypocrisy that frustrates and angers most free-thinking adults. Through the magic of Facebook and Twitter, here is what some of you had to say:

About Ralph Hughes…

“Just one more example of the Hills Co cesspool of political corruption bubbling over to expose its very messy underbelly.The honest workers of Hills Co who have tried in vain for years to report corruption are having a good laugh now.”

About Brian Blair…

“I noticed he’s listed as unemployed, Maybe he was thinking about making a wrestling career comeback, and figured he’d get some practice in on his kids?

He was best known for his sleeper hold.
silly bee”

About Mark Sanford…

“I’m sure Sanford never would have had an affair if the gays didn’t ruin marriage.”

By Dan Sullivan
PoHo contributor

I love a good political scandal. There’s just something about the revelation that those we elect to office are regular human beings – susceptible to all the same temptations and lapses in judgment as the rest of us.

Naturally though, I prefer scandals that involve Democrats. The Blago scandal was one-in-a-million. And I think only the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal could top Gary Hart’s 1988 romp on a boat called “Monkey Business.”

It’s not so much fun to read about Republicans breaking their word and compromising their good morals. Especially rising stars such as South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford.

Sanford is exactly the kind of conservative that many Republicans have been hoping will take the reigns of the party. His political views are, in many ways, in line with those of the great Barry Goldwater. Not only did he single-handedly battle the Fed in an effort to stop Obama’s spendulus money from touching his state, but he’s against preemptive military actions, and he passes most of the conservative litmus tests – pro-life, etc. Essentially, he’s the sane version of Ron Paul.

But, as of now, it appears that dream is over for Sanford. Following his sudden and bizarre disappearance for several days from his post as governor, Sanford revealed that he had gone to Argentina to visit a woman with whom he admitted to having a year-long affair.

Even if he finishes out his term as governor, it will take considerable political skill for Sanford to make a sufficient recovery to have any real hope of running for president. Or anything else, for that matter.

That kind of skill is a rare gift bestowed only to guys like Rudy Giuliani and Newt Gingrich – guys who still manage to remain politically relevant despite the fact that they have more skeletons in their closets than a haunted house.

The Sanford story came on the heels of the somewhat less talked-about admission of Nevada Sen. John Ensign to having an affair with a campaign staffer.

Ensign, like Sanford, was considered a star of the Republican Party until news of the affair came about. Unlike Sanford, however, Ensign is a social conservative of the evangelical mold and staunch advocate for preserving the sanctity of traditional marriage. He helped lead the charge against Bill Clinton, calling for the former president’s resignation in the wake of the Lewinsky scandal. All this, of course, makes Ensign’s affair appear to be especially hypocritical.

I’m sure many of my liberal friends will be quick to pounce on both the Ensign and Sanford stories as the beginning of the end of the Republican Party. This is nonsense of course. If the Democrats can survive Eliot Spitzer and Rod Blaojevich, the Republicans can surely survive these goofballs.

I think it’s key to point out that Sanford and Ensign both had the good sense to admit their mistakes rather than lie about them. Granted, Sanford apparently did try to cover his tracks, coming up with assorted excuses having to do with the need to unwind from the pressures of being South Carolina’s chief executive. But still, he knew the jig was up and it was time to come clean.

That’s more than Bill Clinton can say about his own response to the Lewinsky affair – lying about his actions for months before weaseling his way out of a legal mess. And Blago, to this day, claims he’s innocent of the charges for which the Illinois legislature felt there was sufficient proof to have him impeached.

Sanford and Ensign both demonstrated bad judgment. But they admitted their errors. Even Eliot Spitzer, as bad as his sins were, admitted what he did and sought forgiveness. There is something to be said for the fact that these men appear to be genuinely remorseful. Blago and Clinton could take some notes.

By Peter Schweitzer
PoHo contributor

He was supposedly hiking — getting away from it all, clearing his head.

When 2012 Presidential wannabe South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford went AWOL late last week, most observers pointed to another case of Sanford being Sanford. As time went by and no one including his own wife could account for his whereabouts, the rumors began to fly. Yet, no one imagined the truth would be as bizarre as what the governor himself revealed on Wednesday afternoon: he’d been unfaithful to his wife; leaving all to wonder about the little side trip to Argentina (first reported as a hiking trip in the Appalachians).

What a week for white, male, conservative, Christian politicians. First, Sen. John Ensign caught with the wife of a staffer, then former Hillsborough County Commissioner Brian Blair charged with putting a real life smackdown on his two children, then the coup de grace-Sanford and his hike up a skirt.

Some will cry foul. I’m picking on the conservative, Christian Republicans again. Nope, not this time. The facts speak for themselves. I’m not moralizing here. I think I have a pretty decent understanding of human nature and its foibles. I’m not critical of their weakness and their failures.

Rather, I find fault with their prior history of moralizing and judging others, holding themselves above the rest of us plebes because they’re men of values, family values no less. My issue with these men lies not in their professions of faith.

There’s a rule in journalism that holds true in life as well: Show me, don’t tell me. If you’re a man (or woman) of faith show me that faith by your actions toward your wife, toward your fellow human being, and toward those whom you serve. I’d prefer to discover your faith in your actions, not in your pronouncements. Let me discover your work with the poor, disenfrancished, and those who can’t offer you a political donation or a position of power. Let me discover your service to the community. Don’t talk about it, just do it. I don’t want to hear you talk about it.

Love this story. Just love this story.

Soon-to-be-former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford first came up missing, then his staff explained that he was hiking alone on the Appalachian Trail, then earlier today came word she was cruising off the coast of Argentina. Now, the truth.

Yes, it’s another woman.

From CNN:

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford admitted Wednesday, amid speculation over his whereabouts for the last several days, that he has been engaged in an extramarital affair with an Argentinian woman.

“I’ve been unfaithful to my wife,” Sanford told a news conference in Columbia, the state capital. “I developed a relationship with what started as a dear, dear friend from Argentina.”

His voice choking at times, Sanford apologized to his wife and four sons, his staff and supporters, and said he would resign immediately as head of the Republican Governors Association. The affair was discovered five months ago, Sanford said.

Watch the video of his admission from a live news conference after the jump:

The Tampa Tribune has “suspended” its summer internship program in a cost-saving move. Managing Editor Duke Maas told internship seekers in this e-mail (obtained by Romenekso):

From:
Date: Tue, Jan 6, 2009 at 9:55 AM
Subject: The Tampa Tribune 2009 summer internship program.

To:

I bring you sad news regarding The Tampa Tribune’s 2009 summer internship program.

Due to our current economic situation, we have had to make some difficult choices regarding our newsroom budget.

It is unfortunate, but we have decided to suspend our 10-week summer internship program for this year.

I apologize to you for how all of this has unfolded. I know you have invested time, energy and hope in the applying for the positions we posted six months ago. Unfortunately, we were unable to foresee the current conditions that have led us to suspend the program.

My hope is that this news reaches you in time to apply for other opportunities with internship programs.

I wish you good luck in your search.

Sincerely,

Richard (Duke) Maas

Managing Editor
The Tampa Tribune

This, of course, is the same program that brought intern Jessica DaSilva (now an editor at UF’s Independent Florida Alligator daily) to the Tribune so she could blog how much she supported Coats’ efforts to reinvent the newsroom, even in the face of staffing cuts. Her blog post boosting Coats became a point of contention in the media blogosphere.

On the other side of the bay, the St. Petersburg Times is airing a television ad touting how popular it is and how chock-full of news its sections are in counterattack to Janet Coats-Denise Plumber’s frong-page declaration of war. I saw it yesterday morning on Bay News 9. (I’m told the video has been on the Times website for a few weeks.) The ad is shot at the Panera Bread location on S. Howard Avenue in South Tampa, where a Trib and Times box appear side by side. Times readers throughout the ad keep popping in two quarters to make the St. Pete purchase, while at the end of the and the Trib box is opened to show a super-huge stack of unpurchased Tribunes. (I’m trying to catch the ad on DVR so I can post it for you, but if you get a copy before me, holler.)

Game on!