Crowley Political Report

Tampa television station WTSP is airing a two-part series on the downfall of former Florida Republican Party chairman Jim Greer.

Part 2 is the most interesting. The reporter, Mike Deeson, gives Greer free rein. If Greer was challenged about any of his assertions, viewers don't see it. Deeson also interviews Greer's wife, Lisa, Greer attorney Cheney Mason, and other Greer supporters.

An excerpt:

Oviedo, FL - Money, greed and political backstabbing appeared to have been commonplace in the Florida Republican Party's effort to oust former Chairman Jim Greer and undermine former Governor Charlie Crist's Senate bid.

Greer, who ended up in jail, has never talked about the inner workings of the Republican Party until now.

When 10 News asked Greer how this incident affected his life a year later, Greer choked up. He couldn't talk for more than 20 seconds and finally said, "Well, I can't get a job and I have no money to take care of my family because I have to give it all to my attorneys."

Greer says his problems began when he fired party fundraiser Meredith O'Rourke. O'Rourke was making $30,000 a month and a 10% commission on everything she brought in.

Greer says he underestimated her ties to the conservative wing of the party and influential lobbyists.

Reclaim America is outraged. In an email, the newly formed PAC defends it founder, Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, against Rachel Maddow and Ed Schultz.

And Reclaim America would like you to help buy sending them a few bucks.

From the PAC:

Dear,

 Last week, Marco gave a historic speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library that's been called an "important", "powerful", and "thoughtful" step in promoting a conservative path forward.

But not everyone was impressed. The speech drove extreme liberals crazy, and they are on the attack. We need your help to fight back and support limited government candidates who share Marco"s conservative vision for America.

MSNBC's Rachel Maddow chopped up Marco's words and distorted them, even weaving in mentions of Marco's parents to attack him.

Ed Schultz attacked Marco's speech as "psycho talk" and called Marco a "political hack".

These are the typical attacks that are routinely launched against those who are standing up for our conservative principles.

These extreme liberals have no interest in finding common sense solutions to the challenges facing our country. They just want to attack and tear down anyone who doesn't share their extreme ideology.

Which is why we need your help us fight back. Your contribution of $100, $50, or even $25 will help us defend conservatives like Marco all across the country.

Reclaim America PAC will stand up for candidates who take tough positions and challenging the politics-as-usual in Washington, D.C.

Thank you for your continued support,

Team Reclaim

P.S. Your contribution helps us spread the word about conservative's positive vision to change the direction of our country AND fight back against the media elites who attack that vision constantly. Please contribute what you can today by clicking on this secure link.

FreedomWorks and FreedomWorks Foundation offers itself as watchdogs of the public purse. They are largely credited with helping the Tea Party find a national voice. The organization is led by former Congressman Dick Armey, Boyden Gray and Steve Forbes.

It appears to be a very profitable enterprise.

FreedomWorks also does a pretty good job of taking care of its own purse by charging hefty fees to speak out and campaign on issues.

Here's an example from a FreedomWorks "overview of tools and tactics."

If you are willing to pay from $15,000 to $75,000 "per D.C. or state capitol lobbying trip" FreedomWorks will work for you.

For $25,000 to $35,000, FreedomWorks will "engage an earned media campaign on a certain issue, depending on the intensity of the campaign and Chairman Armey's involvement.

Of course the price of freedom is not cheap. If you want Armey or another FreedomWorks principal to have "formal and informal meetings and phone calls" with top policy makers that ranges from $10,000 to $65,000 "for principal to principal outreach."

Need expert testimony from Armey - $15,000 to $35,000.

Would you like a two-page Capitol Comment or a 10 page Issue Analysis? That will cost you from $15,000 to $50,000.

None of this is unique to FreedomWorks. Other organizations on both sides have similar operations.

Which raises a serious question - is FreedomWorks stoking controversy because that is how they make money? After all, there's no cash when there's no outrage.

FreedomWorks claims 564,000 online activists. That's a lot of people to get fired up. And those folks don't get paid.

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Well that didn't take long. 

Crowley Political Report just received the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's new fundraising appeal using Republican Congressman Allen West's email outburst against DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz yesterday as a reason why folks should quickly send cash.

They are calling it the "emergency rapid response fund."

Emergency? Really?

Here's the DCCC message:

“You are the most vile, unprofessional, and despicable member of the US House of Representatives... you are not a Lady.”
- Republican Congressman Allen West in an e-mail to
Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Last night, Republican Rep. Allen West sent a disgraceful e-mail outburst to one of our most accomplished colleagues in the House, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, telling her to “shut the heck up” for daring to challenge the GOP plan to gut Medicare and Social Security to pay for tax cuts for billionaires.

I wish I could say I was surprised.

Unfortunately, this is exactly the sort of partisan tantrum we're used to from House Republicans as they push our economy to the brink of disaster while pandering to their Tea Party base.

We can't let this shameful display go unanswered.

Contribute $3 or more right now to help us defeat disgraceful Republicans like Allen West in 2012. My Democratic colleagues are so appalled that they’ve agreed to match all gifts today dollar-for-dollar up to our $100,000 goal.

This kind of appalling behavior is all too familiar from Congressman West, who has riled up his extremist right-wing base by attacking progressive women for “neutering American men,” calling supporters of President Obama, “a threat to the gene pool” and writing for a misogynist magazine that denigrated women with words I'd be ashamed to even repeat.

And now that he’s in Congress, West thinks he can attack a respected legislator like Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz with this kind of hate-filled screed.

Allen West has shown us his true colors, now let’s show him ours.

Contribute right now to help throw Allen West and his Tea Party colleagues out in 2012.

Let’s make sure Republicans don’t forget this moment.

Rep. Steve Israel
DCCC Chairman

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Seriously, isn't Allen West the best GOP candidate to run against Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson?

As Miami Herald political writer Marc Caputo aptly put it, West has given Florida Republicans 1.5 million reasons why he might be the GOP's best candidate.

As Crowley Political Report noted recently, this stage of the U.S. senate race is all about money. During the 3 month period ending June 30, West raised $1.5 million for his campaign to win reelection to Florida's 22nd congressional district. Toss in the $433,000 West raised during the first three months of the year and he has collected nearly $2 million.

Impressive.

Politics is about money and timing. West has said he is not interested in running for the senate but money and timing suggest there may be no better time than now for the former Army Lt. Colonel.

Republicans love West. Tea Party activists love West. Rush Limbaugh loves West. Conservative independents love West. And most Democrats loathe him.

If you get West, you get someone who doesn't pull his punches and leans extreme. That might not sell in any other election cycle but right now, in the Tea Party controlled Florida Republican Party, extreme sells.

Should West decide to run for the U.S. Senate, much of the GOP field will collapse shortly after his announcement.

Compare West's $1.5 million in the last quarter to the money raised by the existing U.S. Senate candidates - Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos' $900,000, former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux's $950,000, and former House Majority Leader Adam Hasner's $560,000.

Could West defeat Nelson?

Nelson will not be easy for any Republican to defeat. For now, the more interesting political question is whether West will be convinced by his supporters to take a chance on running for GOP senate nomination.

In Florida, anything can happen.

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There must be a lot of Republicans who are convinced that Florida Democrat Bill Nelson is not going to be able to hang on to his U.S. Senate seat.

On Tuesday, the Florida GOP gets it fifth candidate for U.S. senate with the addition of Craig Miller, former CEO of Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. Miller is going to fly around the state for a series of airport press conferences with stops in Orlando, Tampa, West Palm Beach, Naples and Jacksonville.

Meanwhile, the latest report in the money primary shows that George LeMieux raised $950,000 during the three month period ending June 30. LeMieux's campaign did not say how much cash former U.S. senator still has in the bank after expenses.

Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos fell short of LeMieux's total, raising $900,000. Haridopolos had already raised $2.6 million, so he remains the frontrunner.  Coming in third is former House Majority Leader Adam Hasner who raised $560,000.

Also running for the senate is retired Army Lt.Col. Mike McCallister. He is not expected to raise much money.

Which brings us back to Miller. How seriously should we take him as a statewide candidate?

His first bid for office is not a promising sign. Miller ran for an Orlando congressional seat in 2010 and finished third. To be fair, LeMieux lost his only previous campaign - a state house seat race and he has not been on the ballot since.

What will make Miller a viable candidate?

Cash.

Yup money. And lots of it. Can he get it? Does Miller have his own dough to spend?

Crowley Political Report believes in cash. Having it doesn't mean a candidate is going to win. But not having it almost certainly means a statewide candidate is going to lose.

There are more than 4 million GOP voters in Florida. If only 25 percent vote in the primary that is 1 million voters. If a candidate talked to 1,000 voters every day for 365 days, he would only reach a bit more than one-third of the GOP primary voters.

It takes money to reach voters. And most of that money is spent on television ads. A significant, statewide television buy will cost a candidate more than $1.5 million a week. And you need money for all the things it takes to make a candidate competitive.

That's why, fellow political watchers, you have to keep an eye on the money.

Who in the world is Patrick Murphy?

Surely that has to be a question that Democrat Lois Frankel is asking this week. Murphy is a 28-year old newcomer to Florida politics who is challenging Frankel, a political veteran, for the Democratic nomination in the 22nd congressional district now held by Republican Allen West.

Murphy's campaign tells Crowley Political Report, that the candidate raised $450,000 in the last quarter. Murphy raised $350,ooo during March bringing his total to $800,000. We should note that $30,000 of that total Murphy gave to himself. Still $770,000 from contributers is impressive.

This is not good news for Frankel who has not yet revealed what she raised during the three-month period ending June 30. In March, Frankel raised $254,000 and there is no reason to believe that she did not have a good quarter.

If Frankel had hoped to walk away with the nomination, the former state representative and West Palm Beach mayor may find the road a bit rockier than expected.

Murphy, who was a Republican not long ago, was born in the Keys and lives in Broward County. He is vice president of Coastal Environmental Services. His campaign team includes South Florida Democratic operatives Jeff Garcia and Eric Johnson.

One of the most interesting aspects of this and all congressional seats is that no one knows what the district will look like in 2012. The Florida Legislature will begin seriously redrawing the districts in January with the final lines not completed until late February. And there will be legal challenges that will leave the lines in doubt until mid-summer.

Democrats in Washington must be looking at the West seat with some concern. Enormously popular with GOP conservatives and Tea Party activists, West will have no trouble raising money. Democrats will need to invest heavily to defeat West and a bloody primary is not going to be helpful.

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We're waiting on George. Florida's former substitute U.S. Senator is the last hold out in the big reveal of how much money was raised by GOP senate candidates last quarter.

Will LeMieux be competitive?

We just got numbers from Adam Hasner and the former state House Majority Leader, says he raised $560,000 from April 1 to June 30.

Not bad, not great. But when you compare that number to Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos' $900,000, it looks a bit weak. And Haridoplos had already raised $2.6 million.

This puts LeMieux in an interesting position. If he raised more money than Haridopolos during the past three months, LeMieux could argue that Haridopolos' best money days are behind him. LeMieux could emerge as the favored candidate.

On the other hand, if LeMieux raised significantly less than Haridopolos, or even worse, less than Hasner, LeMieux's campaign is in serious trouble.

As for Hasner, he needs to at least stay competitive with LeMieux. If Hasner is significantly behind LeMieux and Haridopolos, it will get even harder for Hasner to raise money.

Excerpts from Hasner's statement:

We always expected the two establishment opponents to start off raising more money than us, because that's what the establishment does. But we'll ultimately win this race because of our positive conservative principles and a growing grassroots movement that's looking for leaders who'll stand up to Democrats and Republicans who act like them.

More impressive than how much we raised is how we raised it. Nearly 2000 grassroots conservatives across Florida and the country donated small amounts to build a big number. More than 90% of our contributors have not made the maximum contribution, meaning they can give again and again in future quarters. And more than 85% of our contributors donated less than $1000.

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Art by Patrick Crowley

 
 If you are a Republican, especially a Florida Republican, you probably got an email this week begging for money.

Today is the final day for Florida's U.S. Senate candidates to raise money before they have to file contribution reports next month.  In a feverish effort to push up their numbers, they spend the final days before the deadline doing little more than asking for cash.

When the reports are filed on July 15th, it will be the first serious test of the fundraising ability of Florida's three, Republican U.S. Senate candidates, Mike Haridopolos, Adam Hasner and George LeMieux.

Florida is all about cash. You can't win without boatloads of it. This is a state where it costs more than $1.5 million for just one week of television ads. Toss in direct mail, phone banks, polling, staff, radio ads, robo-calls, and all the other stuff of a campaign and, well, it gets expensive fast.

So while we would like to think that voters decide elections, the fact is that campaign contributions decide elections first. Many a decent candidate for statewide office has fallen by the wayside because they were unable to raise enough money to compete.

Sure it is a nice fantasy.

After a stunning win in New Hampshire - or a damn close second -  you swing into South Carolina and continue to build momentum that takes you to the first true test of your ability to win a national campaign - Florida.

Well you better be showing up with a fat wallet.

Unless you are well-financed candidate - say a Jon Huntsman, Mitt Romney, or, if she can raise the money from her many loyal fans, Michele Bachmann, the odds are very long for a candidate arriving in the Sunshine State without enough cash.

Consider this would be nominee - $1.5 million. Actually it could be a bit more. That's the cost of one week of television ads in Florida's media markets. That's not counting direct mail, radio, web, and get-out-the-vote efforts.

So welcome to the Sunshine State - expect to spend a minimum of $2 million. And if you really want to win Florida, you need to start spending more time here - now.

Remember - when the snow settles in New Hampshire and the last extremist in the Palmetto State has voted, everyone will quickly forget what took place there. The Republican nominee will be decided in Florida.

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Art by West Palm Beach artist Patrick Crowley

Apparently George LeMieux enjoyed being in the halls of the U.S. Senate.

LeMieux first annunced his campaign today by changing his Twitter avatar. Then came the email.

More later.

It is now later.

No one is really surprised that LeMieux entered the race. It will be his second political campaign having lost one in a bid to join the state legislature.

LeMieux is credited with masterminding the Charlie Crist campaign for governor but Lemieux abandoned Crist when the former Republican decided to be an independent candidate for governor.

The GOP money primary is now in full bloom with Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos already in the race and former House Majority Leader Adam Hasner in the wings.

Crowley Political Report is still expecting some yet-to-be-heard-from rich guy to enter the race next year.

Which of three candidates has the early lead?

For now, we'll give it to LeMieux by a hair.

Earlier Crowley Political Report asked the question - will Jeb Bush hug Obama? 

Today is the big day. President Obama makes his way to Miami where he will tour Miami Central High School with Bush. Both men have pushed for making dramatic changes to education.

Now, the early word is that Florida Gov. Rick Scott will greet Obama when Air Force One lands in Miami. Scott does not strike us as the hugger type so we would be surprised if the two men embrace.

After the school tour, Obama is attending two fundraisers for Bill Nelson and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. One will be at the Fountainbleu and the other is at the Miami Beach home of Michael Adler.

More about the Adler event here.

President Barack Obama will travel to Miami Beach Friday to raise a few bucks for Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson who is being targeted by Republicans in 2012.

Sen. Patty Murray, chairwoman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee will also be at the home of Judith and Michael Adler where the reception and dinner is taking place.

Michael Adler is chairman and CEO of The Adler Group, a real estate development and investment company. Adler has contributed hundreds-of-thousands to Democrats over the years.

Nelson won't get all the cash raised at the event. He has to split it with DSCC.

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Art by Patrick Crowley

 
There is much gnashing going on in Tallahassee over the question of whether Senate President Mike Haridopolos should raise money for his U.S. Senate campaign during the 60-day legislative session.

The answer - Yes.  But with one condition. Haridopolos should make disclosures each day of the session about the amont of money he has received and from whom.

The fact of the matter is that whether a candidate receives money during the session is largely irrelevant.  Honest politicians will be honest. Crooks will cheat, steal and lie.

What is needed is full disclosure and Haradopolos could lead the way by expanding disclosure requirements.

Florida political campaigns were forever changed by Rick Scott.  He is not the first rich guy to spend his own money to run for public office but no one has been willing to spend anywhere near as much of his own dough as Scott did - a whopping $75 million.