For Florida Republicans, Rome is burning. Up and down the state, GOP committee men and women, even some legislators, see what many of their leaders in Tallahassee don't -- a party on the verge of losing its grip on the power and majority it's enjoyed since 1996.
"We could lose it all," said Jim Guth, chairman of the Republican Party of Polk County. "This year isn't like any other. I don't think all of our party leaders see it."
Nancy Riley, state committeewoman from Pinellas County, hopes it isn't too late for the party to get its act together, but she didn't sound hopeful. "This is the biggest election year in my lifetime coming up, and we're not united," she said. "This thing with the governor is so divisive."
Riley, Guth and others in the party -- every one of them full of praise for the job Rick Scott has done to boost growth and the economy in the third largest state in the nation -- nevertheless expressed their profound disappointment in his inability to take the long view, a governor who puts a personal grudge above the greater good of the state party.
The sad truth is hardly a surprise: Scott basically has abandoned the RPOF. He doesn't make calls to help it raise money. He doesn't give it any part of his "Let's Get to Work" leadership fund.
The governor plain never got over party members failing to return Leslie Dougher, his hand-picked party chair, to office last January. Dougher was defeated by Rep. Blaise Ingoglia.
With Dougher, the governor had control of a Tallahassee-centric party. With Ingoglia, he had a man he didn't know, a man with his own ideas, who campaigned on bringing the party back to the people, using the latest technology, winning the grassroots game. Scott's plans all were with Dougher.
You would have thought, wouldn't you, that Ingoglia's list of successes so far on so meager a budget would have turned the governor's head. You would have thought Scott, smart as he is, might have found a way to turn Ingoglia into an important part of his plans to run for U.S. Senate in 2018. But that's not what happened.
What does Scott do? He jumps on the bandwagon of the latest trend in campaigning: Freelancing. Operating like an independent contractor. He dials for his own dollars, pulls all the money he can into his own fund. He doesn't share. That's the M.O. of a high profile candidate who plans to run for higher office.
The Senate, with its own grudge against House member Ingoglia, pulled its money out of RPOF, too. Even the Cabinet, many members with their own dreams of higher office to freelance for, has been slow in coming back to the party fold.
"The governor did make an appearance at the Sunshine Summit in November," said Lindsay Harrington, former speaker pro tempore from Charlotte County. Harrington was anxious to give Scott the benefit of the doubt. "And we don't know for sure what he intends to do, he could yet give us some of his money. But I admit, he could be more statesmanlike. More participative."
Harrington, Guth and Doug Rankin, committeeman with the Collier County Republican Party, all pointed out that Ingoglia didn't just eke out the party chair victory, he won it overwhelmingly and for a reason. "We elect people we believe will help us raise the money we need and accomplish winning goals," Rankin said.
Ingoglia, when asked to comment, said in no way has he given up on Gov. Scott. "This is a good governor," he said, "a good Republican who understands what an important year this is. I haven't given up on him. I'm still going to be here for him, stay approachable and reach out when I can." And he said some in the Senate have begun to give the party money again -- Joe Negron, Jack Latvala, Bill Galvano, President Andy Gardiner, and more. Speaker Steve Crisafulli, Richard Corcoran and the House have been supportive from Day One.
When I say Rome is burning, I'm talking about all the little fires already blazing around the edge of the party in 2016. It's going to take a special effort -- and, frankly, a lot of money -- to put them out, and I'm just afraid too many firefighters are having the day off.
Consider:
This is a presidential election year. To win, the Republican nominee first has to take Florida and Ohio. If this is, as many have indicated, the most important year for Republicans in decades, then the party needs focus and money, not grudges and selfishness. It needs to beef up its ground game, compete with its own social media and technology, stay ahead of the Florida Democratic Party. Lose this race, lose coattails for a lot of good candidates.
Reapportionment means more marginal seats. Speaking of coattails ... It's a whole new ballgame. Districts are no longer predominantly red or blue and Florida still has more registered Democrats than Republicans. Many more seats will be hotly contested. Though it's doubtful Republicans could lose the House in 2016, they could lose a lot of ground in the Senate. A few Democrat pickups in 2016 might not affect Joe Negron's presidency, but without an RPOF effort, in 2020, Wilton Simpson's isn't so sure.
Candidates for local office need help. These candidates are often the party's future leaders. Every state committee person I talked with told me recruiting, training, building winning campaign teams are things RPOF was missing, things they can do well with Ingoglia's enthusiasm, if RPOF has financial support.
As always, I was unable to connect with Gov. Scott. The governor's press office directed me to his "Let's Get to Work" office, where I talked to a recording and never got a call back.
I hope Rick Scott understands that Republican Party members in Florida, like Lindsay Harrington, want to think the best of their governor. But Scott should also realize that he is more than their governor, he is the leader of the state party. If he continues to abandon the RPOF, he could do a lot worse than hurt a few feelings. Ask some of the Republicans who held office in Florida before 1996.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith.
