In the end, Gov. Rick Scott likely will get what he deserves.
*For brazenly buying an election.
*For outsourcing his ideology to right-wing think tanks.
*For caring more about the approval of Tea Party zealots and the Koch Brothers than those concerned about the stewardship of a state whose ecosystem is as fragile as its economy.
*For being dismissive of and unavailable to those who disagreed with his priorities–not just the media.
*For treating public records as a bothersome affront.
*For promoting himself as a job-creating avatar whose early track record includes jettisoning jobs and pre-empting future ones. And then taking credit for business-cycle growth after an economic bottoming-out.
*For comporting himself as a small-government zealot who signs off on mandatory drug tests and intrusive, self-congratulatory robocalls to voters.
*For providing Stephen Colbert with entirely too much material. “Flori-DUH” is back.
But ultimately–and ironically– he couldn’t stay on course, however perverse. SunRail, with the high-profile backing of Winter Park Republicans U.S. Rep Dan Mica, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Florida House Speaker Dean Cannon, was waiting. The real litmus test of “principle.”
It was always clear that Mica’s real priority was SunRail, not the high-speed rail line between Orlando and Tampa. And he had the clout, including lobbying heft, to make a special-interest stand–and Scott caved. The governor was not about to go to the mattresses for his “taxpayers-on-the-hook” principle. Especially since he couldn’t use President Obama as a stimulus foil.
So now the Tea Party is angry at betrayal, while independents and Democrats see raw hypocrisy and unconscionable blundering and pandering.
The latter remember the $2.4 billion high-speed line that would not have cost Florida anything to build and would not have put the state “on the hook” for construction-cost overruns or operating losses. And would have been a redevelopment and jobs catalyst for the Orlando-Tampa megalopolis. No matter how the Reason and Cato Institutes spun it for Scott.
The $1.28 billion Poinciana-Deland commuter line that is SunRail will cost Florida taxpayers more than $650 million. It will create far fewer jobs and carry far fewer riders than the high-speed line would have. No wonder the federal government dubbed SunRail one of the least cost-effective rail projects in the country.
If possible, Scott’s abysmal approval ratings could fall further.
No wonder some influential Republicans are already speculating about potential primary challengers to Scott, such as ambitious Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, in 2014. (Much, of course, will depend on how Scott impacts President Obama’s Florida strategy next year.)
But, Scott, as noted, is likely to get what he deserves. Alas, Floridians won’t get what they deserve. They won’t get back what they lost. From more paradise paving to no economically energizing high-speed rail. Helluva legacy in the works.