Jim Greer Resigns In Setback For Charlie Crist
Florida Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer, a close political ally of Gov. Charlie Crist, announced his resignation today, dealing another blow to the governor’s struggling Senate campaign.
Greer, who set his resignation date for Feb. 20, blasted the party’s conservative activists for sowing discord that he said led to his departure and attacked them for putting their narrow ideology ahead of the interests of the Republican Party.
“As you know, there is a great debate in our party on the direction, moderates vs. conservatives, whether we should have a big tent or a small tent," said Greer, who had insisted for weeks that he would not step down.
“They have talked about misspending of money, when the facts have shown that is not true, they have talked about my support of Crist for the Senate race, they have thrown everything against the wall to either embarrass me or disrupt the Republican Party in Florida.”
“They wanted to oust me as chairman and if that doesn’t work, burn the house down and try to destroy the Republican Party.”
It’s a remarkable fall from grace for one of the governor’s leading confidants — one who was on the list of prospective appointees to fill the state’s recent Senate vacancy, and who openly contemplated a bid for chairman of the Republican National Committee last year.
Greer’s resignation is a major blow to Crist, who until recently had been publicly defending his handpicked chairman even as he lost public support from grass-roots activists and legislators. As he faces a contentious Senate primary, he will see a political ally replaced with a longtime conservative legislator who recently attended a fundraiser for his upstart primary rival, Marco Rubio, and who hails from the Jeb Bush wing of the Florida GOP.
“This is a body blow to Charlie Crist. It reflects the very different realities of Florida politics that exist today than that existed when Jim Greer was [elected] chairman,” said a senior Florida Republican operative.
“Greer was perceived as a single-issue Crist supporter who really wasn’t helping the base motivation or fundraising.”
After winning the governorship in 2006, Crist plucked Greer from political obscurity to head the state party, and the two have worked in tandem since. Greer touted Crist as a viable running mate for John McCain in the 2008 presidential race and the governor considered him as a serious contender to fill the Senate vacancy created by Mel Martinez’s resignation last year.
Greer also played a very active role in touting Crist’s Senate campaign, even as the governor was facing a credible GOP primary challenger in former state House Speaker Marco Rubio, and was unusually outspoken for a state party chairman in taking sides.
“You can’t spell the word party with a letter ‘I’ but Jim Greer tried,” said former Florida Republican Party Executive Director David Johnson. “What it means now we have time to heal, get better, replenish the coffers and time to assuage all the legislators and donors who said it was time for him to go.”
Even as he stepped down amid growing dissatisfaction within state party ranks, Greer said he still had the governor’s full support. And Crist offered effusive praise of Greer, issuing a statement today saying the chairman “has and always will have my unwavering support.”
Jim Greer: Crist Ordered Me Not To Resign
"The governor has told me I'm not to consider resigning,'" state GOP chairman Jim Greer told Steve Bousquet today. And it's easy to see why Crist would see Greer's departure as a major political blow, considering how firmly he's standing behind his embattled chairman.
"People have a specific political agenda - to destroy me, to destroy the governor, and to destroy the party," Greer said of his critics, who include Florida GOP giants such as Tom Slade and Al Hoffman. He called the detractors a combination of "non-inclusive purists" and people who want to turn this into an "anti- Crist party."
Tony DiMatteo, a Pinellas state Committeeman, has a different view: "As a Marco Rubio supporter I'd love Jim Greer to remain chair for as long as possible. But this is not about Marco Rubio and Charlie Crist. This is about the party."
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Sources: Politico, CBS News, Tampabay.com, Zimbio, Google Maps
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