Today Sen. Paula Dockery dropped out of the Gubernatorial Race.  Below is an email her campaign sent out.

Patricia Sullivan

EUSTIS, FL – Patricia Sullivan for Congress – Patricia Sullivan announced Friday, April 02, 2010, she is the only candidate in a potentially crowded field Certified by Signature to contest Democrat Alan Grayson in Florida’s 8th Congressional District by the Florida Division of Elections. “Many candidates will talk the talk of fiscal responsibility but we actually walked the walk and saved $10,440 of donor money by not ‘buying’ our way onto the ballot, but by working hard,” said Sullivan, one of several candidates expected to qualify for the Republican primary August 24, 2010. Sullivan gathered more signatures than required to put her on the ballot in the 8th district, the Florida Division of Elections verified well over 4,600 signatures on Patricia’s petitions.

Congressional Candidate Patricia Sullivan, a “Patriot not Politician”, was elated and humbled by the hard work and dedication of the great volunteer group, indicating this is only the beginning of a remarkable opportunity to say “Good bye Mr. Grayson” and return America to a country rooted in the values of our Founding Fathers.

Sullivan says she is looking forward to debating the issues with Congressman Grayson and proceeding to Washington to “give the fine people of Florida’s 8^th District the kind of respectful, common sense representation that they have been missing”.

To learn more and become a part of this winning team visit the official campaign website at www.patriciasullivanforcongress.com

Jim Greer

TALLAHASSEE — Former Florida Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer is the subject of a criminal investigation after an auditor found he funneled party money to a political consulting company he owned.

Attorney General Bill McCollum referred the matter to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement on March 15 after it was discovered during an internal party audit.

“This information indicates there may have been criminal activity surrounding a former senior official of the Republican Party of Florida and a company called Victory Strategies, LLC,” McCollum said in a statement.

Just a side note that McCollum was never in favor of the actual audit.  John Thrasher stated publicly that he would have a private firm audit the RPOF.  McCollum also knew about the secret deal between Delmar Johnson and Jim Greer for two months before actually going public with the finding.

The audit showed that Greer owned 60 percent of the company and Delmar Johnson, the party’s former executive director, owned the remaining 40 percent. Greer authorized the contract to let Johnson take a 10 percent commission on all dollars he raised for the party coffers. It totaled $133,005 for 2009 with an additional $66,250 for other consulting services.

Gov. Charlie Crist said the news is “terribly disturbing.” Greer was Crist’s hand-picked candidate to lead the state party following the governor’s election in 2006, and Crist remained publicly loyal to Greer until it became obvious in January that Greer had virtually lost all support.

“I find it terribly disturbing to hear, but I know that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement will certainly conduct a thorough and comprehensive investigation,” Crist said. Asked if the investigation could tarnish leading Republicans, Crist, who’s trailing in polls as a U.S. Senate candidate, said: “I certainly hope that it does not. The acts of individuals are the acts of individuals, and that is for the people to decide.”

Crist said he “had heard rumors” that Greer owned a stake in a consulting company, Victory Strategies, that was paid with party funds.

FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey reports to Crist and the Cabinet, and Crist is constantly accompanied by one or more FDLE agents, but the governor said he did not receive a heads-up of the FDLE probe of Greer. “I heard about it about an hour ago,” Crist said at about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Farid Khavari

Miami, FL Mar. 30 – Noted economist and Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate today called on Alex Sink, also a Democratic candidate, to withdraw from the governor’s race. “The poll numbers are bad enough, with Republican Bill McCollum 15 points ahead of Alex Sink,” Khavari said, referring to the March 29 Mason-Dixon Poll showing McCollum leading Sink by 49% to 34%. “But these poll numbers are really much worse than they seem.

“Florida has 17% more Democratic voters than Republican,” Khavari continued. “24% of Democrats already support the Republican. This is not because Democrats like McCollum. It is because Democrats simply don’t support Sink. If the race were evenly divided along party lines, Sink would be eight points ahead of McCollum.

“This means that 24% of Democrats prefer to vote for a Republican who was a 20-year Congressman on banking committees, then a lobbyist for the Mortgage Bankers of America, rather than a Democrat who is a multimillionaire retired banker. Even Democratic women don’t support Alex Sink.

“Democrats see through the rhetoric in Alex Sink’s ‘Business Plan’ and realize that the same old schmaltz didn’t create jobs before and it won’t create jobs now. If the Chief Financial Officer of Florida knew anything about creating jobs, why hasn’t she done anything about it? Over a million Floridians are out of work and she just found out about it?” Khavari said.

“Alex Sink was hand-picked by Democrat Party leaders, who lavished over $1.5 million on her campaign, without any input from Party members. We can’t afford crony politics in Florida any more, not with a million Floridians out of work and 800,000 foreclosures already, and worse to come. It is time for her to step aside,” Khavari said.

“My plan to create 1,000,000 new private-sector jobs in Florida, without subsidies, is spelled out in detail. Voters from all parties support it because everyone can understand that it will work. And, above all, we need jobs, jobs, and more jobs here in Florida. We can get them with my plan,” Khavari said.

Another aspect of Khavari’s Economic Plan, the creation of a state-owned bank, has received national acclaim. Since it was announced, gubernatorial candidates in five other states have included proposals for state-owned banks in their campaigns. The proposed Bank of the State of Florida would slash interest costs for state and local governments, and for all Floridians as well, while turning a profit for the state. “This is common-sense economics,” Khavari said. “2010 is about economics, not crony politics.”

Farid A. Khavari, Ph.D. is a respected economist and author of nine books, including Environomics. His Economic Plan for Florida is at www.khavariforgovernor.com.

Senate President Jeff Atwater tapped Sen. J.D. Alexander to chair the Ethics & Elections Committee now that Sen. John Thrasher stepped down once he became head of the Republican Party of Florida. Atwater spokeswoman Jaryn Emhof said Atwater chose Alexander, who was chair last year, because he was already on the committee. That way, she said, the president wouldn’t have to tap someone from another committee and start a domino effect of “shuffling people around” from one committee to the next.

One of those people who wanted to be shuffled: Sen. Paula Dockery,  wrote Atwater earlier today:

This letter serves as a notification of my desire to serve as chair of the Senate Ethics & Elections Committee, in addition to my current chairmanship of the Criminal Justice Committee. The people of Florida are rightfully demanding substantial ethics reforms. The chairperson that you select for this committee will be in a position to truly listen to the people and begin the restoration of the public trust.

I have been emphasizing this need for the past three years and have researched changes that would restore the integrity of our beloved institution, and my sincere desire to use my leadership skills for this critical purpose, as well as my record on transparency and open government makes me the logical candidate for the job.

Thank you in advance for your careful consideration in this matter.

Interestingly enough Senator Dockery has been the only one calling for Ethics Reform in the state legislature.  J. D. Alexander refused to remove himself from the Sun Rail vote, even though he stood to benefit financially from the vote.  His recently acquired company Phoenix Industries in Winter Haven is located adjacent to the CSX rail line.  The company specializes in Rail to Truck transportation, Cold and Perishable Storage.

The way I see J.D.’s appointment is simple.  It’s a classic case of a FOX WATCHING THE HEN HOUSE! Not to mention the Sun Rail connection between Jeff Atwater and J.D. Alexander, but then again seems as if it’s business as usual in Tallahassee.

Bill McCollum

It would seem that Good Ole’ Boy Bill McCollum’s support is slipping. In the last few weeks the Dockery campaign has released endorsements from Dennis Jones and Nancy Detert who both came out for Bill early on.

If people endorsing Bill are having second thoughts shouldn’t voters?  Bill represents the establishment and the status quo.  This is just one of McCollum’s big worries. Recently the RPOF has come under considerable criticism, which McCollum has remained mute on the issue.  Considering how close McCollum and Greer are I don’t expect him or his campaign to be active on this big issue.  Doesn’t McCollum have an RPOF American Express (AMEX) card?  But we can trust McCollum right?  He did use the state plane for just work related trips right?

Charlie Crist

“I am concerned that President Obama’s decision to end NASA’s Constellation program, and prematurely conclude the nation’s significant investment in moon exploration, may place the nation’s space leadership role in question. Without a bold policy and goal for the future of American space exploration, we may cede our nations’ premier space leadership to other countries.

“Despite today’s announcement, there are significant opportunities for Florida in the commercial space industry, and I will work aggressively to ensure Florida is prepared to capitalize on these possibilities.”

Marco Rubio

This morning I woke up to a Google Alert that I thought was very interesting.  NBC Miami had a story that basically called Marco a pig killer.  The story was regarding a picture that Future Sen. Marco Rubio uploaded to Twitter around Christmas.  It showed a hog that was about to be slaughtered for the families Christmas.

Being from Polk County and growing up in Frostproof I found nothing weird of the picture.  We are humans we eat animals!  I believe these Liberal pundits just want to imagine that their food beef, pork, or chicken comes from some magical place, a place where the animal is treated like a princess.   This is just one example that shows how far out of touch with reality these people are.

Do Liberals hunt?  Most likely not, they oppose guns most of the time.  Do Liberals Eat?  Michael Moore doesn’t look like he has missed a meal to me.  Is it really that big of a deal to butcher an animal for food?  What have we become a nation of sissies? (No offense to anyone named Sissy)

Is it a crime to provide for one self?  To provide for ones family?  I think not!  Even the Liberal Media is in on the hits.  They never once asked Marco anything on the issues at the Florida Press Corp. conference.  Instead they chose to keep trying to ask tricky questions about Ray Sansom.

I think I might go to pig fest in Lakeland after all today.  Maybe I will be labeled a pig killer too.  Hopefully someone will ask me about it… then I can respond that the pig was so damn delicious I couldn’t resist!  Don’t talk with your mouth full Liberals!

Carey Baker

Eustis, FL- Senator Carey Baker (R-20), a candidate for Commissioner of Agriculture, has won the straw poll conducted by the Republican Business Council of North Central Florida. The Republican Business Council of North Central Florida, comprised of leaders in Florida’s business community, supports candidates for office who are dedicated to the principles of “limited government, free market capitalism and fiscal responsibility.” After comparing the records of the candidates in the race for Agriculture Commissioner, Sen. Carey Baker was the overwhelming choice of voters in the organization’s January 27th straw poll, defeating Rep. Adam Putnam by a vote of 93-35.

“When asked to vote on our economic records, Republican Business Council voters preferred my candidacy by a nearly 3 to 1 margin,” said Baker. “Florida’s business leaders are increasingly attracted to my campaign because they understand that I am committed to removing government barriers to job creation. They also understand that my ownership of a small business gives me unique insights into the need for tax and regulatory relief. I am excited that my campaign to become Florida’s next Agriculture Commissioner has received such an overwhelming show of support from the business community.”

Because neither candidate made a presentation to this organization in advance of the vote, the straw poll was impartially conducted. As a result, Baker’s large margin of victory is being given even greater significance by observers. Said Sam McConnell, President of the Republican Business Council of North Central Florida, “It was interesting that Senator Carey Baker outpaced his Republican opponent U. S. Representative Adam Putnam by almost a 3 to 1 margin with a 93 to 35 vote, respectively.”

Senator Carey Baker (SD-20) represents a district that includes portions of Marion, Sumter, Lake, Volusia and Seminole Counties. Baker is a candidate for the position of Commissioner of Agriculture and more information about Senator Baker may be found at his website. www.CareyBaker.com

Polk REC

Last night was the regularly scheduled meeting of the Polk County Republican Executive Committee took place.   Most of these meetings are just business meetings with very little excitement-taking place.  However last nights meeting was fantastic.  One of the items on the agenda was discussing the state party leadership.  Specifically the vacate chairman position created after Jim Greer resigned.

So far two candidates have emerged from the pack Florida State Senator John Thrasher and current RNC secretary Sharon Day.  The problem is RPOF and the state elected leadership is trying to force John Thrasher down everyone’s throat. If you were paying attention when Jim Greer resigned, you received an email about 20 minutes later announcing endorsements for John Thrasher.

Party rules state that for Thrasher to be considered for the Chairman position he has to first be a sitting state committeeman. At this time he was not. It was not until this past week that he was.  If readers will recall this is almost identical to how Jim Greer came into power as well.  He was not a sitting committeeman as well.  They bent the rules and backs were scratched because that’s what the Governor wanted.

The RPOF has a loyalty oath, which all members of the REC must sign to be actual members.  This loyalty oath bars members from donating to candidates other than Republicans, or assisting their campaigns in any way that is harmful to the Republican Party.  Thrasher is guilty of violating this loyalty oath by donating to members of the Democratic Party of Florida on NUMEROUS occasions.

The reason for the background information on the prospective chairmen is simple; it was all brought up last night.  With that said, an aide from John Thrasher’s campaign was in attendance and rebuked some of this.  However the evidence spoke for itself and he was quickly shut down.

State Committeeman Robert Norman said “Sharon Day is one of us.  She is a grassroots leader.  She isn’t an outsider like Greer was. “  Chairman of the Polk REC Gene Roberts was leaning towards voting for John Thrasher.  He said that the Senator had called and talked with him earlier in the week.  However shortly after saying this a voice from the back of the room shouted “But we elected you to represent US.” So a motion for a vote was brought forward to find out whom the REC supported for chairman.

All of those in favor of Sharon Day shouted “AYE” all of those for Senator John Thrasher “….” You could almost hear crickets chirping outside.  Not a single person spoke up to support Lobbyist, Democrat Supporter, and Senator John Thrasher.  It seems that the Republican Party is coming around and holding feet to the fire, and this is EXACTLY what it takes to WIN!