Radical Republican Chair Mark Flanagan’s Expensive "Trump Day" Dinner

After taking over the local Republican Executive Committee, Mark Flanagan spent an outrageous amount of money to bring in Lara Trump, Donald J. Trump's daughter-in-law. In reviewing the reports, her fee was $90,000 for an event on which Flanagan spent over a quarter of a million dollars. The next largest item was food at over $90,000.

There is no surprise that the event was largely funded by developers. This developer influence has dominated the election, and events like this provide an inside look at how the local Manatee Republican Executive Committee (REC) has been corrupted.

The financial reports filed with the Supervisor of Elections must disclose how Flanagan gets the money to pull off an event. They also reveal who funds the text messages the REC has sent out to favor developer-backed candidates. Some of the developers' names are the usual suspects, like Bob Spencer and Pat Neal. Some hide their names and use a company.

For example, Charlie Michaels, Inc. contributed $20,000. Corporate records identify Carlos Beruff as an officer of Charlie Michaels, Inc., an active Florida corporation registered in 1998. The company's officers also include Charles Tokarz and Janelle Beruff, Carlos’s wife. It is not illegal, but when you read these reports, it is critical that you look for the man behind the curtain.

I remember my first Lincoln Day Dinner and am sad that it has been corrupted by what I call the Trump pleasers. Changing the name of the Lincoln Day Dinner disrespects the roots of our Republican Party. That dinner was at the Elks Lodge on 75th Street. It was when the regular person could be part of something special. We did not need to bring in a $90,000 speaker and spend another $90,000 on food. But then again, the 1990s were when our party truly was conservative.

I remain optimistic that the Republican Party will return to being a party of the people and not just the rich and special interests. I also think it's healthy for our party and democracy to raise concerns about our leadership.

I am not alone; we have all felt the impacts of President Trump and his policies. I give him credit for addressing the border crisis; however, I fault our Republicans for not working with Democrats to solve it sooner, and vice versa. It is important to remind everyone that we still do not have a comprehensive immigration policy.

Our national policies stem from the radical right like Flanagan, which fuels this President to inflict pain like no other POTUS in my lifetime. We didn’t need to make America great before Trump—it was already great and respected—but we need to make America great again now more than ever, even if it takes the help of Democrats.

Inflation and the high cost of fuel and food are the direct result of conflicts Trump promised he would prevent. The pain is not over yet, and to the families that lost loved ones, it will never be over. When Trump thinks our Russian adversary, Putin, is a humanitarian, we need to correct our country’s course. When our President negotiates with Putin, a known killer, to pay him for diesel fuel that only provides funds to kill more Ukrainians, our local Republicans like Flanagan stay quiet.

That is shameful! First, there is no proof that the Putin/Trump deal will lower the price of diesel; second, it comes at the cost of lives, which is unacceptable. Let us put people in office who will seek peace and not continue a painful war that has not only impacted our country but has inflicted so much pain on the rest of the world.

Joe McClash is the publisher of The Bradenton Times, a Marine Corps veteran, and a former Manatee County commissioner who served for 22 years as a Republican.