Today's Daily Schadenfreude: Ray Sansom

Florida House Speaker Ray Sansom (R-Destin) finds himself in a bit deeper hot water than he anticipated, I imagine. And I, for one, am delighted.

If you've been reading Blast Off! lately, you've probably been keeping up with Sansom's saga, where he allegedly used his political influence in Tallahassee to secure disproportionate funding for Northwest Florida State College (NFSC), which then, without a search, gave him a $110,000-a-year job. Nice work if you can get it ...

Well, today Sansom (right) got a well-deserved double whammy:

A grand jury today began an investigation of Florida House Speaker Ray Sansom's dealings with Northwest Florida State College.

State Attorney Willie Meggs said the 21 jurors took up a complaint about Sansom and his [role] in steering $35 million to the college, his $110,000-a-year job that he's set to quit Jan. 31 and his [sic] a college project that appears to benefit a campaign contributor.

In a related development, House Rules Committee Chairman Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, asked for appointment of a special counsel to investigate complaints against Sansom. Galvano said it wouldn't look impartial, if a House committee appointed by the powerful speaker investigated Sansom.

Galvano said he doesn't know if the House will hire an outside investigator or turn it over to Attorney General Bill McCollum, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement or some other investigative agency. The committee received a citizen complaint saying Sansom failed to fulfill his legislative obligation to carry out his duties without the appearance of conflicts.

In the immortal words of Flounder (left), "Oh, boy, is this gonna be great!" Not only does Sansom face a grand jury investigation, but the House itself is going to look into his dealings -- led by a member of his own party! Yes, the schadenfreude is rich tonight, isn't it? Sure, Sansom quit the newly-acquired job at NFSC, but by then the damage was already done.

I don't know what's worse: Sansom's actual conduct, or the fact that he obviously and arrogantly thought he could get away with it. Isn't it patently obvious to anyone with half a brain that if you're a legislator, and you grant special favors to someone or something, and that someone or something ultimately gives you a really nice job without so much as an interview, you might get in a little trouble? It must be nice to live without a conscience ...

Well, Ray, I don't know whether you'll be prosecuted, censured, reprimanded, or spanked for what you did, but regardless of the outcome, you'll be wiping egg off your face for quite some time. But lest you think your typical Republican hubris went totally unrewarded, remember this prize, for today's Blast Off! Daily Schadenfreude is for you!