Rick Scott recently said Allen West would be a good pick for Lieutenant Governor. Seriously.

This news would be welcomed by the media, for which West is a treasure trove of memorable quotes. We all remember his comments about his colleagues being members of the Communist Party. And his never ending racist wind ups against Muslims. His continued adherence to right wing Tea Party values. But this could be really good news for the Florida Democratic Party.

West was voted out of office after he moved to a district that seemed more welcoming to Republicans (Mitt Romney got a majority of the vote in District 18) but was won by Democrat Patrick Murphy. Having to flee one district and losing the other, West clearly isn’t favored in South Florida. If he’s tapped as the number two for Rick Scott, and would therefore be running with him in 2014, it’s hard to imagine a more fun ticket for a Democrat to have to run against. It is also hard to imagine any figure in Florida motivating Democrats to turn out to the polls more than West.

Scott is clearly sucking up to the Tea Party, with whom he has fallen out of favor during this last legislative session. His support for teacher pay raises, his veto of conservative Alimony bill supported by almost every Republican legislator and expanding Medicaid did not please the hard right of the Republican base. But having West on his ticket would make a lot of people in his party, particularly hard right activists happy.