It is amazing the crap you can buy on eBay

The Florida GOP just sold a portrait of Gov. Charlie Crist on eBay for $7700. The Portrait was on display at the state GOP headquarters in Tallahassee. GOP officials paid $7500 last year for the Crist portrait and one of former Florida Republican Chairman Jim Greer. Greer, who resigned earlier this year due to allegations of misspending (does $7500 for a couple of paintings ring a bell?), was given his portrait

This raises so many issues, questions and thoughts in my mind that I don’t know where to start…but I will try to list a few.

1. Why would you want a portrait of Crist unless you were Crist himself (to hang at home or in office etc), a friend buying it to give to Crist as a gift (or draw a mustache on as a very expensive joke) or his parents, proud of their son? Seriously…any other reason you can think of? (sorry, not going to make a comment about a gay rights group looking for a new leader here…That is beneath my standards)


2. Did Greer leave the office with his portrait under his arm like Vince Vaughn’s character in Wedding Crashers? “The painting was a gift…. I’m taking it with me”. What? Greer’s parents or Greer himself didn’t want to buy his? Or it wasn’t worth putting on eBay in hopes that he has some creepy stalker willing to pay something for his portrait?
   


3. Couldn’t the buyer have just contacted the artist and had them make another painting of Crist for say, $3750? He just did the two paintings a year ago for $7500. Why pay $7700 for one of them now? I see no historical significance to this one. I mean, it is not like this is a Picasso that I would be willing to pay $106.5million for or something.

In a statement, the state Republican Party said “Today we completed an important step by selling the prime example of the lavish and inappropriate spending that occurred during the Greer/Crist administration…. It’s a new day at the Republican Party of Florida”. They said money from the painting’s sale would go into the state party’s coffers to help get more Republicans elected this fall. Plans are in the works for a lavish party to celebrate this “new day”. All the bigwigs from the Republican Party will be flying in on their private jets to attend.