NEW EDITORIALS: Scott Should Answer For Being “Florida’s Jim Crow Governor”

As Scott holds events with veterans his record shows he’s only looking out for himself

As Rick Scott campaigns in Tampa today ahead of his expected Senate run, new editorials highlights how Rick Scott has managed to “Out-Jim Crow the Entire South” and how he “cavalierly ignored” a judge to deny people their rights with a “fatally flawed system.” The editorials are the latest examples showing how Scott is prioritizing his self-serving politics at Floridians’ expense and why he can’t be trusted to look out for anyone but himself:

• Rick Scott told nursing facilities to call him personally if there were any issues during Hurricane Irma. They did. But Scott failed to answer their calls, including the ones from the facility where 12 people died. He deletedtheir messages, and then blamed others.
• Scott said the FIU bridge was not a state project, but records quickly indicated the state played an integral role in the project, including in selecting contractors (one of which donated nearly $50K to Scott’s campaignduring the process). The state also ordered a key design change and was aware of cracking in the concrete in the bridge days before the collapse, but failed to act. 
• Scott blamed local and federal authorities after the Parkland shooting, but ignored that his administration investigated the shooter and took no action, despite the fact the shootertold them he was planning to buy a gun.

On Friday, the Florida Democratic Party launched the Self-Serving Scott campaign with a press conference call discussing how each of these events demonstrate Scott “will not accept blame” for his failed record and is only ever looking out for his own political interests.

And since Scott appeared with Veterans today, here’s a quick reminder about his record on this critical issue:

• Scott supported privatization of the Veterans Administration, which is opposed by veterans advocacy groups, so that he could, in his own words, “profit.” At the same time, Scott’s company was defraudinghealth care for our troops and their families, while Scott got a “$310 million golden parachute.” 
• Scott also vetoed funding for veterans housing.
• Under Scott, Florida Did Not Expand Medicaid Which Could Have Provided Health Care To Over 40,000 Florida Veterans

Florida Democratic Party spokesman Sebastian Kitchen issued the following statement in response to Rick Scott’s campaign appearance in Tampa:

“As both governor and a candidate for U.S. Senate, Rick Scott needs to stop dodging responsibility and starting answering for his actions including those that disenfranchised more than one million voters. The people of Florida deserve answers and deserve better than a self-serving politician who will say and do anything to get elected.”

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