Tag Archives: jeff atwater

Republican Cabinet Members Endorse Lenny Curry’s Reelection

From PolitiJax:

The three Republican members of the Florida Cabinet Tuesday endorsed Lenny Curry’s bid to serve as chairman of the Republican Party of Florida for a second term.

The announced support from CFO Jeff Atwater, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam came a day after Gov. Rick Scott endorsed Curry, who also heads the Duval County GOP.

“Chairman Curry believes that Republicans must continue to have a strong voice not only in the political process, but also in framing the debate for local, state and national issues which builds the foundation of our party,” Bondi said in a statement that included comments from all three cabinet members.

Despite Florida going to president Barack Obama, and Republicans losing seats in both Congress and the state legislature, there are no announced challengers running against Curry.

Members of the party’s executive committee will select the next chairman at their annual meeting.

Here is the release

FLORIDA CABINET MEMBERS ENDORSE LENNY CURRY FOR SECOND TERM AS RPOF CHAIRMAN

Today, members of the Florida Cabinet – Attorney General Pam Bondi, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, and Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Adam Putnam – unanimously endorsed Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) Chairman Lenny Curry in his bid to lead the state GOP for another term.

“Chairman Curry believes that Republicans must continue to have a strong voice not only in the political process, but also in framing the debate for local, state and national issues which builds the foundation of our party,” said Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi. “His unwavering commitment to our principles and his dedication to improving how we communicate our message, has earned him another term as leader of our party.”

“As Florida’s Chief Financial Officer, accountability and transparency in how funds are managed is critical to the strength of any organization, whether they be taxpayer dollars or political contributions,” said CFO Jeff Atwater. “Chairman Lenny Curry has proven leadership in securing and allocating much needed resources to support local efforts across the board. He has my full support as Chairman.”

“Traveling the state this past election cycle, I have seen firsthand how critically important local grassroots operations are to any campaign effort,” said Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam. “Chairman Curry led a well-coordinated effort for Florida campaigns. I am confident our local and state victories will continue to increase in 2014 under the leadership of Chairman Curry.”

RPOF Chairman Lenny Curry is up for election to a two-year term after serving the remaining 15 months of the late Chairman Dave Bitner’s term. Eligible voting members of the RPOF include the chairs, state committeeman and state committeewoman from each of Florida’s 67 counties, the Florida Republican Congressional Delegation, the Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives and ten of their appointees from each of their respective bodies, and ten appointees of Governor Rick Scott.

There are currently no other announced candidates for RPOF Chairman. Florida Governor Rick Scott and former RPOF Chair, current Senator John Thrasher (R-St. Augustine), have endorsed Curry’s bid in recent days.

Ups and Downs at the RNC Convention

Now that the RNC Convention is in the history books, let’s recap some ups and downs (as well as some “evens”) from the RNCconvention.

Ups

Paul Ryan.  Definitely a rising star.  Came across as thoughtful, honest, full of ideas, and just plain cool.  When was the last time you heard a Republican refer to AC/DC and Zepplin?

Condi Rice.  Great speech.  Great story about her upbringing. No teleprompter.  Who knew she was that good?

Marco Rubio.  Though most in Florida have heard a version of the speech he gave, he did introduce the Republican nominee for President.  This sets him up for the future.  So what if he made a little flub in the speech – he’s a Republican rock star.

Jeb Bush.  Proving once again that he’s the authority on education reform.

Rick Scott.  Sometimes you’re a winner when you realize other things are more important.  Gov. Scott proved that he’s more concerned about his duties as Governor by attending to circumstances involving Hurricane Isaac.

The Fresh from Florida Breakfast Series.    From protesters interrupting Sen. Rubio to the “real” Chris Christie speech, this was where the real action was.  This series made the awful hour long bus rides to the convention seem like a minor inconvenience.

Adam Putnam.  The MC of the “Fresh from Florida Series.”  He did a great job of setting himself up for the future.

Mitt Romney.  Though his speech was nothing exciting, he did what he had to do.

Ann Romney.  A heartfelt speech that made you feel like she was already the first lady.

Susana Martinez.  Wonderful heartfelt speech that made you realize why she could have been considered VP material.  Her story about suddenly realizing why she was a Republican resonates with many.

Evens.

Chris Christie.  His RNC Convention speech was too focused on himself…but his “Fresh from Florida” speech hit all the right notes.

Florida Delegation.  Sure, they were in No Man’s Land at the Innisbrook.  Sure there was the bus problems on Tuesday.  But the “Fresh from Florida” breakfasts made up for it.

Jeff Atwater.  The CFO seemed overshadowed by Adam Putnam throughout the week, with Atwaters only appearance being on the final day of the “Fresh from Florida” series. Where was an “ice cream social” when you needed one?

RPOF.  The bus situation was horrible.  The lack of security that allowed protesters to infiltrate Sen. Rubio’s speech was embarrassing.  It also made everyone wonder why they paid $350-$400 for an “Event Pass” if everyone could get in.  If it wasn’t for the “Fresh from Florida” series, the RPOF would be in our “Down” column.

Security.  Too much downtown (and not enough at Innisbrook) made it a pain to get around.  It makes the even category because all the security personnel were actually very nice and extremely helpful.

Downs.

Pam Bondi.  A strange pairing with the Georgia Attorney General was just plain weird.  We know AG Bondi can do better than that.

Telepromter jokes.  You can’t really make too many jokes about Obama using the teleprompter when our own people use it too.

Protesters.  First of all, there weren’t that many of them.  Secondly, they seemed petty to interrupt Rubio and attempt to interrupt Ryan and Romney.  They had little impact.

Ron Paul Sore Losers.  Are they really Republicans?  Yes, the “Rule Change” stuff was heavy-handed and unnecessary, but giving your passes to protesters is bad form.

“Rule Change.”  Was it really necessary?  Did the RNC and Romney campaign really need to worry so much about Ron Paul speaking at the convention?  We will never know, but we wonder if the heavy-handedness of the rule change might not have just made things worse?

Tampa.  Most shops reported reduced business.  Hotels seemed like they were in another time zone.  Downtown seemed like a demilitarized zone.  This didn’t seem like a great city to hold a convention in.

Clint Eastwood.  Yes, we love Clint at FCN.  No, we didn’t think his skit with the chair was as awful as the mainstream media made it out to be.  Our problem was that he took valuable prime time screen time away from Romney, and that’s a problem.  Years from now, his skit might be the only thing that sticks in people’s minds.

Romney Florida Team Update 1/18/2012 – Endorsements, Teams, Staffer Bios

PART OF A SERIES WE WILL UPDATE REGULARLY:

LATEST UPDATE from 1/18/2012:

Statement from Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos:

“We have been fortunate in this Republican Presidential Primary to have many solid candidates. I was not planning to publicly endorse a candidate before the Florida primary. However, I have grown deeply concerned and disappointed about the attacks being launched on Mitt Romney by other candidates. I believe we are the party of better ideas. We need to focus on the positive ideas that our party can bring to the policy arena and not simply attack our political adversaries, both Republican and Democrat.

“Rather than talking about how President Obama has weakened the American economy or debating limited government solutions for turning our country around, Mitt Romney’s opponents are spending too much time on misleading and counter-productive attacks. Those attacks on a fellow Republican won’t help our party secure victory in November and may, in fact, help President Obama get re-elected. It’s time for Republicans to be the party of better ideas and debate how we grow our economy and create new jobs – and I believe Mitt Romney is the best man for the job.

“Mitt Romney possesses solid private sector experience and has a proven conservative record – he is a principled, limited-government Republican who is focused on cutting spending, implementing tax reform, and reducing government red tape. He is the only candidate to outline a plan to deal with our economic competitors abroad, and he’s run an honorable campaign to uphold the principles of the Republican Party and defend the ideals that make America exceptional.

“I encourage all Florida Republicans to support Mitt Romney in the primary and to work hard for him in the general election to ensure President Obama is a one-term president.”

Courtesy Postonpolitics.com

Earlier today… Continue reading

Romney Rally in West Palm Beach (VIDEO)

Courtesy Palm Beach Post: 1/12/2012:

Sounding more like a general election nominee than a candidate slogging through a crowded primary field, Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney ripped President Obama‘s handling of the economy and the federal budget before a crowd of about 400 at the Palm Beach County Convention Center.

“We’ve had three years now with unemployment above 8 percent,” Romney said. “You remember three years ago the newly elected president said ‘Let me borrow $787 billion, I’ll keep unemployment below 8 percent.’ It hasn’t been below since. This president has failed the American people.”

The 8 percent “promise,” frequently mentioned by Republican candidates, is a reference to a projection by Obama’s economic advisers in January 2009 that a stimulus package would keep unemployment below 8 percent and the jobless rate would near 9 percent otherwise. Continue reading

RPOF Best, Worst and Superlatives of 2011

It’s the end of 2011, so, like many publications, we’re doing the Best and Worst of 2011.  So here’s the RPOF’s Best, Worst and Superlatives of 2011.

RPOF Stories of the Year: 3 Chairmen in One Year & Presidency 5

Three Chairmen in One Year.  2011 began with Senator John Thrasher as RPOF Chair, and in January 2011 we saw the election of David Bitner in a 5-way race.   Mr. Bitner passed away from ALS in September, which led to current Chair Lenny Curry’s unopposed election at Presidency 5.

Presidency 5.  While not the most organized of events (many complained about too many events taking place at the same time and the walking distance between events), Presidency 5 was a vast improvement over Presidency 4.  It was a successful fundraiser for the RPOF, and by extension the RECs who received a portion of the funds. Continue reading