Although Grayson is the 12th-wealthiest member of Congress, with an estimated net worth of $31 million, he grew up dirt poor. The Times describes his upbringing as having all the "makings of a Horatio Alger novel." And it quickly becomes clear why health care is a fighting issue for him.

He grew up in a cramped Bronx tenement, the asthma-inflicted son of public school educators. Sickness and death are common themes. As a boy, a bully threw him under a moving bus but he pulled himself free just in time. In Sri Lanka in 1984, he sat under a 2,200-year-old tree, a sacred Buddhist site, where guerrillas later slaughtered 200 people. He used to wake up in the middle of the night covered in his own blood, for no apparent reason. He was nearly killed in a car accident.

Grayson got into Harvard, and in order to cover expenses worked as a night watchman and cleaned toilets. After earning a law degree and a master's in public policy, he went on to work for legal titans with names like Ginsberg, Bork and Scalia. But he made his money when he and a college friend rented space over a funeral home in the Bronx and founded IDT Corp., a telecommunications company.

He didn't stay with the company long and went back to law, where he gained the reputation of fighting for the little guy - just as he's doing today in DC.

Grayson made a name filing whistle­blower lawsuits on contractor fraud and war profiteering in Iraq. The cases, involving big names like Halliburton and Custer Battles, were met with resistance from the Bush administration. Grayson said he was subjected to gag orders and stalling tactics. His quest garnered national attention, including a profile in the Wall Street Journal, which said he was waging a "one-man crusade," and an extensive piece in Vanity Fair, where Grayson disclosed he liked to dress flamboyantly to hold a jury's attention.

His experience fighting all the Bush-led corruption and greed in the Iraq war has helped fuel his strong anti-war stance. He was one of only 32 Democrats, and the only one from Florida, to vote against recent funding for the wars.

"Nobody can say you volunteered to be disabled the rest of your life. Nobody can say you volunteered to die and leave behind your wife and children. It's wrong. It's colonialism," he said, starting to cry.

Grayson has a talent for making short, razor-sharp commentaries and observations that cut through all the Beltway BS and play well in today's soundbite-driven, ADD world. Some faves:

"When did Uncle Sam become Uncle Sap?" (His comment upon discovering that taxpayers have been paying legal bills for three former Fannie Mae executives accused of manipulating the books.) Dick Cheney likes to "shoot old men in the face." (Said at an August fundraiser) The campaign staff of Ric Keller (the four-term Repug he defeated in Nov.) "spent all their time flying paper clips at each other and watching porn on their computers." Rush Limbaugh is a "has-been hypocrite loser."

I especially like that last one.

Grayson offers blunt and honest assessments that most Democrats are fearful of uttering. Many people first took note of him when the Financial Services Committee heard from Federal Reserve officials and financial executives on federal bailouts and the economic downturn.

In a memorable exchange, Grayson laughs at Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke as he tries to explain why the government would loan $500 billion to foreign banks. The performances have made Grayson an Internet sensation, a champion for a public buried under credit card debt and foreclosures. "Alan Grayson. Wow," wrote a commenter on a YouTube video of him questioning Bernanke. "The only thing that would make this video better is if Grayson body-slammed Bernanke through a hardwood table."

Grayson seems to elicit such favorable reactions from lots of folks. I usually don't read the reader comments on the St. Pete Times' website, because they mostly seem to come from wingnut loonies who are sitting at home flinging paper clips and watching porn on the computer. But the comments to the Times' article on Grayson are quite different. Here's a sampling:

AT LAST!!! Finally there is intelligent life in Florida!! Thought I was the only one tired of the Republican BS! Still, the local half wits will find reason to rant and screech that he's being unfair. Nope, he's telling the TRUTH. Get used to it. Alan Grayson is my hero!!!! I love this guy. I wish we had someone like him in Tampa. As a Democrat I have been ashamed at my party's unwillingness to defend itself against the lies from the right. It makes liberals look weak when we are perceived as less than passionate. Rep Grayson is a breath of Fresh Air. He is exactly the necessary "kick in the butt" response to the Republican's "do nothing" politics who only want to defeat Obama and the Democrats agenda to help the middle and lower income citizens. Why is it when the rethugs say the Democrats are gonna kill your grandma, it's okay? And now they demand an apology? The hypocrisy is staggering.

The Times notes that Grayson is a top target for the GOP in 2010. You could describe Grayon's central Florida district (it includes Orlando) as "swing" territory, although Obama took it 53-47. However, no serious Repug contender has yet emerged. And Grayson is always up for a good fight.

Grayson's wealth gives him plenty of resources to defend himself (he spent $2 million of his own money on his 2008 campaign), and that wealth also keeps him from being beholden to special interests that tend to contribute to politicians losing their backbones.

"I don't owe anything to anyone here. I don't owe anything to lobbyists. I don't owe anything to leadership. The only thing I owe to anybody is the well-being of 800,000 people who depend on me."

The Times notes that the GOP now have "trackers" following Grayson to catch him in a gaffe, a sign that they view him as a top target. But the Rethugs are going to have to come up with some new tactics to take down Grayson, I think. He understands better than they do how to be a successful politician in the 21st century.

But arguably, the trackers are wasting their energy. Grayson does not need provocation to say exactly what he thinks. And, in effect, he tracks himself. Shortly after his CNN appearance (where he offered strident anti-Republican attacks), Grayson posted the clip on his YouTube page. As of Friday afternoon, it had been viewed 73,821 times.

UPDATE:

For your video enjoyment, here's a little sample of why we like Alan Grayson so much (H/T tazzz):



UPDATE 2:

Here's some cool video of Grayson grilling some seemingly worthless government bureaucrats over Fed spending (H/T mahakali overdrive). It's nice to see at least one person in Congress watching out for us:

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