Gotcha?
Florida’s junior Senator, Mel Martinez, has decided to make things in state politics more interesting, reports the Miami Herald, and every other Florida news source, by resigning early, as in ASAP.
The names of possible placeholders like Connie Mack, Bob Martinez, and Jim Smith have surfaced, as well as the “cunning plan” option: Charley Crist steps down as governor, elevating Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp, who then appoints Crist to the Senate [oh, yeah, give Kottkamp power and expect him to “do the right thing”].
I think we can all assume that Charlie won’t be appointing Marco Rubio.
It may be irrelevant, but the resignation of Martinez a day after he voted for the appointment of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, and listened to his Republican colleagues race-baiting the process, makes one wonder if he was tired of the Repub caucus?
Come on, Charlie, let’s have some fun – appoint Katherine Harris.
2 comments
Isn’t it more likely that Charlie will do a deal with his lieutenant governor, resign, grab the appointment, and then run for reelection as an incumbent?
Apart from that, something’s up with Martinez. This story is far from an end.
If Charlie does that, John, he will have the party whackos after him in a flash. They are already unhappy with the national Republicans endorsing him without giving Rubio a look, and the Cubans may feel that they are getting cut out of the process. If he takes the appointment, there is no guarantee he could win the Republican primary.
Jeff Kottkamp, the lieutenant governor is running for attorney general, and going along with Charlie might hurt his chances by angering the base.
In a normal party in a normal state, this would be straight forward, i.e. Senator resigns; governor moves up to Senate; lieutenant governor moves up to governor; and both run as incumbents. A normal and successful strategy approved by all. But with the Republican Party in the state of Florida, normal is not a useful adjective.
Hell, I could see Martinez quitting so he didn’t have to deal with the crazies over the health care legislation. Have you seen the video from the Tampa town hall riot? Glenn Beck and the Florida Republican Party turned out the “troops” for that one. I would have hauled out a couple of barrels and incinerated a few kilos of confiscated grass to mellow that group out. [and held a bake sale for a worthy cause on the periphery]