Despite his blind enthusiasm, Governor Rick Scott is having a pretty bad Friday. I just don't know if it's a crappy Friday or an Orwellian Friday.
The argument for crappy?
How about the news which broke overnight that days after Scott’s campaign finance chairman resigned in frustration, the campaign offered the job to another GOP rainmaker before abruptly rescinding the offer? Matt Dixon of the Naples Daily News reports that Scott offered the post to John Rood, a nationally known Republican donor, and then quickly changed his mind. This vignette is just the latest example that Scott's campaign is one in complete turmoil.
Another argument for crappy? How about this Bloomberg report laying out the pay-to-play nature of Scott's administration? Toluse Olorunnipa connects the dots about how Florida Crystals Corp. won a no-bid contract to farm sugar on state-owned land after its top lobbyist and president met with Gov. Scott in the home of King Juan Carlos of Spain and sponsored an event on that trip.
Those two stories are making it a pretty crappy Friday for Scott, but how is it Orwellian?
It's Orwellian because of the Newspeak employed by the Governor's office as it touts Florida's unemployment. In a video message released today, Scott crows about the number of jobs created in February. But what he nor anyone in his administration don't mention, but the Associated Press' Gary Fineout did, is that Florida's unemployment rate has actually not been dropping the last few months, as Scott would have you believe. The revised unemployment numbers now show the rate has remained unchanged for three straight months.
With all of this happening today, it'd be understandable if Scott bagged it early and started his weekend, but he's not. How is the Guv capping his Friday? Anthony Man reports that Scott will visits Broward for a ribbon cutting ceremony for a project that opened two days ago -- and that started under former Gov.Charlie Crist. That's rich.
TGIF, Governor Scott.