How do you know a politician is not telling the truth? His lips are moving - or so the joke goes. Well, just a few months after claiming that he will serve the remainder of his term, Senator Mel Martinez has announced that he is stepping down. As the Constitution vests the power to fill vacancies in Congress to the Executive Authority in the State - this means that leading Senate candidate and Governor Charlie Crist gets to name a Martinez replacement. That could, but likely wont, include the Governor himself. Some potential names being brought forward are former Governor Bob Martinez (could this save money on letterhead?) :-), former Secretary of State Jim Smith, former Senator Connie Mack, former Speaker of the House Alan Bense, and former Congressman Clay Shaw.
It's an interesting calculation for the Governor. Appointing himself would give him the incumbency advantage, but also would subject him to a (legitimate) claim of self-service. This is exceptionally unlikely as the Governor is already the front-runner for both the Republican nomination and the Senate seat in a general election. Be aware of what signals are sent by who is named - does he name someone in his own image (centrist, supportive of the Obama stimulus package)? or does he move slightly to the right to fend off the Rubio challenge. Of course, we do not really know - but one thing is sure - we all ought to be pretty cautious at believing our elected representatives at face value (i.e., Senator Martinez has also claimed that he is not interested in leading FSU and just wants to spend more time in Orlando with his family). Yeah, right.
