RPOF : Republican Party of Florida

I was reading that paper today and saw the article about Jim Greer, the one-time head of the RPOF, pleading guilty to 4 corruption charges so, instead up to 70 years, he only faces up to about 35 years, though the recommended sentence is about 3 1/2 years.

Defense attorney Damon Chase had vowed to exonerate Greer but after the hearing said, “Sometimes clearing your name is less important than taking care of your family and new baby. … Once again Jim Greer is falling on his sword for a lot of other folks.”

It looks as if, maybe, he figured out that he would not be able to get himself out of this mess…  If what Chase said was true about his “falling on his sword for a lot of other folks” then we could expect to see some kind of deal that would make prison time acceptable to him…

I would like to believe that the only rot in the RPOF was Jim Greer but I don’t a great impression about the party these days.

Charlie Crist, who used to be a Republican, had been chased out of the party because he, while trying to do what he thought was best for Florida voters, had not stuck to straight party lines.  It would seem that Party lines were more important than what was good for the voters.  Crist, a popular ex-Governor of Florida, had shown the courage to vote for a number of Democrat causes, one of which got him up on the stage with Obama.  This tendency to vote for what he thought was right did not sit well with the RPOF and so they forced him out by supporting Marco Rubio for the Senate seat.

I am probably expecting too much from politicians…

It is a fact that no matter what good intentions the politician had when he ran for office he soon finds out that to stay in office he has to appeal to the money people, who will pay for his advertisements.  If big oil is going to put big money into an elections : who do you think they will support?  An environmentalist or someone who wants to do away with all those troublesome safety regulations….  When Bush II got into office and was making up his energy plan there was a complaint that he did not include any of the environmental groups on the panel.  This was answered by saying that the panel, made up mostly by big energy, did not need the input from environmentalist because they already knew what they were going to say, and they would make sure their concerns were voiced.  This would be like, if you were charged with a crime, a prosecutor telling you that there is no need for a defence attorney as they know what your arguments are and will make sure they get voiced in court.  What verdict would you see in your future.

How often do we hear primary debates where one candidate accuses another of all kinds of heinous crimes, only to come out in support of him in the general elections?  This always makes me think about the accusations…  If they were false why does the other party not sue their shorts off, and if they were true then how could he possibly support that person..  The truth is that it doesn’t matter to him, true or false, they are just things to say about his opponent in order to get re-elected.  The problem for us is this, if the charges were false the man is a liar, and if they are true, he obviously cares more about his party than he does the voters.

An honest politician would not tell un-truths and would refuse to support that person if the charges were true.  It is just THAT SIMPLE.

Going back to Greer for second..  Maybe it is that what he did was obvious in hind sight.  Maybe what was going on was not a obvious until it was discovered.  Then again maybe there is a culture of corruption that made him feel that he could do what ever he wanted and not have to worry about getting caught..

Anybody remember Marth Stewart going to jail for insider trading?  She was supposed to have gotten a phone call from someone who had  insider information, that she was supposed to have used to make trade, that she would normally not have known about, in order to make money…  Now think Congressional Oversight hearings where they grill executive from various companies.  These people have to answer the questions and sometime, even behind closed doors, information comes out that might be called “insider information“.  Did you know that the congress is exempt from the insider trading laws?  Yes, they can use this information for their own gain, though an ethical person would not take advantage of this..  There is the old saying about avoiding “the hint of impropriety”.  Some people put their assets in a kind of trust so that they will not have any control over them, or even know what companies they are invested in.  This does not mean doing as the Gov. of Florida, Rick Scott, did when he handed control of his assets to his wife.

I recently heard Rush Limbaugh ask the, I assume it was rhetorical, question of “Dingie Harry” about how he was able to become a multimillionaire on a Senate salary.

I aimed this at the RPOF, as I am a Registered Republican, but my real question is….  Why did we stand for a State Party leadership that just smacks of corruption?

I will say again “we got who we vote for”.

Thanks,

That Joe Guy.

Maybe we could look for a third party?  Like the Libertarians?

Related articles

• RPOF: ‘Truth is now known Greer broke the law’ (blogs.orlandosentinel.com)
• Tampa Tribune editorial: Come clean, Florida GOP (tbo.com)
• Former Chairman of The Republican Party of Florida Set to Go on Trial. (wctv.tv)
• Emails show legislative staff and RPOF talked about redistricting despite ban (tampabay.com)
• Fla GOP’s breath-taking hubris and entitlement hardly limited to Jim Greer (tampabay.com)