Sinking Poll Numbers May Put Florida in Play

[Derechos]

MIAMI — In the past few weeks, Gov. Rick Scott has traveled around the state extolling the accomplishments of the recent legislative session and promoting his success in pushing Florida down a more conservative, financially sound path.

So why is his approval rating the lowest of any governor in America?

“I don’t think about it,” Mr. Scott said in a brief interview when asked about his 29 percent approval rating in a Quinnipiac University poll conducted in May. More alarming for the governor: his negative rating has soared from 22 percent in February shortly after he entered office to 57 percent, suggesting that the more Floridians get to know him, the less they like him.

Mr. Scott, however, chalks up the numbers to his agenda. “Everybody’s scared about change,” he said. “I’m going to make the tough decisions because I know, long-term, they pay off. But, you know, short-term, everybody is worried about change.”

The promise of wholesale changes appealed to Florida voters, who overlooked Mr. Scott’s lack of experience and propelled him into the Governor’s Mansion last year as a Tea Party darling. But within six months of Mr. Scott’s swearing-in, many Floridians seem to have soured on the governor, an unflinching former health insurance executive whose leadership style strikes some as remote and uncaring.

Mr. Scott’s sinking popularity has Republican politicians and some strategists worried that his troubles could hamper their chances of tilting the state’s 29 electoral votes back into their column in 2012. President Obama won Florida by 2.8 percentage points in 2008.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/28/us/28florida.html?ref=us

[aquart]

1. The only way Florida is in play

is if the cops are so mad they won't allow vote tampering.

[murielm99]

2. Is Scott messing with the cops?

Has he divided them, the way Walker has in Wisconsin?

If not, is there any way to get them on the side of the people?

Do the cops in Florida like the the teabaggers?

I know you are making a joke, sort of, but is there a possibility of getting the cops to turn against Scott?

[aquart]

3. Well, the Broward cops had a Leaving the Party party.

And Broward has always been a big part of the problem.

[murielm99]

4. Good! n/t

[csziggy]

6. "Police Officers, Fed Up with Rick Scott, Leave Republican Party En Masse"

Next month the Broward County Police Benevolent Association is holding a "Party to Leave the Party" -- an event coordinated with the Supervisor of Elections where police officers and the general public can switch their voter registrations from Republican to Democratic or Independent.

The reason for the switch? The association, which serves as the bargaining union for the county's law enforcement officers, is unhappy with the leadership of Governor Rick Scott and the results of the past legislative session, including changes to the Florida Retirement System that will require the workers to pay more of their own wages into retirement savings.

The PBA may be a union, but it's not traditionally a bunch of liberals. "You'd be surprised," says Broward PBA President Patrick Hanrihan. "I think most of our police officers and stuff are Republicans." Well, until the party-switching party, that is.

More: http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2011/06/police_benevolent_association_leave_the_party_republicans.php

And the dissatisfaction is spreading.

[provis99]

9. I could not give a shit about turncoat pigs.

They were perfectly willing to support Scott until their own ox was about to be gored. Fuck em.

And just for fun, here are Broward County cops laughing at a case of police brutality they committed: http://www.policebrutalitylawyer.com/police-abuse-videos/miami-police-shot-protester-then-laugh-about-it.html

[csziggy]

10. But if they get pissed enough at Republicans, they can turn the next election

I'll be happy if they are persuaded to change their votes and where they donate their political monies.

[TheWraith]

5. I wish to hell people would stop this vote-fraud-is-omnipotent crap.

You would think nobody remembered winning Florida in 2008. If things actually worked the way some DUers think they do, there would be no point in having elections.

[murielm99]

8. I think many of us are convinced that, over the last few

years, they have become more sophisticated in stealing the vote. Electronic voting has helped them. So has voter suppression, due to laws like voter IDs, outlawing same day registration and restricting early voting.

I believe they steal a bit here and there to change election results. The only way we can win is to GOTV, have many observers and scream like hell for recounts and publicity when we suspect fraud.

I think it is real and widespread.

And I don't care what people say about the Kloppenburg/Prosser election, I believe it was stolen. Many people who live in Wisconsin feel the same way. I hope that works against them in the upcoming recalls.

It is not omnipotent, but it is widespread. It can be stopped.

And it is not just Florida, or Broward County. I would not single out that state.

[ejpoeta]

12. i think the mere fact that there is the appearance of meddling and attempts

to prevent people from voting that really hurts the voting process the most and the integrity of the system. I mean, first of all, you can't trust the vote counts like in the supreme court election with kloppenburg and prosser simply because of mishandled ballots and that woman who decided to do stuff on her own computer instead of the official one. When you have these kinds of issues, then no one trusts the elections and will question the legitimacy and authority of elected officials even if they were elected fair and square. Or that whole fiasco in the 2000 election in Florida. People don't trust elections. and each cycle something happens that makes them trust it less. Not sure how to fix that except by adhering to strict rules and guidelines and chain of command stuff with ballots and computer information as well as making sure as many people can vote as possible. I wish people would see voting as a responsibility instead of an inconvenience. I know some places make it an inconvenience as part of their effort to keep some people from voting.

[lonestarnot]

7. What floridians have figured out they are being economically shocked and awed?

Wait till they have no social security.

[UrbScotty]

11. If Obama wins Florida, it will be almost impossible for him to lose.

Republicans generally do about a point or two better in Florida than they do nationally - McCain got 48% versus 465% nationally, Bush got 52% in 2004 vs. 51% nationally. So if Obama wins Florida's 29 electoral votes, it's quite likely he'll win 241 electoral votes from other states.

[PCIntern]

13. Your typo was amusing...

that's real Jeb Bush math you've got going there!!!

:hi:

[UrbScotty]

17. I was just going to say, they must have REALLY rigged it!

:-D

[Unvanguard]

14. That's not true if Florida swings Democratic for local reasons.

If it votes for Obama because Rick Scott is awful, that won't affect voters in the other forty-nine states.

[UrbScotty]

18. True, but Republican governors in Michigan, Virginia, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere

are quite unpopular as well, and that could definitely hurt Republicans in those states as well.

[quaker bill]

15. Florida already was in play

What Scott may do is make winning here so easy that the President may be able to shift some resources to other states. He will campaign here for sure, but perhaps it will not be as tough to secure a big margin as it was in 2008.

Scott believes what he is doing will pay off. There is little evidence for the economic validity of his approach. He is "fixing" "economic problems" that did not exist by cutting taxes and regulations. Taxes and regulation were never the problem, so changing them is unlikely to "cure" anything.

We already had one of the lowest tax rates and one of the smallest and cheapest public sector work forces in the nation. 12 years of hiring and pay freezes and a significant public sector layoff when JEB took office had already assured this long before Scott took office. While he is doing damage to alot of people, he is economically nibbling around the edges of a very small and nearly irrelevant cookie. No serious analyst is expecting measurable change in the economy as a result.

[Bandit]

16. Cut billions from education and give out billions in corporate tax cuts

And you say no economist expects change in the economy.. I find that statement simply stunning....