RICK SCOTT’S MOST IMPORTANT RE-ELECTION TALKING POINT DEBUNKED BY POLITIFACT

PolitiFact Florida: As tax collections grow, Scott gives undue credit to his policies [Politifact] “[…crediting ‘conservative pro-growth policies’ for the extra flow of money is a conclusion that ignores trends nationwide…Scott’s statistic is wrong if you account for inflation. But the bigger issue is that Scott overreaches by connecting the revenue resurgence with conservative policies. The trajectory is not unique to Florida, or conservatives. There’s an element of truth to this statement but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression. We rate this claim Mostly False.”

TAMPA BAY TIMES: RICK SCOTT’S TAX CUT “HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH RE-ELECTION AND NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT’S BEST FOR FLORIDIANS”

Editorial: Scott needs to invest, not cut taxes [Tampa Bay Times] “Gov. Rick Scott’s proposed $500 million tax cut has everything to do with his re-election campaign and nothing to do with what’s best for Floridians. After years of deep cuts in spending and services, the key to Florida’s future is reinvesting in its people instead of pursuing undefined tax cuts that do little to create jobs or improve the quality of life…Scott sees no value in making improvements when times are better. He wants to reject most of the $845 million extra the state is projecting to have in 2014-15 after paying for program growth and placing $1 billion in reserves. On Tuesday, he embarked on a statewide tour to scout for ideas on which state taxes and fees should be cut to return $500 million of the surplus.”

RICK SCOTT’S NEVER-ENDING EDUCATION TRAIN WRECK CONTINUES…

Fla. Gov. in middle of education battle [Miami Herald] “The Republican governor in recent weeks has refused to come out strongly in favor of Florida’s transition to new standards known also as the Common Core State Standards, which have been adopted by 45 states and the District of Columbia…Scott has backed the standards in the past, but as controversy over them has mounted, particularly among some Republicans, he has steadily begun to side-step questions about them…But Scott’s decision to abruptly hold the summit last month to look at standards, testing and the state’s current grading system raised fears from Common Core supporters that the governor may be rethinking his support. After the summit, Scott pledged to carry out some of the suggestions but so far the governor has not announced any plans.”

ORLANDO SENTINEL: RICK SCOTT’S VOTER PURGE “A GAMBIT TAINTED BY SELF-SERVING POLITICAL MOVES”

Leaders wasted time on phantom voter fraud [Orlando Sentinel Editorial] “It’s time to face reality: There’s no significant problem with voter fraud in Florida. If it did exist, highly trained investigators with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement would’ve been able to find it…Unfortunately, the governor recently ordered another state-led purge of noncitizens from the voter rolls. The governor’s last attempt was a disaster. Of the 180,000 potential noncitizens identified for purging in 2012, less than 0.02 percent were actually ineligible. Nearly 60 percent of those on the list were Hispanic, though Hispanic voters make up only 13 percent…The governor and legislative leaders should focus on real problems that need fixing, not a gambit tainted by self-serving political motives.”

SCOTT ADMINISTRATION PLANS TOUR TO SELL FAILED VOTER PURGE

Scott’s Voter Purge Part 2 set for October road tour [Tampa Bay Times] “Let the purge begin again. Gov. Rick Scott promised that he would once again hunt for non-citizens on state voter rolls, and on Wednesday afternoon, his top elections official released public details about taking the first steps toward another pruning effort. Secretary of State Ken Detzner announced in a statement that he would begin a roundtable discussion with the state’s 67 supervisors of elections in a series of five public meetings across the state in October. (Sorry Tampa Bay and Miami-Dade, the closest meetings for you are in Sarasota and Ft. Lauderdale.)…Similar searches a year ago were rife with errors, found few ineligible voters and led to lawsuits by advocacy groups that said it disproportionately targeted Hispanics, Haitians and other minority groups.”

VOLUSIA SOE ON SCOTT’S NEW VOTER PURGE: “MOST SUPERVISORS LOOK AT IT WITH SKEPTICISM’

Elections officials ‘skeptical’ about planned voter purge [Daytona Beach News Journal] “Gov. Rick Scott is renewing a push to scrub noncitizens from the state’s voter rolls, but local officials are wary about whether the process is worth the effort. ‘(The state) is trying to look for an issue that doesn’t exist,’ Volusia County’s Supervisor of Elections Ann McFall said. Five civil rights groups held a conference call this week to announce their plans to oppose Scott’s second attempt at a voter purge. And the topic is one of several McFall says will be discussed Thursday in a meeting with other elections supervisors from 13 of the largest counties in terms of registered voters…’I think most of the supervisors look at it with skepticism,’ she said. ‘The list that we were given (last time) was not good and clean.'”

RICK SCOTT FORCED TO GIVE WAY TO COMMON SENSE, CALLS OF ALLIGATOR KILLING FUNDRAISER

Florida governor calls off alligator hunt campaign fundraiser [Reuters] “Florida Governor Rick Scott has called off a ‘private’ alligator hunting trip on Oct. 18 to raise funds for his 2014 re-election campaign. Golfing weekends, concerts and deep-sea fishing fundraisers are common in Florida politics, but a gator hunt was such an anomaly that it made major news among bloggers and political websites.”

TAMPA TRIBUNE: BONDI FUNDRAISING FIASCO “UNSEEMLY” AND “A BLUNDER”

Bondi’s poor timing [Tampa Tribune Editorial] “There is something unseemly about delaying an execution because it conflicts with a politician’s fundraiser. But that happened last month when the rescheduled execution of convicted murderer Marshall Lee Gore landed precisely on the day Attorney General Pam Bondi plans to launch her re-election campaign in Tampa…Scott on Monday dodged questions about the propriety of rescheduling an execution for a fundraiser. He said he didn’t know the reason for the delay, just that Bondi had asked for one and that he generally tries to accommodate such requests…Clearly, this is a blunder that should never have happened.”

TAMPA BAY TIMES SLAMS BONDI FOR EXECUTION RESCHEDULING DISASTER

The two faces of Pam Bondi [Tampa Bay Times] “You are the attorney general of Florida, tough on bad guys, so tough you are defending a new law to speed up death sentences here in Florida. Because why should loved ones of the murdered suffer one more day than necessary, right? Unless, as it turns out, the next execution interferes with your planned re-election campaign kickoff party back in hometown Tampa. Then what’s another 21 days on earth for the killer of two women who has been sentenced to die? Attorney General Pam Bondi is now dealing with the fallout from that very bad decision, one that does not exactly rebut cynical assumptions in some corners that Republicans care about campaign cash above all else.”

RICK SCOTT’S DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH BLOCKING NAVIGATORS CALLED “CRUEL AND IRRESPONSIBLE’

Navigators Not Welcome at Health Dept. [WUSF] “The Florida Department of Health has become the latest arm of state government to distance itself from  the federal Affordable Care Act. It has ordered county health units not to allow outreach workers called Navigators onto their property to help uninsured people sign up for subsidized health coverage…Dr. Marc Yacht, retired Pasco County Health Director, said the policy will ‘significantly compromise a multitude of needy Floridians from getting critical health care.’ He called it ‘cruel and irresponsible.'”