Brandy Stark- Don't let your hate get in the way of the facts. I don't believe Scott was ever convicted of anything...keep hating it works well for you.

Pink slip Rick? Your credibility is sunk. The liberals and socialists manufactured bumper stickers "Pink Slip Rick" just 2 months into his administration out of frustration over his victory of Alex Sink. So your support of Obama and any democrat and hate of republicans shows!

Brandy I am with you on your opinion of the Governor , he denies knowing about so many bad things he instituted or supported that I have begun to think maybe he has early dementia and loss of memory. Scott is a very amoral type of person and he is without a doubt the worse type of individual to have as the "leader" of a state. Right now Florida ranks number one in public corruption among all other states. We rate as the fourth most violent state in the Nation and we are second in the number of uninsured woman and children. Is this a record we should be proud of and this is just a few of our really disgusting ratings. Our leadership provided by Scott most recently and by the Republican Party for the past 12 years has eroded the quality of life in this state to a horrifying extent. Add to that the fact that when Jeb Bush took over we had a surplus in the budget and in the past few years we have stood on the brink of losing our bond rating to join some of the poorest states and you have a report card that screams pink slipping the entire GOP legislature and the Governor.

David Doran, I agree with you.

David you are delusional. Worse Governor ever. He has turned this state back by 50 years, Florida is now one of the most corrupt states in the nation. This GOP regime cannot even stop stealing from themselves. What a crew. By the way the medicare fraud that slick manage to avoid prosecution on was not his first encounter with fraud he also had an inside trader problem and really should have gone to jail for that but slick as oil the eel slide out again to do his damage to medicare and now to Florida.

Florida bettering economy has absolutely nothing to do with Scott. He just happened to be standing on the sidelines when it happened.

That's right. Same goes for Obama. He hasn't really done anything but spend a lot of our money (almost $7 TRILLION added to our debt) on government handouts. But no one seems to think they are any better off. But it's not his fault, he was just standing on the sidelines throwing money.

Anyone that cuts spending of my tax dollars gets a thumbs up from me. No one asked my permission to take my money and use it for things I don't agree with.

Sharon, you are a citizen of the United States. It is you who has the duty to pay taxes, regardless of whether you agree with how they are spent. Nobody asked you because that is the price of citizenship.

But Scott didn't do what you think he did. He took money from universities through increased tuition and raised the price of Government services in Florida, and then turned around and cut business taxes under the unsound theory that it would attract business to Florida. Nothing happened. No great migration by business into Florida happened. That is because tax rates have little to do with where you locate a company. Other factors such as proximity to transportation and shipping hubs are far more important. He raised the price of living in Florida and has nothing to show for it.

Martha I guess you mean that only blacks are on welfare. Now that thinking is racist.
Randy you really think that Obama is why things are better. Hold on while I laugh so hard I pee my pants.

Martha Dunningham- Do you really believe the garbage you are regurgitating? Your points might be taken a little more seriously if you just cut and pasted directly from whatever far left source you are getting your info from so at least it's comprehensible. Finally, our schools are actually improving a lot but in order to know that would involve actually looking and understanding the statistics you claim to know.

Martha if you can ask any parent with kids in public schools then I can tell you that you are wrong. The schools are doing fine - at least the ones in my area - check your facts before you just read from the liberal credo!

Robert,
Knowing a few teachers in New Port Richey which I am assuming is your area, by your default Patch. It depends on the school. There a number of schools in that area that are just pushing kids through because after the kids 3 time in 3rd grade it is just taking a spot up in class. Kids are entering classes without Kindergarden level mechanics. So it depends on the school in your area.

Michael, that could be correct since I only know of the schools I have experience with. If this is occuring would it not be the fault, at least in part, of the teachers and administrators of the schools that are doing this?

Robert,
I believe it is the fault of all involved. One example of a few I know:
My friend's wife spends half her salary on school supplies for the classroom, because the school and kids can't afford them. She gets told to push people forward after failing them 3 times, because they are just getting them through. Because they could be taking a seat from a kid who could want to learn.
It's a failure on all sides, state for lack of funding, administration for just get them through mentallity, teachers for not teaching a good foundation, and parents for not doing their part in the educational process.

Michael - that I can agree with. Plenty of blame to go around and it is unfair to place the blame for the system with just one person. I would even go so far as to say the governor should take less blame then "the system" but that is a discussion for another day.

You forget to mention the things he did right that we would have been paying for forever. High speed rail for one - we are not in the North East and the state would have been on the line to pay for it. Killing that was the right thing to do.

Robert,
While I agree the Federal Plan for light rail was horrible. Especially when it came to possible future litigation. Light Rail could work in Florida, if done properly. The plan Scott refused was a horrible plan. But to have a rail that would help the citizens and tourist, along with well planned other public transportation would work. The problem is most of the "proposed" plans are not feasible.

money buys votes

A politican lied about his past while accusing another politican of lying about theirs. Not in America that would never happen.

Marco rubio is a US citizen, he was born here. His parents are cuban immigrants. Rick Scott was never convicted of anything. HSA was sued long after he left. Will Weatherford's family was helped by MediCAID, not medicare, and he still stands against the expansion. His family was helped BEFORE any expansion was ever talked about. You are a stupid person for not doing your homework on these subjects.

And you are also a sick jerk for trying to hurt a man whos' brother died of cancer when he was just a little toddler. People who don't do their homework and just have an agenda of blind hate are what is wrong with this country. Namely, people like you.

Rubio’s version casts him as the son of exiles and part of a Cuban diaspora, displaced by a communist regime and forced to make a new life in the United States. Roig-Franzia's findings detail a less evocative immigrant experience.

Now, Roig-Franiza has unearthed information indicating that Rubio’s maternal grandfather allegedly returned to Cuba after Castro’s rise to power and worked for the government for about two years before deciding to return to the United States, Politico reported. When he did, U.S. officials questioned his political exile claim and ordered him deported.
Roig-Franzia found that Rubio’s parents left Cuba for Miami in 1956, nearly three years before Fidel Castro seized power on New Year's Day 1959.
HUFFPOST MARCH 8, 2013 "LATINO POLITICS" SHARON POOLE YOU ARE A DOUCHEBAG

But when reached by the Times/Herald, Weatherford's father said Medicaid paid for more than $100,000 of the family's medical bills. Weatherford reportedly told the Times/Herald again that Medicaid had not paid the family's bills and that he thought his father was mistaken. Sharon Poole will weatherford is a liar you can eat crap and bark at the moon.

Sharon,
You need to check statements before commenting. Rubio did admit to lying about his story to get votes when the proof of the truth was brought to light.

PTB and Sharon,
The irrational name-calling and labeling is uncalled for in a rational debate.

He was not convicted of fraud. You are ignorant. If he had been convicted of a felony he would be behind bars and would not be able to be governor. Also, unemployment rules are dictated by the OBAMA administration and NOT the governor of Florida. And people have been on unemployment for over 2 years, the longest ever in the history of the country. The drug law has nothing to do with prescription medication, it has to do with pot and cocaine and meth, so-called illegal drugs. So you are completely misinformed about that as well. I am appalled that you are allowed to vote because you are really stupid.

Sharon,
Per the Department of Labor: "The law of the State (under which the claim is filed) determines benefit amounts, number of weeks benefits can be paid, and other eligibility conditions."

Please check your facts.
Again, labeling and namecalling unnesscary especially if you are factually incorrect.

Sharon's right, he wasn't convicted of fraud, his company was. He was the CEO of a company that had to pay the largest fine in US history for defrauding medicare. There is a slight difference.

You mean like Obama is? And like they all are? lol

Peggy,
Having fixed pensions in any corporation is bad for business. So the state employees shouldn't have fixed pensions on the back of the Florida taxpayer. They should be happy with whatever retirement fund that is available to them. The Postal Service is dying in part due to fixed pensions and overpaid employees.
As far as government positions, both the Federal and State governments needed to shed positions in a number of areas. A government organization can get over bloated which is/was the case in the State of Florida. Now I'm not saying all the cuts were done well. In my opinion from the data I see he cut in some areas that should have not been cut and expanded areas that had no need for expansion.
To blame the cutting of state jobs as a reason for the unemployment is just factually inaccurate. If our top industry in the state is tourism, and their is an international recession. Less people are going to travel, which in turn means less tourism. Which means less money to the state government for state jobs. Good business says you have to have more cash input than output. Jobs both public and private were hit due to the recession, which wasn't Scott's fault.
Scott is just an average politician to me. He will say what he needs to be re-elected. But before everyone jumps on the Crist banwagon, remember this guy was a part time government, who showed no loyality to the state of Florida as governor.

All government = violence and theft.

Alexander,
- Agreed, the state pension plans made no sense in our current economic environment.
- Schools are improving marginally right now, lots of fixes need to made in a lot of areas. The basing of funding on testing alone, teachers are teaching the test instead of how to critically think.
- Scott does get credit for some, just like Obama gets credit for some. Both have been very pro business. But bank stabilization and the international economy leveling off also deserves credit as well. As far as blame, both of our last two Presidents deserve some of the blame for the current environment. You can't blame one without the other. Bush did change the government's economic policy and created loopholes for all taxpayers, that all of us will be paying for in the next decade. Congress was right to allow those to expire in January. Obama doens't get a Free Pass, because he choose to say with the weak dollar economic policy started in 2002.
- Agreed, on the rail plan in the form it was presented. People don't realize that CSX would own the railway and also not be liabiable for any accidents or repairs, that would be on the State of Florida regardless if it was the light rail train or CSX train.

In order... Pensions for public employees were/are parts of their salaries--not added to their salaries. I have personally sat on both sides of public employees' bargaining tables, and, for decades, teachers and other employees have accepted lower salaries in exchange for benefit--pensions among them. It is surely not their fault that, anytime the government gets in trouble, they "forget" to make payments to the pension system for their employees. And then, it's all the employees' fault that the funds are underfunded. Second, while some measures are "up" in schools, others are down. There has been no improvement, whatsoever, in the graduation rates, for example. Third, the economy has been gradually improving across the country by many, many measures; Florida is no exception. At the same time, there is absolutely NO indication that Scott had anything to do with it. Among other things, we will be indebted, in perpetuity, for paying administrative costs on everything from prisons to child welfare as Scott farms them out to private firms, as he wishes to do with Medicaid. Privatized Medicaid (and Medicare) have been immeasurably less-effective and more expensive everywhere it's been tried.

People are not leaving, on the contrary, immigration is way up in Florida over the last few years, especially from Cuba and Central America. I can't even communicate with people anymore because they all speak spanish and don't know english. Not sure how that will help the state.

The numbers show that we are still increasing in population, but the rate at which we are increasing has dropped about around 50% from 2000-2012. The number of foreign born immigrants are around 10% that are entering our State yearly. The number of people in the state of Florida of Latin decent by 2012 numbers is 22.1% or just under 19 Million Residences. All numbers taken from the census.gov.

Yeah, life would be good until the state went broke and had to go into receivership like Detroit and Oakland. Then you would see mass exodus, of all the able bodied taxpayers, out of this state.

How is it Obama's economy again? He dictates prices and an international economic policy. I am going to guess that the Republicans in Congress and the Senate have had nothing to do with where were are as well. This is a mess that was over a decade in the making, with both parties to blame. Blaming Obama is bias and just a labeling talking point of the bias media (in this case conservative media).

Obama is in part to blame - along with Congress - due to that fact that no budget has been passed.

What we can blame on Obama is the constant class warfare that he, as a central leader started in his campaign and has continued thru his rule. I have seen no evidence that he has tried to bring the country together to address the issues that currently exist.

Robert,
I believe the class warefare is created by both parties. And both candidates ran on it. Which is horrible to say the least. Neither party is working for the middle class, but they are both willing to use scare tactics on them. Again, you can't blame one party without the other parties part in the same scam.

On a party level I go agree, and during a campaign is one thing. Scare tactics during the election are SOP - right or wrong.

But to continually do it after the election is over is quite another. I am not blaming Obama's party for the class warfare after the election, I am blaming him. Of all the presidents I think he has been the worst for pushing class warfare during his rule and nothing will be addressed while that continues. This is not a democrat vs republican thing since I tend to see people and not parties, the country needs to be brought together to address the issues - not driven further apart which is what is currently happening.

Robert,
It is bad, but it's bad on both sides. From both Party leadership. It has created a ying/yang of inactivity. I would say it has gotten progressively worse since 2000. Obama and George W. Bush have been the worst. Obama is more relevent now due to the media. He is a more charismic personality than Bush. The days of politicans working for us are long gone, now they are using scare tactics to try to make us work for them.

You and Rick Scott need to go into comedy. Where were you while Bush was screwing the economy over? And where was Rick Scott? Oh that's right he was getting ready to spend $70 Million to become governor of the state and has done absolutely nothing to fix things but that's ok, he can spend another $70 M next election but smart people won't vote for him. What's your excuse going to be?

We also can't cut revenue to get into prosperity. It is the nature of the beast. The government, much like a number of our citizenship do not understand that
revenue - expenatures = net income

Revenue has to go up, and expenatures have to go down, inorder for our government and ourselves to fix this issue. It isn't a Democrat/Republican, Liberal/Conservative, etc.. issue. It's an American Issue.

Until we can get past the partisan labeling and finger pointing, we are just going to continue this cycle.

Adrian Wylie is the Libertarian candidate for governer. I suggest you check him out if you want to change the course of this state.

The PIP change was a complete give away to the insurance companies. If you are in a traffic accident, see a doctor immediately and hire an attorney immediately. If you wait to see how you feel, you will literally be unable to get more than a band aid under your insurance. It has led to zero cost savings to consumers, just increased profits to the insurers.

Florida has a balanced budget by constitutional edict. The only debt it can accumulate is for capital improvement, when it does a bond issue to build a road, most of which are paid by tolls collected after construction or from land purchases. The threat of receivership is ridiculously low. As for Scott saving Florida, the accumulated debt in Florida is almost identical to when Crist was in office. The only thing he really did was curtail preservation land purchases.

I completely disagree. It is a major conduit for tourists to travel between the Theme Parks and the beach. Connecting them with High Speed Rail is ideal. Why rent a car when I can board high speed rail? If you have ever been a tourist in a location with rail service connecting places of interest you would know what I mean.

Rick,
It was a bad deal, because of the possible litigation against the state of Florida and how the cost structure of the deal was set up. The owners of the rail (Believe CSX) would have no liability for any accident on the tracks regardless of owner of the train, it would all fall on the state of Florida. It was also a poorly constructed plan over all in the cost center and job growth. That is not to say that Light Rail is not a good idea, but the federally proposed plan was horrible.