The American Spectator : New Conservative in Town

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New Conservative in Town

Florida's rookie governor celebrates a good opening week.

Charlie Crist, Florida's feckless and lazy ex-governor, has fetched up on the payroll of mega personal injury law firm, Morgan & Morgan. Good place for him, as the ideologically nimble Crist caused countless cases of political whiplash across Florida over the four years of his quirky and accomplishment-free governorship.

Rick Scott, Florida's new chief executive, entered office last week with a top-to-bottom conservative agenda. The Naples businessman, a wealthy former hospital entrepreneur and political novice who financed his own campaign, says his main missions are to create private sector jobs and make Florida's government more efficient, svelte, and less expensive.

To accomplish these goals Scott has promised to right-size the state work force, use vouchers to improve education by lowering government school enrollment, and do away with unnecessary state regulations, perhaps even unnecessary state agencies. He wants to cut Florida's corporate income tax and property taxes.

Liberals, Democrats, union officials, incompetent school teachers, environmentalists (please excuse some unavoidable redundancy here), government supernumeraries, and many of the state's newspaper editorial writers are worried. They should be.

"Taxation, regulation, and litigation" together make up "the axis of unemployment," Scott said in his inaugural address. Just so. And there was this: "It requires magical thinking to expect government to create prosperity. Government has no resources of its own. Government can only give to us what it has previously taken from us, minus a huge cut for the government middleman." In case some still didn't get the message, he added that government is "the enemy of prosperity." Clear enough.

No wonder Democrats and their media apologists are stressed. Scott is going after all three legs of their policy stool.

Suiting the action to the word, Scott has instituted a freeze on all new state rule-making until the good regs can be parsed from the bad ones, which will be eliminated. He will create an Office of Fiscal Accountability and Regulatory Reform to do the sorting.

A successful private sector executive before seeking public office for the first time this year, Scott is turning out career politicians and bureaucrats from Florida executive positions and going to the world of business and the military for talent. He appointed a former developer to head the state's growth management agency and put a shipyard executive in charge of Florida's environmental protection agency. His chief of staff is a savvy retired Army colonel. This has put a real chill in the trail mix at Florida Sierra Club meetings.

For many Republican office holders it has been little more than a tic to say that they plan to bring more business-like practices to government. Their resolve in this area often hasn't lasted much longer than the inaugural hors de oeuvres. This guy may actually mean it.

Scott won't find it easy. The recession hit Florida harder than most states. Along with the sunshine, Florida still has 12 percent unemployment, more than two percentage points above the national average. The state is looking at a $3.5 billion shortfall in next year's budget. So Scott may well have to back up his pledge to make state agencies justify "every penny they spend" just to break even this year. He says he wants to cut Florida's state budget back to 2004 level spending.

Scott is even considering turning back federal grant money for high-speed passenger rail projects in Florida, which has put those who would profit from rail in a swivet. Rail is many times more expensive per passenger mile than any other form of transportation, and is famous for large cost overruns everywhere it has been instituted. The grants wouldn't pay for all of the construction, let alone the huge maintenance and operating expense that will be forever with these costly train sets.

Rail foe David Hurley, Tampa businessman and political seer who served on Hillsborough County transportation committees, calls rail "the gift that keeps on taking." But much of the corporate and commercial real estate communities are on the other side on this one. If Scott turns thumbs down on rail he will get plenty of blow-back.

If Scott sticks to his guns, things will only get more difficult as he attempts to cut popular state programs. It's not clear yet just how much stomach for serious government reform and downsizing Florida's 2-1 Republican majority legislature has.

As well as from a heavily Republican legislature, Scott will get at least some help from an all Republican cabinet. In addition to Scott and Lt. Governor Jennifer Carol, Florida's governing board includes three newly-elected Republicans: Attorney General Pam Bondi, Agriculture Secretary Adam Putnam, and Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, all conservatives. If Florida can't advance a conservative agenda with this lineup, it's hard to imagine what it would take.

One area Scott will not get any help from is Florida's major media. Perhaps recognizing that the media, especially newspapers, have far less clout than they've enjoyed in the past, Scott bypassed them during the election. He genuinely doesn't seem to care what the media think of him.

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About the Author

Larry Thornberry is a writer in Tampa.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (25) | Leave a comment

JimH| 1.10.11 @ 8:21AM

Let us not get all tingly in the leg just yet about the new guvnor. Much of the income made by the company of this entrepreneur was derived from Medicare and other government payments. Hardly a John Galt. While on his watch this company was convicted of making fraudulent Medicare claims. The Governor claims to have been unaware of these activities. He is either lying or he was not exactly on top of things as the chief executive. While most readers here will have agreed with his platform and ideology, character and ability are important (possibly more so) to. He is selling the state's aircraft as a money saving gesture. However he is planning on using his aircraft to get around. Other government types must now drive or fly commercial. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but I don't see any sacrifice here on his part. Maybe see can also sell the Governor's mansion as he also already has a mansion of his own. Florida Republicans have some bright stars, Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio to name two, but the party is corrupt and needs a thorough clean up. I have hopes that an independent Tea Party can help with this.

Kelly Staples| 1.10.11 @ 8:24AM

Scott (and the Tea Party) took out a career Pubbie politician in the primary, then went on to sink a Soetoro clone in the general. A very good beginning indeed!

Richard Baker| 1.10.11 @ 8:55AM

He's been in office for...how long? I guess the honeymoon is over. Governor, now it's time to nail the coonskin to the wall. Do it. I live in Florida and am looking forward to his efforts.

JimH| 1.10.11 @ 9:20AM

I've lived in Florida for ten years now myself. I do hope Scott does well. The main point I was trying to make is that Tea partyers, conservatives and libertarians have to look past what a candidate says and closely look at their past as well before deciding who is to represent them.

MoeBlotz| 1.10.11 @ 9:14AM

Whatever Gov. Scott does away with in Florida,leave it to Barry and his minions to try and regulate from the centre of all power in the swamp just north on I-95.

grant1863| 1.10.11 @ 9:46AM

Larry, didn't you get an emailed inaugual invite? All you had to do sign up on one of Gov. Scott's websites.

RichTex| 1.10.11 @ 9:57AM

Just a suggestion for Gov. Scott: When the inevitable calls come forth from the newspaper editorial boards for increased taxes to close your $3.5 billion budget shortfall, perhaps there is one new tax you can propose. An excise tax on newsprint ink. Maybe start at $10,000 per gallon. If that doesn’t bring in enough, you can always increase it. (Are you listening, Gov. Perry?)

Ken (Old Texican)| 1.10.11 @ 9:58AM

Larry,
Thanks for the heads up. We will be watching carefully and praying for the man.

Willie Green| 1.10.11 @ 11:39AM

Larry Thornberry does the broader, conservative business community a grave disservice by repeating the Oil Lobby's mantra demonizing passenger rail.

As global consumption depletes traditional petroleum resources, fossil fuel production will shift to more expensive "unconventonal" resources. And as the cost continues to increase, so will the political pressure to "Drill Baby Drill" off of Florida's pristine tourist beaches.

The truth is, Passenger Rail is much more cost and energy efficient per passenger mile than either highway or short-hop airline travel.
Rather than kowtowing to the Oil Lobby's short-sighted self-serving demands, Rick Scott should be pursuing Florida regional passenger rail, with an eye towards privatization once self-sustaining ridership levels are achieved.

Warrior| 1.10.11 @ 12:19PM

You're kidding right? Exactly who do you think is going to use this rail system? Do you even have the first clue as to what the proposed stops are for this system? If you would do just a small amount of research you would find that there will never be a self sustaining level of users as it is now proposed.

One real important question. If this rail system shoulld be privatized, why not let the private companies build it in the first place?

John Navratil| 1.10.11 @ 1:11PM

Mr. Green,

Passenger rail CAN be more energy efficient per passenger mile when the trains are full. Unfortunately, to get rail from one dense area to another, a necessary prerequisite, land must be acquired (expensive).

If it is a profitable idea, you can look to private investors to fund it without help.

Now, let's talk about sports stadia...

Lois C| 1.10.11 @ 1:28PM

Willie, Willie, Willie... When will you open your eyes to reality. If high speed rail was profitable, it would have been developed by the private sector already. It may very well be more efficient that any other type of transportation, provided people use it and therein lies the problem, there is no demand for it so it will wind up just another heavily subsidized AmTrak like boondoggle with the taxpayer left paying the bill.

Bob Bartoe| 1.11.11 @ 2:00AM

You are a typical European socialist/communist. It has been shown that the cost does not line up like you say. Capitalism is king of civilization, not Mother Government....and that is exactly what it is to allow the government to force this boondoggle on the folks of Florida

Patrick| 1.11.11 @ 4:23AM

Leave off the marijuana, seriously.....and the shrooms. Back away slowly...good.

Trains only work as you think they do if they are full to capacity on every trip, staffed by non-union, non-government workers, exist in very dense population centers and are ubiquitous within those centers.

As it stands, none of these are true. The average lefty nutcase who actually does ride the train drives to the station and hails a cab from the station that he arrives to. As such, you never decrease emissions of evil, scary CO2. Considering that ripping up miles of high traffic roadways will prove to be the easiest method of actually laying track, you will assuredly have more petroleum burned than not, as the subsequent traffic jams will mean cars are idling longer.

Richard Baker| 1.10.11 @ 11:59AM

Mr. Green:
Tell me. Where is there a government run rail line which is devoid of massive subsidies? Just curious.

Little Nel| 1.10.11 @ 4:10PM

You can read the Governor's high-speed "fail" report here:
http://tinyurl.com/34qaumw

Richard Baker| 1.10.11 @ 5:03PM

Mr. Green:
As a financial disaster, I'd recommend that you look at the DC Metro system. I'm from Northern Virginia and it was touted as a unique system to tie Northern Virginia, DC, and Southern Maryland (the DC Metro area) together. Not exactly.

c. j. acworth| 1.10.11 @ 6:37PM

What little reading I've done on the subject of rail transport seems to indicate that it works great in densely populated countries like in Europe, but when people are all spread out as in the USA, it is best used for freight, which, as it happens, is exacly how we do use it.

Brian| 1.10.11 @ 8:35PM

Conservative? Wish I had known he was in Trump and the gambling industry pocket when I voted for him. I'm thru with Repubs. They get elected talking conservative then get in office and start working the Dems agenda.

Nite| 1.10.11 @ 9:15PM

I live in Florida too, and Scott and the Republicans are dead serious about their agenda of more jobs and cutting spending. They have to because the unemployment rate is 12%, the housing market is in a sink hole. Scott is appointing some very smart people, and I am optimistic about what they can achieve. Florida has to get away from a tourist economy. There is a potential here for high tech jobs. There is no state income tax, so that should entice some tech companies to move here. I am willing to give Scott the benefit of the doubt. By the way, he is only taking a one cent salary from the State. You know of any other governors doing that?

PattyMor| 1.10.11 @ 9:36PM

I live in the Blue state of Illinoisstan. Our idiot governor is about to raise state income tax by 75% and also raise business income tax. He will drive a stake through what is left of the manufacturing industry and can kiss Caterpillar goodbye.
Good luck to Mr. Scott. Even if he only gets 1/2 of his agenda passed, it will be a benefit to your state.

Patrick| 1.11.11 @ 4:30AM

So that's why Caterpillar bought Bucyrus...

I've heard that there was a sign on the WI/IL border that stated, "When the last business leaves Wisconsin, please turn off the lights."

I guess the reverse is now appropriate. It's time to, "Escape to Wisconsin".

Don't worry, after a few trips to the Mars Cheese Castle, you'll like the Packers too.

Little Nell| 1.11.11 @ 10:54AM

Happily, Florida high speed rail is dead on arrival. The overwhelming defeat of a Hillsborough county light rail tax - a critical strategic move not fully appreciated at the time by most - the subsequent election of economic "realist" Rick Scott, and an increasingly foundering economy have assured its demise.

A recent Amtrak study reports that passenger rail subsidies alone, in six European countries, totaled $42 billions per year, proportionately similar to what the U.S. federal government spends annually on all forms of surface transportation. In those six European countries (Germany, France, United Kingdom, Spain, Denmark and Austria), despite massive, passenger-rail specific government subsidies, a mere 7.9 percent of all surface passengers currently use rail, while only 6.1 percent of surface passengers in all of Europe use rail - of any sort. Further, despite massive government subsidies for European rail, passenger rail's share of the surface transportation market has declined over the past decade.

Please don't misunderstand, I don't dislike rail, in fact, I rather enjoy trains as a novel experience. Indeed, I have ridden on every national high speed rail system with the exception of China and Amtrak's Acela. My fundamental criticism is that passenger rail of any type has no significant effect on urban traffic congestion and makes neither economic or practical sense for the intricate and historically evolved private auto based lifestyle that an overwhelming majority of Americans (and others) have come to prefer.

At this juncture, with longitudinal data and historic operating information readily available, anyone who believes otherwise is either delusional, obtuse or an outright enemy of the truth.