Here we go again...
The entire Republican Party of Florida recently breathed a sigh of relief, not to mention Marco Rubio, after their former chairman Jim Greer pled guilty to grand theft and money laundering recently instead of making good on his threat to publicly take them all down with him during a trial, sparing them what could have been an ugly spotlight on (wink, wink) "rumored corruption."
But alas, this is the Republican Party after all, so as one scandal bites the dust (for now, anyway) another one always manages to make it into the sunlight. Today is no different.
And so it goes, another member of the party of "family values" has made fresh new headlines. This time it's an elected Republican state committeeman, and the arrest involves child pornography charges:
Lane Rees, a former Walton County Commissioner and its elected Republican state committeeman, has been arrested on child pornography charges.
Rees was taken into custody at about 5 p.m. Monday at his Santa Rosa Beach home after deputies served a search warrant, Walton County Sheriff Mike Adkinson said.
He has been charged with possession of child pornography. Adkinson said “multiple images” were found at the home.
“Corroborating evidence” supporting the charges “was found at the home,” Adkinson said. “He has for sure got some pretty significant images.”
Rees was a former Walton County Commissioner until he was defeated for reelection in a scandalous campaign:
The Rees-Brannon campaign was eye opening for the amount of money that was raised by two men seeking a seat that paid less than $34,000 a year. The Florida Commission on Ethics would later fine Brannon and a group that supported his campaign for violations.
Rees was named the “Community Walton Man of the Year” in 2011.
Community Man of the Year? Okey-dokey...
It's just like your Republican mom always used to tell you boys and girls:
"It's all fun and games until your fund raising earns you an ethics violation, forces a guilty plea, a prison sentence, or some "pretty significant child pornography images" you downloaded to your computer are discovered by the authorities."
No doubt Rees will join other previously shunned members of the party in Florida, who got caught, like Jim Greer. But for each new "bad apple" GOP designated scapegoat, there are always several more goats waiting in the field to be exposed. (Pardon the pun.) They just can't help themselves.
We can only wonder now who will be next. After all, it's only Tuesday...
Cross posted at Beach Peanuts