Oh, THAT explains what's taking so long.
Sometimes it's hard to remember that there's a job opening for a Lt. Governor in Florida, or that the position exists. It's been a long time since Jennifer Carroll's "departure" as it were, and Rick Scott has taken his time looking for a replacement. Still, as superficial as the job is, you would think the guy who campaigned on his job creation skills wouldn't have much of a problem filling one of the larger ones where no skill is required. But then, so many of his "hires" have been forced to leave. Who can keep track?
I personally have a feeling that there are few who would want to be associated with him as reason number one why he hasn't found anyone. Perhaps the fact that not even the Florida GOP can ignore how long it's taken is why we finally have a public statement addressing the absence of a Lt. Governor. (Although, they could certainly use a distracton from this.) Their feeble attempt to make the hunt sound so "important" only seems to reinforce the theory. Seriously. How hard should it be to fill a job that has no specific duties prescribed by law?
In his most detailed comments on the subject to date, Chief of Staff Adam Hollingsworth said the only two people engaged in discussions about the subject are himself and the governor. Speculation beyond that is just that, he said, calling it "an interesting parlor game" in Tallahassee. The job of lieutenant governor, reinstituted in 1968 after a long absence, has no specific duties prescribed by law.
"Ultimately, it's a stewardship decision," said Hollingsworth, who's directing the search process at Scott's request. "The single most important criteria for a lieutenant governor is someone who, God forbid, would be capable of performing the functions of governor if that were required."
Hollingsworth said there's no timetable for a decision. "There's no reason to set a deadline," he said. "We're going to take the right time to pick the right person."
He says the search will focus on finding someone who has "the same policy mind-set as the governor, has the same vision for moving Florida forward, and would do it with an integrity that is consistent with the governor's character." He insists there's no "short list" of potential picks and declined to get into a discussion of specific names.
Other than the Koch brothers, I'm guessing there's no one who would want to admit to having the same mind-set as Scott, or would want to publicly anchor themselves to him. Besides, it's Rick Scott who is the steward in that relationship already, let's don't kid ourselves. Nice try though, Voldemort.
As for "insisting there's no short list", of course there's no "short list." There's probably no list, period. Who wants to add "Co-Captain Of The Titanic" to their resume?
Not only are there potentially no probable candidates in the waiting, Scott probably knows there's not even anyone who can save his sinking ship in the first place.
That fact in the end may just save us all.
