Is Mike Fasano setting himself up to make an endorsement in House District 36 after all?

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I see you, Mike Fasano.

I see you on Twitter, firing warning shots across the bow of Bill Gunter, the Republican who wants to succeed you in House District 36.

I see you becoming increasingly frustrated with the fact that Gunter is, well, not you.

I see what you are doing, Mike.

After the primary election last week, you said you would not make an endorsement in this special election, even though you are bursting at the seams wanting to back Democrat Amanda Murphy, who, for what it’s worth, was endorsed yesterday by the Pasco firefighters.

You want to endorse Murphy and show all of THEM in Tallahassee that you are still the man in Pasco County, as if that wasn’t clear enough already with your sky-high approval ratings. Pasco voters like you, Mike, more than hipsters like pumpkin spice lattes.

You want to endorse Murphy and show THEM that you’re the kingmaker, even if you’re stuck on your throne at the Tax Collector’s office from seven to seven. 

You want to endorse Murphy so you can pop your endorsement cherry now — well in time for you to endorse Charlie Crist in 2014. 

Like I said, I see you working, Mike.

But you  said you would not make an endorsement. Not making an endorsement wasn’t part of the deal for you to become Tax Collector, but it would be, um, rude for you to take the appointment from the Republican governor with the support of all of your Republican friends and then turn around and endorse a Democrat.

So you’re setting it up where you will be left with no choice but to endorse Murphy.

You’ll say Gunter didn’t listen to you. You’ll say the GOP painted you into the corner.

That’s why you tweeted on Sunday, “@ElectBillGunter can’t run on his own merits. Instead attacks opponent using Tallahassee money. Be very careful GOP House Campaigns.” 

Of course, you did not tweet about Murphy’s supporters attacking her opponent using Tallahassee, but that’s beside the point. 

You’ve now drawn a line in the sand you know the Republicans will cross so that you can say you had no choice but to endorse Murphy.

Like I said, I see you working, Mike Fasano.

Peter Schorsch is the President of Extensive Enterprises and is the publisher of some of Florida’s most influential new media websites, including SaintPetersBlog.com, FloridaPolitics.com, ContextFlorida.com, and Sunburn, the morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics. SaintPetersBlog has for three years running been ranked by the Washington Post as the best state-based blog in Florida. In addition to his publishing efforts, Peter is a political consultant to several of the state’s largest governmental affairs and public relations firms. Peter lives in St. Petersburg with his wife, Michelle, and their daughter, Ella.