New Poll: Wales the Most Promising Republican Candidate

A new Public Policy Polling survey has just been released, showing that while the six major, potential Republican challengers for Florida’s Senate seat trail incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, the most promising candidate is Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales.

Jimmy Wales is, by far, the freshest political name for Florida voters.  Only 17% have formed an opinion of Wales as a political candidate, leaving 83% of Floridian voters still available for Wales to win over.  Wales, who is still relatively unknown as a political quantity, only trails Nelson by a margin in the teens, the same as his  Republican opponents.

By contrast:

• 23% have already formed an opinion of state Rep. Adam Hasner.
• 31% have already formed an opinion of former Sen. George LeMieux.
• 32% have already formed an opinion of state Sen. Mike Haridopolos.
• 35% have already formed an opinion of television host Joe Scarborough.
• 43% have already formed an opinion of Rep. Connie Mack IV

Jimmy Wales greatly outpolls his political ID, implying that once all these candidates are on an equal footing as far as ID goes, Jimmy Wales is the most electable.

Here’s how the candidates stack up against one another:

• Wales outpolls his ID by 11%.
• Hasner outpolls his ID by 9%.
• LeMieux outpolls his ID by 2%.
• Haridopolos outpolls his ID by 2%.
• Scarborough underpolls his ID, -3%.
• Mack underpolls his ID, -9%.

This poll shows that a Republican nominee Wales would certainly have the best odds in a general election matchup when the candidates’ political name recognition has saturated all voters.

Let Jimmy know how promising his poll numbers are and that you want him to run for US Senate!

Does Bill Nelson Care at All About the First Amendment?

Was Senator Bill Nelson aware that the lone reporter who was allowed to attend one of his fundraisers, was in fact forced into a closet for over an hour?  Even if Nelson was not aware of this horrific treatment by the government of the press, will Nelson speak out against this and denounce this kind of behavior?

If this sort of thing doesn’t bother Nelson, it wouldn’t be the first time Nelson has shown appalling disregard for the First Amendment:

• Nelson supports McCain-Feingold, which infringes our First Amendment guaranteed right to advertise our opinions in elections.
• Nelson supports the Patriot Act, which allows federal agents to write their own search warrant against you based on what kind of books you read in a library, and then places a gag order on the library from telling anyone else that their patrons’ privacy has been violated.
• Nelson supports granting Obama the power to kill Internet traffic, effectively silencing anyone Obama deems a “threat”.
• Nelson voted to bar Congress from even debating the job-killing cap-and-trade legislation he supports.

Bill Nelson is no protector of free speech.

Jimmy Wales, however, has built his entire career upon the principle of free speech.  His work with Wikipedia and Wikia, Inc. has proven that, by giving everyone a voice, we all benefit immensely.

Put Jimmy Wales in the US Senate, and defend your First Amendment rights from power-thirsty statists like Bill Nelson.

Why Bill Nelson Must Go

Bill Nelson voted for the $825 billion, pork-filled stimulus legislation. (Source)

Bill Nelson opposes parents choosing schools via vouchers. (Source)

Bill Nelson voted against debate over job-killing cap-and-trade legislation. (Source)

Bill Nelson voted against property rights, and in favor of eminent domain. (Source)

Bill Nelson voted for the failed Cash For Clunkers program. (Source)

Bill Nelson supported the First Amendment-restricting McCain-Feingold legislation. (Source)

Bill Nelson voted for the Patriot Act, which violates the Fourth Amendment and levies burdensome regulations on American businesses. (Source)

Bill Nelson voted to increase the debt by expanding unfunded entitlement programs. (Source)

Bill Nelson was one of only three Senators to co-sponsor a horrendous bill that would give Obama unchecked power to shut down Internet traffic. (Source)

Bill Nelson voted to raise his own pay (Source), while voting for taxes on the citizens of Florida. (Source)

Floridians deserve better.
Jimmy Wales will fight for balanced budgets, low taxes, your constitutional rights, your privacy, and your freedom.

How You Can Help Make it Happen

If you want to help put Jimmy Wales into the Senate in 2012, here’s a few things you can do:

1. Tell the Florida Republican Party you want Jimmy Wales for Senate!
2. Spread the word of this website!
3. Join our Facebook page, and tell your friends!
4. Tell Jimmy that you want him to run!

Jimmy Wales on the Issues

The Economy

• Jimmy is a principled fiscal conservative, who understands the power of free markets and economic liberty.  The less government involvement in the market place, the better. (Source)

Education

• Jimmy believes strongly in school choice.  He feels parents should be given greater freedom in homeschooling their children or allowing them to go to private or vocational schools. (Source)

Second Amendment

• Jimmy is a gun owner, and has spent much time vocally advocating gun rights.  He understands and defends the Second Amendment. (Source)

State Sovereignty

• Jimmy calls himself a big supporter of federalism and states’ rights, and believes that major issues unmentioned by the Constitution (such as abortion and gay marriage) should be handled at the state and local levels, not by Washington, D.C. (Source)

National Defense

• Jimmy understands the need for a strong national defense, but believes that our foreign policy must exemplify individual liberty and self determination just as our domestic policy should, and not prop up corrupt regimes or dictate to other countries how to run their internal affairs.  (Source)

Who is Jimmy Wales?

Jimmy Wales, American Internet entrepreneur and founder of Wikipedia, was born in Huntsville, Alabama.  He attended Randolph School, a university-preparatory school, then earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in finance. While in graduate school, he taught at two universities, but left before completing a Ph.D. in order to take a job in finance and later worked as the research director of a Chicago futures and options firm.

In 2001, together with Larry Sanger and others, Wales helped launch Wikipedia, a free, open content encyclopedia that enjoyed rapid growth and popularity, and as Wikipedia’s public profile grew, he became the project’s promoter and spokesman.  Wales serves on the Board of Trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit charitable organization he helped establish to operate Wikipedia, holding its board-appointed “community founder” seat. In 2004, he co-founded Wikia, a for-profit wiki-hosting service, of which he was the CEO until 2006.

Wales’s work is grounded in the principles of “freedom, liberty, and individual rights,” which are his core principles.  Wales, an advocate of free markets and limited government, speaks out often on issues of the day.  He has lived in St. Petersburg, Florida since 2002.

Why Jimmy Wales?

We support drafting Jimmy Wales for Florida’s next U.S. Senator, because Jimmy understands what it is that makes America great:

It is freedom, not government control and regulation, that fuels the spirit of our nation.  It is independence, not centralized planning, that ensures this country’s prosperity.  It is our respect for human rights, not the pomp of the State, that earns us the reverence and admiration of the world.

Jimmy is a true patriot in the mold of Washington and Jefferson, who didn’t seek power for themselves, but liberty for their country.  His common sense is desperately needed in the U.S. Senate in these out-of-control times.

We call upon Jimmy Wales to become our next U.S. Senator, because no one in the great state of Florida is better positioned than he to run on this platform, and no one can be better trusted than he to truly fight for our freedoms.  We are not affiliated with Jimmy Wales, nor do we know how willing he would be to take up this banner on our behalf, but we believe he cares deeply about the state of the country and the world, and that he will carefully consider our call.