Tag: Florida
Verbatim
“I always say their philosophy is small government for the big guy and big government for the little guy. And so, if my wife’s uterus was incorporated… maybe they (Republicans) would be talking about deregulating. It’s not like I used slang.”
— Florida State Rep. Scott Randolph (D-Orlando), who was “scolded” by Republican leadership for use of the u-word on the floor. Randolph’s wife contributed the analogy, to illustrate how to get Republicans to stop trying to restrict access to abortion. Randolph said Republicans voiced concern about young pages hearing the word.
Rick Scott is Least Popular Governor in America
56 – 37
Sink and Scott, respectively. Results if the Florida election pitting Tea Partier Rick Scott against Democrat Alex Sink for governor were held today. When it counted in November, 48.9% of Floridians voted for Scott, 47.7% for Sink, setting a record for close elections. But like the Tea Party as a whole, Scott’s popularity might have peaked in the fall of 2010. Only 32% approve of his job performance, the same percentage of Americans who continue to approve of the Tea Party.
Fla. Gov. Rick Scott’s Big Government Program to Drug Test State Workers Could Cost Taxpayers $23.5 Mil Per Year
Part of the series, Assault on Florida.
Last week, Florida’s already wildly unpopular new Republican governor, Rick Scott, issued an executive order requiring state employees to submit to drug tests at least four times a year.
Last night, Rachel Maddow cited Scott’s order to illustrate the wide gap between Republican campaign rhetoric about small government and the sort of big-government policies they pursue when they get elected.
“Floridians deserve to know that those in public service, whose salaries are paid with taxpayer dollars, are part of a drug-free workplace,” Scott said, when he announced the order. “Just as it is appropriate to screen those seeking taxpayer assistance, it is also appropriate to screen government employees.”
Scott has only lived in Florida for a few years and so was not in the state in 1998 when an earlier government experiment with drug-testing poor people proved not to be cost-effective. At a cost of $90 per test, the program was zilched after it failed to produce evidence of widespread drug abuse among people on public assistance.
Who will be tested, when and how often?
Here’s the key paragraph from Scott’s Executive Order Number 11-58 [PDF]:
Despite ‘Small Government’ Campaign Spin, GOP Tea Party in Power Produces Big, Intrusive Authoritarian Programs
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On her MSNBC show last night, Rachel Maddow took an in-depth look at the stark contrast between Republicans’ campaign rhetoric about limited government and what they actually do when they gain power, which is to use the government to curtail the rights of the citizenry.
The prime example of this today is union-busting:
MADDOW: Your freedom to associate in this country is guaranteed by the Constitution, your freedom to join a union if you want to. But to the extent that the government can be used to limit that right of yours, Republicans in Wisconsin and in Ohio and in Indiana and in New Hampshire and in Florida and in Tennessee and in Oklahoma and in Nebraska, Republican governors and legislators in all these states all over the country are stretching the power of government to try to end that right of yours.
Beyond union-busting, the current crop of Republican governors have put their states on a forced march toward authoritarianism:
[…]
Voter Remorse in Florida: In Theoretical Do-Over, Dem Candidate Would Beat Gov. Scott by 19 Points
32 Points
The margin of 61% to 29% by which Florida swing voters would now prefer Democratic candidate for governor Alex Sink over the Republican they helped elect in November, Gov. Rick Scott, according to a new Public Policy Polling survey. Among all voters in a do-over, Sink would best Scott by 19 points, 56% to 37%. Scott’s overall approval rating is 32-55, which compares with the 33-43 favorability rating he received in the same poll in December. Among swing voters, Scott his approval rating is 31-54.
The margin of 61% to 29% by which Florida swing voters would now prefer Democratic candidate for governor Alex Sink over the Republican they helped elect in November, Gov. Rick Scott, according to a new Public Policy Polling survey. Among all voters in a do-over, Sink would best Scott by 19 points, 56% to 37%. Scott’s overall approval rating is 32-55, which compares with the 33-43 favorability rating he received in the same poll in December. Among swing voters, Scott his approval rating is 31-54.
Assault on Florida: Tallahassee Hijinks of the Week Ending March 25
Part of the series, Assault on Florida.
It’s only been in session for three weeks, but Florida’s Republican Legislature is in full swing and our new governor is feeling his beans. Here’s a roundup of state politics from this week:
- Gov. Rick Scott signed his first bill into law, eliminating tenure for new teachers and tying teacher contracts and pay to student performance.
- In related news, the Senate’s education budget cuts about $1 billion from classrooms, dropping the average funding level of $6,811 per pupil to about $6,388. Also, teachers, would have to start contributing about 3 percent of their wages to their retirements, which will amount to about $678.6 million less in state spending on public pension benefits for teachers.
- In related news, Gov. Scott urged lawmakers to promote charter schools, and they responded with a bill that would require school districts to enter into a contract with charters approved by community colleges or universities.
- In related news, Education Commissioner Eric Smith suddenly announced his resignation on Monday, citing the fact that Scott had not met with him since Scott’s inauguration.
Republicans Continue to Justify Cuts in Programs They Hate — By Lying
To justify ending Florida’s Prepaid College program — the largest in the country — Republican state Sen. Evelyn Lynn claimed the popular plan is, “a huge liability — far larger than pension, far larger than most anything we have.”
Nationwide, Republicans and tea party members echo the cry that because tax revenues are down, programs they have long targeted must be cut. Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R/Tea) is using the message to cut education funding and gut environmental and consumer protection laws.
But in this case, and so many others, Republicans are simply making stuff up to bolster their flimsy logic.
- The Florida Prepaid Tuition program has $10 billion in assets and $9.5 billion in liabilities
- For those able to do math, this means the program is running with a $500 million surplus
- Two years ago, Sen. Lynn herself floated the idea of raiding the Florida Prepaid plan to fund other initiatives
Stephen King Tries to Awake the State
Thank a union gal too, Stephen.
Florida Residents Unite to “Awake the State”
Sign at an “Awake the State” rally in Orlando
When the Florida legislature opened its 2011 session, there were a lot more people than usual in Tallahassee. The tea party sent in folks from all over, not just Florida, to support Gov. Rick Scott’s proposals to give away billions in revenue breaks to corporate interests and make it up by slashing paychecks and benefits to public service workers like teachers, rescue personnel, and law enforcement officers. But across Florida, counter-protests by these public servants and their supporters carried the day.
Ocoee Elementary School media specialist Isabel Chipungu electrified the Orlando crowd, declaring that teachers are being demonized.
“I love my job, but I’m angry,” she screamed from atop a picnic table in Senator Beth Johnson Park in downtown Orlando. “Teachers in this state are once again being made the scapegoat for all of the budget problems our politicians created. And we are again asked to pay the price. We have not had a raise in five years.”
While tea party zealots cultivate an air of chronic aggrievement and persecution, their leaders think nothing of taking back promises – and legal contracts – to union employees.
“People seem to have forgotten that the middle class is made up of hard-working individuals — firefighters, police officers, teachers, the people who pick up your garbage,” said Ron Glass, an Orlando firefighter who is secretary-treasurer of the International Association of Firefighters-Orlando, Local 1365.
