Hard to believe, but some anonymous someone (Charlie’s mom maybe? Charlie?) bought Charlie Crist’s portrait on ebay for $7,700. That’s $200 more than the Republican Party of Florida paid for the thing, which was one-tenth of 1 percent of the $7 million Florida Republicans — from Chairman Jim Greer to former House Speaker Marco Rubio — ran up on their party credit cards.

And it’s not even a good likeness — it’s not nearly tan enough and the head shape is all wrong in kind of a rectangular Frankensteiny way.

The RPOF is trying to make hay out of the painting’s origins, but, funny enough, the party didn’t pay for it — at least not directly. Here’s an excerpt from today’s RPOF Trash Charlie e-mail (I get at least one a day):

Before Charlie Crist took the easy way out, Crist and his handpicked Chairman Jim Greer drained RPOF coffers, spending lavishly on themselves including chartering helicopters for baggage, passing out a top-dollar contract to Crist’s college roommate, and even commissioning twin oil paintings that cost RPOF donors $7,500.

But what really happened is this:

The cost to the party would have been even higher if former executive director Delmar Johnson had his way. Johnson appears to have been the point man for the portraits and commissioned one for himself. But Johnson, who inked a hush-hush party fundraising contract for himself and Greer, was ultimately fired this January before the party could pick up the tab for his oil portrait and a few giclée prints.

The expense might have slipped by had not Havana artist D. Arthur McBride called the party early this year, looking for her money. By then, Johnson was gone. And there was no desire to use party funds for this.

“I thought I wasn’t going to get paid,” she said. Ultimately, Johnson paid her out of his own pocket.

So the Republican Party of Florida is lying when it says that it paid for the portrait, which is not a good likeness. Delmar bought it, albeit with money he scammed from the party.

So just shut up already, RPOF.

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