Monday, August 17, 2015

Inside the mind of Rick Scott and Florida voters ... by gimleteye


Over the weekend, Carl Hiaasen asked the question (one, which EOM asked and answered in the affirmative, "The Tragic Incompetence of Rick Scott"), "Is Rick Scott the worst governor in modern Florida history?"
During the last few months, taxpayers have been soaked for more than $1 million to settle lawsuits in which Scott and his dim-bulb Cabinet flagrantly violated Florida’s open-records and open-meetings laws.

No other sitting governor has used tax money to end public-records cases that were caused by his own secretive misbehavior. Scott couldn’t care less.
To this, add the August 4th FloridaBulldog.org report, "Gov. Scott’s pipeline investment gets a boost from Florida environmental regulators".
Spectra Energy’s investors have included Gov. Rick Scott. On last year’s financial disclosure form, Scott reported owning a $108,000 stake in Spectra and its affiliate, DCP Midstream Partners. His latest disclosure form, filed in June, no longer details Scott’s securities holdings because he put those assets into a blind trust.

The underground Sabal Trail Transmission is proposed as a nearly 500-mile interstate natural gas pipeline to run from Alabama, through Georgia south to Orange County, south of Orlando. Spectra owns 59.5 percent; Florida Power & Light parent NextEra Energy owns 33 percent; and Duke Energy, which spun off its natural gas business to form Spectra in 2007, recently paid $225 million for a 7.5 percent stake.

Federal and state election records show that FP&L, Duke Energy and their affiliates together have contributed $1.4 million to Let’s Get to Work, the political committee branded with Scott’s campaign slogan. They also gave a total of $5.8 million to the Republican Governors Association in 2013-14, which in turn contributed $18.3 million to Let’s Get to Work last year.

From his failure to follow Sunshine Law to his willingness to impose litigation costs on the public trust, from his willingness to openly embrace the largesse of large corporate donors (ie. FPL) and share secret access with GOP legislative leaders (ie. US Sugar sponsored, luxury hunting trips by private jet to the King Ranch in Texas), this much is clear: in the mind of Rick Scott, Florida is a business enterprise. Period. Critics are worms in Rick Scott's mind. Gusanos.

Rick Scott has taken Ayn Rand's gobbedly-gook to the nth degree. In Rick Scott's mind, the privatization of the public realm, corporate profit, personal gain, and public benefit are all mixed together without differentiation.

It is easier to see inside the mind of Rick Scott than that of Florida voters.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Come on now. Having spent million$$ of his own money to be Governor he is entitled to 'ca$h in'...this is GOP Florida after all!

Anonymous said...

Marc Sarnoff endorsed Rick Scott and then Rick Scott appointed Sarnoff to the MPO.

Anonymous said...

Marc Sarnoff endorsed Rick Scott. In fact, Sarnoff hosted a fundraiser for Rickster.