Daniel Webster, revered pro-family leader, declares for Congress

Apr 23, 2010
By JAMES A. SMITH SR.
Florida Baptist Witness


ORLANDO (FBW) – Just like when he first entered politics in 1980 because there was a problem to be solved, former Florida House speaker and state senator Daniel Webster said he sees a problem in Washington that can be solved only by running for office.

Webster, a highly revered pro-family leader in Florida, announced on April 20 in the shadow of his home church, First Baptist Church of Central Florida in Orlando, he is seeking the Republican nomination for Congressional District 8, currently held by Democrat Alan Grayson.

“Washington needs a revival of principle,” Webster told about 200 supporters on the corner of West Highway 50 and Good Homes Road. “Congress is too proud, they’re to pious, they’re too petty, they’re too partisan, and they lack a set of principles.”

Introduced by Orange County Mayor Richard Crotty, and with letters of endorsement from former Gov. Jeb Bush and former Arkansas governor and Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, Webster enters the race in an crowded field of Republican candidates, some of whom got in the race after Webster decided against running last fall.

“If ever there was a time we needed Daniel Webster in the United States Congress, with what’s going on in that Capital, today is the day,” Crotty said, noting he plans to be very involved in the campaign.

Webster is “without a doubt ... one of the most respected individuals ever to serve as a member of the Florida Legislature, and he’s going to be a dynamite congressman,” Crotty said.

Clayton Cloer, pastor of First Baptist Central Florida where Webster is a longtime member, introduced the family – Sandy, Webster’s wife of 37 years, his six children and five grandchildren.

“Daniel Webster is a man of honor. A man of respect. A man of character. A man who will bring who will bring great honor to a race to serve the people he’s been serving now faithfully for nearly 30 years,” Cloer said.

Webster told the rally he never planned to be involved in politics and only ran for the Florida Legislature because his church was denied a zoning variance for one of its buildings.

“I greatly respect the Tea Party movement of today,” he noted, likening his debut in politics three decades ago with the group.

Webster decried the “socialistic stimulus package,” federal spending and “redistribution of wealth” in the recently adopted health care reform plan.

Congress “has lost their way,” Webster said. “They’ve cast aside the principles that have made this country great. You know what? It’s our country, not theirs. So let’s take it back.”

Quoting Abraham Lincoln, Webster said, “‘I’m not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I’m not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to the light that I have.’”

He concluded with the promise: “If I win, by the grace of God, I will serve you well and I will not embarrass you.”

In an interview with Florida Baptist Witness, Webster explained that he declined running last fall because his family was not “unanimous.” In contrast, “Now we have unity,” he said.

Because Grayson has a high profile as a leading liberal Democrat in the House with a large campaign war chest, Webster agreed a general election between the two of them would bring national attention.

With the district evenly divided among independents, Republicans and Democrats, Webster said the election will be a “litmus test on whether or not there’s going to be a massive change in Congress.”

Known as a strong, pro-family Christian conservative, Webster said the “great, huge philosophical differences” with Grayson will not be the only distinctions between the potential opponents.

Webster said there is also a major difference in “style” with Grayson, noting two principles by which he lives: “Don’t burn any bridges and don’t make it personal. I don’t think he’s taken that advice from me. I think he’s gone the other way,” he said of the controversial congressman.

Even as a late entrant in a crowded Republican field, Crotty, a member of First Baptist Church in Orlando, told the Witness Webster “enters as of today as the front-runner and has a very good chance of winning the primary in August.”

In the November general election, Webster will “create a stark contrast to our incumbent congressman,” Crotty added, predicting the election will receive “a lot of national attention.”

Cloer told the Witness Webster “has outstanding character, a sincere faith, and a tremendous family. He has served in every office that he has held with distinction and honor.”

(For a profile on Webster upon his retirement from the Florida Legislature, see the May 8, 2008 story, “Webster leaves Legislature with family, principles, faith intact.”)

Editor’s note: Daniel Webster is a member of the Board of Directors of Florida Baptist Witness, having been elected by the Florida Baptist State Convention in 2007.