Not so fast: Florida Talker will remain in Florida

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WFTL’s Joyce Kaufman has elected to turn down a position on the staff of a Tea Party-friendly African-American US Representative-elect in the wake of press scrutiny of her past quotes, which were taking attention away from the candidate, Allen West (R-FL).


Kaufman apparently decided on her own not to accept the position. Kaufman said that she had informed West of her decision Wednesday 11/10/10. Her on-air statement, according to the Broward New Times was, “I will not be used in an electronic lynching by proxy.”

West acknowledged the situation in a statement, saying, “It is with deep regret that this congressional office and the people of CD 22 will not have Joyce Kaufman as my chief of staff. Joyce is a good friend, and will remain loyal to South Floridians and to me. I will always seek Joyce’s counsel for being a good representative of this congressional district.”

Among the statements Kaufman was gaining notoriety for was a recent one calling House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) garbage. In general, like a lot of political talk show hosts plying the radio waves, Kaufman has a long trail of statements that might play well in front of her core audience but might not play quite so well on Capitol Hill.

WFTL-AM is licensed to West Palm Beach FL and is heard on 850 kHz. The station’s owner is James Crystal Radio Group.

Kaufman used the station’s website to post a statement. She said, “Last night I called Congressman elect Allen West and told him I would not be able to accept the position of Chief of Staff for Congressional District 22. It has been an incredible journey watching this extraordinary American hero touch the hearts and minds of the voters here in South Florida and across the country. I am confident that he will be an excellent representative and will remain a close friend. I am proud of his decisive victory on November 2nd, but I will not be complicit in this effort to diminish his stature by attacks against me or endanger myself and others by serving as his chief. As for my plans, they remain what they have always been. I will stand up and speak my mind, with conviction and resolve. I will not stop believing that whatever you dream, you can achieve and I will not allow myself to be defined by others. I return to my program on 850 WFTL and as I have always believed, I am in God’s hands. God bless Congressman elect Allen West and God bless the United States of America.”