Well what a surprise for Floridians on Friday when Senator Mel Martinez resigned. Good ole Mel had already announced that he would not run for re-election in 2010. With Governor Charlie Crist (R-closeted) already running for the 2010 seat and with the ability to appoint Martinez's replacement, many wondered if Crist would be our new interim Senator.

Governor Crist, also late Friday, announced he would not appoint himself and would proceed through a vigorous vetting process for Martinez's replacement and would have an appointment prior to the end of the August recess.

With Crist leading in the polls for taking the actual Senate election in 2010, who would he pick as an interim that wouldn't eventually be a challenger to himself?

Perhaps the Republicans are going to focus longer term and use the interim appointment to polish a candidate to face Senator Bill Nelson (D-moderate) in 2012. Looking back at the 2006 republican primary that determined Senator Nelson's last challenger you will find that the Palinesque Katherine Harris won the primary and then was easily defeated by Senator Nelson.

During that race, the Republican power brokers were not Katherine Harris supporters. She defied the powers to be and ended up as the brokers predicted; a terrible candidate from the fringe. Harris' opponent in the primary William McBride would have been a much stronger challenger to Senator Nelson. Extremely Conservative in the Jeb Bush category but without the wing nut craziness of a Palin or Harris, McBride was only defeated in the primary due to the State's Republican grassroots support for the women that had given Bush the Presidency in 2000.

McBride's political office background is empty. He is a personal injury attorney from Tampa but he garnered 30% of the vote against the wide name recognition of Katherine Harris. His father owns a large Christian radio network and has deep pockets and he has recently been getting Republican power broker support for a run at Florida Attorney General in 2010. The AG office is being vacated by Democrat Alex Sink (D-female Alex) who will be running for Governor in 2010

Appointing McBride as interim Senator is a win-win for the Florida Republican party. McBride would not scare national republican leadership; he could not hope to challenge Crist in the actual Senate race; it gives McBride political office experience he lacks; it gains significant name recognition for McBride for his run at Attorney General in 2010.

In the more distant future, it positions him perfectly to win the 2012 Republican primary to challenge democratic Senator Nelson in that year's general senate election. If McBride takes the Attorney General race in 2010 he will be a real threat to Nelson with the additional experience and name recognition. He will have all of the perfect Florida Conservative demographics to win against a moderate Democrat.

The Power Broker Republicans also trust McBride to follow orders, stay in line, and wait his turn.

The alternative is that Crist is so afraid of building an opponent to his own Senate candidacy that he makes a weak pick for interim Senator. This would be damaging to him at two levels. He would lose the support of larger Republican power brokers and his pick could make him look weak as a leader by only acting in his own self interest.

There are really no other players in the Florida Republican party that make as much sense as McBride. It will be interesting to see if the Republican Party can get it together enough with Crist to make a great play with the Martinez replacement. 

The announcement today that the remains of Captain Scott Speicher have been found at his crash site debunks yet another Bush/Cheney justification for the Iraq war.

Captain Speicher (from Jacksonville FL) was shot down in the first Gulf War in 1991. His crash site and remains were never found despite several covert missions into Iraq in intervening years to attempt to locate him.

Bush and Cheney reported that they had solid intelligence reports that Captain Speicher was alive; held in captivity, and routinely tortured by Saddam. The idea that one of our own had been left on the battle field and was still being held after 12 years inflamed the military. Invading Iraq to free Captain Speicher became a rallying point among the military and many right wing neocons.

Many of us doubted the reliability of the Bush/Cheney intelligence evidence as Senator Bill Nelson (D-Florida) who sits on the Senate Intel committee only asked for a special investigation. Knowing that Senator Nelson was not convinced by the secret evidence was another strike against the Bush/Cheney invasion justifications.

Captain Speicher's wife (although remarried) was put through an emotional nightmare by Bush/Cheney throwing out the idea that her husband was still alive. Thus providing more evidence that neither Bush nor Cheney had any empathy towards any other person; classic sociopathic behavior.

So today, we mark the sad news that a brave pilot serving his country was indeed killed in 1991. His death made even sadder by the immoral use of his name to help justify a war that has killed and maimed hundreds of thousands.

Our thoughts go out to the family of Captain Speicher.

Our apologies also go out to the family for allowing our former President and Vice-President to abuse the name of Captain Speicher for such treasonous purposes.