Florida Republicans Say Wealthy Crook Better Than Career Politician
By spalladino
@spalladino (17891)
United States
August 24, 2010 11:04pm CST
It's not official but it looks like Rick Scott will be the Republican candidate for Governor of Florida. He ran against Bill McCullum, former congressman and the state's elected attorney general. I have serious concerns about Scott, former CEO of the 200 hospital conglomerate, Columbia/HCA, which paid a record $1.7 billion fine for Medicare fraud after cheating the federal government out of millions of dollars. Scott outspent McCullum 3-to-1 during the campaign, spending $38 million of his own money...which wasn't hard to do since he received a $300 million golden parachute when he was forced out of Columbia/HCA.
I am shocked, stunned and disappointed that the current atmosphere of career politician = bad would allow someone like this man to become the Republican party's candidate. The more I learned about Scott, the less I trusted him. So, now I'm going to have to start getting to know Alex Sink, the Democratic party candidate for Governor of my state, because this wheeler dealer con man gives me the creeps. Do you think it's wise to simply vote against the incumbent, or in Florida's case a career politician, without taking a realistic look at the other candidate?
6 responses
@laglen (19759)
• United States
27 Aug 10
4,008,121 registered Republicans in Florida, they couldnt find anybody better? My state has the same problem and the Republicans wonder why they dont win.
@spalladino (17891)
• United States
30 Aug 10
I'm not PC enough?? 
Yeah, I have to agree with you on that one. Telling the opposition to kiss my butt would probably be seen as inappropriate. 
Yeah, I have to agree with you on that one. Telling the opposition to kiss my butt would probably be seen as inappropriate. 1 person likes this
@spalladino (17891)
• United States
30 Aug 10
Good point, x, but I think you're supposed to become a politician first and then turn into a crook while working on getting that "Career" title.
@Taskr36 (13963)
• United States
25 Aug 10
That's unfortunate. I haven't followed the race much since I'm not in Florida anymore. I did like McCullum though and expected him to win the nomination. I really don't know anything about Rick Scott.
Sadly there are people who will blindly oppose anyone who seems too "extablishment" regardless of what they stand for. We even saw that with Ron Paul running for reelection despite the fact that he represents the views of most of the anti-incumbent folk.
I do think congress needs big shakeups, strict term limits, and for most incumbents to be dumped, but the game is different with a governor. Governors have actual responsibilities, whereas congressman and senators can literally sit on their a$$es and do nothing.
I bet you're missing Charlie Crist already.
@spalladino (17891)
• United States
25 Aug 10
Scott is hurting himself already. I just watched an interview on CNN and the subject of the hospital situation and the big fine came up. He sidestepped it...refused to address it at all which is a bad move. Sink is looking better by the minute and, YES, I miss Charlie already and he's not even gone yet!
@sierras236 (2739)
• United States
26 Aug 10
Which begs the question: Which is actually worse? A thief you know or a Career politician who is crooked in his own right? Anyway, the real answer is that McCullum was probably caught in the anti-incumbent wave that is currently hurting many career politicians.
@spalladino (17891)
• United States
26 Aug 10
I think you're right about the mood of the voters right now. The funny thing is that, in this case, McCullum wasn't the incumbent but he is a career politician. The incumbent is our governor's race is running for the senate as an independent...and there is no incumbent in that race either.
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
25 Aug 10
Voting just to get someone out of office is just as bad as voting for the one who speaks better or has more charisma or voting blindly for the party ticket. I saw some of the coverage last night and thought that Scott must have some nefarious reason to spend millions to get that office. $26 million, I think was the figure mentioned. Nobody said anything about his corruption. McCullum is at least trying to get a tough anti-illegal immigration law established.
People are stupid, plain and simple. They want to be taken care of, like sheep. They don't see the wolf past the sheep's clothing. I despair of this country sometimes.
@spalladino (17891)
• United States
30 Aug 10
Sure he has a nefarious reason, dragon...he wants to get the stink of medicare fraud off his back and see how much he can suck out of the state of Florida. He's a pretty slick character. They were never able to prove that he was involved in the Medicare fraud so either way, he's not a confidence builder.
@thegreatdebater (7316)
• United States
25 Aug 10
This maybe another case of buying an election. On the other hand, if I was a republican in Florida, I don't know who I would have voted for either. They both seam like they had huge draw backs, and the real republican candidate is running as an independent. It wouldn't surprise me if Alex Sink wins this election because the other two could easily cancel each other out.
@spalladino (17891)
• United States
25 Aug 10
If other folks feel the same way I do about Scott, I think Sink has the race in the bag. I don't trust this man one bit and if he continues to refuse to discuss his past (cooked) business operations, there's no reason for me to trust him.
