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!
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.
