Is Rick Scott helping Obama win Florida in 2012?
05/25/2011
Crowley Political Report is not sure whether to admire Florida Gov. Rick Scott for sticking to his beliefs about state government or to simply note that once again Scott and his team remain clueless about what Floridians really want.
We'll go with clueless.
The latest Quinnipiac Poll suggests that most Floridians agree. Rick Scott has managed to squander what little support he had on election-day 2010. In little more than six months, Scott's approval rating has sunk to 29 percent.
That May number is even worse than Scott's already dismal April poll numbers which showed that just 35 percent of Florida voters approved of Scott's job performance.
This is great news for the Obama administration. If Scott's numbers continue to remain abysmally low, he could pull down the Republican Party in Florida.
Republicans are not likely to win the White House without winning Florida's 29 electoral votes. The GOP should be looking at the Sunshine State with great anticipation - after all, the 2010 election gave the party the governor's mansion, all three cabinet seats and veto-proof majorities in the state House and Senate.
But the face of the party is Scott. And right now it is not a very pretty face.
Of course, that begs a larger question - Is Rick Scott really a Republican?
Scott is certainly conservative, very conservative. But one wonders if his GOP registration was more a means-to-an-end than a serious connection to all things Republican.
Scott seems most comfortable embracing the TEA party. He has made numerous appearances before TEA party groups and appears more at home with them than he does with the GOP.
Scott appears to be more of a little "r" Republican and much more of a big "T" TEA party guy.
In an earlier post, Crowley Political Report noted that during a radio interview with a self-proclaimed voice of the TEA Party, Scott was able to answer a question about UN Agenda 21 and vow to keep the UN out of Florida.
Odd to say the least, but certainly another indication that Scott is more "T" than "R."
Today, Scott visits The Villages to sign Florida's nearly $70 billion budget. The Q poll found that 54 percent of Florida voters think the budget is unfair to them.
Even 37 percent of Florida Republicans disapprove of Scott's job performance. And 57 percent of independents - a crucial voting bloc - disapprove.
The poll also showed that Florida voters have serious doubts about Scott's plans for homeowner's insurance - a plan that all but guarantees rate hikes in coming months. From the Q poll:
74 percent, say property insurance is getting more expensive in Florida, as 3 percent say it is getting less expensive and 16 percent say there has been no change.
This frustration with the insurance market for consumers leads 59 percent of voters to call for more government regulation of property insurance in the state, while 29 percent say the state is doing enough.
Pocketbook issues can be extremely detrimental. And voters are likely to be angry as they enter the 2012 election cycle and see another round of significant increases to their insurance costs.
Can Scott turn it around? Does he care?
Certainly one group cares - the Republican National Committee.
Poll was taken from May 17 – 23, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,196 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.8 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones.
Follow us on Twitter @crowleyreport
Art by Florida artist Patrick Crowley
healthcare system charges so much from the patient-doctor point of view. This is my attempt to address that lack and how it might be changed for the better with what we've got at hand, with a few tweaks.
Posted by: cheapest car insurance quotes | 01/09/2013 at 07:38 AM