Well, that didn’t last long.
Ahead of the 2013 legislative session Governor Scott underwent a major about-face on a series of issues key to Florida voters. Suddenly, the Governor that slashed $1.3 billion from education was a friend of teachers and students. Suddenly, the man who spent $5 million of his personal fortune to fight the President’s Affordable Care Act supported its expansion. Suddenly, the Tea Party ideologue was portraying himself as a moderate pragmatist willing to engage in bipartisan compromise. But now, suddenly, the old Rick Scott is back.
Instead of offering leadership or original ideas, the Governor has reverted back to using, as the Tampa Bay Times put it, “tortured logic” to blame the President for all of Florida’s problems. Just last week the Governor yet again reversed his stance on the Affordable Care Act. After saying that he could not, “in good conscience,” deny care, he now calls it a “disaster“. After the Florida legislature nearly unanimously passed a non-controversial bill to provide Dreamers with driver’s licenses, Rick Scott, in a move that “ignores reality and common sense,” decided to start a “political brawl.” He chose to veto the bill, offering the paltry excuse that it was somehow President Obama’s fault. Finally, in a particularly desperate move, Governor Scott used a natural disaster to try and score political points against the President.
“Rick Scott knows he’s in trouble,” said Florida Democratic Party Chair Allison Tant. “It doesn’t matter how much money he spends on rebranding or spin — Floridians are all too familiar with Scott’s toxic brand and failed leadership, and his anemic poll numbers reflect that reality.”
