Do you need an attorney?

BY BUDDY NEVINS

Jim Greer is a shoe-in to be re-elected chairman of the Florida Republican Party.

That’s the belief of pundits like Beth Reinhard of the Miami Herald.  

 
The news that Greer is about to win another term is upsetting to some who claimed to have worked with him in the past election.

There is an anti-Greer e-mail circulating through Republican ranks in recent days.  

It’s sent by someone using the name The Old Advanceman.  That is essentially anonymous.

But The Old Advanceman is a shameless name dropper and has an e-mail list of powerful GOPers.

He is also very humorous. 

Here it is:

“Dear Republican National Committee Member:

I’ve done advance work for Republicans like Governor Ronald Reagan, Vice President George Bush, Senator Jim Buckley, Governor George Pataki and now, Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin. At Senator McCain’s request, I took a leave from my job to handle advance work for the McCain-Palin Campaign.

I was responsible for advance work and preparations for numerous trips to Florida by Senator McCain and Governor Palin, as well as Senator Lieberman and Senator Fred Thompson. In the thirty years I have been doing political advance work, I have met and dealt with many local politicians who have big ideas about using my candidate’s visit to the state to benefit themselves politically-but I have never met a more difficult, ego-maniacal, incompetent and self-aggrandizing person in politics than Florida Republican Chairman, Jim Greer.

The man’s childish outbursts, threats, and demands just about wore me out! As Chairman of RPOF, he was quick to pay for limos, charter jets and hotel suites for him and his entourage, but couldn’t come up with any more money for McCain-Palin state ticket collateral, including yards signs which the RPOF could pay for under federal law.

When he turned his request in at the last minute and was not seated on Governor Palin’s plane when she campaigned across Florida, he screamed he’d “have my job” before hanging up on me on the cell phone. I guess he didn’t know that John and Cindy McCain have been friends of mine for 20 years and that my “job” expired on November 5th. Greer also threatened several other McCain staffers that he would have them fired when he was told he wouldn’t be boarding Palin’s plane.

Greer went out and leased a jet so he could arrive before Palin at every campaign rally and position himself near the podium to get in the TV shot. I understand it cost the Republican Party of Florida $12,000, yet I don’t see how it got McCain-Palin any votes.

Then there was the rally in Orlando just before early voting. Senator Fred Thompson was alone on stage speaking for a satellite TV hook up for Republicans across the state. Greer climbed on stage and positioned himself over Thompson’s left shoulder. He then started mugging, nodding and leading applause for the TV cameras. Even Greer’s own staff was embarrassed by his antics.

I have worked with probably 40 Republican State Chairmen in my political experience. I worked with former RPOF Chairmen Tom Slade and Al Cardenas and found them to be co-operative professionals. I have never seen a Republican State Chair with an entourage like Jim Greer. He has two bodyguards, an advance team, two assistants and a full time driver for a limo. This seems excessive to me.

Like a celebrity, he demands certain brands of items be in his limo and plane at all times. These include: certain brands of light and imported beers, six bags of chocolate peanut M&Ms, four bottles of Zephyrhills water, six Canada Dry ginger ale (must be Canada Dry), four bottles of Perrier, one bottle of Ketel One Vodka, and a bottle of Jack Daniels. This is all to be loaded in to two coolers of a certain size in the back of the limo the Chairman uses when he hits town.

This man’s ego is out of control. He actually told me he was the de-facto Lieutenant Governor because he said Lt. Governor Kottkamp was “retarded.” He demanded that I do not communicate with Governor Crist or George LeMieux directly- that I must go through him. The hell with that. Both Crist and LeMieux were very helpful to the McCain campaign in Florida.

I decided to write this because I read in the Washington Post that Jim Greer is talking about running for Chairman of the Republican National Committee. Jim Greer has no discernable political skill whatsoever. I respectfully urge Republican National Committee members to carefully research Jim Greer’s record, including his incessant spending before considering him as a candidate for anything!
Because I am not interested in threats from Jim Greer’s goons, I’ve decided to sign this……

The Old Advanceman

Closed.