Thurman Calls Greer's Bluff

Reacting to Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer's statement today, telling the St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau, "Let's let the Democrats open their books and then we'll talk," Florida Democratic Party Chair Karen Thurman released the following statement:

"As Chair of the Florida Democratic Party, I strive to be a wise steward of our party's finances and also am committed to being fully transparent. While the details of our finances are readily available through our disclosures to the Division of Elections and Federal Elections Commission, we invite members of the media to come visit our office to review our books.

"Because issuing credit cards in a manner similar to the Republican Party of Florida does not allow for the strict financial controls and level of transparency we demand, the Florida Democratic Party doesn't have credit cards and has nothing to hide.

"The same can not be said of the Republican Party of Florida, which is why I am calling Chairman Greer on his bluff, demanding he open the RPOF's books to scrutiny and release all the RPOF AmEx statements.

"Over the past several years, the Republican Party has allowed disgraced Speaker Ray Sansom, Sen. Jeff Atwater, Sen. Mike Haridopolos, Rep. Dean Cannon, and many others spend over $3.4 million on their AmEx cards. By handing out AmEx cards to Republican leaders, Chairman Greer has turned the RPOF into nothing more than a slush fund."