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!

Several members of the Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC) attended the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) annual meeting January 8th and 9th. With factors such as the recently announced resignation of RPOF Chair Jim Greer, the growth of the RLC, the emergence of Tea Party movements and the influence of the “We Surround Them” (912) groups, we had high hopes for a new direction for the RPOF.

New opportunities were opened with the anger and energy of these activist groups, and the RPOF state committee recognized this with a resolution to encourage county executive committees to reach out to “Tea Party people.” This would have given the RPOF a solid boost heading into the 2010 elections. But they failed to understand that those “Tea Party people” want principled leadership and bottom-up representation, not the party-first top-down mentality currently in place.

At the annual meeting, the RPOF leadership demonstrated that they still don’t get it. Chairman Greer received a standing ovation from party leadership when he exclaimed at the conclusion of his speech, “It’s about the party, party, party”. The cries heard at a Tea Party or grassroots function, however, are for “principles, principles, principles.”

Rank-and-file Republicans are clearly angry over the unprecedented growth of the federal government in 2009. They are also disgusted at our Governor Charlie Crist’s display of support for Obama’s stimulus package. Yet, when Crist addressed the RPOF at the meeting, he stated that “Florida needs to get her fair share,” and added that he would “not apologize for supporting the stimulus.” Such a statement would be met with scorn from the majority of voters of the Republican Party and Tea Party attendees, but was met with a standing ovation by party leadership.

The first person to speak on policy was Jeff Kottkamp, candidate for Attorney General. Kottkamp did not talk about reducing the size and scope of government, cutting spending, or removing regulations and encouraging free enterprise. Instead, he focused his remarks on expanding the Defense and Space industries in Florida. Grassroots Republicans are pleading for leadership that understands the core issues of fiscal responsibility and limiting the size and scope of government, but RPOF leadership offers only promises to protect special interests.

Most discouraging of all, however, was the apparent coronation of Senator John Thrasher to replace Jim Greer as Chair of the RPOF. In much the same fashion Jim Greer was chosen, the word is that Thrasher had been chosen before the conference call announcing Greer’s resignation had even ended. Many in leadership have rallied around Thrasher because of his ability to raise large sums of money, something the RPOF is in need of. What the RPOF needs more than money, however, is to discover its principles and to get candidates who truly understand those principles elected to office.

A Sign of Hope

In spite of the leadership’s general disconnect with the grassroots, there was a significant sign of hope. There appears to be some serious resistance to the leadership-led coronation of John Thrasher as the new RPOF Chair. Sharon Day, who currently serves as national committeewoman for Florida, stated that she too is running for RPOF Chair in the election that will take place at the February 20th special meeting in Orlando. “I’m running to give the RPOF members a choice, because there should always be a choice,” Day said when she addressed the state committee Saturday morning.

The RLC applauds those in the RPOF that are supporting the courage of Sharon Day and others that seek to offer a voice to the rank-and-file Republicans. We hope that more in party leadership will stand against the top-down approach taken by many in the RPOF.

Source: RLC Website