Free Republic

Doh! Miami NBC calls state GOP "Reprehensive Party." RPOF wants on-air apologyThe Florida GOP demanded Friday that a Miami NBC affiliate issue an on-air apology after the station referred to the party as "the Reprehensive Party of Florida" in a broadcast. The error surfaced when WTVJ aired a segment that featured a Republican Party web ad bashing Democratic candidate for governor Charlie Crist in an ad that accuses him of politically running away from Florida when the economy went south. Accident or not, the spot needs to be corrected, Republican Party of Florida Chairman Lenny Curry wrote the station's president...

The hypocrites in the Republican Party of Florida are rolling out the snail mail appeals again “to get everyone back on board.” I sat for a week at the Congressman Allen West debacle in November to watch disappointed Bill Paterson, Chairman of the Republican Executive Committee in St. Lucie County, keep checking his phone calls and Emails. Are they coming? Are they on the way yet? As he said “no” over and over throughout the long sad week, I saw him shrinking from lack of support from the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) and the attorneys supposedly on their way...

(video)When nearly 100 of Florida’s most involved tea party activists came together Saturday to learn from the experts how to be citizen journalists, the conversation morphed from how to cover the news to how to deal with Republicans. “There wouldn’t be a tea party if the Republican Party did its job,” moderator and Florida State Director of Americans For Prosperity, Slade O’Brien said to a crowd in obvious agreement.

In part one of BPR’s interviews with Government Gone Wild founder and front man Blaise Ingoglia, the Republican Party of Florida Vice Chair shared his goals of infusing strong marketing strategies into the party to move toward victory in 2012. In part two, Ingoglia shares his secret to the success he has gained for his Government Gone Wild organization and suggestions of how it can be duplicated throughout the country. The dynamic public speaker talks about how GGW got started and where it could be heading.

Blaise Ingoglia, a Hernando County businessman, and creator of the popular Government Gone Wild web site was personally asked and endorsed by the late Chairman David Bitner to run for vice chairman of the Republican Party of Florida. He made the position official on Saturday by beating out Lake County State Committeewoman and current chairwoman of the Tea Party Network, Patricia Sullivan. His nomination and acceptance speeches garnered considerable applause. VIDEO

From Republican Party of Florida vice chair Lenny Curry: With sadness and a heavy heart, I must report that Florida has lost a great leader and public servant. Today, the Republican Party of Florida’s Chairman Dave Bitner lost his courageous battle with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).It has been the honor of a lifetime to work by Chairman Bitner’s side. Not only was Dave a born leader, he was an exemplary man in every sense. In honor of his example, I am committed to ensure that the Republican Party of Florida continues its tradition of service to our beloved state.I ask...

Republican Party of Florida Chairman David Bitner said Wednesday he would resign because of health concerns, a surprising move that sent the party looking for its fourth leader in less than two years. "At the time I first discussed my health with you, I also made a promise that I would serve as the Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida only as long as I could do so with all the energy and attention this position deserves," Bitner, who revealed in April that he had been diagnosed with ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, wrote in a letter...

She was a 25-year-old junior staffer when the Florida Republican Party gave her an American Express card. Over the next 2½ years, nearly $1.3 million in charges wound up on Melanie Phister's AmEx — $40,000 at a London hotel, and nearly $20,000 in plane tickets for indicted former House Speaker Ray Sansom, his wife and kids, for starters. Statements show thousands spent on jewelry, sporting goods and in one case $15,000 for what's listed as a month-long stay at a posh Miami Beach hotel, but which the party says was a forfeited deposit. The credit card records, obtained by the...

As Florida Republicans struggle to define their future, a towering figure from the past has returned to call the shots. Former Gov. Jeb Bush retreated from the public spotlight when he left office in 2006, becoming almost reclusive. But in the last six months, Bush, revered by the party's conservative base, has reasserted his influence and is helping remake the state's political landscape more to his liking. In the process, Bush has dimmed the star of Gov. Charlie Crist.

It has been over a month since Marco Rubio announced his candidacy for US Senate in Florida http://www.marcorubio.com Still nothing about him mentioned on the RPOF website, but the RHINO Crist is plastered all over the site & now McCollum is featured. When is the RPOF going to show that they are neutral? I still don't see any actions that lend validity to Jim Greer's words. Contact the RPOF and let them know how you feel about their Bias attempt to push a RHINO into the Senate Seat. 420 E. Jefferson Street PO Box 311 Tallahassee, FL 32301 Phone: 850.222.7920...

- - The Republican Party of Florida is facing a call for an audit after logging expenses for such items as trips to Disney World. Party bosses defended the expenses. Republican Party of Florida chairman Jim Greer is being asked to answer to a call for an audit of party books amid questions from top Republican leaders as well as rank and file members about spending on chartered jets, five-star hotels, sports tickets and even men's clothing shops this election cycle. ''There are many folks who believe it's time for the RPOF to run the party with an eye toward...

In a nation turned blue, the South remains largely red. That's the takeaway from the 2008 election, and the Republicans' best hope for resurrecting their party. John McCain — for all his political waffling and personal idiosyncrasies — still held on to the South. Except for Virginia and Florida (two states heavily infiltrated by Northerners) and North Carolina (a race so close it couldn't be called until three days after the election), the South remained solidly in the GOP column. From Florida's Panhandle to Louisiana, Arkansas and Tennessee, McCain actually garnered a higher percentage of votes than George W. Bush...

- - Republican governors meeting in Miami say their party has to shift its emphasis from ideology to voters' everyday issues. The Republican Party, still grappling with last week's election results, should position itself as a pragmatic problem-solver for working people, GOP governors meeting in Miami said Wednesday. Without unequivocally stating that the party should move to the ideological center to appeal to moderate voters, leaders at the two-day Republican Governors Association meeting urged their colleagues to tackle education, energy and the environment to broaden the party's base. Largely absent from their discussions at the Intercontinental Hotel in downtown Miami:...