In late 2009, Republican Party of Florida chairman Jim Greer, under fire from a number of party dissidents, was sent a letter from the state committee calling for a special meeting to oust him. The dissidents won, as Greer opted to resign among praise for his hard work. Vice Chairman Allen Cox resigned with him to allow for a fresh start. The people of St. Johns County, eager to see their man John Thrasher take the helm, elected him in a unanimous showing of support to take the state committeeman position that Jon Woodard graciously stepped down from, allowing Thrasher to run for the RPOF chairman position, which he won with a solid majority over Sharon Day, showing that he was naturally the favored choice of the people.
Or rather, that’s what the RPOF’s “elite” would have you believe. Greer, Thrasher, Charlie Crist, Dean Cannon, Mike Haridopolos, and several other big names have pushed this story.
Ladies and gentlemen… we have been lied to.
It is certainly true that many grassroots members of the party were unhappy with Jim Greer, considering his persecution of those who disagreed with a party line that had become corrupt and leaned far left of the Republican Party’s traditional constitutional values. However, it was his attempts to bully the people within the ranks of party officials, as well as his financial mismanagement and several other examples of poor leadership, that prompted the letter from dozens of state committee members calling for the special meeting in which they would seek to remove Greer.
Leading up to that meeting, a plan was made, which was never to have seen the light of day. Jim Greer, John Thrasher, Delmar Johnson, Jason Gonzalez, Mike Haridopolos and Richard Swarttz concocted an agreement with Greer, and a plan for the next phase of the RPOF. This agreement outlined that the party would allow Greer to resign, then publicly praise him, and keep him on as a consultant through January 31, 2011 at a salary of $11,250 per month, along with his full health benefits. It also noted the party would find all expenditures during Greer’s chairmanship to be honest and legal.
The document went further. It had a clause stipulating, “Senator Thrasher agrees that if he is elected RPOF Chairman, he will re-execute this Agreement on behalf of RPOF within 24 hours of his election.” And the document includes a second line for John Thrasher to sign under the heading, “To be re-executed following the election of successor RPOF Chairman:”
Keep in mind that at the time, Thrasher was ineligible to run for RPOF chairman. Only members of the state committee could do that, such as each county’s REC chairman, state committeeman and state committeewoman. So how could such a statement be in there, and a second line to sign which assumed he would get the nod?
Ah, but the pieces were in place for everything. Around that time, the St. Johns County Republican Executive Committee just happened to do a purging of its roster, which conveniently removed some members who might object to Thrasher. Jon Woodard then stepped down, allowing the SJCREC to vote Thrasher into his position as state committeeman. This was not spur of the moment, it was planned in advance. And there are still questions about the purging of the roster, with a grievance having been filed against the SJCREC by one member who was removed without due cause.
At the January meeting of the Duval County Republican Executive Committee, DCREC state committeewoman Cindy Graves spoke about Thrasher and the DCREC’s planned endorsement of him. She mentioned a deal that had been made with Haridopolos and Cannon to have Greer resign, which would have Cox resign with him, and part of the deal was that they needed to elect Thrasher as chairman. Even as she attempted to correct that statement when asked about it, she confirmed it again. But members were asked to keep all of this quiet, that it was an internal matter for the RPOF, and nobody – media or anyone else – needed to know about it.
Sharon Day, the national committeewoman for Florida, ran against Thrasher for the position of RPOF chair. She had great support among the “rank and file” Republicans, but the majority of RPOF state committee members knew that they were required to make sure that Thrasher became the new chairman, to uphold their end of the deal that had been struck with Greer. So it was that Thrasher became the new chairman, speaking to the ideas of ushering in a new age of transparency.
One of the first things forced upon the RPOF was the need to do an audit of finances. There was no way to keep this under wraps. There had been many stories coming out that pointed to mismanagement of party funds and even outright fraud in some cases. The audit came back with all the damning evidence and there was no way at that point that it could be swept under the rug again. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement was handed the records and planned to proceed with a possible criminal case against Greer. The audit showed that Greer had been channeling a lot of party funds to personal use and to Delmar Johnson, his aide, who received over $400,000 in party funds.
Greer’s attorney, Damon Chase, addressed a letter to the party noting that associated of Haridopolos and Cannon had offered Greer $200,000 – nearly twice the salary he was scheduled to make – to keep quiet about the agreement for his resignation. Both deny that any such contact was made, but party officials had denied for months that the agreement existed to begin with. Even Thrasher claimed that no such agreement existed, even though he had signed it. The document itself though had stated that it was not to be officially filed unless necessary for enforcing the execution of the agreement. In light of that, it’s hard not to believe that Greer might have been offered “hush money.”
Another disturbing note that came out in the process was an announcement at a Jacksonville Republican club meeting that the RPOF was half a million dollars in debt, which was a prime reason for hiring a lobbyist like John Thrasher who could rake in a lot of money. However, it was found out afterward that Haridopolos and Cannon had funneled money out of the RPOF funds to “protect it” and that this money was over half a million dollars. Further, the RPOF was able to spend $200,000 on television ads shortly after Thrasher took over. This suggests that the RPOF was placed in a position to look like it was in a “financial Armageddon” which would support the need for Thrasher as chairman.
All of this paints a very disturbing picture of the Republican Party of Florida and its top officials. The former chairman was acting in a criminal manner while using shady rules to force out those who were calling for accountability. The incoming House Speaker and Senate President were involved with a State Senator to make sure that Senator replaced the outgoing chairman. Through it all, secret agreements were made and deals put in place to force the passage of this scheme.
This story highlights the need for electing people of principle within the Republican Party, and not people who “have connections” or “can raise money” or “know the system.” Greer knew the system. Crist is a “smart politician.” Thrasher can raise money and play the system. None of this has helped the Republican Party of Florida to be sustainable in winning elections, because none of it matters to the regular people. The people who are out waving signs and protesting government-as-usual do not want more of the same. They want people who will stand for principles and values, will do what they promise, and won’t make shady deals. Those people are sorely lacking in the Republican Party of Florida, and that is why Florida is on shaky ground in an election cycle which should heavily favor the Republican Party.
Examining the reason of why it would favor Republicans tells you why the RPOF is in danger right now. People are sick of backroom deals, or shifting stances to play to the lowest common denominator, or criminal behavior from their officials. They are running away from this now that they see it in full play in the Democrat Party. Yet as they run to the Republican Party of Florida, they see the same things occurring right now, and shy away from it.
If we want to win in November 2010, and make a stronger party in Florida, one that has a chance of winning, we need to have real accountability for our party officials and candidates. Vet the candidates and make sure they truly follow the Constitution. Make sure the officials are not corrupt. Create a party that is of the people, by the people, for the people… not a party that is above the people, buys the people, and fools the people.
That is how we will retake our country. And until we’re willing to call out the crooks and schemers in our own party, we have no right trying to lead a nation and call out crooks and schemers elsewhere.
You can find the Greer document at:
http://news.jacksonville.com/specials/pdfs/timesandherald.pdf
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Sat, Apr 3, 2010
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