It can be tough to get your name out when you are a lowly state senator. Sometimes you need a platform to build on, sometimes you just need the support of the right people. Or you can always go the opposite direction and get caught watching porn during a session of the senate and become an Internet sensation.
That is the path less travelled that Florida State Senator Mike Bennett is on, after the Sunshine State News caught him on camera checking out an image of four topless women during a session of the Florida State Senate.
Now to be fair, long sessions of senate debates can quickly become tedious. It is common for senators to multitask and catch up on work while others have the floor. It is also common for lawmakers to receive information about the debates while in session. It is, however, somewhat uncommon for state senators to open e-mails with naked women and check them out. At least while on camera.
Bennett says that the e-mail came from a trusted source, and that he thought it was regarding the debate he was sitting in on: a debate regarding abortion. Bennett claims the e-mail was from a woman who “who happens to be a former court administrator.”
“I was just sitting there, bored as they were debating the abortion bill,” Bennett said. “I opened it up and said holy [expletive]! What’s on my screen? and clicked away from it right away.”
The video confirms that the senator quickly closes the e-mail containing naked women. He then shakes his head as if to confirm that he was personally offended before returning to his e-mails and watching video of a dog running out of a body of water. No word on what bill the dog video may be regarding.
To add an impressive layer of irony that almost seems scripted due to the timing, while Bennett is checking out his possible constituents attributes, Senator Dan Gelber chose that exact moment to say “I’m against this bill because it disrespects too many women in the state of Florida.”
Who knew that state-level legal debates could be so much fun.