Mother Jones
09-17-2014, 11:14 AM
Rick Scott was a tea party darling when he squeaked out a victory in 2010 to become governor of Florida with the help of an army of grassroots conservative activists. Four years later, Scott, facing a tight reelection race, is having trouble rallying his former soldiers to his cause. That's largely because energizing his old base would require him to take on the state's most popular politician: former Republican Gov. Jeb Bush.
http://www.thebellforum.com/files/jebbush175.jpg (http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/09/23-reasons-why-jeb-bush-shouldnt-run-president) 23 Reasons Why Jeb Bush Should Think Twice About Running for Presiden (http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/09/23-reasons-why-jeb-bush-shouldnt-run-president)t
Tea partiers have plenty of reasons for souring on their former star. Things started well for them. Upon taking office, Scott followed up on his campaign promises (http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/02/florida-tea-party-backlash-rick-scott) to oppose Obamacare, cut taxes, and reduce spending. He slashed the budget for education and environmental protection to pay for tax cuts for corporations. He refused to support the expansion of Medicaid in the state under Obamacare, leaving more than 700,000 Floridians without health care. He supported a (failed) bill that would have brought Arizona-style anti-immigration laws (http://www.politifact.com/florida/promises/scott-o-meter/promise/730/bring-arizonas-immigration-law-florida/) to Florida and vetoed a hugely popular GOP-supported bill that would have allowed "DREAMers" (http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/democrats-pounce-in-attempt-to-exploit-scotts-dreamers-veto/2125003)—undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children—to obtain driver's licenses.
But Scott soon discovered that governing like a tea partier made him one of the nation's most unpopular governors. Early polls showed him losing reelection to a generic Democrat by wide margins. So he reversed course. Last year, he came out in favor of expanding Medicaid. (His current position on the matter is ambiguous (http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/08/08/4279783/gov-rick-scott-affirms-support.html). He changed his stance only after the federal government approved his request to fully privatize Medicaid, and he's never advocated for it in the Legislature, which has not approved the expansion.) This year, he's proposed big increases in education spending and launched a "Let's Keep Florida Beautiful" (http://rickscottforflorida.com/governor-scott-to-kick-off-lets-keep-florida-beautiful-tour/) initiative, promising to restore some of his earlier environmental budget cuts.
Continue Reading » (http://www.thebellforum.com/politics/2014/09/why-rick-scotts-facing-tea-party-revolt-florida)
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http://www.thebellforum.com/files/jebbush175.jpg (http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/09/23-reasons-why-jeb-bush-shouldnt-run-president) 23 Reasons Why Jeb Bush Should Think Twice About Running for Presiden (http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/09/23-reasons-why-jeb-bush-shouldnt-run-president)t
Tea partiers have plenty of reasons for souring on their former star. Things started well for them. Upon taking office, Scott followed up on his campaign promises (http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/02/florida-tea-party-backlash-rick-scott) to oppose Obamacare, cut taxes, and reduce spending. He slashed the budget for education and environmental protection to pay for tax cuts for corporations. He refused to support the expansion of Medicaid in the state under Obamacare, leaving more than 700,000 Floridians without health care. He supported a (failed) bill that would have brought Arizona-style anti-immigration laws (http://www.politifact.com/florida/promises/scott-o-meter/promise/730/bring-arizonas-immigration-law-florida/) to Florida and vetoed a hugely popular GOP-supported bill that would have allowed "DREAMers" (http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/democrats-pounce-in-attempt-to-exploit-scotts-dreamers-veto/2125003)—undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children—to obtain driver's licenses.
But Scott soon discovered that governing like a tea partier made him one of the nation's most unpopular governors. Early polls showed him losing reelection to a generic Democrat by wide margins. So he reversed course. Last year, he came out in favor of expanding Medicaid. (His current position on the matter is ambiguous (http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/08/08/4279783/gov-rick-scott-affirms-support.html). He changed his stance only after the federal government approved his request to fully privatize Medicaid, and he's never advocated for it in the Legislature, which has not approved the expansion.) This year, he's proposed big increases in education spending and launched a "Let's Keep Florida Beautiful" (http://rickscottforflorida.com/governor-scott-to-kick-off-lets-keep-florida-beautiful-tour/) initiative, promising to restore some of his earlier environmental budget cuts.
Continue Reading » (http://www.thebellforum.com/politics/2014/09/why-rick-scotts-facing-tea-party-revolt-florida)
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