Politics
For Rick Scott, a Tough Road to Reform
Governor prioritizes campaign promises over popularity, poll reveals
Around the State
"It's obviously horrible, and it makes perfect sense," says Jim Lee, president of Voter Survey Service, which conducted the July 5-7 statewide poll.
"Other [polling] firms have said he has the 'lowest' approval rating of any governor in the nation. While it may be true, it’s not hard to understand when you consider that Scott only won with 49 percent of the vote last year," Lee said.
Reflecting on the ups and downs of another first-term governor, Lee noted that Pennsylvania's Tom Corbett suffered from an anemic 35 percent approval rating shortly after he unveiled an unpopular state budget blueprint in March. Corbett won election with 55 percent of the vote last year.
"This means Scott is down 22 points compared to his re-election margin, while Corbett is down 20," Lee said.
Lee noted, "Corbett and Scott balanced budgets by relying on unpopular funding cuts to public education and other safety-net programs as a way to keep their campaign pledges and avoid raising taxes, so they are clearly paying the price politically for budgets that appear to have not spread the pain 'fairly.'
But the pollster acknowledged that Scott, with a 27 percent approval rate, faces a steeper climb back.
"The one difference between Scott and Corbett is that Scott has alienated more in his own party, since GOP voters give him only a 48-34 approval rating, while a solid majority of Pennsylvania Republicans still approve of Corbett," Lee reported.
Florida's Democrats and independents disapprove of Scott’s job by 83-7 and 59-21 margins, respectively.
Mired with an overall approval score of just 27 percent in the survey of 1,000 registered likely voters, Scott has been pilloried by the left and the right.
The venom spreads across both genders and all corners of the state. Even Scott's conservative home base of Southwest Florida rated him 36-50 approve/disapprove.
The VSS poll was conducted just days after the governor angered elements of his base by approving the controversial SunRail commuter train project. Tea party groups called it a sellout to business lobbyists -- notably CSX -- and provincial interests in Central Florida.
A longtime RPOF state committeeman, speaking on background, said he hoped that Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam would run for governor in 2014. Putnam, a former GOP congressman from Polk County, has said he has no plans to do so.
Left-wing activists have assailed Scott from day one for his budget cuts. His prickly, or nonresponsive, relations with the press haven't helped his cause.
Some pollsters, including the left-leaning Public Policy Polling, have suggested that Scott's high negatives could doom the Republican Party's prospects for carrying Florida in the 2012 presidential election.
But other analysts downplay the connection.
"I do not believe that Rick Scott's poor performance will directly lead to a significant number of Obama votes," said Steve Schale, a Democratic strategist in Florida.
Amplifying on that skepticism, national political strategist Stuart Rothenberg wrote recently:
"I don’t know who will carry the Sunshine State in the 2012 election. But to argue that the Florida governor will cost the Republicans the state in 2012 is to argue that Scott will be more important than the presidential candidates, the issues and all of the media coverage surrounding the contest.
"If you believe that, you don’t understand campaigns and elections."
The editor of the Rothenberg Political Report concluded:
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Comments (23)
1. Cut Social Security -all of it-Why have this useless social program. Let old people work till they drop dead. If they are to disabled to work let them rot and die.
2. Cut Medicare-Another useless social program that only prolongs these old geezers life. Let them all die before they are 65 or if they live past 65 if they die because they get cancer, have a heart attack or have kidney failure or diabetes who cares-Just another useless old person that has died that is not contributing to society-
3. With all these programs stopped we will solve all our debt problems and all the millionaires and billionaires will not have to increase their taxes to pay for these useless programs.
4. Stop Medicaid-If people are poor it is their own dam fault. Should have studied harder in school or gone into the armed services.
Mr Scott I am sure you will agree with the above proposals. Hey can I invite you and your wife to a party at my home in the Villages. We would love to have you!
Stick a fork in Rick Scott, he's done.
The left wing media has done nothing but negative reporting and most of the time it has been no reporting just opinion writing.
Then you look at the Republicans. Most of this group wanted McCollum, not because he was better, but because they could manipulate him to do their bidding. Fasano, Altman, Haridopolos and Cannon come to mind here.
Then you have the Tea Party that believes that Scott should do ONLY what they want and nothing else. When he does (High Speed Rail) he is a hero. When he does not (SunRail) he is a goat. They refuse to look at the Florida Constitution yet preach follow the Constitution.
Next come the unions. This self serving group believe they are the almighty answer to all our problems. They refuse to sacrifice as those in the public sector have done for the past several years.
Finally, you have Scott's own press department. Not sure where they are getting their orders for getting the information out but they are doing a very poor job. They prefer to Tweet when they should be visible and get the facts out in a way that all can understand.
I believe the bottom line is this. Voters are unhappy with the way things have been going in our country and state for years. However, when change does come, when different methods are tried, they are out of their comfort zone and rebel. Not because they do not want change, but because they are afraid of change.
Just think of your children when they were two and you told them, NO.
I'm pulling for a Doug Ax the tax Guetzloe and Paula Dockery ticket!