Florida GOP leader Jim Greer Out

The embattled head of Florida’s Republican Party, Jim Greer, has announced that he will resign in February.  The press release reads:

RPOF Communications – January 05, 2010

Tallahassee – Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer today announced that he will step down as Chairman effective February 20, 2010. Documents pertaining to Chairman Greer’s announcement are below. Additional information regarding an election for his replacement will be released when available. The RPOF Annual Meeting scheduled for this Saturday, January, 9, 2010 at the Rosen Plaza Hotel in Orlando will proceed as scheduled. Information on attaining press credentials for this event will be sent in a subsequent media advisory.

Greer has long been under fire for his mishandling of the GOP in Florida and for quickly announcing that the RPOF would be backing Gov. Charlie Crist in his race for the Senate seat.  The outcry from Floridians was deafening.  Crist’s main competitor for the Senate seat is well liked Marco Rubio and Rubio is currently outpolling Crist.  The GOP of any state has no right to come out before a primary and back any candidate.  Greer has also mismanaged party money.

There is still an issue with the RPOF, though.  Greer’s replacement is rumored to be current FL State Sen. John Thrasher.  His previous job was as the HIGHEST paid lobbyist in Florida. He cleared $2.7 million a year as a hired gun for the usual bunch of special interests that need favorable legislation. Mr. Thrasher made sure that Florida taxpayers coughed up not $1 million per mile for CSX owned tracks. Nope, Thrasher got $10 million per mile for the rail barons. That’s the highest per mile cost for similar projects. SunRail is not very popular in Florida.

The Miami Herald reported during Thrasher’s run for his current State Senate seat:

The airwaves across Jacksonville are resounding with ads, most of them for or against Thrasher. One TV ad was paid for by Conservative Citizens for Justice, whose president, Tom Edwards, is the immediate past president of the Florida Justice Association, the lobbying arm of the trial bar. The group’s ad notes that Thrasher was twice criticized — reprimanded once and fined once — by the Commission on Ethics for violating lobbying restrictions.

A second group, Stop Tax Waste Inc., is flogging Thrasher in direct-mail fliers for spending $5.8 million to remodel the House chamber when he was speaker. President T.J. Harrington said his goal is to show voters that Thrasher is not the fiscal conservative he claims to be.

And Post On Politics reported in October of 2009:

Senate President Jeff Atwater tapped former House Speaker John Thrasher, the most recent addition to the Florida Senate, to head up the Ethics and Elections Committee.

Thrasher is no stranger to ethics violations. He admitted to breaking state ethics rules twice, once when he was a House member and again after he returned to lobbying.

The first violation took place in 1993 when Thrasher appeared before the state medical board as a paid representative of the Florida Medical Association. State law bans sitting lawmakers from lobbying.

In 2001, after he left the legislature and returned to lobbying, Thrasher was hit with another ethics violation.

The Jacksonville Republican lobbied lawmakers on behalf of his client the University of Miami without waiting for the two-year waiting period to elapse before former lawmakers can legally lobby current lawmakers.

Thrasher admitted he had violated the ethics laws and was chastised for the first violation and fined $500 for the second.

If this if the Republican Party’s answer, than the recently formed Tea Party political party is beginning to look more and more appealing.  When is the GOP going to start listening to We The People?  This is not a return to conservative principles.  This is replacing one corrupt politician with another.

Epic Battle For Republican Soul Heats Up In Florida

Florida is going to become the center of an epic battle and it will not be between the Democrat and Republican Parties, but within the Republican Party.  Conservatives are on the move to take back the Republican Party, but moderates within the Party want to move more to the left because they still believe that is the way to win despite loss after loss.  I personally have been considering registering as a Libertarian and if the GOP continues to embrace Progressivism, I will do just that.

The battle that is brewing is for the Senate seat that RINO Mel Martinez is vacating in 2010.  Former Speaker of the Florida House, Marco Rubio, threw his hat into the ring a couple of weeks before Governor Charlie Crist announced this week that he intends to run for the Senate seat.  Marco Rubio is a true conservative and I have already thrown my support behind him and intend to help his campaign in any way I can.  He served as Speaker of the Florida House in both 2007 and 2008.  Before that, he served as City Commissioner for Miami – a post he served in since 2000.  He toured Florida asking the people of Florida for their ideas on how to improve Florida’s future.  The result was a book he wrote titled, “100 Innovative Ideas for Florida’s Future”, and it guided him in sponsoring several measures that were from the book.  He also worked on Governor Mike Huckabee’s campaign for president and he has been endorsed by former Governor Jeb Bush.

Governor Charlie Crist on the other hand is an embarrassment to conservatives.  He is a RINO.  I remember writing a post here about how President Obama made a useful idiot out of Gov. Crist when Obama traveled down here for a townhall to push his Porkulus Bill.  Gov. Crist completely supported the pork-laden bill.  He has two failed bar exams in his past as well as a Senate run in 1998 in which Bob Graham trounced him.  And I hope for another huge loss for Crist again.

This really is about the future of the GOP.  If the national GOP backs Crist, then we know that they intend to follow the same loser path as before.  We will know that name recognition means more than principle.  Marco Rubio can win the seat – I have no doubt.  America’s heart is coming back to the conservative principles this country was built upon.  This is a race that the national conservative movement needs to get behind.

There is a possible issue that could develop here which would be a travesty.  Senator Mel Martinez could step down before his term is finished and Gov. Crist could appoint himself to the seat and then run as an incumbant in the 2010 race giving him even more of an edge.  This would be another development that would further turn me from the GOP.

You can support Marco Rubio here.

Orlando Tea Party Coming!

Scroll down for updates.

I’ve been contacted by the woman organizing our tea party here in the Orlando area and here is what we have so far and I will add details as they come so watch for updates.  We will be meeting at the Ampitheather on Saturday March 21st from 12pm-2pm.  There will be a singer and other plans are still in the works.  A website is also planned to help generate funds and I will post that here when it is up and running.  I invite commenters to share details of any tea parties planned in your areas.

Update:  The website is up, please visit and give a small donation if you can.  The event needs to raise $2,000-$3,000. 

http://www.orlandoteaparty.com/

GOP Governors Should Reject Stimulus Money

Several GOP governors are voicing their concerns over the Porkulus Bill and are considering not accepting the federal money into their state coffures.  I encourage them to decide not to take the money.  The most outspoken governors are Louisiana’s Bobby Jindal, South Carolina’s Mark Sanford, Mississippi’s Haley Barbour and Alaska’s Sarah Palin.  The left is laying on the criticism and accusing these governors of not caring about their citizens during this growing economic crisis when their states are hurting.  Federal money is only meant to help during an emergency and this is no emergency.  If it was, then the states would be cutting their spending drastically would they not?  What do you do with your own budget at times like these?  Do you whip out the credit card and spend?  Taking this money is doing just that.

Of course my own governor is a sell-out and a useful idiot and today he will find the following email in his in-box:

 Dear Governor Crist,

As a citizen of Florida and a member of the Republican Party, I encourage you to join the ranks of your fellow GOP governors in refusing to take money from this stimulus package.  It is wasteful and leaves our state, citizens, and future citizens beholden to the federal government.  I’m sure you have read the Bill of Rights and know the protections granted to the states via the 10th Amendment.  There is a growing feeling of disenfranchisement across the country including within Florida where protests are being organized to match those from Denver, Mesa and Seattle.  Joining the President in Ft. Myers was a huge political mis-step for you.  Listen to your residents who urge you to turn your back on big government.  We have long memories and big voices.

I encourage my fellow conservatives to do the same if you have not already.  Our voices mean more then those of “The Nation” and “The LA Times” who have been writing pieces disparaging  the GOP governors.

Today’s Useful Idiots – People Of Ft. Myers, Florida And Governor Crist

Shame on Governor Crist for laying down before the altar of Obama and begging for this state.  Have some pride man.  Governor Crist had been on a short list once upon a time to be Senator McCain’s running mate, but things sure have changed.  Crist has joined a long list of other governors who have turned their backs on the Constitution and their state constitutions to beg the federal government for “more meat, Sir”.  We can make it without the federal government.  What a jackass!  Crist gets up and introduces President Obama at the Ft. Myers Townhall and fawns all over him. 

The president then went into his regular speech which most of us know by heart now, throwing in a few bones for Ft. Myers to make it a little more personal.  Then the useful idiots stepped up to ask their banal questions.  This is the time to put this man on the mat and get some real answers, but they all wanted to beg for more from the government as well.  I should point out that the whole time Obama was speaking you could hear “Amens” and “Yeses” in the background and I thought I was listening to a Pentecostal program for a minute on the radio.  Here was one of the questions:

I do feel for this woman, but this was not the time or place and does she really expect the president to do something.  Okay, okay, I know we have other women in Florida who claim Obama is going to pay for their gas and mortgage.  So what did the President do for this woman?  He had one of his people hand her a card that would lead her to the Housing Authority.  Like she couldn’t take care of that herself.  Then there was this imbecile:

Now we know how this man got elected.  Listen to my radio show tonight for more soundbites and stupid questions from this townhall.  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/freedomswings/

Update On Disney’s Second Amendment Fight

Walt Disney World has decided to lift part of its ban on employees’ rights when it comes to gun toting.  But if anyone believes this is a victory for gun rights supporters, they are wrong.  Disney had earlier made gun rights activists and the NRA angry when they told employees that they could not bring their guns to work and leave them in their cars, even though a new Florida law allowed it.  An employee challenged the ban and was fired and there is now a court challenge that is still pending.

So Disney’s response to pressure from Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, the NRA and many people was to lift the ban on back-office outposts.  This includes Disney offices in Celebration and Little Lake Bryan.  For those that don’t know, these are two small areas that are outside of the the Walt Disney Resort area where many cast members live.  So in other words, this is very insignificant.  These offices employ about 5,700 of the 60,000 employees that Disney has.  For some reason, McCollum believes that this now complies with the law.  Bullshit!  Try reading THE LAW in the Constitution.  Actually, McCollum might be giving Disney a pass since they backed his 2006 campaign for attorney general.  Several executives contributed $5,000 including several presidents and Disney gave the GOP $520,000 which in turn spent hundreds of thousands on McCollum’s campaign.  As they say, follow the money.   They are all hoping that everyone stays misinformed and figures that if the Attorney General gives his blessing then everything must be okay.

This fight is not over.

Representative Robert Wexler Not A Florida Resident

Bill O’Reilly has brought it to the public’s attention that one of Florida’s Representatives to Congress does not reside in the state.  I’m pretty sure that is against the rules and I’m thinking that is why the FBI is investigating.  Wexler was first elected to Congress in 1996.  At the time, he did own a home here but sold it in 1997 and moved the family to Maryland.  Now he is playing a game that stinks to high heaven.  He claims his in-laws address in Delray Beach as his official residence and thus maintains his driver’s license and voter and car registrations under that address.  When I moved to Florida from Colorado, I had 10 days to change everything over.  I guess Maryland’s rules are different – yeah right!

There is one glaring problem with Wexler using his in-law’s address: they live in one of those senior neighborhoods here and the rules state that children cannot live there for more than two months annually.  Wexler has children.  Hmmm…so he is trying to claim that he mostly lives here and not in Maryland with his family.  Yeah, I believe that.  Just like I’m suppose to believe that he can identify with the needs of his constiuents especially when it comes to issues like property taxes – which he obviously does not pay in Florida.  This man is a farce.

The really sad part of this whole story is the fact that Wexler moved from here in 1997.  It is now 2008.  How many times have the liberal morons in his district re-elected him?  Supposedly this has been no secret and Bill O’Reilly just jumped on this story to get back at Wexler for statements he made against FOX News.  If this is how much worth people put into the National and State Constitutions then why don’t we just change things up and start voting randomly for other counties’ and states’ representatives.  Who gives a crap if they can identify with constituents or not?  Wait a minute-we’re already there.  The politicians don’t care and that is why Wexler has been comfortable doing this with no feelings of guilt.

Here I go again – Kick the bums out!!!!

Update: Disney vs. Second Amendment

Heard on the radio this morning on the usual news update that Universal Studios has now jumped into the fight and is going along with Disney.  The exemption that it sounds like Universal is trying to use is their work/study program.  I don’t know if that means that Universal is trying to claim to be a school or what.  I’m pretty sure that both Disney and Universal have made boatloads of money on action films that are loaded with gun battles and what-not.  I guess they just don’t like guns in the hands of law abiding citizens.  Particularly – in Disney’s case – security guards.  I’ve always wondered why the security guards are not armed.  I mean, they are suppose to be there to protect me and my family and have undergone extensive background checks.  I don’t mean to be mean here, but I think I could do a better job defending myself than most of the security as a fourth degree black belt because most of the security employees are retired and so older and most don’t appear to be in the best shape.  I would welcome them being trained, licensed and carrying guns. 

I’ll keep the updates coming.  Supposedly a judge is suppose to make a ruling by next week.

Disney Fights The Second Amendment

I absolutely love all things Disney!  I spend at least one day a week hanging out at Walt Disney World.  So it gives me great pains to have to put Disney on the spot, but for me the Constitution is second only to the Bible in importance to me.  A second amendment fight is brewing here in Florida, lead by the NRA that may or may not have made national news yet.

A few months ago, the Florida House passed a law that allows employees to carry guns to work with them and leave them in their cars as long as they have a concealed carry permit.  It was decided that this was part of our rights under the Second Amendment.  The law just recently went into effect.  Disney pre-empted the implementation of the law by sending out a memo to all employees that this law does not include them because Disney is exempt.  The exemption that Disney claims comes under a small article in the law that exempts carriers and licensees of fireworks and other explosives.  Obviously it makes sense that one would not want to have a loaded firearm near explosives.  Disney indeed does have fireworks licenses.  But as anyone with half a brain knows, almost all Disney employees will never be near any of those explosives.

A security guard decided to call Disney’s bluff and took his loaded firearm to work and left it in his car.  He made the fact that he was doing so very public: it was broadcast over the radio and TV news.  The man did indeed receive the punishment that Disney threatened – he was fired.  Now the NRA has stepped into the fray along with the attorney general to see if Disney is right in claiming that they are exempt.

The fact that Disney is fighting against the Second Amendment rights of its employees is disheartening.  And knowing Walt Disney and his love of America, I believe he would not support this fight.  Interviews with visitors to the Parks seemed split down the middle with some favoring employees being able to carry guns in their cars and others saying they felt it was a danger.  I suspect those that thought it was dangerous are some of those irate guests that push Disney’s customer service to the brink.  I happen to be friends with lots of cast members, so I know all about it. 

I have a feeling this is not going to end up going in Disney’s favor.  Particularly since the Supreme Court of the land has finally backed up the Second Amendment and interpreted it the right way.  (Well, at least 5 of them did.)