How low do you have to go in Florida to get called out by republican elected officials? Has to be pretty low in a state that willingly reelected a governor with a known criminal background of
defrauding the federal Medicare program.
Scott singlehandedly fired Gerald Bailey the head of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) without consulting Cabinet members. The irony is that the FDLE is the agency that investigates corruption in Florida government.
The Florida Constitution says the FDLE reports to the governor and Cabinet, and so do several other state agencies. It takes a vote of the governor and Cabinet to hire and fire their leaders. That shared power is especially important at the FDLE, because it ensures that no single powerful politician can manipulate the state's top law enforcement agency.
John Romano at
The Tampa Bay Times lists the accusations against Scott:
• Lying: Cabinet members say they were told by Scott's office that FDLE chief Gerald Bailey resigned of his own accord in December. Scott also pushed that obvious falsehood on the general public for more than a month.
• Abuse of power: No one in the Cabinet has acknowledged being alerted ahead of time, which means Scott overstepped his authority by forcing Bailey's departure without at least one other Cabinet member's consent.
• Political shenanigans: Bailey told Tampa Bay Times reporter Steve Bousquet that the governor's office tried to manipulate investigations to fit its political agenda, which gives the appearance that the FDLE leader was pushed aside so Scott could install his very own puppet regime.
It's taken a lot of pressure from respected
Florida media but finally some Florida republican elected cabinet officials are
asking that Rick Scott be investigated about his role in the firing.
What can I say, Scott is a bullying sociopath. The Tampa Bay Times will not let this go. One can only hope that the Florida republican cabinet members are worried about this tainting them.
UPDATE: Sign on to letter to US Attorney Pamela Marsh urging an independent investigation into “Baileygate”. This scandal is escalating, let's see if we can give the gov some hurt.
