Florida Republican Leaves Party in Protest
Not even a sea breeze can disturb the governor’s mane.No one except George LeMieux seemed happy when Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) appointed LeMieux to fill the Senate seat previously occupied (in the literal sense only) by Sen. Mel Martinez. Charlie picked his long-time friend and former campaign manager to wait out the end of Martinez’s term until Crist can win the 2010 election for that office. As I stated when the selection was revealed, the Democratic response would be predictable. It was.
I figured the real fireworks would be on the Republican side, but even I am surprised at the latest announcement. You can almost smell the spent gunpowder from Lake County, where Ed Havill, the Republican property appraiser (in Florida, this is a constitutional officer’s position), is withdrawing from his party in disgust.
George LeMieux’s appointment by Gov. Charlie Crist to the U.S. Senate was the final straw that broke this Republican officeholder’s back.
Within five minutes of the governor’s announcement, I removed my voter registration from the Republican Party. I am no longer affiliated with any political party.
…By choosing his 2006 political campaign manager, George LeMieux, the governor decisively demonstrated two things:
He is only interested in what’s best for Charlie Crist, and he has utter contempt for what’s best for Floridians.
Havill also cites recent revelations about another Crist appointment, Jim Greer, the linguistically-challenged and bombastic head of the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF).
