Anger and Kudos as Florida Governor Tacks Left

Ain't the power hunger of politicians 'fun'?

Anger and Kudos as Florida Governor Tacks Left

MIAMI — A few days after Gov. Rick Scott of Florida endorsed a Medicaid expansion, a U-turn so sharply executed that it flabbergasted his supporters, the head of a local Tea Party group typed up a “breakup note.”

“I’m trying to determine how the Medicaid expansion is going to pay for the surgery to remove the knife planted in my back,” Henry Kelley, the Tea Party leader and an early supporter of Mr. Scott, wrote on his blog.

“This was his issue, his singular core issue,” Mr. Kelley said later in an interview. “This is why we rallied around him.”

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It does look like Gov. Voldemort has been keeping track of the polling data and has come to realise that Florida voters ain't as right wing as he, and the Tea Party, thought they were. Poll: Rick Scott 41%, Charlie Crist 41% | Tampa Bay Times

Imagine that, a politician acting on the wishes of the voters. Why is this news?

Somerville said:

Ain't the power hunger of politicians 'fun'?




It does look like Gov. Voldemort has been keeping track of the polling data and has come to realise that Florida voters ain't as right wing as he, and the Tea Party, thought they were. Poll: Rick Scott 41%, Charlie Crist 41% | Tampa Bay Times

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I live in Florida, its not so much his ideology. Rick Scott apparently is a man without ideology, but more so he is a man without legislative or policy leadership experience. And it show'd especially in his first year. For instance, turning down stimulus money that would've paid like 90% of the $100M construction of a light rail train his first year in office. Or his absolute assault on public education budgets and scholarships. Add on top of that the money he's been throwing at business incentives, his educational policy (merit pay for teachers more standardized testing eliminating tenure, his attacks on public universities and push to eliminate the AA requirement for STEM degrees * [which I agree with 1000%]), his attempt to privitize more prisons, slicing the early voting in half, and welfare drug testing (all of which he pushed for without taking into account anyone else's opinion, and often spewing ridiculous justifications) and you can certainly see how the left has plenty of fodder for a full on assualt. Republicans don't like him either, because he was sort of an outsider coming in and he isn't much of a social conservative or a populist. It seems like the last year he has been completely backtracking everything he did in his first year, taking others into account on policy decisions, reversing several of the budget cuts from the previous year, trying to win support for new measures before he just dives into full steam ahead; etc. etc.

Personally, I'm starting to warm up to him (slightly), but the reality is he pissed a lot of people off very quickly in the state. We will see what happens, he still has a year and a half to turn around his perception, but my guess is Republicans are going to throw the kitchen sink at him to try to find a replacement candidate.