Scared shitless that their challenge to Sen. Bill Nelson will be DOA if Katherine Harris gets the GOP nomination, Republicans are pushing Joe Scarborough
into the race.
Congressman turned political talk show host Joe Scarborough has a choice to make: renew his contract with NBC or challenge Katherine Harris for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate.
Scarborough said Wednesday that he has already talked with Sen. Elizabeth Dole, who heads the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and plans to meet with Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman and White House officials next week about whether to get into the race to unseat Democrat Bill Nelson.
"I've told everybody I'll keep an open mind. I'm happy with NBC, NBC is happy with me. They've offered me a new contract. That's sitting on the table," Scarborough said.
As a reminder, Scarborough was a Florida congressman who cheated on his wife and ultimately led to his divorce (and unexpected resignation in 2001). That part is just typical hypocrisy from a "family values" Republican. This part isn't:
Around the time of the Condit/Levi craziness, another congressional intern/aide died under mysterious circumstances -- Lori Klausutis. The press generally ignored it for obvious reasons -- her boss was a Republican. Congressman Scarborough, to be exact. This summary is from a Wikipedia entry Scarborough successfully got deleted:
Nearly two months after announcing his resignation, on July 10, 2001, one of Scarborough's aides, Lori Klausutis, was found dead in the congressman's office in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. The official cause of death was a heart failure, although her initial autopsy suggested severe fractures in the skull. The investigation was never pursued further, and Scarborough was never implicated in Klausutis' death. Two suspects, Theopholis and Steve Salmon were initially questioned by police. Both men have been released, but are still considered "persons of interest".
That was the "unbiased" version of the event. The "biased", perhaps even tin foil version, is here. Scarborough is quite touchy about this issue, even threatening to sue Michael Moore when the documentarian brought it up in an interview (explaining why he wouldn't go on Scarborough's show).