As a Republican candidate, Rick Scott performed with the band Molly Hatchet at a tea party rally in Jacksonville. As Florida's governor, Scott continues to please the tea party crowd. (Photo by Shealah Craighead.)
By Ralph De La Cruz
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
God bless the tea party.
They make it so easy for someone like me.
I don’t have to spend a lot of time explaining how out of touch they, and their leaders, are. They show us every day.
The latest example is the bizarre action by the governor of the tea party, Rick Scott.
Sorry. Newspapers and television may have to continue perpetuating the fraud (oops, sorry, governor, didn’t mean to bring back memories of your former business practices by using that word). But not me.
In the name of truth, I can no longer call him Florida Gov. Rick Scott. Because he doesn’t represent most Floridians, not even most Republicans — only tea party Floridians.
That became crystal clear this week when he turned down money for the state. Again.
First it was $1 million that he turned down for health care. Now, it’s $2.4 billion for a high-speed rail line from Orlando to Tampa. A project that wouldn’t have cost the state a dime and would have provided 14,000 jobs for Floridians
No matter. The governor who campaigned on the moniker, “Let’s get to work,” cavalierly turned down the 14,000 jobs.
So be it, huh, guv?
So much for truth in advertising.
The outrage about his actions was almost universal. It even included Republican legislators and past supporters. The Republican-controlled Senate voted by a veto-proof majority to seek out the money for the rail project. The tea party, of course, loved Scott’s move.
Paula Dockery, one of the first politicians to back the tea party governor and a state senator who represents a district in Lakeland, between Orlando and Tampa, expressed “disappointment.” She’s been a long-time proponent of the rail project. Can you say, “Karma,” Paula?
They all seemed stunned.
Not me.
I’ve become convinced that ideology is more important to Scott than the welfare of his constituents. Paying back the tea party is a higher priority than promoting the interests of our state. In fact, the St. Petersburg Times had a fascinating blog item about the possible agenda behind Scott’s tea party boot-licking.
Campaign hyperbole aside, the only jobs Scott really seems to care about are in the governor’s office, which could see more than a doubling of its budget under Scott’s austerity budget.
There’s a great video of Scott being confronted last month about hiring lobbyists for the state after he campaigned against having any state lobbyists. The difference?
“I feel good about the ones I’ve — we’ve — hired,” Scott said.
It’s priceless. Check it out.
I’ll have more about the Rick Scott Horror Show on Tuesday.
And for those keeping score at home, after a month-and-a-half in office, here’s Scott’s Jobs Report:
- Promised Jobs: 700,000
- Job Cuts: 24,000.
- The Rick Scott Job Deficit: -724,000