These people are a threat to your children’s future
By Chris Ingram
Politics is full of people good and bad. Unfortunately the system corrupts even many of the most well-intentioned public servants. Perks and privileges of office ranging from special security details for people 99 out of 100 of us couldn’t finger in a one-man lineup; to exemptions from laws they force upon the rest of us (like members of Congress getting a “free pass” from those ridiculous airport security screenings); to free drinks and caviar dinners funded by special interest groups and lobbyists; to the sycophant staffers who lavish praise and worship on even the most inept elected officials. All these things take a toll on even the best of them. The perks and the ego-stroking make most of them forget their roots and what led them to service in the first place.
Here in the Sunshine State we have more than our fair share of those who could be deemed “most dangerous.” For the purpose of this column, “most dangerous” means those who are so totally out of touch with right and wrong that they are a threat to the American way of life and the next generation.
Some of these individuals are household names, others are certainly not. Either way, they are all a threat.
David Guetzloe, Orlando political consultant and troublemaker: While he’d like to consider himself a “household name,” I’ll be the first to remind Guetzloe he’s not. A mere asterisk in the grand scheme of things, Guetzloe makes the list because he postures himself to be some sort of grand leader of the conservative anti-tax movement. While Guetzloe fools the Tea Party crowd with his rhetoric, he conveniently misses all facts that don’t support his cause. Furthermore, he’s on the list because while positioning himself as some sort of Eagle Scout, according to Orlando attorney and Guetzloe critic Sarah Rumpf he is a “convicted criminal” http://www.sunshinestatesarah.com/2010/06/more-trouble-for-convicted-criminal.html with multiple violations and fines from the Florida Department of Elections. Makes you wonder how many tea-sipping Tea Party activists know his real history. Guetzloe is a threat to our American way of life because he is not objective and is in fact inauthentic in what he projects to the public regarding his advocacy for conservative tax principles. For that reason, this fly on the butt of the horse that is Florida politics makes the list.
Jeff Atwater, say-anything career politician: Florida’s current (and outgoing) State Senate President is hands down the most disingenuous elected official in the State of Florida – and given the fact that we’re home to Charlie Crist, that is quite a feat. Atwater is currently running uncontested in the Republican Primary to become Florida’s C.F.O. His campaign platform is one of “fiscal responsibility” and economic conservatism. It’s all a bunch of bull. This guy lead the Florida legislature to balance the state’s budget on the backs of the next generation when he and his double-talking ilk in the legislature used Obama “stimulus” dollars to “balance” the budget. Where I come from, they call that smoke and mirrors. Or more simply put, politicians passing the buck because they don’t have the stones to make a tough decision. It may be unfair to single out Atwater because the state legislature is full of lying losers like him, but the hypocrisy of his actions deserves to be singled out. Hillary Clinton is more sincere and authentic than Jeff Atwater. If she were on the ballot against him in November, I’d vote for her.
Sam Rashid, Tampa puppet master and gambling man: Unless you’re on the U.S. Texas Hold’em poker tour or are some elected official looking for some easy bucks, Sam Rashid is definitely not a name in your Outlook Contacts list. But Sam (and many others like him who play the role of puppeteer to countless candidates and elected officials across the peninsula) is a huge threat to the future of the next generation. Rashid is or has been a supporter of the likes of Charlie Crist, George Allen, Bill McCollum, Ollie North and Marco Rubio. Nothing wrong with making contributions to candidates you like, but with Sam, the dough always comes with strings attached. Add to the equation that he has political associates of dubious character like Guetzloe, and that he once told me he would continue to support a Republican candidate named Buddy Johnson, whom we both deemed a moron, “because he’s our [Republican] moron” — and you get the picture as to why Sam and people like him are dangerous.
This article appears in Aug 12-18, 2010.