Rick Scott Plays Pretend on Boondoggle Election Law
Gov. Rick Scott of Florida certainly doesn’t lack for chutzpah. Meeting with a group of black legislators who expressed their concern over the election law changes that resulted in long lines and tens of thousands of people being unable to vote, Scott says don’t blame him, it wasn’t his law.
Facing a highly critical group of black legislators, Gov. Rick Scott largely defended his record Tuesday but distanced himself from a controversial election law that led to fewer early-voting days and long lines.
Scott agreed with black lawmakers that the 2011 election law contributed to the chaos at the polls in November, including long lines all over the state and up to seven-hour waits in Miami-Dade. But Scott, who is seeking re-election in 2014, said it was largely a decision of the Legislature.
“It was not my bill,” Scott said. “We’ve got to make changes, I agree. … The Legislature passed it. I didn’t have anything to do with passing it.”
Uh, yeah. Your party passed it, you signed it into law, then you defended its legality in court. It’s yours.
John Hinkle:
January 20th, 2013 at 11:08 am
By passing the blame, sounds to me like he’s tacitly admitting that the election law changes suck. Good to know.
shouldbeworking:
January 20th, 2013 at 11:15 am
Translation: The laws suck only because the wrong guy won.
Randomfactor:
January 20th, 2013 at 11:32 am
In fairness to Rick, he’s not in charge in Texas. Or they’d be even WORSE.
Modusoperandi:
January 20th, 2013 at 12:20 pm
He tried to do something. He really did. But his hands were tied. The Tied Hands for Freedom Voter Freedom Freedom Act, incidentally, takes effect in 2014.
Gvlgeologist, FCD:
January 20th, 2013 at 12:28 pm
What amazes me is that there still will be people who vote for this SOB here in FL when he runs again.
timpayne:
January 20th, 2013 at 12:32 pm
I read somewhere that they had the number of machines and early voting days exactly right. The real culprit was a poorly executed voter intimidation/suppression plan
marcus:
January 20th, 2013 at 12:38 pm
You don’t have to be an arrogant asshole to be a successful Republican, but it helps!
Area Man:
January 20th, 2013 at 1:29 pm
The best part of the article is this:
Finally, we’ve discovered the ultimate tool for fighting crime.
Zinc Avenger (Sarcasm Tags 3.0 Compliant):
January 20th, 2013 at 2:14 pm
@marcus, #7:
You don’t have to be an arrogant asshole to be a successful Republican, but if you’re not they’ll primary you and replace you with a mouth-breathing troglodyte who thinks being taxed should be a valid reason to “stand your ground”.
d.c.wilson:
January 20th, 2013 at 4:25 pm
Okay, so he’s admitted that the law created a lot of problems for Florida voters. The real question is, what is he and his party going to do to fix it?
Probably nothing. Or if they do try to “fix” it, it will only be to further suppress the vote.
jameshanley:
January 20th, 2013 at 6:35 pm
Democracy does reward cowardice, doesn’t it?
SnowyBiscuit:
January 20th, 2013 at 7:32 pm
That sounds like his excuse when he was CEO of HCA hospitals, and the hospital chain was deeply investigated and found to have stolen tens of millions from Medicare. “I did not approve this and besides that, I didn’t have a clue. Not one. And I wouldn’t approve of it if I did.”
He’s a greedy, underhanded bastard.
eric:
January 21st, 2013 at 10:01 am
@1:
Its nothing but pandering. To this audience, that’s his message, because he wants their legislative support. Put him in front of a conservative audience and he’ll probably change his tune.