Jim Greer is that guy...the one you’re not sure is running or not, and if he is, you’re not sure you want him to win or not.

To be honest, I believe the idea that Greer had a chance to be RNC Chair was born when it was felt that McCain might be President, and Crist Vice-President, and that by affiliation Greer would be top pick for the spot. Those things didn’t happen, but that doesn’t mean that Greer doesn’t still have a shot.

Greer has been one of many names floated for RNC chairman, but the fact is no one will know they actual nominees until the RNC meets. According to ""Fla GOP Chairman mulling bid for RNC chief" on from Media General News Service, Greer will decide whether or not to run for RNC chief until after it is determined whether or not he will be reelected as Florida GOP Chairman.

First, some of the things I like about Greer. One is that Florida Republicans more or less held their ground in the 2008 elections. Yes, Florida went to Obama and state Republicans lost a little ground, but for Republicans to only lose a little is good by 2008 standards.

Second, Greer can raise some money. According to campaignmoney.com, Greer raised $168,400 for his 2006 campaign for Florida Chairman. That’s more than Steele raised for all of GOPAC’s federal activities.

Third, Greer has a way with words. His printed statements are motivating, and I include some below.

"Putting the people back in politics"

Politico, 12/13/08

It was a perfect environment for Democrats in Florida. The nation wanted change. Florida Democrats were awash in cash and staff, with a never-before-seen-ground game. Yet the Florida Democrat Party defeated not one – not a single one – of our Republican incumbents in the Florida House and Senate. In Miami, an area Barack Obama carried, Mario and Lincoln Diaz-Balart both fended off credible, well-funded, DCCC-backed candidates. Republicans also picked up Congressional District 16 seat with Tom Rooney.

While Republicans have produced results for the people, we’ve also kept true to our pledge to reduce spending and return more tax dollars to the people, illustrated by the Cato Institute’s recent naming of Gov. Crist as the most fiscally conservative governor in the United States.

Our party’s future is bright, but we need a decisive vision. We need new energy, new ideas and an unwavering commitment to our party’s long-standing values and principles of less government, lower taxes and more freedom. We need leaders who aren’t afraid to stand up for what’s right with our Party and start a dialogue on what we can do to get it back to basics—back to the people.

We’ve done it right in Florida by putting the people back in politics, and that’s the only way we can re-energize the GOP on a national level. Ultimately, Americans don’t care if their leaders have an "R" or a "D" behind their name. Americans want more than a leader who represents conservative ideals…they want a leader who has something to show for it.

Now, some of the things I don’t like about Greer.

I have commented that outside of election time there is little effort by the Republican Party to engage Republican voters. I live in Florida and occasionally look at the Florida GOP website. Until I became interested in the RNC race I had no idea that he was considering running for Chairman; neither did I know that Greer was up for reelection in Florida, and neither did I know that there were two challengers for Florida Chairman. It’s almost like the Republican Party has nothing to do with Republicans.

My second concern is that if Greer is elected Chairman he might move the Republican Party in a more moderate direction. Crist is widely considered to be moderate, Greer is widely considered to be moderate, I will go with the crowd and call him a moderate.

Why do I believe Greer would lead the GOP in a moderate direction?

From the Palm Beach Post

"State GOP’s endorsement miffs locals"

George Bennet

In a party that extols the virtues of decentralized power, county GOP bosses aren't pleased by the involvement of Crist and his handpicked Florida GOP chairman, Jim Greer, in contested Republican primaries.

"The perception for the rank-and-file Republicans is that people are picking and choosing candidates and the grass-roots network will eventually erode because they feel they don't have a part in it," Martin County Republican Chairwoman Susan Auld said.

Palm Beach County Republican Chairman Sid Dinerstein said he's a "big fan" of Crist and Greer, but "clearly I'm more of a believer - when there's no incumbent involved - in letting it all play out in the primary

From a Greer Speech

I intend to create a bench building program whereby our party will identify quality Republican candidates on the local level who can successfully seek higher office when the time is right.

To me these indicate a man with an interest in promoting like-minded Republicans.

I don’t know Greer and can’t personally can’t say whether he really is moderate or not. The problem with using the internet to research people and issues is that the only things you can find out are those which people put on the internet. If you look at a candidate’s website you are only going to find the face that they want you to see. As for blogs and even newspapers, a lot of what you see are just opinions for or against.

Who is to say that one person is a moderate, and another a conservative? From what I have seen the vast majority of Republican candidates call themselves conservatives, and the few that admit their political ideology usually call themselves "traditional" or "mainstreet" Republicans rather than moderates. The fact is that Republicans will disagree on matters of policy, and what you will find is that some of the people who are called moderates are only moderate on one or two major issues but conservative on the majority of Republican issues.

The Republicans I have a problem with are the ideological moderates who want the entire Republican Party to be more centrist. Besides the ideological centrists, there are probably a lot of experts who think the GOP needs to more to the center and more away from social issues to appeal to a majority of voters. So, IF Greer is nominated and IF he is perceived as the moderate candidate for RNC chair, and IF a sizeable percentage RNC members want a moderate chairman, I think he could win it.

I’m not going to make any predictions for who will win RNC Chair, and at this point neither do I have a strong preference for any of them, but if you group the candidates you can see how some could split voting blocks. With one incumbent and so many challengers, Duncan might be reelected. If it comes down to purely a matter of race, Steele and Blackwell could split the votes of those who want a Black RNC Chairman, thus making it less likely that either would win. I can’t say which candidates are supposed to be conservatives, but two or more of them splitting the conservative vote would be at an overall disadvantage. If Greer is the only one perceived as a moderate, it is possible that he could win.

Really, I am surprised that there are no female candidates for RNC Chair, at least not yet. The Republican Party of every state and territory of the US sends three members to the RNC, these being the state Chairman, the state Committeeman, and the state Committeewoman. This being the case, over 1/3 of the RNC is female, you would think that one woman campaigning against 5 or 6 guys would have a huge advantage.