Even though his political career as an elected official lasted all of two years, Alan Grayson's attacks on Republicans made him a rock star in progressive circles, and the bête noir of the GOP, who spent millions of dollars to defeat his re-election bid for Congress in 2010.
Undaunted, Grayson is running again for the House of Representatives in the newly drawn District 9 seat in Orange, Osceola and Polk counties.
Speaking at the Marriott hotel off of Roosevelt Blvd. in St. Pete on Tuesday night, the 54-year-old Democrat provided plenty of red meat for the 100 or so people crammed into the small, second-floor ballroom.
But underneath the deadpan delivery and occasionally caustic comments is a committed progressive who believes in using government as a force for good, unapologetically. In that respect, he recalls Howard Dean circa 2003, who electrified crowds with his declaration that he was from the "Democratic wing of the Democratic party."
This article appears in Jun 7-13, 2012.