Jim Stillman
NevarRick Scott - Governor of Florida! Woe to us all.
April 5th 2011 01:24
Over the next several months, I intend to explore the behavior and judgments of Florida’s Executive and Legislative state government, actions and judgments which evidence, at best, idiocy and, at worst, utter and complete venality. There is certainly plenty to write about, including the Legislature considering further restrictions on a woman’s right to get a safe abortion and imposing intrusion by the government into peoples’ lives, the establishment of a “slush fund” whereby lobbyists and special interest groups can openly and legally deposit bribes into the personal pockets of Legislative leaders, the reduction of services to the poor and middle classes in order to reward corporate interests and the wealthy, the forcing Medicaid patients into managed care organizations (just like the one owned by Mrs. Rick Scott) and requiring all state employees and all welfare recipients to get drug tested (from companies just like the one owned by Mrs. Scott) and more. Goodness knows, the examples are many! But first, as a preface, I want to show how we got there.
(While the focus of these essays is on Florida, the general conclusions and observations are applicable to a number of states now in the hands of the most rabid of the right!)
How on earth did we end up with a Governor whose campaign was based on his not being actually indicted as head of a corporation that perpetrated the largest Medicare and Medicaid fraud – ever? How did we end up with state senators and representatives who alternate being jokers and crooks?
The numbers tell the story. There are more than 14.6 million people in Florida over 21. Not all of these individuals are able to vote; some are in the prison, parole or probation system (almost 200,000), others are non-citizens (almost 150,000). The total of eligible-to-vote citizens is slightly more than 12.8 million.
A total of 5.41 million people bothered to vote for Rick Scott over Democrat Alex Sink in the gubernatorial race. This was even fewer than the voters who voted in other races, 5.48 million. The result gave victory to Scott; he won by a margin of less than 67,000 votes. So what happened to the 7.4 million people who just couldn’t be bothered? Florida has an early-voting system whereby one may vote over several weeks, there are absentee ballots that are available; there is simply no rational reason not to vote. On a personal note, last election day I was in the hospital with congestive heart failure. My wife brought me the absentee ballot I had requested on line and it was submitted.
So who did vote? Or, more important, who failed to vote?
It is a fact of life that the conservative right is virtually monolithic. Its adherents will “get out the vote” and support candidates who will pander to them. It is also a fact of life that liberals, in general, are always willing to see three sides to the same side! They take "broadminded" to the extreme. Liberals, then, are less likely to unify and protest, less likely to put unified pressure on the candidates. The most strident voice is the one noticed, and this voice, for better or worse, is that of the conservative right.
Election results indicate that in north Florida, the more conservative counties of the state, the turnout vote exceeded 55 -65%; in the southeast counties of the state, on the other hand, the turnout averaged 42%. A poll by the Public Policy Poling organization found that, if the election were held today, Rick Scott would not be elected. The poll found voters younger than 30 said they would support Sink by a 67-26 margin if the election were today- but those folks made up only 8% of the electorate in the state last year. If they had turned out in greater numbers Scott would have been unemployed months ago. Turnout from African Americans (who say they would vote for Sink now 85-8) and Hispanics (who say they would vote for Sink 69-28) was also down as a share of the electorate last year from 2008.
Many of us may be disgusted with Scott as Governor but to some extent we did it to ourselves by not showing up to vote in November.
(While the focus of these essays is on Florida, the general conclusions and observations are applicable to a number of states now in the hands of the most rabid of the right!)
How on earth did we end up with a Governor whose campaign was based on his not being actually indicted as head of a corporation that perpetrated the largest Medicare and Medicaid fraud – ever? How did we end up with state senators and representatives who alternate being jokers and crooks?
The numbers tell the story. There are more than 14.6 million people in Florida over 21. Not all of these individuals are able to vote; some are in the prison, parole or probation system (almost 200,000), others are non-citizens (almost 150,000). The total of eligible-to-vote citizens is slightly more than 12.8 million.
A total of 5.41 million people bothered to vote for Rick Scott over Democrat Alex Sink in the gubernatorial race. This was even fewer than the voters who voted in other races, 5.48 million. The result gave victory to Scott; he won by a margin of less than 67,000 votes. So what happened to the 7.4 million people who just couldn’t be bothered? Florida has an early-voting system whereby one may vote over several weeks, there are absentee ballots that are available; there is simply no rational reason not to vote. On a personal note, last election day I was in the hospital with congestive heart failure. My wife brought me the absentee ballot I had requested on line and it was submitted.
So who did vote? Or, more important, who failed to vote?
It is a fact of life that the conservative right is virtually monolithic. Its adherents will “get out the vote” and support candidates who will pander to them. It is also a fact of life that liberals, in general, are always willing to see three sides to the same side! They take "broadminded" to the extreme. Liberals, then, are less likely to unify and protest, less likely to put unified pressure on the candidates. The most strident voice is the one noticed, and this voice, for better or worse, is that of the conservative right.
Election results indicate that in north Florida, the more conservative counties of the state, the turnout vote exceeded 55 -65%; in the southeast counties of the state, on the other hand, the turnout averaged 42%. A poll by the Public Policy Poling organization found that, if the election were held today, Rick Scott would not be elected. The poll found voters younger than 30 said they would support Sink by a 67-26 margin if the election were today- but those folks made up only 8% of the electorate in the state last year. If they had turned out in greater numbers Scott would have been unemployed months ago. Turnout from African Americans (who say they would vote for Sink now 85-8) and Hispanics (who say they would vote for Sink 69-28) was also down as a share of the electorate last year from 2008.
Many of us may be disgusted with Scott as Governor but to some extent we did it to ourselves by not showing up to vote in November.
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Comment by Anonymous
Round Politics
Comment by RickB_GA
The world is full of woulda, coulda, shoulda's ... after the fact polls don't mean much. And a little tongue in cheek humor ... serves you guys right for supporting Obama in 2008. And a lot of those folks who did not vote? Well, they probably did not know the issues anyway.
I do agree with you regarding voter apathy though. It is just too easy to vote and no excuse for faulting on the obligation.
And Jim ... Anybody but Obama in 2012 ... Anybody!!!