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Posted on 09/08/2009 10:27:15 AM PDT by freepersunite
Florida Republican Party Wages War on Liberty Caucus: ‘Party Purge’ Expels Caucus Chair and Members from RPOF Positions
NO ROOM FOR DISSENT IN FLORIDA REPUBLICAN PARTY
JACKSONVILLE, FL — Last Friday, the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) Grievance Committee notified Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida Chairman Will G. Pitts of Jacksonville and four other Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC) members that they have been removed from positions within the RPOF or prohibited from serving in any official RPOF capacity for a period of no less than two years.
“This is just the latest action in the ongoing ‘Party Purge’,” said grassroots organizer Doug Guetzloe of Orange County, who was banned from participating in party activities until after August 31, 2013. According to Guetzloe, “The reasons for this ‘Party Purge’ are that we have collectively and individually called for a complete audit of the Republican Party of Florida finances, advocated for candidates not favored by party leaders, and because we are members of the Republican Liberty Caucus.”
The grievances against Florida RLC Chairman Will Pitts include that he attended a rally hosted by Ron Paul’s Campaign for Liberty organization, wore a “Ron Paul” button on his lapel after Florida’s Republican primary, attended an “End the Fed” (Federal Reserve Bank) Rally in Jacksonville, and wrote words “harmful to the Republican Party”.
Those words included negative comments about RPOF Chairman Jim Greer, Florida Governor Charlie Crist (Mr. Pitts asserted that they are “pathetic and embarrassing”), Senator John McCain, and President George W. Bush. Mr. Pitts stands by the accuracy of his comments and does not apologize for supporting Republican Liberty Caucus Advisory Board member Ron Paul (R-TX).
“Greer and his friends have no right to throw out members who were directly elected by the Republicans at grassroots precincts,” asserted national Republican Liberty Caucus Chairman Dave Nalle of Texas. “Speaking out for individual liberty, the Constitution, and the rule of law is not something which Republicans should be penalized for. The Party has a tradition of diversity, tolerance, and support for freedom of speech and the right of dissent,” he said.
In addition to penalizing Pitts, the RPOF also expelled lifelong Republican and RLC activist Nick Egoroff of Orlando for a period of four years. Northeast Florida RLC Chairman John Stevens – himself a Republican Committeeman for his precinct – is ineligible to serve in any RPOF position until August 31, 2013. According to Stevens, “In effect, we [will not be able to] serve again until 2016 since the election for the next four year term will be in 2012.” The RPOF Grievance Committee also prohibited Florida RLC Board member Elizabeth Campbell from serving as representative for Escambia County on the State Committee for six months.
Numerous other Republican Party activists in Florida have also been silenced by Boss Greer, including Brevard Republican Chair Jason Steele, Orange County Precinct Committeeman Deon Long and “Ax the Tax” activist Doug Guetzloe. In response to the Grievance Committee sanctions, Orlando RLC organizer Nick Egoroff intends to file a First Amendment lawsuit against Jim Greer and the Republican Party of Florida.
This is not the first time the Republican Party of Florida has attacked the Republican Liberty Caucus under Jim Greer’s Chairmanship. In summer of 2008, Greer’s staff notified the RLC that it could no longer use the word ‘Republican’ in its title ‘Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida’. The RPOF threatened a lawsuit against the RLC.
The RLC has used this title for nearly two decades in the state of Florida and obtained proper permission in writing long before Jim Greer or Charlie Christ came to rule party politics in Florida.
“This ‘Party Purge’ is a direct attack on loyal Republicans who just want to see the Party live up to its avowed beliefs,” noted Dave Nalle. “Healthy debate makes the party stronger and enthusiastic grassroots activists like these should not be punished for commitment to principle or idealism. Forced conformity and mindless subservience to party doctrine are hallmarks of socialism – which have no place in the Republican Party,” Nalle concluded.
The Republican Liberty Caucus is encouraging its members to contact RNC Chairman Michael Steele, RNC Secretary and Florida Committeewoman Sharon Day, and Florida RNC Committeeman Paul Senft, Jr. to ask for their intervention in the matter.
The Republican Liberty Caucus (http://www.RLC.org/), founded in 1991, exists to promote individual liberty, limited government, and free enterprise within the Republican Party.
The RINO’s are out of control !
They are always welcome to join us Libertarians.
Haven’t heard from the RLC in a long time. If memory serves me correct, FR used to be their official forum but I recall the last original group activity was in 2000 or 2002. Looking at their site, I sure don’t recognize any of the current RLC players.
FL REPUBLICANS NEED TO TAKE BACK THE PARTY !
I think we should all email bomb Steele.
Could be RNC is working to drag defeat from victory against Democrats in 2010. Anyone surprised here?
so these were Ron Paul supporters who thought it was ok to keep pushing Ron Paul AFTER the primary was over?
The shrimpy little RINO jerkoff county chairman frequents a restaurant I go to. There was a meeting recently and he was in full protect Charlene Crist mode against Rubio. he was shouting down conservative Repubs.
Florida RINOs are wrecking the GOP in FL.
I would like to know what Pitt supposedly wrote before I knee jerk shooting off emails or demands. There may be a valid reason. For example, if Pitt is some sort of Truther nut and was bringing those types in, there may be legitimate reason why this occurred. There isn’t enough information here to take action on.
I read there is also a scandal over donations they want to cover up.
these guys are slimeballs...
More proof that social conservatives hate freedom?
I swallowed my bile and supported McCain.
Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican. RWR
I'm guessing they're social conservatives that see the RLC as too "liberal".
Some conservatives are RINOs, too, and wouldn't mind greater government power if it meant creating a theocracy.
Do you know anyone who wants a theocracy? I don’t. Islamists do.
Geez get a clue.
Too bad too many Libertarians hate Christians and promote the Left’s unethical culture that goes with dependence and a communist economic system.
Otherwise, you would have seen Libertarians in the majority by now.
Expect the revival of the conservative wing of the Democrat Party to begin in Floida.
Expect the revival of the conservative wing of the Democrat Party to begin in Floida.
Expect the revival of the conservative wing of the Democrat Party to begin in Florida.
Expect the revival of the conservative wing of the Democrat Party to begin in Florida.
I swallowed my bile and spent Saturday mornings at the corner of a major intersection in Broward County to hold up signs and enlist support for McCain. That said, McCain was the standard bearer and no longer is, nor should he have ever been. I can honestly say that I believe McCain would have been only slightly better than Obama.
I thought that then, that McCain would only be “slightly” better. I don;t think that now. McCain would never be what I wanted him to be, but he would not have been a nightmare.
And...looking to the future, we would have a more seasoned Palin waiting in the wings.
After emailing an associate in FL who is in the loop on these things, it seems there is a lot more to this story. While they can’t go into specifics, he said there were several grievances against Pitt that the story isn’t completely accurate about. First, his attendance at the anti-RNC rally “Rally for the Republic” attended by such notables as Cindy Sheehan, Jesse McBeth, Lew Rockwell, and Jessie Ventura. He also worked against the Republican candidate *after* the primaries were over. There also were several statements against President Bush and McCain *after* the primaries that some saw were harmful to the campaign.
Of course, this could be slanted, just getting as much info as possible.
http://themedium.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/26/editors-note-the-ron-paul-vid-lash/?apage=2
"...Additionally, the Germans passed laws to allow the Nazi’s to read Jew’s mail and to search their homes and businesses. This law is very similar to the USA Patriot Act.....The Germans then passed laws allowing Hitler to declare Jews and other citizens’ enemy combatants. They were then rounded up, denied the Right of Habeas Corpus, tortured and sentenced to death. All without the ability to confront witnesses or evidence against them, based upon secret testimony and without counsel. Currently American Citizens deemed as enemy combatants can receive similar treatment under our Military Commissions Act.....The Germans required all Jews to have identification. This will be required in America starting May 2008 with the National ID Card required under the Real IDAct....
Seems he was either in with the Bush is a Nazi conspiracy crowd or he just cut and pasted talking points...
And in the news from the official website of the Florida Republican Party, nothing but the sounds of crickets chirping.
Does anyone have any links to any writings by Mr. Pitts and the RLC members being “purged?” What is this about? Is this RINO’s purging legitimate liberty minded, constitutionally focused Republican Conservatives? That would seem to be a bad thing.
Oh, And I just found this: “Republican party implosion deepens,” by Rick George.
See link in post #15, they did respond and contradict the article above.
I agree, I figured if it was McCain and Crist or some other Rino then the race was just a repeat of 1996 except McCain was going to go down to MASSIVE defeat.
The ONLY thing that got me to the polls was a true conservative running mate.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x27684#28120
Walt Starr (1000+ posts)
| Fri Jul-11-03 09:56 PM Response to Reply #42 |
| 44. Yep, The Will Pitts and Bev Harrises of the world |
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are our only hope here. Don't expect the whores in the old media to do anything but whore themselves for Bush* nicknames.
Only the New Media can give us any hope with this one. This is why I'm somewhat happy Will Pitt is not here tonight. My hope is he's out there somewhere digging up another gun. ...also (edited for language) http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x27684#28120 73. Will Pitts said that Congressmen asked Kerry NOT to be there knowing that his presence would derail what they were trying to accomplish. Just seeing this same old criticism coughed up anew tells me that this editorial is just regurgitated whining from one faction of the fraud squad. I maintain there is more than one way to skin this cat. And while perhaps Kerry ain't perfect, he's not the opportunist he's being made out to be here. ..and... http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=259x606
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You’re guessing wrong if you think gaytime Charlie Crist supporters are social conservatives.
If you would stop interpreting the news with the imaginations of your mind, you might learn what’s really going on in the world.
He'd have been a nightmare in that we'd be called hypocrites for opposing:
McCain would have been just a different nightmare than Obama. It'd be that nightmare when you think you are running to safety (i.e. freedom), but always end up further away.
..it also seems as though he may have thrown money towards Dems as well (Bill Nelson?)...
There always is more to the story..
mnehring wrote:
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Hmmm, I see your response, and the link in your first post. But something still isn't working for me. Bear with me a bit, I’m just returning to Florida after living in other state(s) for over 25 years. Maybe I'm just not quite wrapping my brain around Florida “normal.’ But I have a question.
The main article for this thread is a press release from the Republican Liberty Caucus dated September 8, 2009, and that press release starts off, “Last Friday, the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) Grievance Committee notified Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida Chairman Will G. Pitts of Jacksonville and four other Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC) members ... ” Doing the math, that sounds like these people were notified on September 4th.
Now, click on your own link and go to that article, http://centralfloridapolitics.com/2009/07/24/rpof-statement-on-party-purging/#comments. You're trying to tell me that this is the response of the Republican party, and you’re saying that it contradicts the RLC press release. The problem is that the article you refer me to as a “response” is dated SIX WEEKS before the RLC press release. Where I come from, responses usually come chronologically after the thing they are responding to. I’m confused why you would think this article which pre-dates the RLC press release by six weeks is a response to that press release.
As for “contradicting” the RLC press release, I don’t see it that way. It's entirely possible that as of July 24 (six weeks ago plus a holiday weekend) the Florida Republican Party had only removed one of these people from their position, but in the six weeks since, the “Grievance Committee” certainly had adequate time to meet and recommend the removal of additional people, and Greer could certainly have acted within that time frame to remove those people.
Also, when you make a link the entire paragraph, I tend to think that it was an HTML mistake and not click through. Sorry about that.
this just shows you he has been exposed to RP and seen the light
I see your point on the dates, I didn’t really look too deep at that, I was digging around for ‘the rest of the story’ if you will.. Still, it does seem there is a lot more going on that either side is releasing.. just the fact that Pitts was part of the anti-RNC rally during the Republican National Committee sends up red flags for me.
The Rally for the Republic was a cesspool of anti-Conservative nuts including Lew Rockwell, Cindy Sheehan, Jesse McBeth and Jessie Ventura.
By the way, Paul chose to restrict his own access to the RNC, he was invited to speak but in his own words “he didn’t want to be seen as supporting the party or candidate” (Interview(sic) with Stephen Colbert, 09/08)
I’m not sure yet whether the Republican Party can be saved, or whether we need a third party movement patterned after successful third party launches from the early to mid 19th century, where Incumbents who agree on principles (like following the Constitution, scaling back Federal programs and the Federal budget, more liberty, more authority and freedom to the States) would come together to form a new party, and pull that party forward with new members from other districts. There is a passion, and even an anger coming into 2010 that makes this the best opportunity I've seen to move in that direction. But I’m also open to “cleaning house” within an existing party (probably the Republican Party) and putting up conservative, constitution honoring candidates from within that party. My concern is these moves by Crist and Greer make that more unlikely to happen in FL.
If this turns out to be some kind of financial scandal with the Florida Republican Party, that would really hurt in a year when “Throw them all out” movement is so strong. A Republican corruption problem going into the 2010 election would squander a huge opportunity.
I dont remember CS speaking. If you notice the attendees are waving signs saying “BRING THE GOP BACK TO ITS ROOTS”
he wasn’t invited to speak, he was invited to attend but no speaking slot hence he had his own convention
Very interesting, I would like to see a third party confirmation versus talking points from the players in the RLC/RNC war going on.. I’m not finding much outside the RLC’s accusations with the exception of some KOS posts trying to tie the Harry Sargeant issue to the entire party.
If they are RINOs they are not conservative.
As head of the local AFP chapter, he organized the very successful tax day tea party here in town and built up a great bunch of folks who are circulating referendum petitions against a slew of state tax increases enacted this year - then just turned the reins over to someone else.
I haven’t seen real RLC activity since probably 2002. I know the original founder, Eric Dondero left the organization and many of the Texas chapter (which I used to be a member of) founders are no longer associated with it.
YIKES!!!!!! That's worse than being a progressive, socialist Democrat! Off w/ his head! < / sarc>
I disagree. Seems to me that it's possible to be a Republican but not be a social conservative. And it's possible to be a social conservative and Democrat.
There are plenty of black social conservatives, for example, that are fine with increased government power and control. And they vote Democrat over and over.
California's leftists found out just how conservative black Democrats can be when they discovered it was black and hispanic Democrats that essentially prohibited same-sex marriage with prop 8. And if the question of the legality of homosexuality came up, I suspect 75% of black men would support making homosexual acts illegal.
Seems to me there are somes conservatives that don't want to expand governmental power. They often become Republicans. And there are Republicans that aren't conservative but also don't want to expand governmental power. The purpose of the party is for those groups to work together politically.
To me, RINO should be reserved for those people calling themselves "Republican" but still acting to increase government control.
I beg your pardon?
and promote the Left’s unethical culture that goes with dependence and a communist economic system.
Ahem, no.
I know it is not all libertarians. But there are enough loud and aggressive biggots that they spew all over the Party.
Curious that Will Pitts would send this text out as an email and claim it as his own. Sounds like possible misinformation to me. Or evidence of both plagiarism and incredibly poor judgment from Will Pitts. That item wasn’t posted until October 27, 2008, so it was right before the general election. And it could be interpretted as an endorsement of Obama over McCain for the general election. That’s not something a county chair for the Republican Party should be sending as an email, official or even as a personal opinion with his own name attached to it.
Now, is the audit and the allegations about financial improprieties in Orange county real? Or is it FUD being thrown by the RLC folks?
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