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My vote is not for sale (Rep. Alan Grayson)

by Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) - 10/11/10 8:28 PM ET

I feel so proud!

I must be doing something right.

This is my first term in Congress. I have no seniority. I don’t sit on the most powerful committees, like the Appropriations Committee or the Ways and Means Committee. I’m not a member of the Democratic Leadership. So why would these right-wing groups spend nearly 20 percent of their entire national budget to try to defeat me?

Because I can’t be bought. I won’t do what they tell me to do. And I won’t back down.

There are 12,000 registered federal lobbyists. That’s more than 20 for every member of Congress. From Election Night onward, they try to buy you. And if they can’t buy you, then they try to bury you. Which is what is happening now.

My vote is not for sale.

I owe nothing to anyone but the voters. I won’t go to the lobbyists for help. That’s why they’re trying to take me out. The only one to whom I can turn is… you.

Crossposted from The Huffington Post.

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