Remember when Katherine Harris had a chance in hell to beat Bill Nelson?
Yeah, me neither. The Palm Beach Post came out with a story today that included commentary from half a dozen former members of her campaign. Among them was Jim Dornan, her first campaign manager, and one of at least three who have left her staff. Their quotes about Harris are absolutely priceless. Particularly revealing is Harris' bizarre obsession with Starbucks coffee, even going so far as to berate any aide who comes to her office when they don't come with a Starbucks for her.
Caffeine addiction is an ugly thing, the Addiction of the 21st Century, now that everything else but alcohol and tobacco has been banned, tobacco is extremely frowned upon, and alcohol only slightly less so. We have so puritanized ourselves that people like Harris, who actively court a religio-crazy base, have only a Starbucks addiction to keep them up.
Back in the late 19th Century, a wealthy woman of means like Rep. Harris wouldn't have bothered with a pissant addiction like caffeine. She'd have had a bottle of Laudanum with her at all times, and that would've been the end of it.
In fact, opiate addiction would go a long way toward explaining Harris' behavior.
I mean, just have a look at her:
Rep. Katherine Harris, alleged caffeine and/or laudanum addict
The heavy makeup is simply her attempt to mask the paleness and frailty associated with the heavy laudanum user. The freakish, high-strung meltdowns described in the Post story could easily be explained as the fevered rantings of a laudanum addict in dire need of a fix. Her recommendations to female staffers that they freeze their eggs for later use can only be ascribed to the dreamy meanderings of a woman deeply in the throes of an opiate trance. Clearly, Harris is chasing the dragon, under the spell of a tincture of opium. Believe me, folks, I know about these things.
Then again, it could just be the coffee. I hear that stuff does mighty strange things to people. But I wouldn't know. I try to stay away from it. Just one cup in the morning, to cut the effects of the hydrocodone cough syrup I developed an addiction to during my last chest cold. I gotta do what I gotta do.