You'd think a guys like Governor Rick Scott (R. FL) would be concerned about the effects of climate change taking out his expensive property in Florida but he isn't:
http://thinkprogress.org/...
Florida Gov. Rick Scott has been mostly mum on the threat his state faces from sea level rise during this year’s gubernatorial race, but according to a Tampa Bay Times story, sea level rise could hit the governor a lot closer to home than he might think.
Gov. Scott’s beachfront property is in the path of sea level rise projections in the state, putting the governor in “one of the most vulnerable positions” in regards to rising waters, the Times reports. The governor’s $9.2 million Naples mansion sits about 200 feet away from the ocean and a foot above sea level, and the sea on his stretch of beach has risen about 8 or 9 inches over the last century. That rate is in line with other parts of South Florida — a tide gauge in Key West has documented a rise in sea level of 9 inches over the last century, an increase that’s led to flooding, both after rains and when the sun is shining. And Gov. Scott’s home isn’t the only one in his area at risk: a 2012 report found that sea level rise will triple the chance of a storm surge that would put more than 11,000 homes in Naples at risk of flooding by 2030.
Still, the Tampa Bay Times reports, when asked last week about whether he thinks sea level rise is a threat to his home, Scott said no.
“I’m not a scientist but I can tell you what, we’re going to make sure we continue to make the right investments in the state to take care of our environment,” Scott said. “We love living here.” - Think Progress, 5/19/14
Then again, there aren't a lot of things Scott is concerned about like this:
http://www.tampabay.com/...
Once upon a time, Gov. Rick Scott called a news conference to say Medicaid expansion, at least in the short term, was just common sense. He declared he could not "in good conscience'' deny access to health care to our "poorest and weakest.''
That was 455 days ago.
Since then, Scott has barely spoken about Medicaid expansion. He has been content to allow House Speaker Will Weatherford be portrayed as the villain while the governor pretends money and lives aren't at stake.
This hologram-like leadership would be humorous if it wasn't so dangerous.
On a recent online video chat, MIT health economist Jonathan Gruber said states refusing to accept Medicaid funds are "willing to sacrifice billions of dollars of injections into their economy" as well as failing to provide potentially lifesaving health care.
"It really is just almost awesome in its evilness," Gruber said.
And it's not just academicians saying this. The Chamber of Commerce endorsed expansion. Health care organizations have lobbied for it. A year ago, a majority of the Florida Senate approved a plan to accept Medicaid dollars for an alternative plan.
And, still, Scott has refused to lend his voice. - Tampa Bay Times, 5/19/14
Instead, Scott and the Florida GOP are more concerned about this:
http://www.tampabay.com/...
Gov. Rick Scott's administration and fellow Republicans in the Florida Legislature want the state Supreme Court to dismiss a lawsuit that challenges the constitutionality of a year-old law allowing elected officials to place assets in a blind trust.
The emergency lawsuit was filed last week by Jim Apthorp, who was chief of staff to the late Gov. Reubin Askew, who died in March. Together they worked on a citizens' initiative to pass the so-called Sunshine Amendment in 1976 that requires elected officials and candidates to make a "full and public disclosure" of their personal finances.
Apthorp says a blind trust denies citizens information that should be public. He's supported by the League of Women Voters, the First Amendment Foundation and many Florida news organizations.
Scott, whose net worth last year was nearly $84 million, is the only current elected official with a blind trust, the Richard L. Scott Trust. The law requires that he have no direct control or knowledge of how at least $73 million in his investment portfolio is managed to safeguard against potential conflicts of interest.
Scott's trust is managed by Alan Lee Bazaar of the New York investment firm Hollow Brook Management. For more than a decade until 2010, Bazaar was a principal in Scott's investment firm, Richard L. Scott Investments of Naples.
The Legislature and Secretary of State Ken Detzner filed separate briefs Monday attacking all of Apthorp's legal arguments and flatly calling his strategy "wrong" on multiple counts, noting that former Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink and former Gov. Jeb Bush had blind trusts. - Tampa Bay Times, 5/19/14
So it's good to know where Scott's priorities lie. Charlie Crist (D. FL) on the other hand is very concerned about climate change and expanding Medicaid. He's also in favor of lifting the Cuban Embargo which some have accused him of flip flopping on but here's a different perspective:
http://flaglerlive.com/...
Which brings us to Charlie Crist, former Republican governor of Florida, who turned independent and is now running for governor as a Democrat. All his opponents think they have to do is point to his vagrant voter registrations to brand him the consummate man-without-a-moral-compass, who will land on the political lily pad du jour, as long as it might get him elected.
And now they believe he’s handed them a whopper. Crist wants to lift the 53-year-old U.S. trade embargo on Cuba. He hasn’t flipped soft on the Cuban government, which he calls “oppressive,” “totalitarian,” and “wrong.” He just says that the embargo hasn’t worked and that it’s insanity to keep doing the same thing and expecting a different result. Pragmatic, he points to the economic benefits Florida businesses and individuals would reap.
Crist is appealing to the evolving mainstream on Cuba. Most Floridians, even (especially younger) Cuban-Americans, want to see relations with the island normalized. He may even visit Cuba this summer. That should spook the “hobgoblin little minds” of his opponents to the max — and tie Crist to a policy of sanity. - Flagler Live, 5/19/14
By the way, when the Council of 100 decided to cancel Crist's speech out of fear of offending Scott (who Crist was going to attack in his speech) turned out to be a blessing in disguise:
http://www.miamiherald.com/...
The story of being silenced is the definition of earned media. Crist’s speech, which would have been closed to the press, wouldn’t have registered a single news story if he had been allowed to give it.
Instead of addressing the echo-chamber council outside of the news media’s eye, Crist first attended Scott’s speech. Then he called a press conference in the hotel lobby.
“I’m a big boy. I can handle it. Apparently Rick Scott can’t,” Crist told reporters. “And I think that’s the reason that I was asked not to speak because I don’t think he wants to hear the vision that I have for Florida’s future.”
So Crist, in the briar patch of an impromptu TV press conference, got to say that Scott had no figurative clothes.
Later, in Tampa, WFLA-NBC 8 reporter Lauren Mayk asked Scott whether he had anything to do with the cancellation.
“Gosh. He was there this morning during my speech,” Scott smiled. “You’ll see a great change — a great difference between the two of us: Someone that talks a lot, somebody that gets things done.”
Mayk, later noting in her broadcast report that Scott didn’t answer her question at first, asked whether the governor knew about the cancellation, which the Miami Herald reported the night before.
“No,” Scott responded.
In key campaign and media markets — Orlando, Tampa, Miami-Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach — news clips on the controversy aired, showing Crist on the attack and a defensive Scott denying he used a heavy hand.
That’s a media fail for Scott’s team. He was in Tampa to announce tourism numbers and showcase how the economy has turned around on his watch. Instead, the governor’s message was overshadowed by a controversy that played into Crist’s hands.
It’s not the first time Scott’s administration has appeared to throw its weight around and punish potential opponents.
Earlier this spring, two other people critical of Scott or the administration — a college professor and a wildlife photographer — looked as if they were being silenced because of their views. Those stories got written as well, not helping Scott in the least. - Miami Herald, 5/18/14
If you want to get involved and donate to Crist's campaign, you can do so here:
http://www.charliecrist.com/