Every person in the State of Florida should be a Republican
By Roger Caldwell
At the Lincoln Day Dinner, Governor Scott made this statement, and I think he believed it. Maybe he forgot that President Obama won the election, and the Democrats carried the state of Florida. Governor Scott must not read polls, and he refuses to make a public statement on his Lieutenant Governor who has just resigned, embarrassing the state and the Republican Party.
In the last two years, there have been 15 director departures from the top level administrative positions in his administration, and the majority of them were Republicans. During his campaign, Scott promised the voters that he would reduce the size of Florida’s budget cutting it back by $5 billion. Instead of cutting back the budget, this year the governor is proposing a $74.2 billion budget, which will be the largest in the history of the state.
As a politician Governor Scott has learned to emphasize the positive numbers and keep quiet about the mistakes. Without a doubty, our governor can take credit for lowering unemployment and brag about it dropping from 11.1 percent to 7.8 percent in two years. This rate is lower than the federal average, and jobs in the private sector have improved by over 200,000 jobs.
Our governor can also take credit for balancing the budget and having a billion dollar surplus in the treasury. Governor Scott is a master at numbers, but people who figure the numbers sometimes do make mistakes and lie. He wants everyone to be a Republican, so it would be easier to get his agenda and election campaign supported and won.
“Business owners should be Republicans, and so should employees who need those businesses to thrive. If you’re on a safety net, you for sure should be a Republican because who’s going to pay that? Somebody working a job paying taxes,” says Scott. Maybe the governor thinks that only Republicans work and pay taxes.
I am still not sure if our governor was joking, but his rationale for becoming a Republican is ridiculous. The Republicans believe in the trickle down approach to finance and they are working to help make the rich richer. They cut taxes, and they cut regulations, so large corporations can keep more profits at the expense of the middle class and poor folks.
Minorities and poor folks usually do not figure into the equation, but on a national level the Republican Party wants to do a major makeover to help grow the party. Reince Priebus, Chairmen of the Republican Party has pledged to build long-term relationships with the African American and minority community that will be “authentic.” A 100 page document entitled “Growth and Opportunity Project,” states that the party is too old, too white, too insulator to win national elections.
The national component of the party understands that the public perception of the party must change, because they must accept gays, Blacks, immigration reform, Hispanics, and progressive thinking women. Maybe, Governor Scott has not read or studied the report, and he believes if the party works harder and spends more money, they will begin to win more elections.
But, the national organization understands to be competitive the party must make a course correction with progressive and innovative ideas. The party must have a plan that gives Blacks and minorities a reason to join their vision. Our governor is not doing his homework because public perception of the party is at record lows, so why would more people want to be a Republican.
