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Florida Newspapers React to RPOF Chaos: Editorialize Against Thrasher, Question Conflict-of-Interest
Orlando Sentinel, Palm Beach Post, Tampa Tribune, Tallahassee Democrat, and St. Petersburg Times Editorial Boards Weigh In
NEWS FROM THE FLORIDA DEMOCRATIC PARTY
For Immediate Release: Jan. 07, 2010
Florida Newspapers React to RPOF Chaos: Editorialize Against Thrasher, Question Conflict-of-Interest
Orlando Sentinel, Palm Beach Post, Tampa Tribune, Tallahassee Democrat, and St. Petersburg Times Editorial Boards Weigh In On RPOF Mess
Orlando Sentinel: One too many hats
The gist: Thrasher's attempt to run the Republican Party and the Senate elections committee can't work.
Consummate Tallahassee insider John Thrasher should know better than to execute this power play. The former House speaker and über lobbyist, now a state senator from St. Augustine and chairman of the Committee on Ethics and Elections, is vying to become the state Republican Party's next chairman.
Mind you, he's not offering to give up his policy-steering Senate chairmanship for the most partisan job a state political party can bestow - its chairmanship. He's looking to juggle both. It has conflict-of-interest written all over it, and it's a move Mr. Thrasher speedily needs to give up.
Not because holding both positions simultaneously will make him a less effective state party chair, though it will. State laws prevent elected officials from raising money for themselves or their political party during the two-months-long legislative session...
Mr. Thrasher shouldn't put himself or the state in this position. If he wants to pursue the GOP chairmanship, he needs to relinquish his legislative committee chairmanship. If he wants to help steer the state's elections, he needs to give up on running the Republican Party.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/os-ed-thrasher-010710-20100106,0,4149326.story
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Palm Beach Post: Enough political moonlighting: Thrasher can't be senator and state GOP leader
It didn't work in the U.S. Senate. It wouldn't work in the Florida Senate.
We mean an elected official moonlighting as a party chairman. Mel Martinez tried to be Florida's junior senator and Republican National Committee chairman from late 2006 until 2007, when he realized that he had made a mistake and quit the RNC. This week, the Republican Party of Florida threw state Chairman Jim Greer to the Tea Party wing of the GOP. Reportedly, the favorite to succeed Mr. Greer is John Thrasher.
If Republicans want a power broker, he's their guy...
If the Republicans want to appease the insurgents, though, it's a curious choice. Sen. Thrasher ran last fall as the Establishment candidate against an outsider. The insurgents claim to want more ethical government, but Sen. Thrasher twice has been cited for ethics violations.
Ultimately, though, the two roles are not compatible. Obviously, the Legislature is about politics, but it's also about governing. Florida has had far too little of that in recent years. Running the party is all about politics. Complicating things is Sen. Thrasher's role on the Ethics and Elections Committee. As Mel Martinez showed, John Thrasher has to pick one job, not both.
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The Tampa Tribune: A questionable choice for GOP
Jim Greer spent the last few months fighting to keep his job as chairman of the Republican Party of Florida. But on Tuesday the fight came to an end when Greer's foes, angered by his big-spending ways, successfully forced him aside...
His likely replacement is former House speaker and newly elected state Sen. John Thrasher, who has spent the past few years growing his reputation as one of the most influential lobbyists in Tallahassee...
Thrasher will make an easy target, as will his dual role as a lawmaker and party chief...
Thrasher has Crist's support, as well as that of the highest-ranking elected Republicans.
But that doesn't mean he is the best choice.
The party should consider whether voters will take to the idea of Thrasher's double role or if they want as chair a special-interest champion not known for an interest in Joe Six-pack issues.
There is no question that Thrasher is smart, disciplined and can raise money. After the chaos of Greer, he may be what the GOP needs.
But Republicans should think hard about whether Thrasher, the ultimate political insider, is the best front man for the party.
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/jan/07/questionable-choice-GOP/news-opinion-editorials/
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Tallahassee Democrat: Our Opinion: Get on with it
GOP leadership shift had to happen
Regardless of whether critics would "burn down the house," as Florida Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer said in announcing his resignation Tuesday, even supporters of GOP candidates are relieved to see a less-divided house as this pivotal election year proceeds...
But the GOP, like any political organization these days, cannot go long without conflicts.
Within hours of the news that the new state party chairman probably would be former House Speaker John Thrasher - who was recently elected as a state senator from Jacksonville - Democrats were already questioning whether the party could proceed with fundraising during the Legislative session...
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St. Petersburg Times: Party leader or senator, not both
Whether Jim Greer's resignation as chairman of the Republican Party of Florida on Tuesday is the right move for the party is up to Republicans to judge. Whether he should be replaced by a member of the Florida Legislature, as Gov. Charlie Crist and legislative leaders telegraphed, is a broader question affecting all Floridians.
...But the longtime Tallahassee insider should make a choice between his public office or a partisan leadership position. To hold both jobs simultaneously would pose a conflict and inject more high-stakes politics into nearly any piece of legislation.
...Atwater's action is just the first example of the potential conflicts that would await Thrasher. Atwater is running for chief financial officer and will expect the state party to help his campaign. Was Thrasher's appointment to the executive committee Atwater's first attempt at currying favor? What about less prominent Republican lawmakers? How willing would they be to challenge Thrasher on a piece of legislation as he decides how to dole out campaign funds?
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Florida Republicans, including Thrasher, should know better. Former U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez simultaneously served as general chairman of the Republican National Committee. He lasted just nine months as RNC chairman and saw his Senate job approval ratings with Floridians plummet.
Former legislators have led both state political parties, but no incumbent legislator in years has simultaneously served as party chairman. Thrasher may be a good choice to lead Florida Republicans, and he is a formidable, well-prepared legislator. But he should choose one job or the other.
http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/party-leader-or-senator-not-both/1063292
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