Jim “Big Jim” Greer announced today that he is resigning as chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, effective Feb. 20. Pressure from a small, conservative group of Florida Republicans had been mounting on Greer to leave his post, mainly due to his blind devotion to Gov. Charlie Crist and his rabid dislike of Marco Rubio, Crist’s likely primary opponent in the U.S. Senate race.

I, for one, will miss Big Jim. I have used this space on several occasions to point out Greer’s idiotic, quote-bedecked ramblings that masqueraded as press releases. To me, Jim Greer is the embodiment of the fat-cat Florida Republican — dangerous as a crocodile, loyal as a hound dog, stubborn as a mule and mean as a rattlesnake — all of it wrapped up in a kind of good ole boy panache enhanced by expensive suits and fashionable polo shirts. And he could sure turn an unusual phrase as he repeatedly challenged the syntactical and punctuational norms of the English language in his periodic messages.

In announcing Greer’s resignation, the RPOF issued a document that consisted of a statement by Crist, a second statement by two of the RPOF members most responsible for kicking Greer to the curb, followed by Greer’s letter of resignation — an interesting and volatile document that effectively encapsulates the negative forces at work inside the RPOF without coming right out and saying it.

Here is two-thirds of Charlie Crist’s three-sentence statement regarding the man he handpicked for the chairmanship three years ago:

Jim has long been a loyal servant to the Republican cause, and I appreciate the many sacrifices the Chairman, his wife Lisa, and their four children have made to ensure our Party’s continued success in the Sunshine State. Chairman Greer has and always will have my unwavering support.

“I call on Florida Republicans to unite behind our common values of less government and more personal freedom and sincerely hope that we can move forward together to ensure statewide Republican victories in 2010.

You couldn’t get a broader and more inclusive statement of the Republican philosophy than the Big Tent of “less government and more personal freedom.” Hell, I bet even Marco Rubio could get behind that ….

Joint Statement by Senator Haridopolos and Representative Cannon Regarding Chairman Jim Greer:

As Chairman, Jim understands not only the importance of this critical election this year, but also the need to adequately prepare the State Party and diverse grassroots communities for the fight ahead, and we believe his legacy will be reflected in many victories yet to come.

It has never been more important that Republicans focus on the task at hand by uniting in support of our common goals. For the first time since Reconstruction, we are facing open races in a United States Senate seat, the Governor’s Mansion, all of our Cabinet seats, half of the Florida Senate, and the entire House of Representatives.

As the 2010 Election Cycle rapidly approaches, we encourage all Florida Republicans to unite together to ensure that Republicans carry the day in 2010.

So they say, but it’s the 2012 election cycle, the one where they want to elect the newfound neo-fascist Rubio over part-time governor Crist, that these two Bozos really are interested in.

And finally we come to Big Jim’s letter of resignation. As has been the case with his more recent RPOF ramblings, it is a mixture of hurt feelings, defense of his record and barely concealed anger with just a hint of a threat in it. Dispensing with the first four paragraphs that recapped his accomplishments, both real and imagined, here are some highlights of the fun bits:

However, despite the great progress our Party has seen over the last three years, a small but vocal group within our Party has made it a point to destroy this progress and negatively impact our opportunity for victory in 2010. There has been, as you may be aware, an effort by this group to seek my removal for reasons that hold no justification. The facts and accuracy relating to this issue have become lost and irrelevant to these disruptive efforts and despite my own efforts, in addition to the efforts of others, to correct the record with the facts and truthfulness, these divisive individuals and their efforts continue without any concern for our Party’s future.

Big Jim goes to great efforts — indeed four of them in one sentence — to allude to some vague untruthiness that shall not be named that’s been lost, but that’s put about by a group always described as “small and vocal.” However, he never gets any more specific than that.

While I am honored by your unwavering support and the support of Republican members of the Florida Legislature, many members of the State Executive Committee, and many RPOF donors, I have determined that this internal discord has many origins and political agendas, but the one common result is a detrimental effect on the Republican Party. Since 2007, I have made a point to put the best interest of the Party before my own, even when criticisms were misdirected and invalid, and I will do so again now. While some are more interested in tearing and shredding the fabric of the Republican Party to pieces, I will not be a participant in this destructive behavior. Therefore, I am putting the future of our Party first and shall step down as Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida effective February, 20, 2010.

Nope, Jim’s not having none of that tearing and shredding the party into little pieces mess, though he is helping himself to heaping plate of unwavering. As the sacrificial lamb, he must dutifully call for party unity:

As I prepare to leave this post with Republicans maintaining a United State Senate seat, the Governor’s Mansion, three of four Cabinet posts, and strong majorities in the Florida House, Senate and Congressional Delegation, I look forward to continuing to work to elect Republicans to office, and now call upon all Republicans throughout Florida to put our differences aside, end our Party’s internal conflict and disagreements, and focus on electing Republicans in 2010.

See, that’s where Jim lost it — he should know that all Republicans throughout Florida are focused on electing Republicans in 2010 and 2012 — just different Republicans.

But my favorite part was how he closed his letter to Gov. Crist. Not with a heartfelt “sincerely” or manly “yours truly,” but with an icky “warmest regards.” I’m not sure exactly what that means, but I suspect that Greer ain’t gone for good, he’s just going guerrilla on ‘em.

So long, Big Jim, we look forward to seeing you bob to the surface as the toilet bowl that is the Republican Party of Florida separates the floaters from the sinkers.