Charlie Crist is inspirational!

Oh, yes, the World's Tallest Oompa Loompa is indeed an inspiring man. Our former governor's latest round of backstabbing political opportunism has driven the Republican Party of Florida to ever-higher pinnacles of creativity.

After last week's "letter" to DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz mockingly congratulating them on their choice of speakers, the RPOF has followed up with a new video "previewing" Crist's speech to the DNC:

Zing! RPOF Chair sends DWS a "preview" of Crist's DNC speech

I've had a lot of fun following the Republican Party of Florida's communications over the past few years. They've been doing a great job with some pithy, snarky attacks on the Democrats, like Alex Sink's "iCheat" kerfuffle during the 2010 gubernatorial debates.

When the news broke that our former Governor (and World's Tallest Oompa Loompa) Charlie Crist was endorsing Barack Obama for president, RPOF was quick to respond with a press release condemning Crist's political opportunism and a detailed list of quotes Crist had said when he was still trying to run as a Republican.

Now that the Democrats have announced that Crist will speak at the Democratic National Committee, the RPOF was once again ready with a sharp response:

LeMieux falters, DC establishment panics, Team Hasner keeps marching forward

Awww. Another bad week for George LeMieux.

He has been completely unable to wash off the orange tint from his years with Crist. Since L'Affaire de Greer continues to be an irresistible story for Florida's political reporters, it's not going to get any easier for him. 

This was blatantly clear in an interview LeMieux gave to Adam Smith, in which I'm just going to assume he was extremely sleep deprived, because I cannot for the life of me figure out why a political candidate would say so many dumb things in one conversation. Either that or Charlie Crist has pretty low standards for what constitutes a "maestro." 

Seriously, someone please explain this trifecta of stupidity to me:

More reactions to Florida's January 31st primary date

The announcement that Florida's presidential primary would be January 31, 2012 brought cheers from some, jeers from others, and profanities from certain blogger friends of mine:

<-- on the phone trying to convince @rsmccain not to send predator drones to FL. #SomeoneDoesNOTWantToSpendChristmasInIowaFri Sep 30 21:20:02 via webSarah Rumpf
rumpfshaker

I Support Sharon Day and Paul Senft

I've publicly said that I want Florida to have an early presidential primary date. I understand why people in Iowa and New Hampshire like their early primaries, but I don't think it's in the best interest of the country (e.g., Iowa's disproportionate power in the presidential primaries is a large part of the reason why we have the wasteful and destructive ethanol subsidies).

As a Republican, I want Florida to have a prominent role in picking our nominee. We are a large, diverse state with complicated issues, so any candidate who can succeed here has proven the ability to succeed on a national scale.

That being said, news has broken today that the committee in charge of setting Florida's primary date is planning on scheduling it for January 31, 2012. Earlier tonight, Republican Party of Florida's National Committeeman Paul Senft sent out an email criticizing this date and laying out his reasons for opposing it. After reading the email, I agree with Senft that we should wait until early March.

I've cut and pasted the email below the jump. Read, and judge for yourself:

A small orange piece of the P5 straw poll puzzle

It is extremely rare to win a straw poll or election for just one reason, and Charlie Crist is not why Herman Cain won the Presidency 5 straw poll, but he was one factor out of many that contributed to the tidal shift this week from Rick Perry to Cain.

Former RPOF Chair Carole Jean Jordan Endorses Adam Hasner for Senate

From the Adam Hasner campaign, an announcement about his latest endorsement in the Florida Senate race:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 21, 2011
Contact: Douglass Mayer
410-703-5604

Carole Jean Jordan Endorses Adam Hasner For U.S. Senate 

Boca Raton, FL - Today the Adam Hasner for U.S. Senate campaign announced the endorsement of former Republican Party of Florida Chairman and longtime Republican activist Carole Jean Jordan.  

"I am extremely proud to announce my endorsement of Adam Hasner for United States Senate. He is the only candidate in this race Floridians can trust to faithfully represent their core values on a daily basis," said Carole Jean Jordan. "While others in this race once sought to undermine the defining principles of our Party for personal gain, Adam has always been loyal and steadfast in defending and promoting our bedrock values. I have no doubt that when elected to the U.S. Senate, he will continue his dedicated fight and be a strong voice against the policies of President Obama and Senator Nelson which have weakened our state and our country." 

Florida: Kind of a Big Deal

You stay classy, Orlando!

Ron Burgundy liked to say that he was "kind of a big deal," but the reality is that as the 2012 election cycle heats up, it's Florida that really is a big deal.

Last week, CNN and the Tea Party Express hosted a Republican presidential debate in Tampa, and now this week will see both CPAC Florida and the Presidency 5 debate and straw poll.

Governor Rick Scott was interviewed on Fox & Friends yesterday, and remarked that Ronald Reagan, George Bush, and Bob Dole all won Florida's straw poll and then went on to win the Republican presidential nomination, so he believes that whoever wins the Presidency 5 straw poll will be the 2012 Republican nominee:

Memorial Service for David Bitner

RPOF sent out an email announcement regarding the scheduling of memorial services for our Chairman, David Bitner, who lost his battle with ALS this week.

Additional memorial services will also be held at a later date in Port Charlotte.

WHAT:           Celebration of Life memorial services 

WHEN:           Thursday 3:00 PM, Sept. 15, 2011 

WHERE:        WC Dover Farms, 534 Dover Road, Havana, FL 32333

Please remember to keep David's wife Wendy, and the entire Bitner family in your thoughts and prayers.

What "L'affaire de Greer" is really about

I've decided to start referring to the whole Jim Greer controversy as "L'affaire de Greer," in homage to "l'affaire du collier," also known as "The Affair of the Necklace," which involved Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette in the lead up to the French Revolution. Both scandals involve political intrigue, extravagant spending, public outrage, and the betrayal of former allies.

Watergate was much more than a burglary ("It's not the crime, it's the coverup"), and likewise, l'affaire de Greer is about so much more than just the excessive spending. While I'll concede the point to Greer that you cannot give a big-time donor some cheese and crackers and then ask them for a five-digit check, the spending was absolutely ridiculous and weakened the party by undermining donors' trust and depleting the coffers as we approached a crucial election. The frequent use of private planes and limo services was especially inexcusable.


But, frankly, overspending on a company card is not a unique problem. Most people's spending habits are different when they are spending their own money versus being able to write off a meal or travel to their employer. Greer took it to an extreme, but what sets this scandal apart, and what I believe deserves the most attention and investigation, is the usurpation of RPOF resources and power to interfere in primaries - most egregiously, the 2010 Senate race. 

Thank you, Chairman Bitner

David Bitner announced today that he will be stepping down as RPOF Chairman after the Presidency 5 Convention next month.

Bitner had announced earlier this year that he had been diagnosed with ALS, better known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.  Sadly, it seems that the disease has progressed quicker than anticipated, and Bitner felt that he was no longer able to serve as Chairman.

Chairman Bitner should be commended for bringing the party together after a contentious election, and for serving the party with dedication and vision. He has been a good, strong leader for RPOF, setting an excellent example for his successor. Every time I saw him at an event, he was kind and gracious to everyone who approached him, regardless of whether the person was a Congressman or first-time volunteer. David Bitner was the leader that we needed this year, and he will be sorely missed.

Please keep Chairman Bitner and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

RPOF event honoring WWII veterans

The Republican Party of Florida is sponsoring a great series of non-political events around the state to honor Florida's World War II veterans. The "Greatest Generation Tour" comes to Orlando this month in a free event at the Marks Street Senior Center on August 27th.

The event is open to the public and free to attend, but registration is required (click here). This, and many other don't-miss events, are also listed on the "Events" tab on the top right corner of this website.

Complete event information and a copy of the invitation available after the jump:

In support of Chairman Bitner

This weekend was the Republican Party of Florida's Quarterly meeting, and several hundred Republican leaders from Florida's 67 counties gathered in Orlando to discuss plans for Presidency 5, next year's convention, and handle other important party business.

Chairman Bitner and his wife Wendy

Sadly, there was a shadow on the otherwise joyful gathering, as anonymous cowards plotted to attack and undermine our Chairman, David Bitner.

What's-his-name elected RNC Chair

I am soooo happy that the elections are over and we now have new Chairmen for the Republican Party of Florida and the Republican National Committee.  Now we can all unite and work together for victory in 2012.

I had the pleasure of meeting Dave Bitner for the first time yesterday and can see what people like about him.  He is a warm, personable guy and has a deep love and enthusiasm for conservative politics.  I talked to a lot of people at the RPOF Quarterly meeting this weekend and even those who were supporting other candidates expressed a positive opinion about Bitner, so I was not surprised when he won on the second ballot. 

As for the RNC Chair, I've never met any of the candidates, but I am definitely very relieved that the Committee has moved on from Michael Steele.  I would like to give Steele the benefit of the doubt, but in my opinion, he deserves at least some of the harsh criticism he received for two key problems.  First problem was his insistence on inserting himself inappropriately into the political arena, often leading to cringe-worthy quotes that embarrassed the Party.  

The second failing of Steele's term was his failure to respect and work with the grassroots.  He spent a ridiculous amount of money on the "Fire Pelosi" bus tour, but appeared to have been attended almost exclusively by campaign staffers and those who were already committed Republican volunteers, and garnered very little media attention.  It was a lot of money to spend on a photo-op that, as far as I can tell, earned few, if any, actual  new votes for Republican candidates.  Steele also made the decision to drastically reduce the funding, or even outright cancel, many aspects of the party's GOTV ("get out the vote") programs that had been so successful for the GOP for several election cycles.  There were several races around the country where the Republican lost by a very narrow margin, and a more vigorous GOTV program, especially in the final 72 hours, could have made a difference.

Our new RNC chair is Wisconsin attorney Reince Priebus.  Fun fact: Priebus attended the University of Miami College of Law with our own Marco Rubio.  Hopefully Rubio can help remind his friend of the importance of respecting the conservative grassroots.  So far, Priebus is at least saying the right things.  Time will tell if he is also able to "walk the walk," but for now, I am hopeful.

There's been a lot of jokes and confusion about Priebus' name.  To help you learn how to pronounce it, here is a video from a Milwaukee news station announcing Priebus' election.  You can hear his name at the 12 second mark:

YouTube - Reince Priebus Voted New RNC Chairman

Old Charlie and New Charlie

From the RPOF...another video about our Flip-Flopping Governor...

YouTube | floridagop | Both Charlies

Now that I've met him, here's some more thoughts on Rick Scott

Kudos to the Orange County Republican Executive Committee yesterday on a great Republican Unity Rally yesterday.  It was great to see so many local elected officials, candidates, party activists, volunteers, and supporters.  The room was packed, standing room only.  After talking with my friends who set out the chairs we estimated the crowd at 275-300 people.  

It was great to see incoming Speaker of the House Dean Cannon and Senate President Mike Haridopolos speak so eloquently about party unity and their sincere and honest acknowledgment of Rick Scott's primary victory.

Here's part of Haridopolos' statement to Fox 35 News last night:

[Rick Scott] has done a really good job of focusing on what's most important - creating jobs and opportunities in this state.  He's got a track record of creating jobs, high quality jobs, and that's what we're focused on.

...[T[he Republican Party is unified - Jeb Bush, myself, Dean Cannon, we've all rallied behind Rick Scott.  The voters have spoken, they want Rick Scott to be the Republican nominee, [and] I strongly support him.

...Jeb Bush, the incoming Speaker, the incoming [Florida Senate] President, the party chairman John Thrasher, we're all rallying behind Rick Scott because the voters matter, they're the ones who are the ultimate endorsement.

Well said, Senator.  I strongly believe that one of the major challenges facing RPOF (as well as the Republican Party nationally) stems from a failure to remember that the voters are the ones who matter.  Jim Greer is now 0 for 3 in getting his chosen statewide candidates across the finish line, as his attempts to clear the fields for Bill McCollum, Jeff Kottkamp, and most spectacularly Charlie Crist, have all fallen short.  

As for Scott himself, he gave a warm and heartfelt talk thanking everyone for their support, and pledging dedication to the conservative ideals that Republicans all share.  This was the first time I saw him speak in person, and I'm not easily impressed by politicians,  can smell a canned speech from a million miles away, but it was a solid speech.  He received a lot of applause and even several standing ovations.  

Keep in mind that Orange County is McCollum's home turf.  There were a lot of people in the room that were not just McCollum supporters, but personal friends with Bill and Ingrid.  Scott was respectful of the situation and gracious in his victory.  I believe Scott's positive speech last night went a long way towards speeding up the healing process and unifying the party.

Here's a photo from Scott's speech, with former Governor Martinez, Haridopolos, Cannon, Daniel Webster, and Sandy Adams behind him, and his wife Ann by his side:

After the speech, I had the opportunity to meet Scott, as well as his charming wife Ann.  In person, Scott is warm and genuine, gave me a solid handshake, looked me in the eye, asked my name and thanked me for my support.  Also, in real life he looks a lot less like Voldemort. ;)  Seriously, though, he really does seem to have a natural and charming friendliness about him and a sincere belief in conservative issues.

I think the Democrats are vastly underestimating Rick Scott.  I can't think of anything new Alex Sink can throw at him that McCollum and his backers didn't already try.  It will be very hard to get the voters' attention with the same old message that they didn't seem to buy during the primary.

As I said a few days ago, I'm in the process of reading through Scott's platform and I really like what I'm seeing.  There's a common-sense practicality to his approach to issues that I find refreshing.  You can read for yourself on the "Issues" section of his website.

I must admit too that I really like the idea of an elected official that doesn't owe a darn thing to any of the typical power brokers, isn't held hostage by the media, isn't in debt to the party structure, and is absolutely independent of the lobbyists and special interests.  

Mike Thomas of the Orlando Sentinel summed up Rick Scott's independence well in his commentary in Sunday's paper, noting that "Scott's appeal is based on his separation from the corrupt, rusting machinery of political parties and special-interest groups:"

For those of us in the media, the worrisome thing about Scott...is that he has completely dissed us at a time when we are feeling very insecure about our role as major players.

He treats us like Tiger Woods treats golf reporters.

He doesn't answer our questions or take our advice.

He doesn't pay homage to our editorial boards.

He just blows us off and buys another round of ads.

And it's working. Thirty seconds on "Dancing with the Stars" trumps 30 pages of media rants.

Meanwhile, the guy who played by our rules, Bill McCollum, lost.

Every major newspaper endorsed McCollum, and he lost.

That raises a very disturbing question. What if the other politicians see this and think, "Hey, maybe he's on to something.''

By no means are we the only Lilliputians exposed by Scott.

He treats Republican Party bosses with equal disdain because they are Exhibit A in his crusade against career politicians. They threw every dime and every endorsement at their favorite career politician. And he lost.

Even worse, Jeb Bush campaigned for McCollum. And he lost. Losing a Republican primary with Jeb's endorsement is like being rejected at the pearly gates when you arrive arm in arm with St. Peter.

The Republican special interests turned their backs on Scott — the social conservatives, the business interests, even Big Sugar.

...The fear of a renegade candidate is eclipsed only by the fear of a renegade governor.

The next few months will show whether Rick Scott really deserves the "renegade'" moniker (I must admit I am having reluctant flashbacks to the overuse of "maverick" during McCain's train wreck of a campaign in 2008) but I've got a pretty good feeling about his chances for success in November.  

One thing is certain: politics in the Sunshine State is guaranteed to continue to be interesting for quite a while...

UPDATE: Frank Torres, once again, took great pictures at last night's event...and his commentary is not to be missed.  Check out his blog here.

RPOF: Florida Republicans Hammer Crist for Returning Money to Indicted Greer

From an RPOF Press Release on Monday:

Republican Party of Florida - News - Florida Republicans Hammer Crist for Returning Money to Indicted Greer

...Florida Republicans are still fuming over Senate candidate Charlie Crist's decision to deny GOP donors' requests for his campaign to return their money after Crist bolted the party to run as an independent. That anger reached new heights today when news broke that Crist had returned nearly $10,000 to indicted former state party chairman, Jim Greer.

"Reports that Charlie Crist immediately processed a refund for his hand-picked chairman and close friend in order to help Mr. Greer pay legal bills associated with multiple felony counts of grand theft from the very organization Charlie Crist charged him with leading are astonishing," said Ronnie Whitaker, the Executive Director of the Florida Republican Party.

"Charlie Crist's blatant self-serving hypocrisy is insulting," said Amber Marchand, spokeswoman for the NRSC, the GOP arm responsible for electing Republicans to the US Senate."Crist once again demonstrated his complete lack of character and principle."

..."It should surprise no one that despite refusing to return a single penny to Floridians who gave to him in good faith, Charlie Crist wasted no time in refunding money to his indicted political confidante," Alex Burgos, Rubio's communications director said to Fox News.

What do you think?  Personally, I find it pretty hypocritical that Crist managed to refund Greer's money so quickly while he has continued to refuse to give any refunds to the many Republican donors who contributed to his campaign in good faith, only to be betrayed when Crist not only abandoned the party to run as an independent, but almost immediately began courting Democrat donors and voters.  Worse is the common belief that, if elected, Crist would caucus with the Democrats.  Call me crazy, but I would guess that most Republican donors to a Republican U.S. Senate candidate don't expect their money to be used to give the Senate Democrats an extra vote.

How's that Jim Greer appointment working out for you now, Charlie?

As I posted last week, Charlie Crist has been sued over contributions that he accepted for his Senate campaign while he was a Republican, but refused to refund after jumping ship to run as an independent.  I questioned whether inducing someone to donate money to a campaign by saying you were a Republican while you were considering or had already decided to abandon the party could constitute fraud.

I'd encourage you go to back and read my post, and take note of the comment by Wade Vose with further legal discussion of how to prove fraud:

I think it comes down to a very simple question...[a]t the time Crist elicited the contributions in question, did he make a "misrepresentation of material fact"?

...I would argue that the material fact was whether Crist, as a longtime Republican Attorney General and Governor, would run in the Republican Primary through the full primary process, and abide by the result of that primary. If he was contemplating running outside of the Republican Party process as early as March, as the Greer/Johnson Tapes seem to indicate, then it appears that this was a misrepresentation of material fact.

The "Greer/Johnson Tapes" to which Wade refers are a recorded telephone call between ousted RPOF chairman Jim Greer and Delmar Johnson that took place on March 25, 2010.  

Crist claims he "didn't know anything" about allegedly illegal activities by Greer

Charlie Crist is now in a sudden, desperate fit trying to distance himself from Jim Greer.  He's claiming he knew nothin' about nothin', completely unaware of the shenanigans going on at RPOF under Greer.

Remember Charlie, the cover-up is worse than the crime.  Nixon was pretty darn insistent that he was "not a crook" at one point too.

Crist distances himself from arrested former Republican party chairman Jim Greer - St. Petersburg Times

UPDATE: Check out this post over at RedState:

Charlie Crist linked to fraud, money laundering

 

FYI, "Schadenfreude," mentioned at the beginning of that article, is a German word meaning pleasure derived from the misfortune of others.  I am also enjoying a little Schadenfreude myself about Charlie's situation right now.

Maybe we'll get some answers now

Former Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer was arrested this morning, charged with four counts grand theft, one count of organizing a scheme to defraud, and one count money laundering.  

...sigh...

I didn't have a major problem with Jim Greer until this past year.  The blatant and shameless attempts to hand the U.S. Senate race to Charlie Crist (who had hand-picked Greer to be his RPOF Chair) without a primary contest, followed by the way the RPOF Amex records were leaked in a way engineered to hurt Marco Rubio as much as possible...then the revelations about the absolutely insane spending by party leaders just left me feeling both saddened and extremely angry.

My sincere hope is that this investigation will get to the truth quickly so the party can move on.  It's demotivating for the grassroots party workers who do the day-to-day local work to get Republicans elected when the party leadership is in the headlines every day for a series of seemingly-unending scandals.

Good ol' Charlie is claiming shock and surprise over Greer's arrest, and attempting to wash his hands of the whole thing.  “I think it’s obviously disappointing and surprising."  Yeah, ok, Charlie.  You had no idea anything weird was going on at all.  We believe you.  And yes, that tan does look natural.

Current RPOF Chairman John Thrasher issued this response to Charlie:

I don’t think you can walk away from the fact that this guy was at one time your best buddy in politics, that you relied on day-in and day-out, and now say that because he’s been indicted "I never had anything to do with it,"...I don’t think you can walk away from it.

As expected, the comments section on the Orlando Sentinel article and various other blogs are showing a high level of nastiness and petty insults.  We've also got the obligatory formerly-powerful-person-now-crash-landing-into-reality mugshot:

Ouch.

Further reading:

Orlando Sentinel article

BREAKING: Jim Greer Arrested | RedState

Florida Department of Law Enforcement Press Release

WFTV | Ex-Fla. GOP Chairman charged with felony theft