It did not take long for a video of a Florida woman haranguing Governor Rick Scott while he ordered coffee at a Gainesville Starbucks to go viral.
“You cut Medicaid so I couldn’t get Obamacare,” the woman, identified as former Lake Worth City Commissioner Cara Jennings, yells at Scott. “You’re an asshole. You don’t care about working people. You should be ashamed to show your face around here.”
Scott responded by saying he has created a million jobs.
“A million jobs? Great, who here has a great job?” she said, turning her head and scanning the crowded room.
Never mind that Jennings launched this harangue while sitting in front of a laptop computer, presumably while enjoying a $5 cup of joe.
Unfortunately for him, Scott did not get to enjoy his coffee. Jennings, once described as an anarchist in the polka-dot skirt, was so disrespectful to the governor that he had smartly retreated from the coffee shop.
Democrats and progressives — and even a swath of politically moderate Floridians — are cheering Jennings’ broadside against Scott, who, despite the state’s low unemployment rate and expanding economy, remains unpopular.
But the bottom-line is Jennings was out of line.
Jennings may not respect the man, but she should have respected the office. She may vehemently disagree with Rick Scott’s policies, but she was wrong to call the governor an “asshole” in a public setting.
It gives me no satisfaction coming to Scott’s defense. Let’s not forget that I was the guy who organized the first substantial protest of Scott after he took office (remember Boo Rick Scott on Opening Day?)
But Jennings’ actions were ugly. They were, in fact, Trumpian. They warrant an apology.
And Governor Scott should be able to get his Starbucks without being called an “asshole.”
