Pasco Republican Executive Committee v. Mike Fasano

The Pasco Republican Executive Committee have filed a grievance against State Sen. Mike Fasano. It seems Fasano doesn't pass the Republican purity test. The PREC's problem with Fasano is his support for Charlie Crist's Senate campaign.

"The senator continued to support publicly Charlie Crist for his senate run," said Pasco GOP chairman Randy Maggard, hours before he announced the decision Thursday to about 100 general members. "He broke every rule there is. We thought it was wrong. … If you're not a Republican, you don't need to be in the party. … I don't call it infighting. I call it cleaning house."

Maggard may not call it infighting. As a progressive blogger, I call it fun.

Maggard said he is putting all "RINOs" on alert.

"We will not put up with it in Pasco County," he said, to applause. "We're going to weed them out."

If Maggard's idea of building a political party is going further to the right and ignoring young voters and minorities then good luck. In case Maggard didn't notice, Obama won the black, Hispanic and youth votes in 2008.

In 2006, Crist won 49 percent of the Hispanic vote in his gubernatorial race with Jim Davis. Crist won't get the same number of Hispanic voters with Rubio in the race and Hispanics voting Democratic in increasing numbers. It is unlikely Crist would be governor if Davis overwhelmingly won the Hispanic vote.

Republicans have already chased minorities and young voters out of the party. The GOP now wishes to purge itself of longtime Republican moderates. The Republican Party establishment must know they can not make the party bigger by making it smaller. The problem is the GOP lacks the spine to stand up to the Tea Party and corporate lobbyists. The Republican establishment committed political suicide by attempting to filibuster the financial reform bill. This is what happens when a party elects officials more concerned with special interests than governing.