The Republican National Committee’s “autopsy” of the 2012 election acknowledges some of the failures that resulted in the party losing the national popular vote for the fifth time in the last six races. It also ignores a major reason why the GOP’s base is shrinking. But one particular aspect of the report rings particularly false – an effort to find a silver lining in the party’s image problem:At the federal level, much of what Republicans are doing is not working beyond the core constituencies that make up the Party. On the state level, however, it is a different story. Republicans hold governorships in 30 states with 315 electoral votes, the most governors either party has had in 12 years, and four short of the all-time GOP high of 34 governors who served in the 1920s. Continue Reading… … Read More
Experts: Florida’s Medicare turnaround paves the way for Obamacare
Obamacare supporters say Rick Scott’s decision to back expansion of Medicaid is likely to pressure others to follow suit Supporters of Barack Obama‘s health reforms are hailing Florida governor Rick Scott’s decision to abandon his opposition to a core provision of Obamacare as a…
Gov. Rick Scott Is Batting Way Out of His League
I’m beginning to think we need a new term for white male Republicans whose gender, party, and skin color allows them to drift into positions that hold a lot of power without anyone noticing that they’re very, very stupid. Like the Peter Principle, but for conservative white guys. Gov….
Rick Scott caves on health care opposition
After years of vocal resistance, Florida Republican Gov. Rick Scott, one of the country’s most outspoken critics of the Affordable Care Act, has acceded to one of the law’s core provisions, agreeing today to expand Medicaid coverage to 1.3 million Floridian.
Scott, a former health care executive, started an advocacy group to fight the health law before being elected governor, and has continued fighting the law ever since. He joined with other Republican governos to oppose the ACA’s Medicaid expansion, arguing that it would be too expensive for their states, and took his legal challenge all the way to the Supreme Court.
But this afternoon, the federal government granted Florida’s request for a conditional waiver to experiemnt with privatizing Medicaid in the state, and Scott quickly backed down on opposition to the expansion. He hastily called a press conference to formally announce the new policy this evening.
“I cannot in good conscious deny access to Floridians who need health care,” he told reporters. However, he warned that his plan will only go ahead if the federal government funds 100 percent of the Medicaid expansion for the first three years, which will act as a probationary trial period. After that, the expansion it will need to be reauthorized.
Satanists organize rally in support of Florida governor Rick Scott
Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s stance on religious liberty likely won accolades from conservative Evangelicals, but he was probably not expecting to be lauded by Satanists as well. Yet a group of Satanists in the Sunshine State will actually hold a rally in support of Scott on Jan. 25, reported…
FL Gov. Scott repeatedly ducks O’Brien’s gun control questions
Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) doggedly avoided CNN host Soledad O’Brien’s requests on Wednesday to take a definable position on gun laws after last week’s mass shooting in Connecticut. “What would you support in terms of legislation, if it in fact comes with that?”…
Charlie Crist: Now I’m a Democrat
Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who was elected the state’s chief executive as a Republican and then ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate as an independent, announced on Twitter that he’s switching to the Democratic Party.The announcement Friday night fanned speculation that Crist would seek to regain his old job from Republican Gov. Rick Scott in 2014.Crist sent out a tweet that said, “Proud and honored to join the Democratic Party in the home of President (at)Barack Obama!”The tweet included a photo of a smiling Crist and his wife Carole as he held up a Florida voter registration application. The Tampa Bay Times reports that Crist signed the papers changing his affiliation from independent to Democrat at a Christmas reception at the White House. President Barack Obama greeted the news with a fist bump.”I’ve had friends for years tell me, ‘You know Charlie, you’re a Democrat and you don’t know it,’” Crist told the newspaper Friday night.He cited the Republican Party’s shift to the right on a range of issues, including immigration, education and the environment.Messages left for Crist by The Associated Press weren’t immediately returned Friday night.Continue Reading… … Read More
