Astroturf Charlie Crist Protest

I love how members of the tea party keep needing to get pointers on how to protest from the GOP establishment. RROF South East Regional Director Diana Ramos sent this email out on what signs to use at a protest of a Charlie Crist book signing.

• Charlie Crist: Obama’s Favorite Democrat

• Charlie Crist: Obamacare’s Biggest Fan

• Charlie = Opportunist

• You Can’t Trust Charlie

• Failed Governor

• 3 Parties, 3 Years, Lousy Governor

• Charlie 2010 or Charlie 2014, Which One Do You Believe?”

I actually can't blame the Republican Party of Florida for telling the tea party what the signs should say. You can see tea party sign disasters here, here and here. I have to say this one is my favorite.

Quote of the Day

"Well, on the state level, it's clearly a one-party system, and the Republican Party in Florida is hopelessly corrupt. They handed out [Republican Party] credit cards to all of their top officials. Corporate contributions to the Republican Party of Florida ended up paying for their personal expenses – including, for instance, a back waxing for Senator Rubio [R-FL]."

Rep. Alan Grayson, on the Republican Party of Florida.

Republican Party of Florida Edits Out Bondi Being Against Medicaid Expansion

Retired blogger Benjamin Kirby has called Pam Bondi of being a robot.

I. Robot. Bondi. Prosecute. Prosecute. Prosecute. Robbers. Crooks. Scam Artists. Federal. Government. Health. Care. Takeover. Destroy. Destory. Destroy. End transmission.

Bondi is a talking points machine. I can never recall hearing an insightful word from Bondi that made me rethink my position on an issue. It is not surprising that Bondi went on the comedy show known as Fox and Friends and said she was against a Medicaid expansion for Florida.

"I felt very strongly that we should not participate in the Medicaid expansion, and the House of Representatives agreed," she said. "So, therefore, Florida is not participating in the expansion of Medicaid, and I'm very proud of our state."

Unfortunately for Bondi, she is not an astute politician. The Florida House not expanding Medicaid is unpopular. So unpopular that political reporter Matt Dixon noted that the Republican Party of Florida cut out Robot Bondi's Medicaid talking points from their Youtube clip. Bondi rants on about fraud and limited government. Hitting the usual talking points.

The Fox News website has the full video with Bondi stating she is Medicaid expansion.

Another fun Bondi moment was her saying that the Supreme Court didn't believe that the health insurance mandate penalty was a tax and predicted a repeal.

“They do not believe this is a tax,” Bondi said of the justices.

The mandate will be debated more tomorrow.

“I felt very confident,” Bondi said as she was surrounded by other attorneys general challenging the law.

Bondi's prediction was the absolute opposite of how the Roberts majority ruled.

By a 5-4 vote, the court held the law's mandate requiring Americans to carry health insurance or pay a penalty valid under Congress's constitutional authority to levy taxes. The financial penalty for failing to carry insurance possesses "the essential feature of any tax," producing revenue for the government, Chief Justice Roberts wrote.

Pam Bondi: legal scholar.

Florida Republican Establishment Doesn't Care About Absentee Voter Fraud

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement gets its budget approved by the Florida legislature and signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott. It it no surprise to me that the FDLE did not look deeply into the voter fraud committed by Strategic Allied Consulting. Jeff Jewett worked for Strategic Allied Consulting and told the Miami Herald that the FDLE showed a lack of interest in voter fraud.

Jewett, the one who reported the crime, the one who supervised the employee and could best inform investigators if this was an isolated case or was more systemic, was never interviewed.

“I was surprised,” Jewett said. “I figured they’d be interested in talking to me considering I was the one who turned him in.”

Such a lack of initiative is baffling for an investigation into a crime that Gov. Rick Scott and Republican lawmakers had made a top priority in prosecuting and preventing. In the 18 months leading to last year’s presidential campaign, they said the specter of voter registration fraud was so great that it was necessary to push for a purge of ineligible voters and a new law that made it harder to register voters.

Strategic Allied Consulting was hired by the Republican Party of Florida. Considering the political ramifications, it is not surprising that the FDLE investigation was lacking enthusiasm. Daniel Smith has been covering Republican voter suppression for quite some time. Like me, Smith questions the motives of the FDLE.

“They never talked to the whistle blower?” said Daniel Smith, a University of Florida political scientist who analyzes state election laws, when told about Jewett. “That’s unbelievable. You just wonder if the FDLE is sitting on this and hoping it withers away.”

I am not wondering. As we have seen, the Republican voting laws don't stop the nearly nonexistent problem of voting fraud. The laws are targeted at people likely to vote for the Democratic Party. Republicans have had an advantage in absentee ballots. Gov. Rick Scott did not want to comment when absentee ballot fraud was discovered in Florida.

When asked about the news about the absentee ballot fraud in Miami-Dade and state attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle stepping aside from that case leaving an appointment in his hands, he said “we’ll take a look at it.” He said he wouldn’t appoint a special prosecutor on Friday but didn’t say exactly when he would appoint one.

Scott stuck to generalities -- saying that he wanted to make sure noncitzens don’t vote and repeatedly said he wants to “make sure our elections are honest and fair.”

But he didn’t show any alarm or appear to be working on any proposals for reform. Scott said that the system appears to be working -- which perhaps was a reference to the arrest in the Miami-Dade absentee ballot fraud case. When asked if his staff was researching a proposal for the Legislature to address absentee ballot fraud he said “the Secretary of State’s office will be reviewing it.”

The man that disastrously cut early voting and made it harder for groups such as the League of Women Voters to register new voters has been mum on absentee ballot fraud. Scott wants to rig to voting system. Not fix it.

Paula Dockery on RPOF Nan Rich Campaign

Former state Sen. Paula Dockery appeared on Florida This Week. (The most boring political talk show in Florida.) Dockery wondered why the Republican Party of Florida was so focused on the fact that Rich wasn't allowed to speak at the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner.

"It looks like they're scared of Charlie Crist," Dockery said on the weekly public affairs program Florida This Week on WEDU-Channel 3 in Tampa. "They want to pump up Nan Rich, who was not getting much traction on her own ... I think it just sends the message that they're worried about Charlie Crist and it was kind of a dumb thing."

Dockery added this comment.

Puzzled by a Republican effort in support of a little-known Democratic candidate, Dockery said she fired off an email to party headquarters in Tallahassee, asking: "Who's your audience on this?"

To my surprise, a post I wrote about how the Florida Democratic Party poorly handled the Rich controversy appeared on the Republican Party of Florida blog.

Is the Republican Party of Florida scared of Charlie Crist? They should be. Crist has superior skills on the stump. Scott's polling numbers are horrible. I am certainly not an expert on the RPoF's motivations. I doubt that they believe that Rich will be the Democratic nominee. It will be Crist or Bill Nelson. Assuming that Nelson enters the race.

This Is Unexpected

I never thought a post of mine would be positively quoted on the Republican Party of Florida blog.

Blowback From Nan Rich Not Speaking At Jefferson-Jackson Dinner

Miami Herald political reporter Marc Caputo is marveling how how big of a mess the Florida Democratic Party has made out of not allowing Nan Rich to speak at the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner.

Way to go, Florida Democratic Party, you've allowed the Republican Party of Florida to mock you for appearing to mistreat one of your own, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Nan Rich.

Marc, don't you know by know the Florida Democratic Party always manages to snatch defeat out of victory. The FDP is the Washington Generals of state political parties. We now see that RPOF chairman Lenny Curry sent out an email panning the FDP for allowing Rich to speak.

Because Senator Rich is an experienced spokesperson for Democratic ideology in Florida, it must be disappointing to see your Chairwoman, Allison Tant, put the interests of big-dollar donors ahead of a mere five minutes for Florida's leading champion of liberal causes.

It might be the fact that she is just out of touch with Democrat activists like many of you, and takes her orders from Washington. But it also may be that Tant is working with Charlie Crist to set up a possible gubernatorial candidacy announcement at the Jefferson-Jackson dinner. Who knows.

As I wrote before, this has less to do with the FDP and more to do with the DNC clearing the way for a Charlie Crist or Bill Nelson campaign. Many progressive activists are bothered by Rich not being given 5 minutes to speak. It wouldn't have killed the powers that be to at least pretend the nomination was still in play and give Rich a speaking slot. Realistically, she wouldn't have a chance against Nelson or Crist. It is not like speaking at the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner would be a game changer.

Heritage Deal Hurting Rick Scott

The Republican Party of Florida is playing defense on the deal Citizens Property Insurance Corp. made with Heritage Property and Casualty Insurance Co. Heritage is set to make $52 million from taking 60,000 policies from Citizens. Many people feel that Heritage attaining the policies is quid pro quo from Gov. Rick Scott. Heritage has donated $110,000 to Scott's re-election campaign.Tampa Bay Times columnist John Romano noted Heritage is an insurance company with a dubious track record.

It had to be Heritage's long and distinguished record of service (Nine months and counting!) and the president's intimate familiarity with insurance regulators (Numerous complaints and fines at two previous companies!) that made Heritage more desirable than any other outfit.

The Republican Party of Florida have been playing defense on the Heritage deal. However, even Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford isn't going to defend this Turkey.

"I have serious concerns about the latest takeout agreement between Citizens and the Heritage Property and Casualty Insurance Company, particularly the lengthy backdated payments for coverage that Heritage did not provide," Weatherford said in a statment. "Once again, Citizens did not provide a sufficient advanced briefing to the Legislature, and the proposal was hastily pushed through a sharply divided board."

Scott can't help himself. His crony capitalist side rules his dark heart.

RPOF Prevent Pelosi Project Mailer

The Republican Party of Florida thought it was a good idea to send out this fundraising mailer. Apparently, RPOF chairman Lenny Curry was inspired by Mark Sanford's victory. I would say that Sanford won in a conservative district against a boring Blue Dog Democrat whose famous brother couldn't save her campaign.

Curry sent out this "Prevent Pelosi Project" mailer out to potential donors.

“For millions of Americans, the notion of personal responsibility will be replaced by massive new government entitlement programs that promise benefits cradle-to-grave,” the letter reads. “Radical Islamists will continue to attack us with impunity, because under the leadership of Obama and Pelosi our enemies will no longer fear us, and our allies will no longer trust us. Obama and Pelosi will continue their assault on your Second Amendment rights to own a gun, while their Department of Homeland Security continues to stockpile ammunition. And although I personally find it sickening, given his recent remarks to abortion providers and his legislative record, I wouldn’t be surprised if President Obama pushes to end the ban on late-term abortions.”

I love how Republicans continue to claim that they fight terrorism better than Democrats. The Department of Homeland Security is not stockpiling weapons. The is a flat out lie and fear-mongering. Inspiring citizens to take up arms against the government is rhetoric. Sanford and these other Republicans fail to realize that they will be in office when well-armed vigilantes wage war against the government. As far as Obama ending the ban for minors, he has been fighting the courts against allowing Plan B to be sold over-the-counter to tennage girls. Obama has never even threatened to veto the Hyde amendment.

The most hysterical part of the mailer for a progressive.

In fact, I fear the Obama campaign team has only just begun to wreck their havoc in Florida.

Yes, Democratics have really been kicking ass in Congressional and state legislature races in the past two election terms. The Obama campaign team cares about Florida when President Obama is on the ballot. Obama didn't exactly lift other boats in his wake.

Charlie Crist Uses the Wine Excuse

This is too funny. Attorney John Morgan is claiming that Charlie Crist remembers nothing about about the compenstation received by former Republican Party of Florida chair Jim Greer and Delmar Johnson. The reason being is Crist couldn't defend himself from all the wine Jim Greer was pouring down his throat.

"Well it sounds like if your client (Greer) was buying all the wine, he was drunk and doesn't remember what happened," suggested Crist's attorney, John Morgan. Morgan is the founder of Morgan & Morgan, the firm where Crist now works.

The testimony happened June 26, 2012. Crist contends that he did not know that Greer and Johnson had used Victory Strategies. Alleged, Greer and Johnson set up Victory Strategies, billed the RPOF for no services and then paid themselves. Johnson ended up testifying against Greer.

Greer was politically toxic by the time Crist had his wine-filled meeting with Greer. The Florida Republican establishment wanted Greer gone and were willing to pay. Lobbyist Brian Ballard has stated that Crist was aware of the compensation deal for Greer and Johnson. Crist testified, "I don't believe that is truthful." Of course Crist cannot be sure. Greer was making consume gallons of wine.

Strategic Allied Consulting Voter Fraud

Congressman Bobby Scott has asked Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate Strategic Allied Consulting. The Republican voter registration firm is under investigation in Florida and Virginia. Holder is not known as a fearless lawman. I have doubts of Scott's letter carrying much weight.

Attorney General Holder, We are writing today to urge the Department of Justice to conduct a multi-state investigation to determine if a pattern of voting registration irregularities related to Strategic Allied Consulting are connected and constitute a broader conspiracy of voter registration fraud. Our inquiry is prompted by the recent media reports that an employee of Pinpoint, a subsidiary of Strategic Allied Consulting, was charged in Rockingham County, Virginia with 13 counts of destruction of voter registration applications, disclosure of voter registration information, and obstruction of justice. We note that in addition to its Rockingham County operation, Pinpoint is reportedly operating in at least five other jurisdictions in Virginia: Chesapeake City, Fairfax County, Prince William County, Loudoun County, and Virginia Beach. We also note that prior to drawing a paycheck from Pinpoint, the charged individual was under the direct employ of Strategic Allied Consulting. As you are aware, Strategic Allied Consulting is currently under investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and faces more than 200 allegations of voter registration fraud including registration of the deceased. Allegations of voter registration fraud by Strategic Allied Consulting also have been raised in Arizona and Colorado. The number of allegations in a multitude of locations would seem to suggest something more than the isolated acts of "a few bad apples." While the Republican National Committee and five state committees have severed their relationship with Strategic Allied Consulting, we are concerned that the alleged illegal practices may be continuing under its subsidiary Pinpoint. We respectfully request the Justice Department to assume the responsibility and conduct its own investigation, given the mounting evidence that one company may have been engaged in a similar multi-state effort to commit voter registration fraud. We believe the circumstances warrant a broader federal review. We look forward to your favorable response. Sincerely, James P. Moran Gerry Connolly

Robert C. Scott

Nine counties in Florida reported receiving fake voter registration forms from Strategic Allied Consulting.

Strategic Allied Consultants claims the issue stemmed from one employee, who was fired on Sept. 15, but county election officials claim the fraud was more widespread, stretching across counties that are more than 500 miles apart.

"I don't subscribe to the theory that this was the action of one single individual who was able to get into more than half a dozen counties from one end of Florida to the other," said Paul Lux, the Okaloosa County Election Supervisor.

Lux said that out of 2,200 forms that Strategic Allied workers submitted, he and his staff have found about three dozen that appear to be faked. Some have signatures that do not match the names; others are only partially completed and a handful of forms have addresses that do not exist, he said.

"The problem is when you pay someone to do something like this, it kind of lends itself to what do you do to get paid?" Lux said.

Strategic Allied Consulting is run by Nathan Sproul. His firm was hired by the Republican Party of Florida. Unsurprisingly, Gov. Rick Scott was been less than vocal in calling out Sproul and SAC.

Pressed by reporters on how these developing concerns might damage the credibility of Florida Republicans, who have promoted repeated voter purge efforts as supposed proof of their commitment to the integrity of elections, Scott sidestepped.

"My focus is on making sure that I tell people all the time, that in our state, I want people to go register to vote," Scott said, according to the Herald. "They need to go talk to the candidates. When you’re running for office, when you’re in your community or in your state, vet the candidates, get involved, pick your candidates, support them, and then go out the vote. That’s where my focus is."

Scott has signed controversial voting laws. Scott has limited the number of early voting days. Scott did this all in the name of stopping voter fraud. When a Republican voter regristration firm is cited for voter fraud Scott's lips are sealed.

John Thrasher's Incompetent Lawyer Excuse

John Thrasher fought against the Florida Hometown Democracy amendment at the behest of developers. In the Florida Senate, Thrasher sponsored an education bill that required year end assessment tests. Thrasher's lobbying firm Southern Strategy was paid by testing firms to get more testing in k-12 education. How bad is Thrasher's conflict of interests in his duel roles as a lawmaker and lobbyist, consider that as a member of the Florida House, Thrasher lobbied on the behave of the Florida Medical Association. Thrasher was reprimanded on the House floor for this transgression.

It is fun to see Thrasher get duly deserved scorn for former Republican Party of Florida chairman Jim Greer's sleazy severance contract. Thrasher uses the incompetent defense to claim that he did not know that he signed a severance contact to get rid of Greer. Thrasher is a lawyer and was taking control of the RPOF from Greer. Thrasher testified to attorney Don Lykkebak that he was utterly clueless while performing these chairmanship and legal duties. Unfortunately for Thrasher, he told the media at the time that there was no severance contract.

"You don't recall telling them there was no such thing?" Lykkebak said in transcripts of the deposition, referring to Thrasher's statements to reporters.

"I may have said there was no effectuated agreement, yes sir. Because in ..."

"Lykkebak interrupted, "Well, that was a little reckless on your part seeing how you signed one, wouldn't you say?"

Slam dunk!

The Jim Greer trial is going to be fun.

The Upcoming Jim Greer Trial

The trial next year of former Republican Party of Florida chairman will be fascinating. The trial will shine a light on the blatant corruption of Greer and his fellow Republicans. Greer knows he is likely going down. He is likely to take the reputations of several past and present elected officials with him. Greer's wife Lisa is firing shots at George LeMieux on Facebook.

"Thanks for the many posts, emails and calls of support after the TV Special. Of course it has been met with some false responses issued in press releases by those who want to protect their own contracts and careers. To those who remain committed to destroy Jim no matter what the cost to my family, we stand firm with the truth on our side and will continue to reveal your corruption. By the way George, the only wrong turn my husband made was trusting in folks like you he believed to be honorable. The former handpicked Senator of Charlie Crist is desperately courting the support of the grassroots activists in distancing himself with a web of lies. He must have forgotten that he told Jim and I on a number of occasions that the Republicans only win elections in spite of the REC's and grassroots activists, not because of them."

We learn that former Gov. Charlie Crist contacted the Florida Department of Law Enforcement after receiving two messages from Greer.

"It was a little cathartic and he was able to vent," Greer attorney Damon Chase said of the voice mail and text messages Greer left for Crist. "But there's not a single threat in there anywhere. It's merely: 'I don't want to be friends anymore, stop calling and pretending you're my friend.' "

How pissed is Greer? Remember this public statement he made about his fellow Republicans.

"They just destroyed my life for no reason," a tearful Greer said of the legislative leaders last week on WTSP-Ch. 10.

Greer is no saint. A person does not have a shredding machine truck came to the RPOF office on Greer's last day to destroy documents. That is the act of someone with nothing to hide.

What I want the trial to reveal is how Greer and other Republicans were living off their party American Express cards. The RPOF is a nonprofit organization. It is illegal to use its funds not related to paying staff or operations. Which makes the the use of the credit card use more disturbing.

Greer - $500,000
Speaker Marco Rubio - $110,000
Indicted Speaker Ray Sansom - $173,000
Speaker-designate Dean Cannon - $175,000
Senate President-designate Mike Haridopolos - *$2,347
Rubio Chief of Staff Richard Corcoran - $70,000
RPOF Executive Director Delmar Johnson - $500,000
Jr. Party Staffer Melanie Phister - $1,258,000

The credit cards are the key to the corruption. This is why Marco Rubio has refused to discussed what he used his party credit card for. The secret severance package Dean Cannon and Mike Haridopolos negotiated with Greer is potentially explosive. As Ray Samson and Jim Norman has shown us. The Florida political system is seriously corrupt. Nothing will improve in the state until corruption is dealt with.

Let's Get to Work on Rick Scott's Poll Numbers

The Republican Party of Florida is now buying online ads to help Gov. Rick Scott's poll numbers. The ad shows Scott touring a factory.

"Gov. Scott. Getting Florida Back to Work!" reads the ad.

Next: Scott is going to personally give voters foot massages.

Scott reminds me of underclassmen who will wash the cars of really hot senior girls. Hoping that they will get a date. Governor, the voters just aren't that into you.

Ray Sansom's G Men Problem

The FBI investigation of Ray Sansom continues.

The House will provide the FBI with dozens of pages of travel reimbursement records for Sansom, R-Destin, and several of his staffers. On their own the documents reveal little, and federal authorities have not said precisely what they are looking for. But travel records could mean authorities will look at how Sansom used taxpayer funds.

Sansom is facing tax questions over his use of a Republican Party of Florida credit card. A RPOF internal report said that not all of Sansom's credit card expenses were related to party business.

Javier Manjarres v. Richard DeNapoli

The Shark Tank blogger Javier Manjarres filed a grievance against the Broward Republican Executive Committee and its chairman Richard DeNapoli. Manjarres asked Republican Party of Florida chair David Bitner to allow him to film Broward Republican Executive Committee meetings. Marjarres was ejected from a meeting for attempting to film. The Republican Party of Broward County is a private nonprofit organization. They are not subject to Florida's Sunshine laws as the state government. Manjarres has been critical of DeNapoli on his blog.

I experienced the Democratic version (to a lesser extent) when I pointed out the obvious fact that Kendrick Meek was a horrible Senate candidate. Efforts by the Meek campaign to pressure me into silence had the opposite effect. I predict that Manjarres will come at the Republican Party of Broward County hard after he lost his grievance. Especially when Marjarres' career history was brought up in an attack against him. To add insult to injury, a complaint filed by the Broward REC against Marjarres will be dropped if he agrees to stop blogging about the Broward REC.

Technically, the Broward REC had the right to not allow media to film parts of the meeting. Manjarres is an alternate REC member and is subject to the county party's rules. DeNapoli had the right to bar Manjarres from filming. It may turn out to be a bad move for DeNapoli to piss off a blogger with ties to Marco Rubio and the tea party movement. For progressives this fight is going to be awesome.

RPOF Grievance

Why Rubio Won't Release Credit Card Records

Marco Rubio was interviewed by the Florida Times-Union editorial board. Rubio was asked about Republican activist Chris Ingram giving Tampa Tribune political reporter William March emails of Rubio telling Ingram he has four years of records of spending on the Republican Party of Florida American Express card.

In one e-mail he provided, Ingram
mentioned the remodeling costs. Rubio's responses don't mention those costs, but say he paid any personal charges himself.

In an e-mail dated Dec. 24, Rubio responds to Ingram, "I have the statements now. It is all mostly a bunch of commercial airlines, rental cars, hotels and travel restaurants. Any personal charges were paid by me directly."

In an e-mail the day before, Rubio said, "This has been addressed. There is no issues with my card. (I spent less in 4 years than Sansom did in 2.)" – a reference to former House Speaker Ray Sansom, who also had a party credit card and has been indicted on charges he misused state funds to help a political supporter.

According to Ingram, Rubio told him he used the Republican Party of Florida credit card for about "$4,000 to $5,000" for new flooring for his home. The St. Petersburg Times has documented Rubio's lavish RPOF credit card expenses.

• $765 at Apple's online store for "computer supplies."

• $25.76 from Everglades Lumber for "supplies."

• $53.49 at Winn-Dixie in Miami for "food."

• $68.33 at Happy Wine in Miami for "beverages'' and "meal."

• $78.10 for two purchases at Farm Stores groceries in suburban Miami.

• $412 at All Fusion Electronics, a music equipment store in Miami, for "supplies."

Rubio spent over $100,000 on his RPOF credit card from November 2006 to November 2008.

The transcript of Rubio's interview with the Florida Times-Union is interesting for what is not said.

Q: "I'd like a yes or no answer. Did you ever use your Republican Party of Florida credit card to purchase flooring for your home?"

Rubio: "Look, I've already addressed these credit card questions. The bills came to my home and I always wrote a check for personal expenses."

Q: "But did you ever use the card to purchase flooring for your home?"

Rubio: "If there was an accident, any time there was something on there that was personal, I promptly paid out of my own pocket."

Q: "A Florida newspaper has reported that it has obtained a copy of an e-mail from you where you acknowledge possession of four years worth of credit card statements? Why not release the copies and end the discussion?"

Rubio: "Those credit card statements are an internal party matter. I'm not going to release them."

Rubio could say, "I never used the Republican Party of Florida credit card to have my floor done." Instead Rubio uses lawyerly language to talk around the subject. And why exactly is the Republican Party of Florida credit card an internal party issue for Rubio but there can record released that attack Crist (but doesn't actually implicate him.) Rubio supposedly has the records he can just release them. The reason is the RPOF is a nonprofit and funds are meant to strictly further the goals of electing Republican candidates and not runs to the wine store. Illegal use of nonprofit money is a crime. Rubio has bigger problems than winning the general election.

More on Why Rubio Isn't A Fiscal Conservative

Zac Anderson wrote a must-read article on how Marco Rubio's personal financial problems, questionable use of Republican Party of Florida American Express card, and selling a home above market value to the mother of a political supporter doesn't jive with Rubio's rhetoric of being a fiscal conservative.

On a related note: Rubio has been telling anyone who will listen that he isn't under investigation by the IRS. Has Rubio or his attorney actually asked anyone at the IRS if he is under investigation. I have no idea if Rubio is being investigated. I doubt Rubio knows.

I still haven't heard a plausable explanation from Rubio for his lavish American Express Card expenses. The RPOF is a nonprofit. The money is suppose to be used to help elect Republican candidates. I like to know how Rubio was helping fellow GOP candidates by using his party American Express card to buy wine and shopping online at Apple's store. Team Rubio has been ducking interviews dealing with the credit card expenses.

Greer Paid $7,339.21 By RPOF in July

The Republican Party of Florida paid indicted former chairman Jim Greer $7,339.21 in July of 2010. You can see all the payments the RPOF made here. Pay attention to amount disbursed. That explains how much was paid out by the RPOF to the payee. Below are the payments made to Greer.

Payee: James A. Greer
1205 Prestige Point
Oviedo, FL 32765

Purpose of Disbursement: bounced ck 6/28-travel charges
Date of Event = 07/01/2010
Allocated Activity or Event:
Activity is Administrative - Only

Amount Disbursed = 2291.48
Federal share = 641.61
Non-Federal share = 1649.87
Event Year-To-Date = 1392410.98



Payee: James A. Greer
1205 Prestige Point
Oviedo, FL 32765

Purpose of Disbursement: bounced ck 6/28-office supplies
Date of Event = 07/01/2010
Allocated Activity or Event:
Activity is Administrative - Only

Amount Disbursed = 22.90
Federal share = 6.41
Non-Federal share = 16.49
Event Year-To-Date = 1392433.88



Payee: James A. Greer
1205 Prestige Point
Oviedo, FL 32765

Purpose of Disbursement: bounced ck 6/28-supplies
Date of Event = 07/01/2010
Allocated Activity or Event:
Activity is Administrative - Only

Amount Disbursed = 633.01
Federal share = 177.24
Non-Federal share = 455.77
Event Year-To-Date = 1393066.89



Payee: James A. Greer
1205 Prestige Point
Oviedo, FL 32765

Purpose of Disbursement: bounced ck 6/28-photography charges
Date of Event = 07/01/2010
Allocated Activity or Event:
Activity is Administrative - Only

Amount Disbursed = 66.50
Federal share = 18.62
Non-Federal share = 47.88
Event Year-To-Date = 1393133.39

Payee: James A. Greer
1205 Prestige Point
Oviedo, FL 32765

Purpose of Disbursement: bounced ck 6/28-travel charges
Date of Event = 07/01/2010
Allocated Activity or Event:
Activity is Administrative - Only

Amount Disbursed = 2471.20
Federal share = 518.95
Non-Federal share = 1952.25
Event Year-To-Date = 1395604.59
Payee: James A. Greer
1205 Prestige Point
Oviedo, FL 32765

Purpose of Disbursement: bounced ck 6/28-fundraising charges
Date of Event = 07/01/2010
Allocated Activity or Event:
Activity is Direct Fundraising

Amount Disbursed = 1854.12
Federal share = 278.12
Non-Federal share = 1576.00
Event Year-To-Date = 140231.67

Update: Central Florida Political Pulse reports Greer attempted to repay the RPOF for the money he received for July. The bad news for Greer is his $7,339.21 bounced.

Florida Has A Corruption Problem

From 1998 to 2007 Florida has had 824 public official convicted of various crimes. New York came in second with 704. This is a good time to bring this up that Charlie Crist, Marco Rubio, Kendrick Meek and Jeff Greene have all made the CREW list for corrupt candidates. One of these men will end up being a United States Senator.

Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin White was caught breaking campaign finance rules by spending $6,100 on his personal wardrobe. White tried to get away with the bogus billing by citing the owner of BC Men's Wear as his fashion consultant. White was found guilty in court of sexually harrassing former employee Alyssa Ogden. White is the favorite to win the District 3 race.

Former Florida House Speaker Ray Sansom was charged with official misconduct, grand theft and conspiracy. He also used nonprofit money from the Republican Party of Florida to charge $173,000 on a credit card. Sansom still has not repaid the money. Sansom got a standing ovation from fellow Republicans when he steeped down as Speaker.

Former Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer was indicted on several counts of felong grand theft. Greer set up the bogus company Victory Strategies to profit from billing the RPOF. Greer attempted to destroy the paper trail by bringing a paper shredding machine to the RPOF offices. Crist defended Greer until the near end.

Florida has an obvious corruption problem. It is time for citizens to back changes that will hold public officials to a higher standard. The Florida Commission on Ethics lacks teeth. The Attorney General office under Bill McCollum showed an unwillingness to investigate Sansom. This isn't a partisan issue. This is about having honest public officials. A democracy cannot run if the people do not trust their elected officials.