Miami Herald: Is Gov. Rick Scott eyeing White House in 2012?

[seafan]

Is Gov. Rick Scott eyeing White House in 2012?


via St. Pete Times


Gov. Rick Scott is blunt and outspoken in his dislike of President Barack Obama’s policies, but is the tough talk part of a strategy to run for president in 2012? He says no, but signs of his higher political ambitions are popping up everywhere.

BY MICHAEL C. BENDER AND JANET ZINK
Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau

February 17, 2011

TALLAHASSEE -- — Gov. Rick Scott was about to dismantle a nearly $3 billion bullet train deal that state and local officials had spent a decade assembling.
But before he mentioned anything about “high-speed rail,” Scott blasted President Barack Obama’s budget proposal for “higher taxes” and creating the “largest budget deficit in our nation’s history.”

.....

And nearly four months after Election Day, Scott acknowledged he’s still in campaign mode.

.....

But his devotion to the tea party and his continued focus on federal issues — health insurance, unemployment benefits, immigration and now high-speed rail — has some asking if Scott wants to run for president.

.....

But the signs are piling up.

He beefed up the Washington, D.C., extension of the governor’s office by hiring former health care lobbyist Brian McManus, an ally of Scott’s Conservatives for Patients’ Rights group. Spencer Geissinger, Scott’s external affairs director, is considering joining the D.C. office, too.
Frequent appearances on FOX News also feed speculation. Scott made his fourth appearance on the network in three weeks on Thursday, slamming high speed rail as a “federal boondoggle.”

.....

Scott has shown little interest in extending an olive branch to a list of opponents — teachers, environmentalists and even some fellow Republican lawmakers — that grows by the week.

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“Scott is a no-nonsense, hard-hitting, hard-talking governor, and he has the business background that Sarah Palin and Michele Bachman don’t,” said Steffen Schmidt, an Iowa State University political science professor and an expert on his state’s caucuses.

“He’s being talked about in Iowa,” Schmidt said.

Scott has taken great pains to maintain his ties to the tea party.

He unveiled his budget last week at a tea party event in rural Florida.

.....

More observations:

Florida's freshman gov is showing signs of wanting a bigger stage

by Mary Ellen Klas
February 17, 2011

.....

* Scott's political consultant, Tony Fabrizio, is still working on retainer for Scott -- an unusual practice for a governor still early in his administration

* Several members of Scott's political team are still largely in place: In addition to Fabrizio, Enu Mainigi, the lawyer and long-time friend continues to operate as an unpaid advisor, frequently traveling to Tallahassee and conducting meetings in the governor's office suite; Brian Burgess, communications director for his campaign remains his communications director and is in frequent contact with Fabrizio; and Mary Anne Carter, policy director for the campaign remains a key advisor and message-shaper on the governor's staff
* Scott continues to stroke the Tea Party, whom he considers his base, and the Tea Party has been emerging quickly in Iowa -- site of the first in the nation presidential caucus on Feb. 6, 2012 -- and is expected to play an influential role by assembling its loosely-knit members. Iowa's caucus is considered more accessible to individuals not affiliated with the traditional party apparatus than primaries in other state.

* The governor appears to be comfortable antagonizing leaders of his own party; so by gaining credibility on the national stage as a Tea Party favorite, he helps himself augment his credentials with the national movement, despite any shaky support he has at home.

* The Scott folks continue to manage his message carefully. The high speed rail announcement was abruptly pulled together Wednesday morning and served to overshadow any fallout over a Herald/Times story about the governor's comments offending black legislators -- a story the Scott administration aggressively objected to. The governor clearly did not have the announcement on his radar when he met with Senate Transporation Committee Chairman Jack Latvala to talk about pending transportation issues the day before. And the governor's office gave House and Senate leaders only five minutes warning before the press conference to announce his rejection of the federal rail money.

And Scott relentlessly bashes Obama every waking moment, further endearing himself to Tea Party hearts.



He even hot-footed it to DC very early after taking office.


Gov. Rick Scott finishes up four-day visit to D.C.

By Alex Leary
February 1, 2011

WASHINGTON — Gov. Rick Scott on Monday wrapped up a four-day visit to Washington, D.C., meeting with housing and health care officials and the new chairman of the Republican National Committee. Spokesman Brian Burgess gave a rundown:

(See link for details)

Scott met with:

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan

Heath and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius

Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus

Scott and Priebus also discussed Florida's presidential primary, which was moved up in 2008 so the state would have more say in picking the nominee.

Scott visited privately-owned, nonprofit Oakwood School in nearby Annandale, Va.




It's obvious that this guy just isn't interested in Floridians.



What occurs to me with all of this is that Jeb Bush might just be looking at his competition.


And it's not likely to go over well when two sweating boar-hogs square off.

[Skidmore]

1. Will never happen...

dude's got no hair.

[qazplm]

6. image matters

and he just doesn't look like a president.

[Dappleganger]

2. Look into the abyss of that man's eyes...

and you'll find nothing but a professional liar.

[FSogol]

3. Run as a Independent, Rick. Start the Tea Party Party.

:rofl:

[Proud Liberal Dem]

4. He just got elected last year

and he's already thinking about leaving that post and running for POTUS in 2012?

OTOH they started talking about Christie possibly running in 2012 too, so............?

Stupid "liberal" media.

:banghead:

[spanone]

5. go for it ricky....you could run the country like you ran HCA

Columbia/HCA fraud case details

On March 19, 1997, investigators from the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Health and Human Services served search warrants at Columbia/HCA facilities in El Paso and on dozens of doctors with suspected ties to the company.<18>

Following the raids, the Columbia/HCA board of directors forced Scott to resign as Chairman and CEO.<19> He was paid $9.88 million in a settlement. He also left owning 10 million shares of stock worth over $350 million.<20><21><22>
In 1999, Columbia/HCA changed its name back to HCA, Inc.

In settlements reached in 2000 and 2002, Columbia/HCA plead guilty to 14 felonies and agreed to a $600+ million fine in the largest fraud settlement in US history. Columbia/HCA admitted systematically overcharging the government by claiming marketing costs as reimbursable, by striking illegal deals with home care agencies, and by filing false data about use of hospital space. They also admitted fraudulently billing Medicare and other health programs by inflating the seriousness of diagnoses and to giving doctors partnerships in company hospitals as a kickback for the doctors referring patients to HCA. They filed false cost reports, fraudulently billing Medicare for home health care workers, and paid kickbacks in the sale of home health agencies and to doctors to refer patients. In addition, they gave doctors "loans" never intending to be repaid, free rent, free office furniture, and free drugs from hospital pharmacies.<3><4><5><6><7>

In late 2002, HCA agreed to pay the U.S. government $631 million, plus interest, and pay $17.5 million to state Medicaid agencies, in addition to $250 million paid up to that point to resolve outstanding Medicare expense claims.<23> In all, civil law suits cost HCA more than $2 billion to settle, by far the largest fraud settlement in US history.<24>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Scott

[SidDithers]

7. He was great in Max Headroom...

Edit: quick and dirty



Sid

[calimary]

11. He reminds me of that spooky black&white "photo" of the alien mutant baby

that turns up every so often on the cover of the National Examiner or some such cheap-ass drug store tabloid.

:scared:

[SoCalDem]

8. Republican leadership/press is sure fickle

Everyday they "love" a new one:)

[FLAprogressive]

9. OH HELL NO

[lpbk2713]

10. Not gonna happen.

He's breaking promises and pissing off people who were on his side before the election like he is enjoying
it. These people will remember. A Dem might have a real good shot at the Florida governorship next time.