In what is being called a “bipartisan” effort, Florida Democratic Party Chair Karen Thurman is now officially working for Republican lobbyist Al Cardenas, who advises Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, according to the Miami-Dade County Commission. The strange bedfellowship was first reported by the Miami Herald in July, and while some in the Democratic Party questioned the head of the state party organization lobbying with a Republican operative to the tune of $3,500 per month while receiving $100,000 per annum from the FDP.

A couple of months down the road and a real crisis in the Florida Democratic Party, and the relationship still just doesn’t seem right.

It’s interesting to note that none of the articles on the topic of Thurman’s unholy alliance with Cardenas mentions exactly what she’s supposed to be lobbying for.

… it sure is strange to read a letter from Cardenas, a top advisor to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, praising the woman determined to turn Florida from red to blue in 2008.

”During her time in Congress, Karen worked tirelessly on issues related to healthcare, taxes and the economy,” the letter says. It also notes her “ability to work productively with members of both parties.”

And Cardenas is nothing if not a staunch Republican. Here’s an excerpt from an article in South Florida CEO from 2003, after he stepped down as state Republican chair:

Background: Cardenas’ name has been synonymous with GOP power for decades, including a stint on President-Elect Ronald Reagan’s transition team. Now, with Florida’s governor, cabinet and two-thirds of the state legislature — plus two-thirds of Florida’s federal legislators — all Republicans, says Cardenas, “It’s more of a mission-accomplished feeling in deciding to move on to the next challenge.”

Ambition: Cardenas is now building a high-end government relations practice in Tallahassee and Washington, D.C., with a focus on “up-tier” clients. He is busy hiring top-drawer attorneys to create that type of practice for the firm.

My theory — and I’m sticking to it — is that the commission is trying to shake loose big fed money to pay for a $1 billion tunnel project between the Port of Miami and the mainland. The City of Miami Commission has so far resisted voting on ponying up $50 million for the project. Only last Thursday a looming Sept. 30 deadline to have funding in place was extended indefinitely, to allow the commissioners who are up for re-election in November to defer the vote until after the election.

The state of Florida is kicking in more than $400 million, but that still leaves a gap in the overall $914 million price tag. Enter Cardenas and Thurman, who will be going after federal transportation grants and homeland security grants for the Port of Miami on behalf of the Miami-Dade County Commission. At least that’s what I’m betting.

I’ll leave the questions about whether Thurman helped kill the Florida Democratic Party for the 2008 presidential election to the conspiracy theorists.