St Pete Times: Marco Rubio Should Endorse A Candidate For RPOF Chairman

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Written by Steven Burden

Thursday, 07 January 2010 01:35

In today's (Jan 6, 2010) 'The Buzz', the Saint Petersburg Times indicted Marco Rubio for 'ducking questions about the issue of the day: Who should replace Jim Greer as chair of the Republican Party of Florida?' The Times wants Rubio to endorse either Sharon Day or John Thrasher immediately. If he doesn't, they imply he is just as bad as Charlie Crist at ducking the issues.

But can that really be true? Consider: Rubio is the Republican State Committeeman for Miami-Dade County. As such, he is one of three representatives for the entire Republican Executive Committee (REC) of Miami-Dade County entitled to vote in the state-wide election. When Rubio votes, he will be voting for all the Precinct/District Committee men and women in the county. Doesn't he have a responsibility to wait and see how his REC judges the candidates before making a decision?

If Rubio does as the St Pete Times implies he should--make a quick, unilateral decision--he would be repeating the mistake that Jim Greer has made over and over again: Endorsement without waiting for the input of the the citizens he represents. Contrary to popular propaganda, the Republican Party of Florida has always been a grass roots driven organization. Leadership that ignores that fact, will not last.

Greer tried to dictate endorsements, both in the 2008 races and again with Crist for Senate. You can see where it got him.