Is Rick Scott the next Scott Walker?
After Wisconsin, Florida is the latest state where radical budget plans from a newly elected “Tea Party” governor and similarly minded state legislature are being met with vigorous grassroots protests and well-organized opposition.
Florida activists have declared Tuesday a day of action and protests against the right-wing budget proposal of new Gov. Rick Scott and the Republican-dominated state legislature.
Florida progressives and ordinary citizens are participating in dozens of “Awake The State” events to rally against Scott’s controversial budget and threats from the governor and state Republicans to enact Wisconsin-style union-busting legislation in the Sunshine State.
It’s a rude welcome for Scot as he prepares to open the new session of the GOP-controlled Florida state legislature with his first “state of the state” address. After being feted by state and national Tea Party groups and even having his name floated as a possible presidential candidate in 2012 in the months after he narrowly beat Democrat Alex Sink, Scott has faced a harsh dose of reality in recent weeks.
The tone has changed. He was publicly slammed by Democrats and Republicans for turning down billions in federal money for a high-speed rail project already approved by the state legislature, and now Scott has to deal with what is turning out to be a considerable display of organized opposition to what is turning into a contentious and often reckless first term as governor.
“Awake The State” came about after Scott’s proposed budget was unveiled at highly partisan Tea Party rally in rural central Florida. Gov. Scott took a cue from other Republican state leaders that were swept into power thanks to Tea Party momentum and campaign war chests stocked with either corporate donations or, like Scott, with vast personal fortunes. He announced drastic cuts to various state programs like Medicaid and education, proposed to gut the pensions and labor rights of public employees like teachers, and laid out a plan for massive tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy.
The organizers of “Awake” are opposing what they call Rick Scott’s “all-out assault” on public employees and Florida families.
No Floridian can afford more budget cuts.
Gov. Rick Scott and legislative leaders have launched an all-out assault on Florida workers and their families. Gov. Scott’s budget, combined with devastating proposals from the legislature, would cut billions from our public schools, harm the quality of health care Floridians receive, and cut thousands of jobs.
Average Floridians are fed up with their governor and legislative leaders insisting on balancing the budget on the backs of hard-working Floridians. Enough is enough.
It’s time to Awake The State with local rallies around throughout Florida urging our state legislators to reject budget cuts and invest in Floridians again.
There are many “Awake The State” events planned for Tuesday across the Sunshine State. From Pensacola to Key West, ordinary Floridians are hitting the streets in a show of force never before seen in the state.
Click here for a complete listing of events.
The event is showing signs of early success, as a crowd described as being in the “hundreds” was already gathering in Tallahassee early on Tuesday morning.
Since I’m not a resident of Florida, I’m hoping that Scott goes his merry way for four years creating a failed state. Hope he rapidly becomes a dire warning to the voters of other states like mine.
Just came back from a rally in Tallahassee as legislature convened. Tea Party ALLOWED in the Rotunda; others . . . not so much. Protesters probably exceeded 1000, but expect to see on the evening news that a ‘few protesters’ were drowned out by hundreds of thousands of Scott-supporter, tea partiers who met inside the Capitol to lend their support to this former healthcare leader (unindicted crook) turned pol
Rick Scott is a partisan hack who is absolutely flushing Florida down the fabled crapper for the sake of adhering to the party line.
This political whore is selling out the very people he was sworn in to govern to the best of his ability.
Cut all services, especially to the needy, and give all the money to corporations and the wealthy. Paradise!
If President Obama is being asked to show his birth certificate showing he was born in the United States (which he was), then Ric Scott would need to show what planet he was born on. This man is totally clueless. He is the Glenn Beck of Politics. If Glenn Beck were to be elected, this would be his incarnation.
The amount of money he would save by killing education in the State was already handed over to the corporations in the form of tax cuts. Florida is already one of the top five states for business to come because of its extremely friendly tax rates to business.
However, his war on the middle class would make it very unlikely for businesses to want to trade the low tax rate for an inability to find workers willing to stay in this state if his wishes come true.
What I am more upset and pisst is that people litterly elected this man. They were to nieve to see that this man had plans to bring Florida down. But I guess some has to learn the hard way while many more has to suffer for it. They should investigate what happen to the Florida Lotto and why it didnt pay for the Education like we were promised in 1988.
It is only my opinon that those voted for him were nieve and did not take heed of warning that you just elected a man who will be the one who will SINK florida or cause the valcano to errupt. It is ashame that many has to suffer and take great loss to benefit the rich and powerful like he is, and the Bush Family. No wonder the Bush family supported him, these texans needs to GO back home and let the Bulls kick them in their ass. Next time listen to the way how they plan the game and how he acted like a two year old talley taling over a phone for a person who was the CFO of FLorida – he can break all the rules, but you, you cant break his rules. For someone who strongly believes in good educations, i guess he was able tos end his kids to private school. Sadly this man and his staff failed to do their home work and i really wonder what his grade were like in the mid west. Is he mad at his teachers that he had to work to go to school. and did not get any scholarships. Hum. scholarships are given to students with GPa’s over 3.2 and works to get great grades with good attendance. Now I wonder what his real education was like in lower and middle schools and what was his passing to become a lawyer – how many times did he take the test. would he pass the FCAT test. and can he teach in Florida if he is so smart and great. Really honeslty. he needs to resign, because his grade is a complete F and the teachers will give him poor attendance!
Gov. Rick Scott is the worst thing that has ever happened to Florida. All he cares about are his rich cronies and to heck with the rest of us. He balanced the budget on state/public workers backs. He hurt teachers and education. He takes 3% from state employees to put into their retirement, a tax on them, but yet gives Corps a tax break, he’s crazy, go figure.