Also this morning on SiriusXM, I chatted with the newest Republican candidate for Congress, Florida state representative Kurt Kelly, who’s taking on potty-mouthed congressman Alan Grayson.

Kelly is one to watch, fired up but not emulating Grayson’s obnoxious, those-who-disagree-with-me-are-evil rhetoric. He noted that the editorial board of the Orlando Sentinel, not exactly warm and fuzzy territory for Republicans, has reached its exhaustion point with Grayson’s disrespectful antics. (He pointed out that while it was bad enough that Grayson used “STFU” in response to a comment from former Vice President Cheney, it was even more annoying to express the sneer in text-messaging form, as Kelly’s kids had to explain what it meant to him.) While there’s no question Kelly is a shrink-the-government, focus-on-basic-duties conservative, he knows that many district voters are yearning for leaders who can disagree with a sense of respect, decorum, and decency.

I heard from a veteran Republican strategist who had been involved in races in this district years back, and he offered the theory that Grayson’s off-his-meds schtick stems from his early realization that he was near-certain to be a one-term congressman. He was greatly helped by the Obama wave in this district, and suburban central Florida isn’t a natural territory for a lawmaker who sounds like a commenter on Daily Kos. With nothing to lose, Grayson is going out with a bang, holding nothing back and hoping his outlandish statements win him some other public platform. (Already, Grayson’s on MSNBC more frequently than the peacock logo.)

Oh, and while he made sure to say nice things about both Republicans running for Senate, he said he told his friend Marco Rubio, “You take care of the Senate, I’ll take care of the House.”