I was about to go write about the chaos in Iraq today, when I heard a story on CNN that got my blood boiling. Apparently, the new Republican candidate for governor in Florida is a gentleman by the name of Rick Scott. I had never heard of him before, so I listened carefully.
Apparently Mr. Scott was the CEO of a health care system that was found guilty of the LARGEST MEDICARE FRAUD in American history. The company was fined by the federal government over 1.5 BILLION DOLLARS.
Why is this important? Because Mr. Scott has used $50 MILLION dollars of his own money to win the Republican nomination DESPITE THE FACT THAT EVERY SINGLE REPUBLICAN GROUP IN BOTH WASHINGTON AND FLORIDA ENDORSED HIS COMPETITOR, the current Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum.
I usually don't use capital letters like this, but I think it is essential for every American to realize what is going on here. Mr. Scott is basically using the money that he gained as the CEO of a company that was defrauding the federal government out of BILLIONS possibly TRILLIONS of YOUR TAX DOLLARS to win a nomination.
And he is not going to stop there. He has stated that he plans to spend every penny necessary to win the election in November.
How can we let this happen? I have heard about other rich folks using their personal fortunes to seemingly buy elections. Although this practice frustrates me, it seems legal because they made their money legally.
What Mr. Scott is trying to pull off seems like the crime of the century, yet no one is doing anything about it. Can't some congresswoman get a bill passed quickly that would somehow disqualify Mr. Scott? This is RIDICULOUS.
I don't live in Florida, and will probably not be personally effected by the outcome of this election. However, as a tax paying American citizen, I am enraged that Mr. Scott is being considered for the governor's seat in one of our states.
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Update: 20 minutes later
I always try to get both sides of the story before I write about anything political. Usually, this results in my leaning one way or the other, but always taking a firm stance somewhere on the spectrum of ideologies. I try not to be wishy-washy. If you read anything that I have written so far, you will hopefully get the idea that I am truly independent in my views.
For the sake of trying to become a good writer, with good ethics, I will admit that the above segment was created on the spur-of-the-moment out of anger. All I had heard when I wrote it was a brief segment narrated by Rick Sanchez on CNN
After checking Fox New's website for their take on things, I am even MORE mad then before.
This line in particular warranted this separate section:
"But low turnout on Tuesday, among other factors, gave outsized importance to Scott's efforts to pull in support through early voting and absentee ballots. With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Scott led McCollum 46 percent to 43 percent. " (Scott Shakes Up Florida Governor Race With GOP Primary Win Over McCollum)
What "other factors" could this author possibly be eluding to? The fact that Scott spent tons of his own, illegitimately earned cash brainwashing busloads of retired folks from Florida into voting for him? Well, according to Fox News, it was only $30 MILLION. (MSNBC has gone with the AP's estimate of $38 MILLION: (Rick Scott wins GOP nomination)
Another line that caught my eye:
"Scott was the CEO of HCA/Columbia Hospitals when it settled the biggest Medicare fraud case in history -- Scott, who was forced out as CEO by his board amid the government investigation in 1997, has said repeatedly that he didn't know about any criminal activity and was never charged. " (Scott Shakes Up Florida Governor Race With GOP Primary Win Over McCollum)
I will not go into whether or not Mr. Scott knew about the criminal activity that was taking place at HIS COMPANY. Ok, I lied, I will. Just two quick statements. How could he possibly look at the profits HCA/Columbia was raking in, and not realize something extraordinarily fishy was going on? If the government had to fine them $1.7 BILLION (Political earthquake shakes GOP see, I did my homework) there is absolutely no way he didn't know.
And, if he really didn't know what was going on, then he is really REALLY stupid. Which would make him incapable of following through on his commitment to run Florida's state government as an "efficient business."
I mean, if he didn't know what fraudulent activity was going on at HCA/Columbia, chances are he won't know what is happening in Tallahassee, and across the rest of the state, either, right?
I wish that I could somehow mass e-mail this post to all of my American brothers and sisters who live in Florida. That way they would know to close their eyes and plug their ears whenever Mr. Scott appears on their TV. If he was able to be the leader of the team that pulled off the biggest Medicare scam in American history, you all need to wake up and realize he can, and will, try to swindle you too.
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