CONTRIBUTOR
REGIONAL PERSPECTIVES / NATIONAL IMPACT
Matt Mitchell
Member For
31 weeks 4 days
BIOGRAPHY
Matt Mitchell was born on 20 May 1988 in Sarasota, Florida. A first-generation Floridian, his parents sent him through Catholic school in Venice, where he would be picked up each day just in time to catch the last few minutes of Rush Limbaugh on the radio five days a week. He would become the first of four current or soon-to-be Republican super voters raised by his parents, who are eagerly anticipating thank you checks from the RNC for their handiwork. Matt was a scholar-athlete in high school, doubling as a cross country and track runner, and was accepted at the University of Florida in 2006. He graduated in August 2009 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science.
While at UF, Matt was a member of the College Republicans at the University of Florida, and helped found a conservative student news magazine called The Florida Frontier. After serving as Managing Editor for a year, Matt spent most of 2008 back in Sarasota serving as a full-time staffer for Congressman Vern Buchanan’s re-election campaign, helping the freshman Republican turn a 369 vote win in 2006 into a 55,000 vote rout in ’08. While campaigning, Matt befriended Sarasota RedCounty editor Rich Swier, who recommended giving RC a shot as a Diarist, and is now heading up RedCounty’s Alachua County edition.
Matt is currently single and lives in Gainesville, Florida.
COMMENTARIES
Six Weeks to Midnight for DeVore Campaign
By Matt Mitchell | 11/17/09
Unforced confession: Sometimes I am an idiot. This article was all written up in the post field here, and ready to post, and my damn browser crashed. Then I got caught up in elections work, and things fell by the wayside. That's all wrapped up, and now I can write again. Here we go: Money's not everything in politics, but in political campaigns it's a necessary evil, especially as the population of your constituency grows. In a massive state... read more »
2 Comments | Related Topics »National | CALIFORNIA | Orange County (CA) |
NY-23: What does Dede's withdrawal mean?
By Matt Mitchell | 10/31/09
I'm not going to go too far into what if's in terms of what this means for the national GOP, the NRCC or conservatives in general. But at least for the next three days, what happened just a few hours ago means a whole hell of a lot for a lot of people. Dede Scozzafava's withdrawal was no doubt a shock even to those who had written off her campaign. The Republican National Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee are now... read more »
4 Comments | Related Topics »National |
CA-10: The Most Important House Race You Might Not Know About
By Matt Mitchell | 10/29/09
Last year, Vietnamese businessman Anh "Joseph" Cao pulled off a stunning upset in Louisiana's 2nd Congressional District, a majority-black district home to Rep. William Refrigerator" Jefferson, a veteran Democratic Congressman thought unbeatable by a Republican, especially a largely unknown Asian like Cao. You would think such an incredible accomplishment would have been more noticed in the politigeek world. Sadly, it wasn't the... read more »
3 Comments | Related Topics »National |
"Birther" Trial Begins in OC Tomorrow
By Matt Mitchell | 10/03/09
I suppose it could be pretty frightening as a lawyer to enter a courtroom knowing that standing just five meters to your left is your legal counterpart who also happens to be an Israeli-trained dentist with a black belt in Taekwondo. In theory, said lawyer could forego a simple objection to your cross-examinations and go straight to jabbing a Novocaine syringe into the base of your spine. As the old lawyer saying goes, it’s hard to win a... read more »
4 Comments | Related Topics »Orange County (CA) | National |
The Spaghetti on the Wall Effect
By Matt Mitchell | 10/02/09
NOTE: It has come to the writer’s attention that certain parties on this issue have a habit of sending e-mails of a less than amiable nature to commentators that do not share their positions. Some e-mails or post comments have even been known to contain threats against commentators’ lives, property or loved ones. With this in mind, any correspondences received via e-mail in response to this series will be posted on this site,... read more »
Vote Suggests Sen. Boxer May Be Worried About 2010
By Matt Mitchell | 09/23/09
California Senator Barbara Boxer has the weight of incumbency that keeps Senators in office into perpetuity barring chance encounters with dead girls or live boys. As of June 30, she has a campaign warchest of over $5 million. And her likely Republican opponents include a conservative assemblyman from Orange County with little state-wide name recognition and a former CEO whose corporate track record and $45 million severance... read more »
7 Comments | Related Topics »National |
The True Cost of Money
By Matt Mitchell | 09/21/09
In the wake of the "explosive" evidence of the National Endowment for the Arts possibly being politicized for the Obama Administration's benefit, we're being painfully reminded about the true cost of money in any artistic endeavour. Like the Medici patrons used their considerable resources to hire only those fine artists willing to work under their rules, so can government patronage of arts and even news take a firm hand even with the... read more »
0 Comments | Related Topics »National |
Labor Day Weekend Open Thread
By Matt Mitchell | 09/04/09
As we spend the weekend thanking Democrat President Grover Cleveland for setting our annual celebration of worker's rights four months after the socialists of the world celebrate sundry worker's revolutions, I'd like to hear what RC readers have to say about the following question and subsequent follow-ups. If it reads like something a lawyer would say, my apologies: 1) Would William F. Buckley, Jr. feel welcome in either the Republican Party... read more »
After action report: Crist's rat race.
By Matt Mitchell | 08/28/09
Some legitimate congratulations are in order. I would like to extend my best wishes to Florida's soon-to-be newest member of Congress in George LeMieux. Regardless of his politics or the nature of his appointment, George is by all accounts an intelligent, articulate and highly respected man in Tallahassee. I do wish him the best. And perhaps an even more unpopular congratulatory (and quite sincere) gesture to Governor Crist. Charlie was faced... read more »
3 Comments | Related Topics »FLORIDA |
The Vicious Circle.
By Matt Mitchell | 07/26/09
No, this title is not an homage to Dane Cook. Ugh, I hate Dane Cook. It's actually a reference to one of the more interesting topics of one of my favorite classes I've taken in college. If you're thinking about going to the University of Florida or are just living in Gainesville for a few months and need a reason to wake up at 6 AM, I would highly recommend POS 4624 - Race, Law and the Constitution. It's part of the 'trifecta' of courses... read more »
9 Comments | Related Topics »FLORIDA | National |
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