The ongoing political feud between Senator Marco Rubio’s home Republican Executive Committee and one of it’s elected officials, who has openly endorsed his presidential primary rival Ted Cruz, has just blown wide open.
Miami-Dade GOP vice Chairman Manny Roman openly endorsed Senator Ted Cruz for president, but did so as an activist, and not using his official position within the organization.The local GOP’s chairman, Nelson Diaz, who is a close friend, political ally, and former employee of Rubio’s, pushed back against Roman’s support for Cruz, and is now pushing to oust him from the group.
Here is what Diaz said about Romano’s support for Cruz:
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Completing this poll grants you access to Shark Tank updates free of charge. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to this site's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.It is inappropriate for party leaders to put their thumbs on the scales of what should grassroots elections. The Republican Party doesn’t endorse candidates in contested primaries for a reason: we let the grassroots decide who our nominee should be.
Moreover, it is a violation of Party Rules (and the Loyalty Oath we all signed) to use our titles and position to endorse one Republican over another.
Privately, of course, we can all support the candidate of our choice, but using our titles and positions is not only a violation of our rules but also a violation of the trust that party members placed in us. The nominee should win by election of the grassroots, in a bottom-up manner, not a top-down push by party leadership.This is why I have stayed publicly neutral in this primary season. It is my hope that other party leaders don’t try to put their thumbs on the scales as well.-Nelson Diaz (Source)
And then there is this image of Diaz staying “publicly neutral in this primary season.”
Now Senator Ted Cruz’s campaign has weighed in on the matter, penning a letter to Diaz asking him to squash an upcoming vote to oust Roman from the committee.
The letter rips Diaz and Team Rubio for not supporting Roman’s right to free speech, and for playing in the gutter to “bully” and “demean” him for supporting a candidate other than Rubio.
Team Cruz then went for Rubio’s immigration jugular, stating that he would rather “grant free speech rights to 11 million illegal aliens living in the U.S., “than protect the free speech rights of his fellow Miamian Manny Roman.Ouch!
Here is the letter written and sent to Diaz by Cruz’s political director, Mark Campbell:
Rather than support Mr. Roman’s exercise of his free speech rights, one of the bedrock principles of the Republican Party and our nation, you and the Rubio campaign chose to bully and demean him for his support for a candidate solely because that candidate wasn’t approved by your political establishment. There are numerous examples of party leaders, including you, publicly supporting candidates for president.
This motion is nothing more than a blatant political attack aimed at stifling the growing support for Ted Cruz in Florida. 4 This act flies in the face of the principles of the Republican Party. It’s striking that your former employer, Marco Rubio, would rather grant free speech rights to 11 million people in the United States illegally than protect the free speech rights of his fellow Miamian Manny Roman.
This election should be won through ideas and grassroots organization, not the Clintonstyle strong arming this motion represents. We respectfully request that this motion be tabled so the voices of courageous conservatives all across Florida can be heard.-Mark Campbell, Ted Cruz for President
There are numerous other Florida state and local Republican officials that are personally supporting other candidates, including Republican Party of Florida vice chairman Joe Gruters, who has openly endorsed Donald Trump for president.
So, why not go after them?
Simply put, Team Rubio is going after Roman because Cruz is beating Rubio in all of the national polls, and is making huge political inroads in his own backyard.
Do you think Roman would be feeling this kind of pressure if he was supporting Donald Trump or even Ben Carson?
The answer is a great big fat “nope.”Diaz and Rubio loyalists within the Miami-Dade GOP have scheduled a vote on January 7 (today) to kick Roman out of the committee.
The Republican Liberty Caucus in Florida is planning a demonstration in support of Roman, who has vowed that will not be intimidated to pull his support for Ted Cruz, or succumb to any other pressures.
This is a country that acknowledges the right of free speech for all of its citizens. This is the United States of America. This is not Cuba.-Manny Roman
The Miami political mafia has lived up to its name, as “Don” Marco Rubio has refused to show true leadership by not putting an end to this embarrassing intra-party/family squabble.
Anyway you look at it, this is losing situation for Team Rubio.We directly reached out to Rubio on this matter, but have not received a return text.