Great Scott the Scalawag — let’s get to work … right after I blow a few mill on a party for myself

So Rick Scott “can’t wait to get to work” — his words on the night he was elected Governor in Florida. Remember his campaign promises — reduce spending, balance the budget, create 700,000 jobs?

But one of his first priorities is planning his inauguration celebration — and getting special interest groups to pony up $25,000 each for the perk of getting up and close and personal with the new Guv as he’s sworn into office. That little bit of grease — chump change for the kinds of people making out the checks — will gain them entré past the rope into the VIP shindigs of the inauguration … while the hoi polloi lines up for influence-deficient tours of the mansion or something like that.

Almost a million dollars folks — and that’s just the beginning of the costs.

‘Course it’s not the taxpayers — ostensibly — who are paying for it. No, he’s getting $25,000 a pop donations from the very special interest groups he decried during his campaign — groups like U.S. Sugar; Blue Cross Blue Shield; Health Management Associates (22+ hospitals and clinics throughout FL); United Automobile Insurance Co; Agro-Industrial Management; Duty Free Air & Ship; Gary Morse (developer of The Villages); and oh, The Villages Corporation (a nice way for Morse to double his donation to $50k) — just to name a few.

While the total fundraising goal for Scott’s “let them eat cake” celebration is undisclosed as yet by inauguration planners (gee, wonder why?), it’s likely at least a couple of million (probably more) when all is said and done. Recession? What recession?

Yeah, let’s get to work, alright, Scott. Get to work on telling us how you’re going to build a different Tallahassee; how you’re not going to be beholden to special interests. How you’re in it for the “little guys” of Florida.

It’ll all be worth a chuckle or two with your cronies at the VIP table — I’m sure the people paying $25,000 to throw you a party will be laughing all the way home from Tallahassee.

Posted on November 29th, 2010Comments RSS Feed

7 Responses to Great Scott the Scalawag — let’s get to work … right after I blow a few mill on a party for myself

John W. Perkins
November 30, 2010 at 5:58 am

Harumph ! Politics as usual..
Robert
November 30, 2010 at 8:20 am

More like business as usual.Ever Wonder why he spent that crazy sum of money on getting elected ?
MC
November 30, 2010 at 8:46 am

Good point, Robert; thanks for reading/commenting!
The Advocate
November 30, 2010 at 9:45 am

Robert, Scott used over 55,000,000.000 – (Fifty-Five Million) dollars of his own; personal money, because he truly has our best interests at heart…. (OK, I can go and throw up now)….
one-eyed dick
November 30, 2010 at 7:11 pm

Seriously, did anyone really believe that Scott was going to be any different than all the rest of them? Who would be gullible enough to buy into Scott’s “outsider” label who was going to bring “transparency to gov’t” and magically “put 700,000 Floridians back to work”?

Oh, right, 49% of Florida voters……….
John W. Perkins
December 1, 2010 at 6:37 am

“The country is in the middle of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, which isn’t stopping rich donors and the government from spending $170 million, or more, on the inauguration of Barack Obama .” ABC News

I guess the higher up in Government one goes, the higher the price tag.
MC
December 1, 2010 at 9:09 am

That’s just outrageous. That kind of money. I haven’t researched Obama’s inaugural, but even if it were half of that amount, that’s just f’d up.

I do believe that for the first African American president ever it would be important to have some kind of shindig, but not at that price tag.

Thanks for adding to the discussion JW!