Ham on Wry Award of the Week--Governor Rick Scott

Photo from miamiherald.com

Promises to whom?

Once again, readers, Rick Scott, the governor of Florida, has stolen the limelight under false pretenses.  Rather than signing the state budget in Tallahassee Thursday, he staged an event at The Villages, a sprawling community for those 55 and over, instead.  "Why would he do that?" one might inquire?  It has a simple answer.  He has strong political support there and can grandstand to his heart's content, one of his greatest strengths (and he doesn't have many).  Prior to taking office in January, Scott lived a life of luxury in a wealthy enclave in Naples, Florida, home to some of the wealthiest people in the country.  'How did he get elected?" the astute reader might wonder.  Simple again.  He spent $77 miillion of his own money, in addition to other contributions, to inundate the airwaves with his insipid smile and his mother assuring us, "He's a good boy."  I found that one of the most objectionable political ads I had ever seen.  What else would one expect a mother to say about her son?

Back to the signing event.  Although it was held in the town square, Democratic Club members and anyone with a sign that didn't support Governor Scott were barred from the event.  I thought we had free speech in America, but I guess that doesn't apply to Governor Scott's events.  In fact, he doesn't actually adhere to the Florida Sunshine Law either, but that's a whole different story.  I would think that anyone confident of his actions would welcome views from all sides, but not so for this governor.  That might be why 57% of respondents in a Quinnipiac poll disapproved of him, while only 29% approved.  Mind you, some of that discontent comes from people who voted for him.

Scott claimed that he slashed an additional $615 million from the budget to cut projects that "special interests" had promoted.  The Miami Herald posted the following information online May 26th:  "In his speech Thursday, Scott omitted many of the serious-sounding programs he cut: homeless veterans, meals for poor seniors, a council for deafness, a children’s hospital, cancer research, public radio, whooping-cough vaccines for poor mothers, or aid for the paralyzed."  Those darned homeless veterans always want something, don't they?  Heaven forbid that we should provide meals to poor seniors.  After all, they should be working for their own food, right?

Even members of the Republican Party found reasons to question his actions.  The following quote from House Speaker Dean Cannon appeared in the same Miami Herald article cited above: 
"House Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, took umbrage with Scott’s “new found emphasis” on increased education spending. Cannon pointed out that much of Scott’s vetoes didn’t produce $615 million in cash because the items were for bonding authority or the sale of lands. Cannon said Scott only freed up $100 million, which would only increase education spending by .06 percent. 'What is more surprising is the governor’s sudden emphasis on K-12 education. The budget we sent him funds education at a higher level than the governor recommended just a few months ago, when he proposed a 10 percent cut. The governor communicated numerous priorities during session, and we did our best to accommodate him. It would have been helpful if the governor had shared this new found emphasis with us before the budget was finalized,' Cannon wrote."

Florida can't afford much more of Rick Scott.  His avid supporters fail to realize that the budget cuts will affect all of them adversely.  Services like police and fire protection, children's services, programs for special needs people, and road projects have been cut, while growth laws were changed, leadership funds (read that to mean any company can donate directly to a legislator) were re-established, and other laws enacted that place heavier burdens on taxpayers while making it easier on corporations.  Soctt says he wants to promote jobs, yet his actions have cut existing positions.  Is this a case of The Emperor's New Clothes?  Wake up Florida.  This is your alarm sounding.