So what to make of yesterday’s resignation by Florida Republican Party chairman Jim Greer, who has been a close ally of Gov. Charlie Crist? Does this mean that Crist has been heavily damaged in his Senate primary against the more conservative former state House Speaker Marco Rubio? Interestingly, Republican sources we spoke to said this wasn’t actually true — that in some ways it could be good news for Crist, simply by virtue of having ended an ongoing controversy.
One county chair said that the Greer resignation was actually bad news for Rubio, who’s enjoyed considerable success running as an outsider candidate. “I’ve heard from some Rubio supporters who are disappointed to see Greer go,” the chair said. “It’s harder for him to run as an outsider now.” Another chair said that the resignation helps Rubio “a little,” but could help Crist more.
“Maybe it’s a benefit [for Crist],” Palm Beach County chair Sid Dinerstien said. “The Governor knew this was going to happen eventually, and now he can put it behind him.”
Several county party chairs TPMDC spoke with said that it was Greer’s decision to endorse Crist publicly that cost him his job. “He lost the ability to be an effective leader for the party,” Leon County chair Dan Able said. Able was among those calling for Greer to face a removal vote at an upcoming state party meeting, but said he was neutral when it came to the U.S. Senate race.
Able said that Greer “couldn’t divorce himself” from his support for Crist thanks to his public statements on Crist’s behalf, which made it impossible for people to believe the state party would remain neutral as the Senate primary unfolds. Able said he wished Greer had been more introspective when explaining why he had to resign today: “He blamed everybody but himself, which is disappointing.”
“I don’t think it will necessarily impact the Senate race as it stands now,” a Republican source in Florida said. “I think some of the division we’ve seen in the party as a result of the Senate race was a catalyst of what happened to Chairman Greer. There were many causes, this was one of them.”
The source explained that there were other issues that were hurting Greer, mainly relating to disagreements with his financial management of the party. There was “significant overlap” between Greer’s opponents and Rubio’s supporters, and Greer’s supporters and Crist’s backers, but it was not an absolute match. “I don’t know that Greer’s stepping down will drastically impact that battle,” the source said. “I think his involvement in the primary has probably made it out to be a little more out there in the public, in terms of the Republicans grassroots community than it would have otherwise been. So I don’t know that his taking a step back from the party will drastically impact one way or the other the debate that’s been going on in the party. I think it will calm down some of the things in the press.”
Another Republican chairman, who hailed from a county that held a straw poll that was won by Rubio, said that Greer was heavily damaged by his failed attempt last spring to secure an official party endorsement for Crist. “The chairman of a political party, whether it be a local executive committee or the chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, our job is to remain neutral, or to the best of our ability the appearance of neutrality when, it comes to a primary race,” said the county chairman. “That is where I believe Chairman Greer got some push-back from the Republican Executive committees, in Chairman Greer trying to invoke RNC rule 11 in trying to secure a party endorsement of Charlie Crist, when Charlie Crist clearly had a viable opponent.”
“I think the allegations of partiality could have been the tipping point,” the source later added.
Broward County chair Chip Lamarca said that the ideological split in the GOP was “one reason” Greer had to resign, but he said that the conservative anti-establishment wing of the party shouldn’t consider Greer’s stepping down a win. “I don’t think the Tea Party movement should be celebrating about who’s head of the RPOF or not,” he said. “They need to realize we’re the place for them and come back to the GOP.”
National sources familiar with Greer’s tenure told TPMDC he was not an impressive leader. Party leaders in Washington found him to be a distraction from what will be a competitive race. Republicans said they think the early shakeup is actually likely to help in the long run build party unity.
Joe Gruters, chairman of the Sarasota County Republicans, said Greer was victim to a growing anti-establishment sentiment building in statewide campaigns, especially Rubio’s. But primarily the perception among party faithful was that because Greer had already endorsed Crist it would spell trouble down the line. “It just caused a lot of problems,” Gruters told TPMDC in an interview.
Gruters said Greer deserves credit for stepping down since the turmoil over whether he would was hurting the party. “Now we can get someone in there who can unite everybody. That’s what we need,” he said. “We need people that will help both sides and be in a position to help whoever wins the primary win the general.”
Gruters, who is neutral in the primary, said the party would be helped by a figure who also declines to endorse a candidate. (We suggested the example of Howard Dean as chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and how he was committed to neutrality between the presidential candidates. Gruters agreed with the comparison.)
He said Rubio and Crist are evenly matched but noted Crist may have a stronger ability to fundraise for what will be an expensive and contested general election. “Rubio has certainly capitalized on the feelings with the base being upset about what’s going on across the country,” Gruters said.
(Additional reporting by Christina Bellantoni and Evan McMorris-Santoro.)
