RULE 8 - Endorsements A. The State Executive Committee may endorse, certify or recommend candidates in contested Republican primaries only upon unanimous approval of the Executive Board and the approval of 60% of the State Executive Committee at a meeting called for that purpose and at which a quorum is present. Republican Party of Florida Rules of Procedure

I have two very good reasons to be thankful on this Johnnie Byrd weekend: Rick Scott & Republican Hypocrisy

Thank Goodness for Rick Scott.

The ‘folks’ made a statement this week. We are sick and tired of career politicians and big money interests ‘lording’ over state government and the election process. The folks are tired of the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) puppet masters running the show.

I might add that every Republican in the state of Florida actually owes an additional debt of gratitude to Rick Scott. He is the only person right now who actually can deliver on the stated purpose of the Florida Republican Party:

ARTICLE II - OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this State Committee shall be:
A. To develop a strong, effective, and informed Republican Party in Florida.
B. To support the principles, objectives, and platforms of the Republican Party and to
secure the election of all duly nominated Republican candidates.
C. To encourage able and qualified Republicans to seek office at all levels of government.

The wonderful thing is that Rick Scott has a message; he has a plan. Rick Scott’s plan to rejuvenate Florida’s economy excites people. The rank and file Republicans will now support Scott gleefully. They have been unfettered from having to support the guy whose ‘turn is next’. We have been freed from the Bob Dole effect and can get behind someone who exudes confidence in less taxes, less regulation and more personal freedom. We can get behind someone who doesn’t believe government is the answer. People are excited about the chance. I predict a Scott blowout in November and some real change for the better in Florida government and politics.

Thank Goodness for Republican Hypocrisy

The RPOF has just had the proverbial Aqua Velva slap. RPOF Chairman John Thrasher needs to regain his moral authority - and in a hurry. By taking sides in the Republican primary, Chairman Thrasher made a big mistake. It wasn’t a technical violation for him to endorse in a personal capacity, but it gave the wrong impression. At any rate, this hypocrisy revealed can allow the RPOF to redeem itself, and I believe it will.

I still can’t help but ask, “What was Republican Party Chairman John Thrasher thinking?” I don’t really know, but I am sure Thrasher will think twice before he ‘blows off’ the cardinal Republican rule of primary election neutrality again. Like most of us Republicans in the ‘outback’, I believe in power of conservative ‘principles’ not in the power of big money interests who pay the bills, but don’t care about principles unless it gets them their way. I am sure that Thrasher will get behind Scott in a hurry and do a lot of reflection on how to balance those interests in the future. Job number one right now is to pull the RPOF back together.

It’s time to shake off this issue and win in November - the future of our state and country depends on it. Now’s the time for every good conservative to call the RPOF office and ask what you can do. You can’t do everything, but you can do something. Hillsborough County Chairwoman Deborah Cox can use your help. Go to the RPOF website and check it out and then step out to do something for your state and county.
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Tags: Mike Haridopolos, Larry Cretul, Will Weatherford, Dean Cannon, John Thrasher

As governor, I will continue to put patients first by looking for innovative ways to lower health care cost while increasing the quality of care by focusing on providing consumers more choice through greater competition and accountability.” – Rick Scott

I’m in an anti-incumbency mood…That’s why I like Rick Scott.

First, anyone who has been on the brutal receiving end of a federal healthcare bureaucratic jihad, and survived, has my respect. If elected, I hope he cleans house in Florida’s healthcare agencies. As an attorney and legislator, I’ve seen the bureaucratic paralysis in these Florida agencies, not to mention the petty power welding of their engrained middle management. It’s comforting at least hope for a Florida Governor who will promote, not impede, the delivery of high quality, low cost healthcare and unleash the ingenuity, creativity, and resourcefulness of healthcare companies with new products and healthcare delivery ideas. This includes the outdated concept of ‘certificates of need’ (CON) which in essence replaces the marketplace with a bureaucracy to determine where hospitals and other healthcare services are available. As you can imagine the government regulated CON system has become totally corrupted. Scott has my hope for change; Rick Scott knows everything about the regulators from the most over regulated industry in America.

Second, it has been an eye-opener to see the statewide Republican big dogs ‘stand on their hind legs’ when the big money special interest groups whistled. It’s funny to see zillions of dollars in special interest soft-money going down the drain. Are the big money interests afraid of Scott? Why is the status quo candidate so important to statewide Republican leaders? It’s because Scott doesn’t ‘need’ the special interests or the Republican Party big wigs, for that matter. The result is a marriage made in campaign heaven: The big money boys are using the Republican Party leader’s soft money infrastructure as a conduit for their anti-Scott campaign cash… Which brings up the third reason I like Rick Scott.

Some multi-millionaires have stepped into the campaign fray around the nation this election cycle. The cost of entry into a statewide campaign in California, New York or Florida leaves all of us mere mortals with little choice, and input for that matter, but to vote for one career politician over another. Ugh! The entry into politics by the likes of Rick Scott, Meg Whitman, Carly Fionrina and others is refreshing at least. It used to be that well-healed candidates would rarely if ever spend their own money on an election, but that seems to have changed. I like it merely because it is somehow political justice to see the career political untouchables groveling in painful realization that they are near the end of their political lives.

And for those who say, someone shouldn’t be able to ‘buy’ a political office, much less the governorship, I say I like someone who will see public policy for what it has become – something that is bought and sold.

Finally, illegal immigration has become the ‘elephant in the room’ not only for border states, but every sleepy hamlet across America. Scott had the guts to come out strong on the issue while his opponent waffled. If every Hispanic in Florida votes against Scott in the general election over his strong stand on illegal immigration, then so be it. At least we had someone who got ‘off the dime’ and told the truth of an ugly problem that will eventually lead to a larger disaster in America than Obamacare ever would.

Yes, I like Rick Scott for Governor.

P.S. If you are a finger licking, wind watching, poll pushed voter, you may want to bookmark the RealClearPolitics Florida governor polls page.

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Tags: Rick Scott, ACHA, Florida Department of Health