Critics denounce Dem. lawmaker as 'nuts'

• Article
• Comments ()
• Click-2-Listen
• Videos

By S.A. Miller

A group of angry Florida voters has launched the Web site MyCongressmanIsNuts.com in a drive to oust Democrat Rep. Alan Grayson, the outspoken congressman who grabbed national headlines earlier this month by calling an adviser to the Fed chairman a "K Street whore."

The site is raising money to defeat the Orlando-area congressman and the site's organizers describe it as a "more appropriate alternative" to Mr. Grayson's CongressmanWithGuts.com, which the Grayson campaign says helped raised more than $250,000 in the first three weeks of October.

As of Friday morning, the "Nuts" site took in about $3,335 since its launch Thursday night, according to a donation ticker on the Web page.

The site features YouTube videos of TV and cable news reports critical of Mr. Grayson's exploits.

"Every penny that we raise is going to go to exposing his policies and who he really is," said Angie Langley, 34, chairman of the recently-formed political action committee behind the Web site. "We are going to flood the district with bumper stickers, yard signs and we are prepared to launch radio and television ads — whatever it takes to make sure this guy is not re-elected."

Ms. Langley, a business development consultant in the Lake County portion of Mr. Grayson's district, said the PAC is not affiliated with a political party and is not backing any candidates. She is not new to politics, however, having previously served as chairman of the Lake County Republican Party.

The PAC's two other board members are a registered Republican and a registered Libertarian.

Mr. Grayson's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Several Republicans have lined up to challenge Mr. Grayson, including a trio of Tea Party activists hoping to capitalize on anti-tax, anti-big government movement that flourished over the summer. But national Republicans reportedly are looking for a stronger candidate.

Mr. Grayson, a lawyer, was a freshman House member virtually unknown on the national stage before his colorful, take-no-prisoners rhetoric drew wide attention in September. That's when he stood on the House floor and said the Republican health care plan is "to die quickly if you get sick."

He responded to calls for an apology by apologizing to "the dead and their families that we haven't voted sooner to end this holocaust in America." He also set up the Web site NamesOfTheDead.com that listed people who die without health insurance.

Last week, Mr. Grayson did offer what he called "my sincere apology" to Linda Robertson, the adviser to Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke whom he called a "K Street whore" last month on the nationally-syndicated Alex Jones radio show.

Such derogatory references to K Street, home to many of Washington lobbyists, are not unheard of in the nation's capital but are usually reserved for private conversations and not nationally-syndicated radio.

On the Alex Jones show, Mr. Grayson said: "This lobbyist, this K Street whore, is trying to teach me about economics."

The remark was widely criticized by Republicans and Democrats alike.

"This characterization of Ms. Robertson, made during a radio interview last month in the context of the debate over whether the Federal Reserve should be independently audited, was inappropriate, and I apologize," he said in a Oct. 27 statement.