Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Breath-taking arrogance and entitlement in Florida politics not limited to Jim Greer
You could practically hear the gasp of relief from Florida Republican leaders Monday when ex-GOP chairman Jim Greer pleaded guilty to theft and money laundering charges, sparing them a sordid, two-week trial.
What a trial it could have been, a veritable reality show featuring testimony about lying political leaders, hookers, bitter vendettas, personal slush funds and secret contracts.
The whole sorry story of the Florida Republican Party under Jim Greer is exhibit A on how near-absolute power, combined with astronomical campaign accounts, can and did breed breathtaking arrogance and entitlement, if not outright corruption, among party leaders professing conservatism.
Don’t buy the hogwash about this being an unfortunate chapter isolated to the tenure of one buffoonish chairman hand-picked by former Gov. Charlie Crist. That is as much nonsense as Greer’s contention that he was the victim of intolerant Republican hard-liners out to destroy him because he supported Crist’s moderate ways.
“Jim Greer was just a greedy little b—— who brought too much attention, too much heat, to the point that elected officials and some major donors finally wanted him gone,'’ said Allen Cox, the former state party vice chairman who was ousted because of his long-stymied efforts to expose Greer’s lavish spending.
“What we learned from Jim Greer is that the party has really morphed into a front for legislative fundraising and front for payments to consultants,” Cox said Monday. “Nobody really cared about Jim Greer’s spending. All he did was, by wicked excess and spending so much of that money, draw attention to himself. He was being too flashy, too obnoxious, too profligate. Had he not actually diverted funds into (an allegedly secret fundraising company), everything would have been washed over, and nothing would have become of it.”
Let’s stipulate a few things:
• Gov. Rick’s Scott’s hands are entirely clean in this mess. A newcomer to Florida politics, he had nothing to do with the state party before or during Greer’s 2007-10 tenure. An explosive, ugly trial actually would have served him well, highlighting Crist’s close association with Greer. The former governor was supposed to testify Thursday.
• The other statewide elected Republicans in Tallahassee — Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam — are also untainted.
• Crist, now a Democrat, may or may not have been seriously damaged by trial testimony, but he still is tarnished. If he runs for governor again, he has plenty to answer for. He anointed Greer party chairman and ignored repeated red flags while standing by him until the end. And in his legendary enthusiasm for raising campaign money, Crist repeatedly showed suspect judgment in embracing less than savory political benefactors: longtime friend Harry Sargeant, accused of war profiteering and illegal campaign donations; convicted Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein of Fort Lauderdale; and Alan Mendelsohn of Hollywood, now serving a four-year sentence for public corruption.
• Sen. Marco Rubio’s name may not have surfaced during the trial, but he epitomized the culture of the state GOP in recent years as much as anyone. As legislative leaders today talk about reforming the campaign finance system, so politicians can no longer operate personal slush funds, they are talking about Rubio and plenty of others.
Full article: http://www.tampabay. … t-limited-to/1274799
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