NEWS
FROM THE FLORIDA DEMOCRATIC PARTY

For
Immediate Release: Sept. 16, 2009

Tallahassee,
FL – 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.”

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