Allegedly

 Maybe in all this fuss about ballrooms and wars with Iran you may have imagined that things in Florida had calmed down.

Not really. 

It's just that the "Florida Man" who tends to get all the press currently spend a great deal of time squatting in the ruins of the White House and voting in Sunshine State elections by mail. A process he insists is "inherently corrupt." 

Which by itself tends to overshadow some of the awful things that happen in the distended tumor hanging off our east coast, but indulge me for a moment while I lay this out: A former Florida state legislator, currently serving  as clerk of court and comptroller for Palm Beach county has been arrested. If that address seems familiar, it's the county where you might find a pleasuredome called Mar-a-Lago. The suspect, Michael Caruso, was taken into custody on five felony charges of kidnapping, child molestation, lewd exhibition, luring or enticing a child and child abuse causing mental injury.

This is a Republican. A close personal ally of Florida's governor, Ron "Remember Me?" DeSantis. So close that Ron referred to Mister Caruso as "my representative," in part because of his support of a bill that became law in their state that allows prosecutors to seek the death penalty or life without parole for adults convicted of sexual battery on a child under twelve years old. 

After appointing Caruso to his current position, Governor Ron told reporters this week, “It was a very easy decision for me to yank him from that position.” In that same press conference, DeSantis said Caruso was “well regarded in the community.” He coached little league baseball for decades and was a volunteer with boy scouts. But, DeSantis said, he “is going to be in a world of hurt” if he is convicted. Lethal injection being at the top of that hurt list. 

What Governor Ron could not do was remove Caruso's name from the ballot for the November election. Only Caruso can do that. The deadline for that to happen is just two weeks away. If he doesn't do anything then regardless of what happens, his name will show up there as the Republican candidate. 

So, now we've driven this far into the swamp, I am going to leave you to sort out your own feelings and conclusions about how things are shaping up for the midterms. Careful on your way out. This place is full of predators.

If you know what I mean.