SUPER-STAR or SUPER CROOK (The latter)
"Presertim Executor" - Is Latin, it translates as Chief Executive Officer, the position Rock Scott held when his company was FINED $1,700,000,000 dollars for Medicare Fraud. The case was notable, it was the largest case in history for Medicare fraud. Remember those few words Floridians, I fear they will come back to haunt you.
HE TOOK (BOUGHT) THE LEAD
Rick Scott pulled about four points ahead of Attorney General Bill McCollum in the Republican primary for governor and that was enough, probably about 50,000 votes, mostly by those who haven't a clue as to the possible damage they have done to themselves if this man makes it to Tallahassee.
He bought the job of Governor with money. He beat McCollum by a narrow margin in the primary with three times the money, slick ads, he overpowered him with image control, very good unique ad's indeed against the only thing McCollum could field. The fact that Scott got off Scott free from a bigger scam than Bernie Madoff.
If you have the money you can pay the talent to create an image or hide one. And he used another page from the Cheney Rove book of politics which is keep your mouth shut "when it won't help you", "you are in front of an inquiry", or "Senate grand jury". Say nothing and only put out what you want. Don't run, stand your ground and the press will capitulate.
HE AVOIDED THE TRUTH WELL
What do you do when those questions go unanswered. You win. That was Scott’s stance. He refused to debate McCollum on live statewide TV.
He dismissed the ritual of editorial board interviews.
He repeatedly refused to make public, a deposition he gave in a civil case six days before announcing his campaign.
He aggressively supported the Arizona law toughing illegal immigration because it is a popular idea though against laws already established in Florida.
He painted McCollum as a “desperate career politician”, a message that resonated at the polls Tuesday when voters did not respond to McCollums campaign.
Scott has no political background. Never held office.
Scott's campaign branded him as the “jobs'' candidate, using the slogan “Let's Get to Work”. That message rang the church bells in Florida because of very tough times.
TACTICS
• He never gave specifics, never answered tough questions, promised jobs and growth he can't deliver. And hasn’t.
• As to an actual plan, the specifics in some kind of numbers slogan are about as precise as hair on his head. There is none.
• Scott faced Democrat Alex Sink in November. There are twists galore here and the entire political scene was to be heavily watched. Thats O.K. with the Democrats. Scott is the opponent Democrats wanted to go against in November. It backfired.
• How he did this is more astounding. The key player might be more voter apathy and disgust than common sense. Weeks of negative campaigning and almost 50 million dollars of personal money which McCollum didn't have turned a critical three to four points in Scotts favor.
• This was a classic Florida battle of besmirching the opponent and it got hot. Battle of the bad guys. Forcing the usual lesser of the two evils syndrome.
• To his credit Scott had some clever ads and claims that he was being besieged by the Florida version of Tammany Hall. Often called "the righteous right of Florida Politics". He was not their team player and the rhetoric got a little nasty. The TEA PARTY got involved here in Florida, the Republican establishment is deeply imbibed, embedded and glued to the special interests who dominate the Capitol and the state. Sort of reminds you of a club like the "good old boys" club. Actually, a comparison to the “Good Fellas” might be more accurate. We had them here too.
• Scott portrayed that McCollum was just another part of this group, the Tallahassee crew who are not in the favor of many Floridians. Needless, to say, they were determined to tar Scott’s character. He retorted by playing his own trump card and "this in politics is called under-dogging". You set yourself up as the hurt underdog, the establishment doesn’t want you around, and you gain voter appeal. It worked for three points, enough to win. After all everyone roots for the underdog. And with a ton of scandals in the Republican party this year timing was perfect. There was so much waste in political dollars in Florida it was in the papers everyday, it looked like an ongoing soap opera.
• Day after day, the GOP, (Grand Old Porkers) Republican Party of Florida, was rocked by scandals. He was on them constantly blasting them for their bad habits, such as graft, payoffs, topless bars, pork projects, veal projects, and a few filet mignon projects.
• They in Tallahassee backed McCollum, and thought it worked to stop Scott cold. It backfired, they became the enemy of the people. Scott was being set upon. Time for the "under-dogging" play.
PROPAGANDA QUOTES:
Arlene DiBenigno, Scott's political director.
“This is a man who took on the entire establishment, and what he had was the people''. “We didn't have a traditional campaign. We had a campaign of people who were tired of the traditional establishment. They are tired of the same old thing.’'
THE LADDER - You gotta love this guy and his aids, heres the biggest crook in medicare history telling the people he was on their side. How many didn't get aid while he was grabbing their money. If this guy is the answer for Florida then Joseph Stalin is the answer for Congress. Come to think of it, Congress needs a good house cleaning.
THE TRUTH and WARNING
Scott's win bears witness to his personal wealth. He scored on the settlement for him to leave his company position and the severance pay for being ousted was substantial by any means. He spent at least $50 million of it on the campaign. The severance pay from his past life as the CEO of one of the largest conglomerates of hospitals in the world reportedly was over 300 million and benefits as usual. He was in reality paid to "go away, to leave, be-gone, out-out damn spot, vanish, puff of smoke, permanent sabbatical, call it what you want. It's a tax deduction for him.
Scott, is a 57-year-old Naples resident. He jumped on the bandwagon when he sensed a weakness in the ticket with all the scandals going heavy and an outgoing popular governor who is now running for the Senate after his own party battle. Clear battle against a so-so Republican Attorney General with a moderate track record. And with no real Lt. Governor in sight, it was the perfect storm of confusion to come on scene with his distinctive style against the establishment.
He used his bald head and blue eyes in almost every ad. These are things we usually pay little attention to, but in this case it worked! These small distractors are subliminal in nature. They may not know his full name but remembered the bald head and bright blue eyes. These are things we talk about and are used to gain attentive span.
SHOCK THERAPY
Though Scott's victory is a shock to the state's political system because of the bad words between Scott and the party. They will mend things. There will be mass conciliatory remarks to the party. These are called “Ruminant definitive statements”. (See Ruminant - cows digestive system)
The goal will be to mend the party for the gubernatorial race. What it means is Scott will be inducted into the "Good Old Boys Club and be just as corrupt as the rest of them. He certainly has the qualifications.
All that was said during the run-ups to get votes will float out the window, pacts will be made, deals written under the table, and they will be all sitting around the campfire, cooking oysters and shrimp, toasting each other with marshmallows, sipping Jim Beam, and "singing kum bay yah and 100 bottles of beer on the wall.
McCollum said Thursday that he called Scott to congratulate him and wish him well. There is no love lost here in one of the nastiest primary's in state history. "I still have serious questions about issues of his character, his integrity, his honestly, things that go back to Columbia/HCA,'' McCollum said. McCollum is still Florida's attorney General. Democratic candidate Alex Sink is likely to exploit this in the general election.
"I have never been associated with any whiff of a scandal or corruption or cheating the government,'' Sink said Thursday, referring to Scott. Unlike McCollum, other top Republicans are willing to move on. Florida GOP Chairman John Thrasher met with Scott for nearly two hours on Thursday at his campaign headquarters in Fort Lauderdale.
THE PARTY OF NOT QUITE
Well, we had our fun, being nasty. Now we have to cover our asses for the things we said, after all we never did anything for the state but complain and get caught. We lost and we have to reach forth to mend the party so the other asses on our ticket can stay in Tallahassee and put HUMPING DUMPY back together again. All is forgiven and the lies and rumors we spread will soon be forgotten.
The Republican Party stung by the indictment of former party chairperson Jim Greer and scandals galore now gets clobbered by a guy who calls them crooks. So if he patches things up, is he still the guy to clean up the corrupt state capitol, Tallahassee? No, he will become part of them, no better.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott, proved money, millions and millions of dollars can win, well I prefer the word "buy" an election.
FLORIDIANS DIDN'T VET HIM
It seems clever ad blitzes, and money, can take an election from the people of Florida who are either negative-politically brain dead or really haven't gotten the message. What happened to the thinking of the good people of Florida to endorse a known person whose major credit is his credit which came about by robbing the organization that pays for their medical bills.
He claims he knew nothing. In that case a) he is a buffoon, b) he thinks you and I are stupid, c) or he was hoodwinked. He ran a trillion dollar enterprise and never looked at what was being done. Please spare me these lies. If he was innocent, then he truly is the worst CEO in the world. I will believe that when he takes a level three FBI polygraph test.
He has made promises with no backing, a track record of financial mis-doings, meant nothing. No one could stop 50 million dollars worth of ads. Thats a record no one has been close to in any elections in Florida. Only WWE wrestler lady Linda McMahon might be a player in this buy me game.
MEDICARE AND THE THE MEDI-CREEP
What I find most astounding is the fact that Florida is a huge Medicare State based on the simple demographics of the age of our citizens. Who in their right or even a dementia-laden mind would vote for a guy who possibly took money that could of been used for them and their health and kept it. Robin Hood he is not. He robbed from the poor and rich alike and kept it.
He is and has been a critic of President Barack Obama's health-care overhaul. There was nothing in Obamas bill that would harm anyone in Florida. The only harm were the lies spread by the “you know who” of the legion of Doom to scare the senior citizens. Could it be because he owns day clinics called “Solantic”. They are currently under investigation for various topics like "fraud". The Obama plan takes those who use his clinics and allows them to go mainstream medicare. Sure he’s against overhaul. Thats how he makes more money with those who haven’t coverage.
He refused to publish his depositions about Solantic investigation during the race stating they are personal. What happened to transparency so demanded today. This arrogant person thinks his money is above the law. transparency is not something he likes. if so, why go into politics? Whats the real motivation, power, great benefits, it's not money, he already has it. Power is my guess. Some rich folks don't feel they are appreciated in the public spotlight for their efforts. In his case robbing the public trust fund of Medicare is enough for me to make him Governor of his cellblock.
A founder of Conservatives for Patients Rights, Scott boasted of helping to defeat Democratic efforts to include the public option. Wonderful, more rights taken away from the folks who need it the most.
CLIMATE CHANGE
Officials responsible for making sure Florida is prepared to respond to the earth's changing climate are barred from using the terms "global warming" and "climate change" in official communications, emails and reports, according to new findings from the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting.
"We were told that we were not allowed to discuss anything that was not a true fact," said Kristina Trotta, a former Florida Department of Environmental Protection employee. Another former employee added, "We were dealing with the effects and economic impact of climate change, and yet we can't reference it.” Climate change is a major problem for Florida. Last year, the National Climate Assessment named Miami as one of the cities in the United States most vulnerable to damage from rising sea levels. A Southeast Florida Regional Climate Compact paper has also warned that water in the area could rise by as much as 2 feet by the year 2060.
But the state's governor, Republican Rick Scott, has frustrated scientists by downplaying the problem.
Last year, a reporter asked Scott whether man-made climate change "is significantly affecting the weather, the climate." Scott tried to change the subject and replied, "Well, I'm not a scientist.” When asked by the Tampa Bay Times in 2010 whether he believed in climate change, Scott simply replied, "No.” In August, five climate scientists met with Scott and told him he needs to do more to protect the state from rising sea levels.
According to the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting, the policy against mentioning global warming went into effect after Scott took office in 2011 and appointed Herschel Vinyard Jr. as the agency's director. Christopher Byrd, a counsel with the state Department of Environmental Protection, said he first heard about the policy at a staff meeting in 2011. "Deputy General Counsel Larry Morgan was giving us a briefing on what to expect with the new secretary," Byrd recalled, saying he gave them "a warning to beware of the words global warming, climate change and sea-level rise, and advised us not to use those words in particular."
"I did infer from this meeting that this was a new policy, that these words were to be prohibited for use from official DEP policy-making with our clients," he added. The agency's press secretary told the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting that "DEP does not have a policy on this." The governor's office similarly said, "There's no policy on this."