SCOTT FLORIDA ELECTION A BAD SIGN FOR AMERICA

The AARP Bulletin headlines for Nov. screams with lines, “Crooks steal $60 billion of taxpayers’ money each year”. Federal Agents are on their trail. How interesting, especially in light of the recent election of Rick Scott for governor when voters rewarded him with the governorship of the state of Florida. Rick Scott is infamous for his involvement in Medicare fraud at the corporate level. The fraud reference is to “Scott’s prior tenure as CEO of Columbia/HCA about a decade ago, when the hospital company was fined $1.7 billion for Medicare fraud” as described as true in, Poltifact: Florida. The AARP Bulletin article refers mainly to individuals running small-scale fraudulent schemes to defrauding the government and not corporate level fraudulent schemes. The remarkable thing is that the two level of fraud are surprising similar in how they swindle the system. Of the four largest settlements, the Columbia/HCA fine was fourth, with three pharmaceutical company fines being larger.

The Scott election proves that something is fundamentally wrong with our political system; that voters would elect such a person into office seems unbelievable. What we as citizens of the United State must wonder is how this happened; how can political operatives dupe voters in one of our big states to vote for such a person. It is not that the charges are  untrue; responsible media outlets have verified the facts of the case; therefore, the claims of fraud are not just empty political rhetoric. It is not just the money in campaigns. Even massive amounts of political money cannot change the facts. Perhaps it is because political operatives inundate voters with so many political lies that we, not just the voters in Florida, do not recognize the truth when we hear it.

I reject that as a weak argument because of the campaign process; politicians from both sides present the “facts”, which is taken to mean voter should have all the information they need to make a judgment. Nevertheless, the Florida election is proof, at least to me, that campaigns are not a way to get at the truth. They obviously did not do this in Florida, or at least if they did, the voters made the judgment that Scott’s criminality is what they want in the governor’s office. His first term as governor, when he pushed a law requiring drug testing of welfare recipients, which would put millions of tax payers dollars into the hands of companies in which he has a interest, should have told voters that he is willing to use his office to enrich himself. This is also proof that if the people believed he was a criminal, he was reformed.

As liberals, who were severely beat in the last election; we have to believe voters would not elect Republicans to office based on their party platform alone, which is clearly against the vast majority of the people—the "what’s the matter with Kansas concept”. There is something fundamental wrong with the electoral process. Why else would the exchange of the environment for a dollar in the pockets of a very few, which we all know all know will happen with the election of republicans. Why would Florida voters elect Scott as governor if there wasn't something wrong with the process? The only way voters could elect them is due to something else—but what?

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