By claiming he favored Medicaid expansion in Florida but letting the Republicans in the legislature do his dirty work for him by killing it, Rick Scott has managed to sink even lower than Arizona Governor Jan Brewer. Now that takes some doing.
Rick Scott has made a living, and profits, by trying to kill affordable health care and reform. Only when he was forced to, did he finally accept what seemed the inevitable when he said he would expand Medicaid. Since his big announcement, he sat silently by as the GOP controlled legislature made sure that would never happen. Since the session ended with no Medicaid, Scott has been silent on pushing for a special session to prove he meant it. The closest hint he's given on his position concerning a special session was when he recently said "I said yes, the House said no. The House has already made a decision and they said no."
Not a peep since then. If that was his final word, then he has made Brewer look like a Saint when it comes to those who are too poor to have health insurance, and can in no way contribute to the profit margin of health care executives like Scott was before he became the "CEO of Florida" and proceeded to line the pockets of corporate welfare recipients at the expense of Floridans.
Jan Brewer made a similar announcement to Scott's when faced with the inevitable:
"Try as we might, the law was upheld by the United States Supreme Court," Brewer said. "The Affordable Care Act is not going anywhere, at least not for the time being."
Unlike Scott however, Brewer backed up her statement.
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) vetoed five bills Thursday, the first to reach her desk since she vowed to veto all legislation until the state Legislature addresses Medicaid expansion and passes a state budget.
Brewer -- who was the third Republican governor to announce support for an expansion of Medicaid, one of the pillars of Obamacare -- made good on a promise made in early May to place a "moratorium" on signing bills into law until the Arizona state Legislature reaches a deal to pass a budget for the 2014 fiscal year and an expansion to Medicaid. She vetoed bills on education and religious freedom on Thursday.
Even in the face of threats, Brewer is standing her ground.
Rick Scott seems to be standing his ground as well, but as always, he stands with insurance companies and their profits, rather than the poor and uninsured in Florida.
Say it ain't so! Mitt Romney is on the comeback trail, and when I say the "comeback trail" I mean he's come back to help more Republicans lose on the 2014 campaign trail. Just as he ignored polls, logic, and anything predicted by anyone who didn't work for FOX-GOP-TV during his last failed Presidential run, he's now in deeper denial as to how big a loser he is. Apparently.
"More than half a year after his election loss, Mitt Romney is putting a tentative foot back onto the public stage," the Wall Street Journal reports.
Romney said that he plans to re-emerge in ways that will "help shape national priorities."
"As a first step, the former Republican presidential nominee plans to welcome 200 friends and supporters to a three-day summit next week that he will host at a Utah mountain resort. He is considering writing a book and a series of opinion pieces, and has plans to campaign for 2014 candidates. But he is wary of overdoing it."
Said Romney: "I'm not going to be bothering the airwaves with a constant series of speeches."
If Romney indeed plans to "shape national priorities" I say what better way to call even more attention to income inequality, corporate welfare, the "dreaded" 47% crowd, and the need for tax reform. This is great timing what with all the attention those who don't pay taxes and offshore their wealth are getting, he'll certainly remind voters just how Republican's priorities are shaped: Like a pyramid scheme. With the national discussion focusing on political campaign schemes, tax exemption for those who shouldn't rightfully have that status, and those who refuse to disclose their tax returns, I say great timing from Romney, as always!
Of course the bigger news here is that he's "writing a book" and hosting summits at resorts, which is a dead giveaway that he's really hoping to make lots more money that he can hide while taking advantage of anyone who wasn't paying attention to how badly he lost the last two times. Of course he won't be bothering with the airwaves. There's no profit for him there.
That being said, I look forward to watching him lend his expertise on losing elections to all the eager Republicans he can find. Sure, they ran from him as if he were contagious after losing in November, but they have even less ideas, and lower poll numbers now than ever before. They're in denial just as much as Romney is. They might just be desperate enough to welcome him back and add to his profit margin.
The federal health care reform law has withstood a court challenge and a presidential election, but the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature is still battling it. A bill that would allow health insurers to charge whatever they want, no matter how unreasonable, and blame the Affordable Care Act is on Gov. Rick Scott's desk. Its transparent intent is to infuriate Floridians over increases in health insurance costs and misdirect their anger toward the federal law. Scott should veto this vindictive and partisan bill, and voters should remember if the governor chooses politics over consumer protections for Florida families.
If Scott really had Florida families interests at heart, as his latest campaign slogan claims, he would veto this bill. But how likely is a veto? Well, consider this.
A Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida policy holder told me last week they received yet another notice of a premium increase, what has become as routine as a monthly insurance bill arriving in the mail. The rate means that that private policy, covering two people will now cost almost $15,000 a year, along with high deductibles.
A quick bit of research on the Affordable Care Act website revealed that Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida recently asked for the rate increase, and it was deemed a reasonable rate hike. According to the policy holder, their notice cited the reasons as an increase in rising medical costs, the increasing age of those covered (one being a young adult with no health problems), and finally, a vague reference that their health care coverage will be affected by the Affordable Care Act taking effect in January of 2014. That could reasonably be construed to hint at more rate hikes coming six months down the line with the ACA, which sounds rather similar to the law now on Rick Scott's desk before he even signs it, should he choose to do so.
In other words, your policy and rates will be "affected" by the ACA, but don't blame BCBS, as their notice reassures you that THEY want to keep your rates as low as possible. Trust them.
"Freedom Means Never Running Low On Campaign Cash"
Never one to miss an opportunity to raise money off of a GOP manufactured "scandal" Marco Rubio is at it again, trying to whip up a frenzy. This time over the IRS. Rubio has taken to the YouTubes for his latest faux rage aimed at Tea Party supporters suggesting that they are not only being unfairly "targeted," but are also about to lose more of their freedom! Be afraid. Be very afraid! Send money.
He's thrown out a "Constituent's Mailbox" video claiming to answer the email of a constituent, (wink, wink) named Larry from Orlando, which is nonsense. As we constituents of Rubio's know all too well, Marco never answers emails any more than he takes phone calls, holds town meetings, or pays even the slightest attention to what his actual constituents want. He only answers to his donors among the corporate and Wall Street welfare crowd. The rest of us never see him.
But getting back to "Larry from Orlando," Rubio reads that Larry is concerned about the IRS.....sort of. Rubio begins:
Is this America? We are all asking the question, Senator.
Coincidentally, old Lar's letter sounds almost exactly like Rubio's talking points. Oddly almost word for word. "Larry" feels that being able to see, much less afford a doctor will end freedom as he knows it. "Larry's" next request step jumps right into the subject of the IRS. If you're scratching your head wondering why a constituent would be concerned about how Tea Party groups are spending their "social welfare" donations and why the IRS should even care, wonder no more. He's not. You see, "Larry" thinks the IRS situation only points to a larger solution to holding onto his freedom: The IRS "scandal" must be used to repeal ObamaCare, otherwise Larry may be forced into being allowed to choose his own health insurance, his own doctor, and, God forbid, be able to afford both! Oh, the inhumanity!
"So the only answer to this is to repeal Obamacare," Rubio said in response to an email from a man in Orlando, Fla. "It’s just one more reason why this law is going to be a disaster for our country. And in the months to come, I’m really going to focus on the issue of repealing Obamacare because in addition to the IRS’s role there is all sorts of other problems with regards to Obamacare that we need to answer."
What a coincidence! It seems Larry and Marco have some sort of Tea Party telepathy! If Tea Party groups are discovered to be violating campaign finance laws, the only logical solution to the problem is to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
Of course, what Marco....I'm sorry, I mean "Larry" is really saying is "look away from the real issue that we should be investigating, which actually involves Tea Party and conservative groups who have taken advantage of a tax loophole to raise funds to use in political activities, which campaign finance laws say they can't do." This is the last thing Rubio wants you to focus on because he's a big recipient of Tea Party campaign cash, and the last thing he wants is an IRS investigation to come between him and the hard earned money of a gullible Tea Party supporter. While he and his witch hunting GOP colleagues are screaming: "Scandal! Investigate!" they should be careful what they wish for. This likely has finally occurred to Rubio.
Here's the thing, "Larry from Orlando." Marco wants you to keep those donations coming as he laughs his way to the bank, while at the same time making sure that when you need health care and insurance, it will be out of reach and unaffordable to you. Of course by the time you've figured that out, it will be too late for you, possibly in more ways than one. Now there's the subject of some really good questions for your next email to Rubio. Ask him to spend some time investigating those campaign finance laws.
Unfortunately if you do, you'll likely find that Marco Rubio's "Constituent's Mailbox" is full.
As the Republican so-called scandal and outrage franchise rolls on, Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus is now getting in on the act. According to TPM, Priebus got his moment of rage for the cameras this morning on, what else, Morning Joe, the jumping-off point for raging hypocrisy and GOP Propaganda Central, led by the king of disingenuous temper tantrum fiction, Joe-Did-I-Mention-I-Was-In-Congress-Once?-Scarborough.
Today's topic of exasperation? IRS official Lois Lerner, who yesterday invoked her Fifth Amendment rights and declined to answer questions during committee hearings in the House.
....Priebus said that pleading the Fifth "implies there are some criminal aspects" of the IRS scandal. John Heileman, a writer for New York Magazine who was sitting on the show's panel, cried foul at that characterization.
"But you don't need to plead the Fifth if you've done nothing wrong," Priebus said.
Despite those pointing out the facts on just what the Fifth Amendment actually says, Priebus was having none of that. Facts be damned, in his mind, if you take the Fifth, that "implies there are some criminal aspects" on any investigation involved.
Perhaps Priebus should have looked around at various members of his own party before making that claim, but then who am I kidding? This is Reince Priebus who has never let facts and details get in the way of a good whining session, so why would he start now?
But still, if taking the Fifth in his mind implies criminal wrongdoing, and no one needs to plead the Fifth if they've done nothing wrong, then it's too bad that no one at the Morning Joe kid's table asked him "What about someone who pleads the Fifth not once, but 75 times? Does that imply 'there are some criminal aspects Mr. Priebus?" Does that mean that person has done something really, really wrong?
All The Qualities The GOP Oppose: Women and Women's Rights
In spite of boasting to the contrary, is the Republican Party of Florida not so sure they have a winning incumbent in Rick Scott? After all, common sense would say yes, given his record-breaking unpopularity. They showed their fear of Charlie Crist early on in spite of the fact that he's taking his time deciding whether to run or not.
Now it seems they fear another candidate and they're getting an early jump on attacking her while declaring yet another war on Florida women all at the same time. Because that's worked so well for them in the past. No doubt they're sad given that they were only able to pass one anti-abortion bill in this year's legislative session, and zero the year before, so I suppose this is another way to make sure women in Florida still know where they stand. They would also like you to know that liberals are scary. So given Nan Rich is and woman AND a liberal, she may be even more frightening than old Charlie.......to the RPOF.
Today the RPOF blog is attacking Democratic candidate Nan Rich in the largest red font they could find, blaring this headline (emphasis theirs):
THAT'S RICH! Liberal Champion Nan Endorsed By One Of Florida's Leading Pro-Abortion Organizations...Here's Why!
RICH SAYS DEMS SHOULD NOMINATE LIBERAL FROM SOUTH FLORIDA, GETS EARLY ENDORSEMENT FROM PRO-ABORTION ORGANIZATION
To back up those bold, nightmarish headlines, yes, both The Tampa Tribune and the Tampa Bay Times have in fact reported that Rich is a liberal. However, neither article paints her as a scary liberal, and one quotes from her endorsement by the National Organization for Women as "the best hope for Florida women." RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!
Again, not nearly as haunting as the RPOF would have you believe, but OMG, did we mention she's "pro-abortion" asks the RPOF? Just in case anyone missed it in bold caps the first time:
RICH’S EXTREME LIBERAL POSITIONS ON ABORTION EARNED HER THAT ENDORSEMENT
They list several instances where Rich did indeed vote the opposite of Republicans for much of that abortion legislation they've failed to pass, which they feel proves her "extreme liberal position on abortions." Except that it's not so extreme in that the majority in Tallahassee agreed with her and those abortion bills failed.
As for that endorsement from "Pro-Abortion organizations?" One might think by their claim illustrated in all caps in blood-red that this group must be spanning the State of Florida encouraging abortions, or perhaps gangs of women are hunting pregnant women and forcing abortions on them. Why, if women vote for Nan Rich, perhaps those groups will push for an Abortionplex mandate?
Uh, no. This "pro-abortion group" is actually NOW, the National Organization For Women. Rather than the roving abortion pushers Republicans would have you imagine, they favor reproductive rights. They also work on other "horrifying issues" like supporting equal rights, marriage equality, Social Security, student loans, and reducing gun violence. In other words, all things that Republicans don't like, nor support. NOW also opposes things like violence against women in the military, as well as violence against all other women, so BE AFRAID!
Voters actually owe some thanks to the RPOF for this attack though, because it reminds them of all the time and money the legislature spent in years past proposing abortion bills and those that would prevent women from getting the health care they need, rather than legislation on the things that are important to them involving jobs, the environment, education, and letting them vote.
Just another reminder that the War On Women is still alive and well, and operating out of RPOF headquarters everywhere regardless of who the Democratic candidate will be.
Thursday's outlook calls for 13 to 20 named storms, 7 to 11 that strengthen into hurricanes and 3 to 6 that become major hurricanes.
The prediction by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is more than what's considered an average Atlantic season.
Unfortunately, as I wrote recently, the Republicans in Washington (including 16 from Florida) have held tax cuts for the wealthy hostage and the result was the forced sequester that has had devastating cuts for many in everything from Medicare cuts for the elderly, leaving some without cancer treatments to head start programs and more.
Federal officials say they have the resources to warn storm-prone Florida and other vulnerable areas about weather emergencies, but a federal union representative warns that a hiring freeze plus furloughs threaten public safety.
Officials say they can maintain adequate staffing at the National Hurricane Center nearin [sic] Miami, though its forecasters will be forced to take off four unpaid days by Sept.ember 30. Staff at the National Weather Service already is depleted because of a hiring freeze.
“This could have a detrimental effect on everybody’s public safety,” said Bob Ebaugh, the steward in Miami for the National Weather Service Employees Organization. “Once you start limiting staffing, you start raising the potential for disaster.”
The furloughs will put stress on staffing for the hurricane hunter aircraft.
For Rubio and these Florida House members, keeping taxes low for the wealthiest in the country is of much greater value to them than keeping Floridians safe when the next hurricane hits:
It's hard to say when exactly Rick Scott began his campaign for reelection, as he's been in campaign mode since his election. That's understandable I suppose, given that his approval numbers have barely seen daylight. Still, his reelection sales pitch is up and running......into the ground along with those poll numbers:
Speaking to Republicans in one of Florida’s most heavily Democratic counties, Gov. Rick Scott tonight said the GOP should win every election if Republicans do a better job of telling their story to voters.
Putting aside the fact that Scott was preaching to the choir here, I say go ahead and give us the sales pitch Gov. Scott. Do tell us the Republican story. Give it your best shot.
“I have not met one Floridian that should be anything but a Republican,” said Scott.
Forgive me, but I've got to interrupt the narrative right here for a moment. If Scott has "not met one Floridian that should be anything but a Republican" that's probably because Republicans are the only people he talks to. He simply ignores anyone who isn't, ignores anyone who disagrees with him, and ignores their needs to boot. But please, do go on:
The GOP is the party of job creators, Scott said, and he said it should also be the party of people who rely on government social programs.
“Let’s say that you need a safety net,” Scott said. “Let’s say you need unemployment insurance or you need something to take care of you while times are hard before you get back on your feet, whether that’s health care, whether that’s unemployment insurance, whatever it is. Who pays for it? People that have jobs. So if you need anything from the government, any government, you should absolutely be a Republican because it won’t be there if it wasn’t for people who had jobs and build businesses.”
Wow. OK, let's unpack this, shall we? First, are we really going to continue this "job creator" charade? Because that argument has been debunked so often that no one really buys it anymore. While Scott may feel he has to rely on it because he's busy handing out tax breaks to any big corporation that so much as sneezes in his direction, it's hogwash, pure and simple. (And no, that's not a Disney World "work sick or else" pun, but more on that later.) If this were true, Florida wouldn't have an unemployment problem.
Second, that next comment is the most jarring statement he's made yet. I'm not sure how or why, exactly, Scott claims the GOP could possibly be the party of the voter who relies on a social safety net. Nationally the party favors the Paul Ryan budget, whose only provision for a safety net is scissors to cut it with, cuts that perhaps Ayn Rand herself might have thought were a tad severe, given her own reliance on them.
Beyond that, let's examine how Scott has addressed the other safety nets and social programs in his sales pitch. Unemployment insurance? Scott cut those benefits off early for Floridians. Heath care? Seriously. I don't even have to explain the absurdity of that comment.
To say that none of those things would be there if not for big business "Who pays for it?" Please. Aside from the fact that many employers these days don't offer health insurance benefits or cut hours to avoid having to provide them, what jobs would those be? Rick "Let's-Get-To-Work" Scott hasfallen rather short on his job creation promises, which is why he's no longer using that particular slogan. No matter how many times Scott rolls out the "big businesses create jobs" nonsense, there's little return on those forced tax break investments courtesy of Florida taxpayers. Many of those very beneficiaries took the tax cuts and ran, and yet Scott is still handing them out like Santa Claus at a Koch brothers Christmas Party.
Scott's little narrative is ridiculous on its face. If his claim that he as a Republican "savior" of the people were serious, there are things he could do to prove it right now.
He would call for a special session to expand Medicaid, which he opposed until he was forced to embrace it earlier in the year. The legislature ended this year's session without doing anything towards that end, and yet Gov."Now-I-Loves-Me-Some-Medicaid" has shown he really doesn't. He's been silent ever since he chose to embrace it as a political football. I predicted that he seized it as a chance to have his cake and eat it too: Pretend he favored it while knowing the legislature would never go for it, giving him political cover. He can't pull it off though because he's just as bad an actor as he is a governor.
“It’s in their best interest. There’s nobody that shouldn’t be a Republican. If they’re not, it’s our fault. It’s our fault that we’re not telling our story.”
It's your fault all right, but telling the story better isn't the problem. It's the story itself. Floridians don't have to be told your story, they're living it, and suffering for it. They reject it and the GOP, and they can't wait to prove it to you at the polls in 2014.
Last year when I was attending Netroots Nation, Darcy Burner, then a candidate for Congress, spoke of an idea she had that was pretty exciting for anyone who is painfully aware of the Koch brothers far reaching influence over politics and consumers. She had an idea for an app that would make it easier for consumers to avoid buying products with any ties to Koch Industries. Burner, a former programmer for Microsoft, had a mock interface that she hoped to build on.
Now it appears she was unaware there was already a group trying to develop a similar idea, and it's just been introduced.
Called Buycott, the app is pretty amazing in all that it can do. I downloaded it as soon as I heard about it, and it's pretty impressive. (I wasn't the only one who thought so. The developers have had some problems keeping up with demand.)
Not only can you "join" campaigns as per your interests, like sustainable and local food initiatives, those which allow you to avoid plastic bottles, and the big favorites like avoiding products made by Koch Industries, Monsanto, and even any with ties to ALEC. (The American Legislative Exchange Council.)
For instance, say you want to join a campaign that demands GMO
(genetically modified organisms) food labeling. Once you join, you can read more linked details about the campaign. If you touch "focus" on the app toolbar, it calls up an extensive list of companies to avoid who donated more than $150,000 to oppose GMO labeling in California. Select Cargill, Inc. for instance, and you'll see a "family tree" option at the bottom. Touch that and up pops the company tree. There you'll see that Diamond Crystals and Truvia products, among others, are two of the brands you can refrain from purchasing. You can also use the integrated social media to Tweet or share information on Facebook.
Say you're out shopping for paper products and want to know if a certain brand of paper towels is a product from one of the campaigns you've joined. Choosing the scanner on the bottom allows you to scan the barcode in just seconds, and it will tell you if it's a brand to avoid. Scan a package of Brawny paper towels and it will trace back up the family tree to show you it's made by Georgia Pacific, which is part of Koch Industries.
Since company information is always changing and new products come on the market, the app also lets you add unknown products by scanning them. You can contribute information and contacts that you discover and add them to the Buycott database.
Of course another great thing about the app, it's free! The only problem that I can see with it so far is that you may have difficulty finding brands you CAN buy, depending on how many campaigns you're following. Between Koch, Monsanto, and ALEC, just to name a few, their industry and product range is vast and encompassing. You'll have to do your homework and shop around to find products to reward companies who share your views, but this app sure makes it a lot easier.
(Note: In May of 2010, not long after the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, I met and interviewed the founder of Hands Across The Sand, Dave Rauschkolb, in Seaside, FL. I wrote about Rauschkolb and the story behind what inspired his organization on my original blog site. This weekend begins Hands Across The Sand's fourth year holding what are now global events in protest of offshore oil drilling, (Locate a local event near you here.) and in honor of that I'm re-posting my original piece on Rauschkolb below.)
Dave Rauschkolb, Founder of “Hands Across The Sand”
(Photo: Martha Jackovics)
May 21, 2010
It’s been over a month since the BP Deepwater Horizon explosion, which killed 11, injured many others and caused the still gushing oil “spill” that threatens to devastate wildlife, along with the fishing and tourism industry in Florida.
Aside from a lot of political posturing in the past over the issue of oil drilling in the Gulf Of Mexico, not much was done about it beyond talk.
What did it take to get people’s attention? Probably the fact that most recent evidence places the oil plumes in the “loop current” in the Gulf, which will eventually carry the oil into the Florida Keys and then on around South Florida, into the Atlantic where most say it will likely land on beaches in Palm Beach County first.
Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to head up to the Florida Panhandle where I met people who live and work where, at the time, most thought the oil was headed next. I talked to people whose entire livelihoods were, and still are at stake.
One of those people I met was a man who didn’t just talk about it. He actually did something about it, and he did it long before the BP disaster unfolded.
Last summer, the Florida House passed bill #1219 which lifted the ban on near shore oil drilling in the Gulf Of Mexico, which allowed drilling to take place as close as ten miles off the coast of Florida. The bill first came to the attention of restaurant owner Dave Rauschkolb in Seaside, FL during a meet and greet at his restaurant with Florida House candidate David Pleat. Rauschkolb said that Pleat explained in layman’s terms what actually was proposed in the bill.
“What they were really asking for was carte blanche to give them a free ticket to drill anywhere they wanted three to ten miles off shore and that would also give the county jurisdiction from the waterline to three miles. The county said they could run pipelines wherever they wanted” Rauschkolb explains. “I was knocked back on my heels.”
At the end of Pleat’s explanation Rauschkolb “got this flash of an idea” that went beyond merely writing to legislators in opposition.
“Earlier I had said “we need to draw a line in the sand over this” and that kept running through my head. I looked at my wife and I said “I know what we can do.” I got this simple idea to have Floridians go to the beaches, join hands and create human lines in the sand to protest this legislation and try to convince legislators to drop this proposal.”
Rauschkolb’s ”flash of an idea” became a now familiar environmental awareness movement in Florida called “Hands Across The Sand.”
Hands Across the Sand is a movement made of people of all walks of life and crosses political affiliations. This movement is not about politics; it is about protection of our shoreline, our waterways, our tourism, our coastal military missions and our valuable properties. Let us share our knowledge, energies and passion for protecting all of the above from the devastating effects of oil drilling.
The idea was simple: Go to an event beach at the appointed time for one hour, rain or shine, join hands for ten minutes forming a “line in the sand” against oil drilling in coastal waters, and leave only footprints behind.
Rauschkolb went to work on the idea and designed a website, a 30 second radio commercial and a newspaper ad. The website was subsequently contributed by CYber SYtes in Panama City Beach, and posters were designed by local artists as well as T-Shirts that were given away free of charge.
Before long e-mails started to come in, and in just two months Rauschkolb says “we had 80 beaches organized from Jacksonville Beach to Miami and from Key West up to Pensacola.” Thousands of Floridians joined hands at he first “Hands Across The Sand” event that took place on February 13, 2010. “The largest group was in the Tampa, St. Petersburg Beach area with around 3,000 people. In Seaside, where Rauschkolb owns and operates his restaurant“Bud & Alley’s” there were 500.
Talking to Rauschkolb just over two weeks after the BP oil spill, he speaks about his frustration over President Obama’s stand on oil drilling. “ I knew the moment (Obama) said the word “Oil” in his State Of the Union address that he was throwing a bone to the Republicans. I counted how many times he said “clean energy,” 12 or 15 times. He mentioned oil once.” A strong signal in Rauschkolb’s mind that “this is something that is not near and dear to his heart.”
“To me after this spill, it’s going to be awfully difficult for those pro-drilling politicians in Florida to wash oil from their hands and I can’t imagine that (Florida Republicans) Dean Cannon and Mike Haridopolos will continue this folly and bring this legislation back to Floridians in the next session after the election. So I’m imploring them to stop it and stop it now. I’m hoping in the near future they will come out and say they’re dropping the legislation for good.”
“So many politicians like Sarah Palin and John Boehner are just drilling themselves a hole into oblivion in my opinion and I hope they stay down there. They can live with the oil as far as I’m concerned. I’ve lived here since 1970 and it’s one of the most beautiful places that I’ve ever been. I’ve made my life here, I’ve raised my family here and this is a very special place. It’s the natural beauty of this place and the fact that 30% of our seafood comes from the Gulf.”
Rauschkolb becomes emotional at the thought of what could become of the community where he’s made his home for 24 years.
“Florida beaches are America’s beaches and they should hold them dear. I’m sorry, but drilling should not be occurring in the Gulf of Mexico, period. The Gulf should be a national park. It’s an abomination that our seafood industry is going to be destroyed for a very long time, and that entire coastal economies and ecosystems are about to be devastated. No one industry should have that kind power because of their mistakes.”
“Perhaps destiny will determine through this accident which way our country goes.”
