We are at "DEFCON2," a state of emergency that contemplates nuclear missiles aimed our way.
The Supreme Court is feuding with the governor and the Legislature - again.
The war has escalated between Gov. Jeb Bush and Senate Republicans - the guys in his own party.
The House is irrelevant. They'll just do what the governor says. And House Speaker Johnnie Byrd has chosen this moment to start a campaign for the U.S. Senate.
Senate President Jim King says the governor took us to DEFCON2 when he urged the state's business community to stop contributing money to Senate Republicans who fail to do the right thing - as defined by the governor.
The Defense Department uses DEFCON2 to describe the situation when the nation is on high alert, one step below having nuclear missiles in the air heading toward us. DEFCON2 was last declared during the Cuban missile crisis in 1962. We are normally at DEFCON5 in peacetime.
When a governor asks businesses NOT to donate money to members of his own party, it is akin to pointing nuclear missiles in their direction. Nothing is more sacred in this process than the money that fills campaign coffers.
And if all this wasn't enough to cause a war, just as the Senate made a final offer in an attempt to settle the medmal fight, the governor took off for San Diego to attend a Four Seasons fundraiser for the California Republican Party. Thursday's Los Angeles Times described him as "a special guest," summoned no doubt to help big brother.
"The fact that I am here is an indication of how important California is in the next election," Bush told the California crowd, according to the Los Angeles Times.
You can imagine how the Senate feels. One day Bush tells lobbyists not to donate to them and the next day he's flying around California raising money.
Campaign money is clearly more important than anything else. Just ask Speaker Big Byrd. In the midst of all this mess, he is shaking down lobbyists for contributions. Lobbyists complain, but cough up anyway because their future is tied to what Byrd's House does in the coming year.
Byrd, R-Plant City, has finally admitted he wants to run for the U.S. Senate - something everyone suspected when he began beefing up the House communications staff.
For months he denied having any thought of running for the Senate. Now he says he has opened a campaign account. Do you think the Federal Elections Commission will make him declare the $613,000 he's spending on House communications?
It is likely to take all 13 communicators to make him look good in the midst of this mess.
Can you imagine how quickly the lobbyists for doctors, lawyers, insurance companies and businesses who want to cap potential damages will ante up while Byrd has a hold on what passes?
Could it get any better? Or worse?
The Democrats don't have to do a thing but stand back so the blood doesn't spatter on their suits.
The potential for trouble in the future is everywhere.
The war between lawmakers and the courts is a longstanding one.
The Legislature and the governor want parents to be notified when pregnant girls under 18 get an abortion. They need parental consent to get their ears pierced, Republicans argue. Why shouldn't that apply to abortions?
The court says those pregnant teenagers have a right to privacy under the state Constitution. This means more court bashing next year.
But that will have to take a back seat to the war between the governor and the Senate.
So many wounds have been inflicted during the medical malpractice battle this year, there aren't enough doctors on earth to heal them - should any of them be inclined to help a legislator.
