Beach Peanuts

GOP's "Autopsy" Reveals They All Want To Be As Awesome At Governing As Rick Scott Is

GOP RIP

In their newly released "Growth and Opportunity Project" yesterday, one of the recommendations the Republican Party made for themselves was that they need to stop talking only "to each other." Yes, that was an obvious problem for them in the 2012 election. From Dick Morris, to Mitt Romney, to Karl Rove, they were shocked, shocked that they didn't win in a landslide because they spent the entire election in the FOX and "skewed" polling bubble.

Behold, the "wisdom" of GOP afterthought:

The Republican Party needs to stop talking to itself. We have become expert in how to provide ideological reinforcement to like-minded people, but devastatingly we have lost the ability to be persuasive with, or welcoming to, those who do not agree with us on every issue. 

Right. They haven't been forceful enough to the majority yet, while attempting to destroy the country. But I digress...

Here's another shocker. They're still just talking to themselves....in their own report. In fact, they even did so before getting to that section above.

Consider this tone deaf revelation from their "autopsy":

At the federal level, much of what Republicans are doing is not working beyond the core constituencies that make up the Party. On the state level, however, it is a different story.

Republicans hold governorships in 30 states with 315 electoral votes, the most governors either party has had in 12 years, and four short of the all-time GOP high of 34 governors who served in the 1920s. 

Republican governors are America’s reformers in chief. They continue to deliver on conservative promises of reducing the size of government while making people’s lives better. They routinely win a much larger share of the minority vote than GOP presidential candidates, demonstrating an appeal that goes beyond the base of the Party.

It is time for Republicans on the federal level to learn from successful Republicans on the state level. It is time to smartly change course, modernize the Party, and learn once again how to appeal to more people, including those who share some but not all of our conservative principles.

First of all, most of those Republican governors were elected in 2010, and since they began governing on those "conservative promises," buyer's remorse quickly set in. Sure, they're still in office because states are stuck with them until the next election. I wouldn't exactly put that factor in the "win" column just yet.

Among those falling under the "tanking in the polls column" is Gov. Rick Scott. He's a classic GOP case on how not to govern, and was so even before this latest poll from Public Policy Polling:

In four hypothetical match-ups, Scott trails Charlie Crist by 12 points (40/52), Pam Iorio by 7 points (37/44), Alex Sink by 5 points (40/45) and leads Nan Rich by 6 points (42/36). Crist takes a whopping 29% of the Republican vote against Scott, exactly in line with PPP’s January poll of the Florida governor’s race.

Scott’s abysmal -24 job approval rating (33/57) is also exactly in line with the results from PPP’s January poll. Scott barely has the approval of his own party—Republicans approve of his job performance by a slim 46/42 margin. 52% of Democrats, 44% of independents and 18% of Republicans think Scott is too conservative. 

Yes, that's even after he backed down by accepting Medicaid expansion in Florida. No doubt he assumed that being forced to "do the right thing" as he calls it now, might have come with a silver lining. It didn't. Nor did his about-face proclaiming his new love of teachers and education. His assumption that Florida teachers were stupid enough not to see through his sudden interest in actually paying them a little more was a bad one. 

Ask the average Floridian if they think Rick Scott is "making their lives better" or if he's "appealing to those who don't share his conservative principles." Or rather, ask them after they stop laughing. Or crying. 

But sure GOP, keep believing what you're telling yourselves. Keep believing in those pipe dreams, skewed polls, and that blind adoration of the bubble-heads at FOX telling you just how awesome you are. 

May you, along with Rick Scott, head off into the sunset in 2014, scratching your heads along the way, wondering what coud have possibly have gone wrong...

New Poll Shows Romney And Gingrich In Close Race In Florida

A new Quinnipiac poll out this morning shows Newt Gingrich has lost his lead coming off of the South Carolina primary and shows him now in a tight race with Mitt Romney in Florida:

The first snap polls out of Florida, after South Carolina’s primary, showed a huge surge for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich as he rocketed past former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney with sizeable but single digit leads. But two polls released Tuesday showed the race to be neck and neck, and new Quinnipiac numbers out Wednesday morning also seem to show show the race stabilizing ahead of the January 31st primary. Quinnipiac finds Romney with a two point lead over Gingrich 36 - 34, while former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum gets 13 percent and 10 percent go to Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX).

A second poll from American Research Group shows Romney leading by 3.7 percent.

You can read more here.

Gingrich Leads In Latest Florida Poll

Newt Gingrich is up slightly by five points in Florida in the latest poll from Public Policy Polling. 

The latest numbers:

• Newt Gingrich 38%
• Mitt Romney 33%
• Rick Santorum 13%
• Ron Paul 10%

The full results from the poll are here.

From PPP:

We asked a question about both Romney and Gingrich pertaining to the general election, and the results are telling. 50% of primary voters say they would enthusiastically support Gingrich, while only 46% say the same for Romney.  But at the same time 15% of primary voters say they would not vote for Gingrich in the general election, while only 9% say that about Romney.  GOP voters might be more excited about Gingrich than Romney...but Romney would be the stronger candidate against Barack Obama, with most people willing to unify around him whether they love him or not.  Voters may need to decide just how badly they want to win in the fall.

This is more an observation about the culture of Florida than something terribly pertinent to the GOP nomination contest, but voters in the state who consider themselves southerners support Gingrich 43-28, while those who do not support Romney 37-33. Voters are almost evenly divided on the issue- 48% identify as Southern, while 50% do not.

Florida Pre-Debate Digest

Tonight's Republican debate will be held at the University Of South Florida in Tampa and will air on NBC at 9:00 pm ET. Now that Mitt Romney has committed to participate, four remaining candidates will take part. Below are some news worthy items leading up to the debate:

Latest Polling

Two recent polls taken after the South Carolina primary on Saturday show Newt Gingrich in the lead.

From Rasmussen:

Less than two weeks ago,  Mitt Romney had a 22-point lead in Florida, but that’s ancient history in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. Following his big win in South Carolina on Saturday, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich now is on top in Florida by nine.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Florida Republican Primary Voters, taken Sunday evening, finds Gingrich earning 41% of the vote with Romney in second at 32%. Former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum runs third with 11%, while Texas Congressman Ron Paul attracts support from eight percent (8%). Nine percent (9%) remain undecided.

Florida allows early voting, and Romney leads among those voters by 11 points. Gingrich leads by 12 among those who have not yet voted. Fourteen percent (14%) have already cast their vote.

One-in-three (32%) say they still could change their minds before they vote in the January 31 primary. Another nine percent (9%) have no initial preference yet. Fifty-nine percent (59%) are already certain of their vote, including 73% of Romney supporters and 62% of Gingrich voters.

Insider Advantage Poll:

Newt Gingrich leads Mitt Romney by eight points in Florida, according to a poll conducted the day after the former House speaker won the South Carolina primary.

According to the Insider Advantage poll, Gingrich has 34 percent support, Romney has 26 percent, Texas Rep. Ron Paul has 13 percent, and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum garners 11 percent.

Protests Planned For Debate

Several groups have planned protests on site at the University Of South Florida where tonight's debate will take place:

Florida Watch Action, of Pink Slip Rick fame will hold a "Pink Slip Mitt" protest at the Grace Allen Administration building beginning at 5:30 pm. Other protests are planned by Fight For Florida, The Coalition To March On The RNC,  and Shalom International (which will also have an anti-President Obama, pro-Israel demonstration.)

Surprise! No Endorsement From Rick Scott

On Friday, Florida Governor Rick Scott said he was "leaning towards not making an endorsement" of a candidate, which should surprise no one. Just a little over a week ago, Scott announced that he would be making an endorsement soon, and the self proclaimed "jobs governor" said he would base his decision on the candidate who had a better jobs plan. At the time I wrote that an endorsement from Scott would likely be an albatross around the neck of his chosen candidate. Then last week Public Policy Polling took a poll and the results showed that 41% of Republicans were less likely to vote for a candidate endorsed by Rick Scott. Scott claims that he's had conversations with the remaining candidates and all but one have asked for his support. He doesn't say which is which, but says he probably won't endorse any of them.

Something tells me none of them will admit they want his endorsement, and they'll probably steer clear of Scott while they're here in our state.

 

Florida GOP Less Likely To Vote For A Candidate Endorsed By Rick Scott

Well this isn't entirely a surprise. Looks like an endorsement from Rick Scott could be the kiss of death for his candidate of choice. 

In other news, it looks like the Tea Party is all in for Mitt Romney as first choice in Florida.

From Public Policy Polling:

Public Policy Polling 1-16-12

See the entire poll results and more here.

Rick Scott Hits 26% Approval Rating

Just when you think he can't get any lower, rock bottom looms into clear view.

Rick Scott officially became the most unpopular governor in the country knocking out the competition, and a tall order that, when you consider he beat the guy who is on the verge of a recall!

When last polled in June, Scott came in (or rather "under") at 33 percent. His number now? Twenty six percent.

Ouch.

Not that any of us in Florida are really surprised, but ouch nonetheless!

From Public Policy Polling:

Rick Scott has hit a new low in PPP's Florida polling with only 26% of voters now approving of his job performance to 58% who disapprove. 

What's really caused the bottom to drop out for him is that even Republicans are starting to really sour on his leadership. In June Scott had a 63/30 approval spread with them. That's now dropped all the way down to 46/31.

If even Republicans don't like you, watch out. Republicans will stand behind just about anybody these days. (Just look at the the Presidential field.) That's a pretty sad position to find yourself in there, Rick.

But wait, there's more:

Scott would lose a hypothetical rematch with Alex Sink 53-37. 21% of Republicans say they'd choose Sink before they would vote for Scott again, and she has a 48-36 advantage with independent voters as well.

Scott would have even more trouble though if Charlie Crist decided to change parties and challenge him. Crist, running as a Democrat, would crush Scott 55-32.  In a hypothetical head to head Crist gets 25% of the Republican vote and wins independents by a 52-32 margin.

No offense to Charlie Crist or Alex Sink, but I think at this point even Herman Cain or Michele Bachmann could give him a good run for his money, minus the residency requirement. (Let me be the first to say "thank God for those residency requirements.") 

Scott may have actually taken a hint though with this latest round of poll numbers. Given that one of his more unpopular moves was cutting education, he's now proposing an increase in spending for education, although where exactly that money will come from is anyone's guess so far. Some say he'll merely squeeze other state agencies a little harder than the last time around.

One hint came up today however: Closing prisons:

Gov. Rick Scott's push for increasing education spending by $1 billion next year will force serious cuts in other programs, because the state is facing a nearly $2 billion shortfall. The governor's budget recommendations will include closing five or six more prisons next year, carrying out the privatization of all inmate health care and privatizing up to five inmate work release centers.

Other Scott criminal justice proposals include: reducing probation officer positions (for a savings of $7.6 million); put correctional officers statewide assigned to inmate dorms on 12-hour work shifts ($9 million); and close 167 non-secure residential beds in the Department of Juvenile Justice ($6.8 million).

Whether prison population has decreased or not, I'm not sure that just closing down a bunch of prisons is a good way to win a popularity contest. On the bright side for Scott though, perhaps: carrying out the privatization of all inmate health care? Maybe that has nothing to do with it, but a Republican is never one to put a good budget crisis to waste, certainly not this one.

The Florida Democratic Party had some thoughts on this latest move of Scott's:

“We hope having his approval numbers hit rock-bottom was a wake-up call to Governor Rick Scott about the importance of investing in education to create jobs and attract business, but given his long history of fraud and his recent refusal to follow Florida public records laws we suspect this is nothing more than an election year gimmick.

“Leave it to the Madoff of Medicare to gut money from education only to return partial funding the following election year in a transparent effort to buoy the sagging poll numbers of the state’s Republicans. Investing in education is no doubt a top priority, but squeezing funding from critical services and putting the burden on the backs of working families is not the way to do it.

“For over a decade, the GOP has been at the helm as Florida’s families watched the special interests and corporations get ahead while education funding dwindled and our state’s children fell further and further behind. The bottom line: Floridians know Rick Scott can’t be trusted. It’s time for a new direction in Florida.”

Nothing like putting a band-ade on those poll numbers and education cuts while jumping at the chance to privatize something else in the process. 

Rick Scott may see this as a win-win, but he may see his numbers around 19 percent in six months or worse, at the rate he's going.

 

Herman Cain Reassesses Campaign...And His Story?

Has "The Herman Cain" dropped out of the race yet?"

That's the big question as we await what "The Herman" calls a "reassessment" of his campaign after the latest revelation of an alleged 13 year affair between Cain and yet another woman, Ginger White. Cain broke the news himself during an interview with his old pal Blitz Wolf Blitzer on CNN before Ms. White's own interview was broadcast on FOX News in Atlanta. Naturally, in his new role as professional victim, Cain denied the accusations.

As for the answer? No, Cain hasn't dropped out of the race, (Please! The man still has books to sell!) and while the Cain train is still on the tracks, it's currently pulled off on a siding somewhere making that "reassessment."

 Mr. Cain's definition of  "reassessment" as of Tuesday, from Slate:

Cain pushed back against reports that he was considering dropping out of the GOP race in the wake of White's recent claim, tweeting: "The definition of reassess is: To consider again, esp. while paying attention to new factors. Doesn't sound like dropping out..."

His definition as of  Wed. morning:

After giving his speech, Cain stuck to his campaign's script, telling reporters that he is still "reassessing" his campaign in the wake of Ginger White's claims, but that "reassessing" does not necessarily mean dropping out of the race. "Reassessment means reevaluation," he said, adding that there has been "a groundswell of positive support" in the wake of the latest claims of misconduct to rock his campaign.

"I Think I Can, I Think I Can...." 

As the day wore on, so did the reassessments (from TPM Livewire):

• Herman Cain, in an interview with Fox News, responded to an allegation that he had a 13-year affair by saying: “I’ve helped many people, financially.”
• Herman Cain allegedly contacted his last accuser — who claims they had a 13-year affair — dozens of times. Sometimes as early as 4 a.m. On Fox just now, Cain responded by saying he has “talked to a lot of people 61 times.”
• Cain has long said he will stay in the race, despite mounting sexual harassment allegations, as long as his wife stands beside him. “My wife loves me, she just told me that again today,” Cain said on Fox.
• Herman Cain says his opponents are trying to foil his campaign because his “star was shining and rising too fast.
• In an interview on Fox News this afternoon, Herman Cain portrayed the accusations of sexual harassment and the recent allegation of a 13-year affair with Atlanta businesswoman Ginger White as a “a direct character assassination, pure and simple.” After hedging on who was behind said “character assassination,” Cain suggested it was Democrats, “I can only conjecture that maybe I’m the Democrat's worst nightmare.”

I have to pause here for a moment at that last statement: "...maybe I’m the Democrats worst nightmare.”

Herman Cain may be a woman's worst nightmare, the Republican Party's worst nightmare, and now even his "Koch brothers from another mother's" worst nightmare, but the Democrat's worst nightmare? Sorry Herman. That tinfoil hat you're wearing is on just a little too tight:

(Source: Real Clear Politics)

As for Republicans? There's just no waking up from their 2012 field of nightmares, it's merely the severity that fluctuates. On a scale of one to nine, nine, nine, ole' Herman's been downgraded to number three in the latest polls from Florida and Montana. The Republican's worst nightmare this week is serial adulterer and (wink, wink) "historian" Newt Gingrich:

(Source: Public Policy Polling)

 "I Don't Have The Facts To Back This Up, But...."

But back to the "Cain's not able" conspiracy theories, already in progress: (from TPM):

 

• Cain said that this was all happening because he is “the Democrats’ worst nightmare.” He claimed it was no coincidence that the stories started to come out as “my star was shining and rising.” Cain stressed he didn’t have complete clarity on the murky forces that might lie behind the conspiracy facing him, but he did come up with the following: “Maybe the Democrats want Gingrich to win the nomination so they can then go after his personal life but they need to knock me out now. That’s just a hypothesis.”
• Cain admitted several times during the interview that the litany of allegations had taken an “emotional toll” on his wife and family. This, he said, was a key piece in his reassessment of the campaign. 
• This Ginger White was having financial problems. And I was trying to help her. And, boom, she decides she will go public with this information…This was totally out of the blue.
• Fundraising Down From $1 Million A Week To $100,000 A Week. That is accurate. But here is something that statement does not reflect. There are a lot of big money people who do not see me as a risk. I have not had people willing to hold fundraisers call and say I’m not with you.
• "You know, part of that story doesn’t make any sense, if I had been in some sort of physical affair for 13 years, in 2006 I had cancer for a year, so, I wasn’t having an affair with anybody even if it were true and it is not."

Sure. Whatever. Now that his theories and explanations are all woven together in a nice and tidy fashion, Herman leaves us with just a hint of the "bombshell" yet to come:

Neil Cavuto: Finally, a week from now, do you think in your gut you will still be a candidate?

Cain: A week from now I will have made a final decision.

Could it be that the end of the track is near? Oh. The. Suspense. 

To be continued....

(Illustration: Herman Cain 2012, on Twitter)

Which "Americans" Are Republicans And John Boehner Speaking Of? (Updated)

(Updated below.)

If you're like me, you're getting really sick of hearing Republicans stand in front of the cameras and say "The American people don't want...(fill in the blank)" and then proceed to tell you a view very far from your own or that of anyone you've ever spoken to who wasn't a rich Republican or member of the Tea Party.

If so, there's a good reason. Here are the latest poll numbers from the Republican manufactured debt ceiling disaster:

Washington Post-ABC News:

The July 14-17 survey showed 77 percent said Republican leadership has been not willing enough to compromise on the issue.

CNN/Opinion Research Poll: 

A CNN/Opinion Research Poll July 18-20 showed 55 percent had an unfavorable opinion of the Republican Party, compared with 48 percent in a March 11-13 poll.

Reuters/IPSOS Poll:

Showing an intensity of interest among Americans who often ignore the intricacies of policy in Washington, 83 percent of those polled said they were either very or somewhat concerned about the potential for a U.S. debt default on August 2.

The poll found that 56 percent of Americans want to see a combination of government spending cuts and tax increases included in a deal to bring down the U.S. budget deficit and permit a vote to raise the country's $14.3 trillion debt ceiling.

This is the approach favored by Obama and his fellow Democrats to begin to put America's fiscal house in order.

Republicans oppose tax increases and instead want to cut back deeply on spending, saying the federal budget has gotten out of control.

"It does seem to be that the popular narrative is falling on the side of the president on this one," said Ipsos pollster Julia Clark.

In the poll, 19 percent said the best approach is only to cut existing programs, and 12 percent said only raising taxes would be the favored solution.

Pew Research Center Poll:

Overall, President Obama and the Democrats are winning the debt-ceiling debate as such. As Pew reported, 68 percent of Americans “say that lawmakers who share their views on this issue should compromise, even it means striking a deal they disagree with. Just 23% say lawmakers who share their views should stand by their principles, even if that leads to default.” That’s a margin of nearly 3 to 1. Pew noted that compromise was favored by 81 percent of Democrats, 69 percent of independents – a key number for Obama’s political advisers — and 53 percent of Republicans. The only group that favored risking default consisted of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents who said they agree with the Tea Party: 53 percent of them preferred lawmakers to stand by their principles even if it meant pushing the government into default. Just 24 percent of the non-Tea-Party Republicans and Republican leaners took this view. But the Tea Party still seems to be running the show in the House of Representatives at the moment.

This is not to say that the public isn't also growing impatient with the way Democrats have handled the debt ceiling situation, but overall this shows that they are more in sync with President Obama on this. They want the rich to pay their share of taxes for a change. They want Republicans to make reasonable compromises for a change. What a concept.

The other thing that recent polls show is that the American public that John Boehner speaks of do want something done about jobs. This is of course what Boehner and the Republicans ran on in the last election: jobs, jobs, jobs, to quote the Speaker, a subject he has scarcely spoken of since.

He says the American people are with him on cuts, cuts, cuts, but they're clearly not. They want jobs, and are asking him the question he tossed around before last November: "Where are the jobs?"

I can tell you where the jobs won't be found. In Boehner's latest budget plan:

It’s a plan that the usually “mild-mannered” Robert Greenstein of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) is describing as “tantamount to a form of ‘class warfare’” that “if enacted, it could well produce the greatest increase in poverty and hardship produced by any law in modern U.S. history.” Since Boehner’s blueprint contains no tax increases and his first round of cuts targets discretionary spending, the joint committee will have no choice but to achieve its $1.8 trillion in budget reductions by cutting entitlement spending, Greenstein explains:

– As a result, virtually all of that $1.8 trillion would come from entitlement programs. They would have to be cut more than $1.5 trillion in order to produce sufficient interest savings to achieve $1.8 trillion in total savings.

– To secure $1.5 trillion in entitlement savings over the next ten years would require draconian policy changes. Policymakers would essentially have three choices: 1) cut Social Security and Medicare benefits heavily for current retirees, something that all budget plans from both parties (including House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s plan) have ruled out; 2) repeal the Affordable Care Act’s coverage expansions while retaining its measures that cut Medicare payments and raise tax revenues, even though Republicans seek to repeal many of those measures as well; or 3) eviscerate the safety net for low-income children, parents, senior citizens, and people with disabilities. There is no other plausible way to get $1.5 trillion in entitlement cuts in the next ten years. [...]

In short, the Boehner plan would force policymakers to choose among cutting the incomes and health benefits of ordinary retirees, repealing the guts of health reform and leaving an estimated 34 million more Americans uninsured, and savaging the safety net for the poor. It would do so even as it shielded all tax breaks, including the many lucrative tax breaks for the wealthiest and most powerful individuals and corporations.

I say it's not just a question of where are the jobs, but where are these Americans you're speaking of Mr. Boehner?

UPDATE:

Boehner proved again today that he's not concerned with what everyday Americans want, and instead only concerned with a plan the Democrats and the President will hate, and therefore not what these polls show, what Americans want.

From Steve Benen:

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is obviously scrambling to secure as much Republican support for his budget plan as possible, and took his sales pitch to Laura Ingraham’s radio show this morning. One line in particular stood out:

A large number of conservative Republicans are opposing Boehner’s proposal, arguing it does not go far enough in reducing government spending.

 

But Boehner said he couldn’t understand why any Republicans would position themselves with Democrats opposing his plan.

 

“Barack Obama hates it, Harry Reid hates it, Nancy Pelosi hates it,” he said, naming off the Democratic leadership.

Now, at a certain level, it makes sense that the House Speaker would try to rally his side by leveraging partisan feelings. Boehner probably figures Republicans will be more likely to support a plan that Democrats “hate.”

But let’s not lose sight of the larger context here. The United States is in the midst of a crisis of Republicans’ making, and a potentially catastrophic deadline is just days away. We have a Republican-led House, a Democratic-led Senate, and a Democratic White House, so the nation will need a solution that can generate approval from all three institutions.

Speaker Boehner, meanwhile, isn’t just abandoning the search for a bipartisan solution; he’s publicly bragging about pushing a plan he knows isn’t a bipartisan solution.

 

 

A Job Killing Budget With Veto Threats, Rick Scott: "It's Going To Be Fun!"

"Welcome To The Land Of The Remaining 29%"

(photo: Beach Peanuts)

A new Quinnipiac University poll came out today, and as expected Gov. Rick Scott is now even more unpopular than he was in April. 

The survey found voters overwhelmingly disapproving of his job performance, by 57-29 percent — worse than his 48 percent-35 percent job approval rating in the school’s April poll. That’s the worst job-approval rating for any governor in the 10 states that Quinnipiac surveys.

Even worse, in spite of Scott's attempts to paint such a rosy picture on his $69.7 billion job-killing budget, a whopping 54 percent disagree and feel it's unfair to them, and only 29 percent think it's fair.

None of this is too surprising. When you slash everything from Medicaid to education, killing jobs along the way as well as cutting unemployment benefits for those whose jobs you just axed, you're bound to be unpopular. Scott's well on his way to hurting nearly everyone living in Florida who isn't a big corporation, the larger portion of his base.

Worse still, Scott's also ruffled feathers with the other wing of his base, the Tea Party, in part because he no longer plans to "celebrate" with them as planned when he signs that job-killer tomorrow. Instead Scott has to go in search of that 29 percent who still buy what he's selling to make the most of his budget photo op. He needs a bigger crowd than just the Tea Bags, and Eustis isn't flashy enough anymore I guess. What to do?

Well, he's not going to Disney World, but Scott will head for what some think of as the happiest place on earth, or rather the happiest places for Republicans in the state. The place that welcomes other political pariahs like Sarah Palin and Rudy Giuliani with open arms, the place where it's kind of like going through customs for Republican candidates in Florida. Even if you're unpopular in the state as a whole, no matter. There's always one place they'll treat the GOP like rock stars. Even Mr. Worst Out Of Ten Governors Surveyed, Rick Scott.

The Villages.

Feeling like a rock star already, at least in his own mind, Scott's in a festive mood like Dr. Evil who's about to sign his lipstick on a pig budget, to borrow a term from another extremely unpopular Governor. He's thrilled with cutting nearly anything good that's left of Florida to the bone, and he's itching to do even more damage tomorrow:

"It's going to be fun," Scott said. "I'm going to use my veto pen."

It's going to be fun? Sounds like Gov. Voldemort is hoping for even higher disapproval numbers. He'll probably get them in short order.

He can say his budget is a "job-creator" all he wants, but the 4,492 soon to be unemployed sure won't see it that way.

He'd better enjoy the spotlight that The Villages provide him while he can. When they start to feel the real effects of Scott's budget, even those "Villagers" will get mighty restless. 

28...27......26..........20....................?

The Bottom Of The Barrel's The Limit?

How low can Rick Scott's approval ratings go? Given that we're only into his fourth month in office, maybe he'll make history with negative numbers?

Here's the latest from TPM:

In the latest poll, a 48% plurality of registered voters now disapprove of how Scott has handled his job, a huge leap from February when only 22% of voters disapproved of the new Governor's job performance. Meanwhile, 35% of voters currently approve of Scott's job performance, the exact same percentage who gave Scott a thumbs up two months ago.

But hey, he's not interested in being popular. He has other interests to pursue....