Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Times: If Only Scott Had a Heart

Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.
The Associated Press
/
The Florida Channel
Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.

In an unusually hard-hitting editorial, the Tampa Bay Times calls Gov. Rick Scott the "Tin Man as governor, a chief executive who shows no heartfelt connection to the state, appreciation for its values or compassion for its residents."

The editorial cites a long list of examples, including allowing Duke Energy to charge customers for nuclear plans that were never built, purging voter roles for partisan interests,  rejecting $2.4 billion in federal money for high-speed rail and failing to push the legislature to accept $51 billion in federal funds to give 1 million low-income uninsured Floridians health insurance.

The editorial mentions that Scott came to Florida only seven years before running for governor, and being an unknown, spent $73 million to win the election -- an event likened to a "hostile takeover."

The Times says that in three years, "Scott has done more harm than any modern governor.'

Originally founded in December 2006 as an independent grassroots publication dedicated to coverage of health issues in Florida, Health News Florida was acquired by WUSF Public Media in September 2012.