Adrian Wyllie: Beer and Clothing on the Campaign Trail

Wyllie and friends tour the brewery.

Went out last night to Swamp Head Brewery in Gainesville to support Adrian Wyllie, the Libertarian Party's candidate for governor of Florida. Wyllie is on a month-long "craft brewery" tour of Florida, beginning on the 1st in Key West and winding up in Pensacola at the end of August. That's the "beer" part of the Hunter S. Thompson parody title.

The "clothing" part is the Wyllie for Governor t-shirt I scored -- I'll be wearing it around the town and county on my daily bicycle rides.

Some brief impressions:

• First time I've met Wyllie. Personable guy! So far I've been impressed with what I've seen of his campaign, and even more so after last night. Florida LP vice-chair Alex Snitker was parked outside the brewery with campaign literature, yard signs and t-shirts for anyone interested in promoting the campaign and the party. Meant to get a picture of that but you know me -- I started talking with people and forgot to take many pics.
• Speaking of the party, I've heard at least one complaint that Wyllie's campaign is about promoting Wyllie, not the party. That's not what I've seen. His yard signs, unlike those of some candidates, prominently feature the word "Libertarian." His campaign team proved very enthusiastic about helping us get an Alachua County Libertarian Party affiliate going.
• If you like craft beer, you'll love Swamp Head. I very much enjoyed their Big Nose IPA. Three different varieties of hops and an alcohol content of 7.3%. It has a ... more crisp, best wording I can come up with ... bite than my usual IPA, Red Hook's Long Hammer. I'll be going back for more of that.

Go, Adrian! I'm expecting a nice vote total from him in November. Not just because he's running an active and engaging campaign, even though he is. He also has two other big things going for him:

1. He's not Rick Scott; and
2. He's not Charlie Crist.

Just sayin' ...