* New depths of disingenuousness were on display last week as Gov. Rick Scott blew into town to address the CEO Council of Tampa Bay luncheon in St. Pete. Rather than repeat contestable, Mitt Romney-denying, self-congratulating claims about how his administration’s policies are spearheading an economic turnaround, he altered the approach to suit his perpetual campaign. As has been his MO of late, he now favors context-free unemployment rates over job creations as a bragging point. So, he congratulated the CEOs for their part in reducing unemployment to an official 8.8 percent.
“In the last 24 months, you have taken our unemployment rate from one of the highest in the country…to, you now have (250,000) to 300,000 job openings every month in this state,” he gushed. Left unsaid but implied: “You couldn’t have done it without the guy at the top looking out for you. Let’s also hear it for me.”
* The governor recently dodged and parried reporter questions about the voter-registration fraud case that has embarrassed the Republican Party of Florida. He’s obviously learned to pivot, if not seamlessly, to a nominally related subject. In this case to underscoring the sheer value of Florida residents registering and then getting involved. “They (voters) need to go talk to the candidates,” he pointed out. “…Vet the candidates, get involved, pick your candidates, support them, and then go out to vote. That’s where my focus is.”
Anyone recall the focus obstacles for voters in the 2010 gubernatorial election? This is the hypocrite who wouldn’t sit down with editorial boards, which help some voters, yes, vet candidates. And if vetting voters wanted to see him in person, they needed to trek to Tea Party outposts such as Eustace or the Villages–and then hope they let non-believers in.