Tag: Rick Scott
Tanking in the Polls, Florida Gov. Rick Scott Lies about His Role in Passing the GOP’s Racist Voter Suppression Law
Part of the series, Assault on Florida.
Florida’s tea party governor, Rick Scott, must be looking at some really devastating private polling — numbers even more seemingly insurmountable than results of a public poll released yesterday. That news survey from PPP found that Scott’s approval rating was upside down by a whopping 24 percentage points, 33 to 57 percent — and that former Gov. Charlie Crist, who recently joined the Democratic Party, leads him by double digits, 53 to 39 percent, in the 2014 governor’s race.
Devastating poll results could explain why the governor emulated another plutocrat pol, Mitt Romney, this week when he executed a Romney-style 180-degree flip-flop on one of his own signature issues — Florida’s racist voter suppression law.
Satanists to Rally in Support of Florida GOP Gov. Rick Scott
Gov. Rick Scott, R-Fla., may be one of the most unpopular governors in the nation, but he does have some supporters:
On January 25, the members of the Satanic Temple will gather on the steps of Scott’s office in Tallahassee as a show of solidarity with the Governor, whom they believe “has shown unwavering fortitude and progressive resolve in his defense of religious liberty,” according to a press release.
Specifically, they’re referring to Scott’s recent approval of Senate Bill 98 that permits school districts to allow students to read inspirational messages of their choosing at assemblies and sporting events. It went into effect on July 12.
“The Satanic Temple embraces the free expression of religion, and Satanists are happy to show their support of Rick Scott who — particularly with SB 98 — has reaffirmed our American freedom to practice our faith openly, allowing our Satanic children the freedom to pray in school,” the release continues.
Could Rick Scott Be the Best Thing to Happen to Florida Democrats in the Next Election?
The path to power for Florida Democrats might run through Gov. Rick Scott’s office, if recent polls accurately reflect opinion.
The “let’s run government like a business” Medicare cheat won Florida’s highest office in the 2010 tea party wave that crested that year and ebbed a bit in 2012, sweeping some of those, like Rep. Allan West, back out as swiftly as they rolled in.
Scott, despite spending $75 million of his own money on his campaign, won by only 1 percent over Democrat Alex Sink. After taking office, his approval ratings plunged lower than anyone thought an elected official could go and not simply announce an early retirement, ala former Sen. Mel Martinez (R). Even the infamous former Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris (R) didn’t poll this badly.
71% of Floridians hate Scott’s idea of setting different education goals based on race and ethnicity
The new numbers show that not only might Scott lose in 2014, he could take lots of other Republicans down with him.
A stunning 43 percent of Florida voters view Scott unfavorably in new polling and just 31 percent viewed him favorably. Scott is in a rare position political operatives call “upside down” because his unfavorable percentage is much greater than his favorable — an ominous state for any political candidate.
Maybe more damaging for Scott is that a majority of his own party — 53 percent of Republicans — said they want someone else to run in 2014 instead of Scott…
Murphy Defeats West Again as Board Misses Deadline
Despite a judge’s refusal to grant a recount to Rep. Allen West (GOP/Tea-Fla.), a partial recount of the early votes only is under way, as of Saturday morning, Nov. 17.
The colorful (read: “nut case“) tea party congressman lost to Democrat Patrick Murphy by about 0.6 percent. Florida law requires that a candidate lose by 0.5 percent or less to trigger a full ballot recount. But when the governor of the state is Rick Scott, himself a tea party champion, anything can happen.
Updates available after the jump
Another One Bites Rick Scott’s Dust
Will the last person to leave Governor Rick Scott’s communications office please remember to turn off the lights?
— Peter Schorsch, on his St. Petersblog, noting that with Lane Wright’s announced resignation, the Florida tea party governor has a hard time retaining spokespeople.
How Much Does Obama Want to Hug Charlie Crist?
I can admit it now – I can hug him all I want.
— Pres. Obama, coming out of the closet about his affection for former Gov. Charlie Crist at a fundraiser in Tampa, site of the recent 2012 GOP convention. Crist went down in flames in his race for U.S. Senate against Marco Rubio as he switched from Republican to no party affiliation, married a New York socialite amid rumors that he is gay, and was dogged by a photograph of a clearly platonic shoulder hug with the president shortly after Obama was elected. Crist is said to be contemplating running for his old office of governor in 2014, but this time as a Democrat.
Drug Testing Welfare Recipients Shows One Group Was Right — the Welfare Recipients
What do you do when the facts don’t support your actions, which were based on extremist rhetoric and false notions? If you’re Gov. Rick Scott (GOP/Tea – Fla.) you simply change the mission.
The results are in, and drug testing of welfare recipients as a means to deny them assistance costs more than it saves and fails to shrink the welfare rolls. On the plus side, it shows that drug use is lower among welfare recipients than in the general population.
The idea that people on public assistance are lazy, fatcat, dishonest, drug using cheaters of the system who eat steak and drive Cadillacs is so deeply held on the right that it can’t be shaken — no matter how much the facts pee all over it.
The facts have Gov. Scott and the Florida legislators who introduced the bill — which is being challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) even as it is under consideration in 25 other states — pivoting. They say their idea wasn’t so much to save taxpayer dollars, which is precisely what they claimed at the time, but to cut illegal drug use and…um…give me a second here…what sounds good? Something about children? Maybe?
“It’s not about money, it’s about the drug issue,” said Rep. Jimmie Smith, R-Lecanto, who sponsored the legislation. “It’s about using every tool we have in the toolbox to fight drugs.”
Jackie Schutz, a spokeswoman for the governor’s office, said the governor agreed: The drug welfare law is about protecting children and getting parents back to work.
So along with saving taxpayers money, fighting drugs, protecting children, and getting parents back to work, that brings the total number of things the new law isn’t accomplishing to four.
The (Tea) Party’s Over: Top Republicans Shunning Florida Tea Party
When you think of the Florida tea party, the names Gov. Rick Scott and Sen. Marco Rubio come to mind but neither man came to their state’s tea party convention this weekend.* A new trend of ignoring the once ascendant Koch-funded effort seems to be under way.
It’s hard not to think there’s a connection between the decline in the popularity of the tea party and the generally more favorable ratings for the Occupy movement. Nowhere was the so-last-year quality of support for tea partiers more evident than at their own Florida convention.
Of the major presidential candidates, only Rick Santorum confirmed to the Tampa Tribune this week that he’s attending. Ron Paul’s campaign couldn’t be reached for comment; the event isn’t on his campaign web site schedule, although event organizers said he’ll be there. Spokesmen for Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman, Rick Perry and Mitt Romney all said they won’t make it…
“It’s like they’re throwing a party and the guests of honor aren’t going to show up,” said retired University of South Florida political scientist Darryl Paulson, a Republican.
