Who Hijacked Our Country

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Florida’s Teatard Governor Loves Socialized Medicine

For himself, that is. The rest of you peons can quit whining and pay for your own health coverage.

When Rick Scott was campaigning to be governor of Florida, his main issue was the evils of “Obamacare” and any other form of government help for medical patients. And now it turns out Rick Scott pays $30 a month for his own health insurance. It’s taxpayer-funded and it covers his entire family. Meanwhile, thousands of lower-level state employees are paying six times that much for their health insurance.

Rick Scott and 32,000 other high-ranking state officials — including most of Florida’s state legislators — are all eligible for this same taxpayer-funded health insurance, starting as low as $8.34 per month per person.

A spokesman for Rick Scott told reporters that Scott’s public-funded health coverage was “a private matter.”

Rick Scott has rejected millions of dollars in government grants that would have eased the insurance burden for Florida’s non-privileged residents. And he’s determined to privatize Medicaid.

Florida State Sen. Nan Rich (D) said that Rick Scott is entitled to enjoy this cheap health coverage at taxpayers’ expense, but he shouldn’t prevent his constituents from doing the same thing:

“I wish every Floridian had the same opportunity.”


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14 Comments:

Blogger Jerry Critter said...

This just reemphasizes the point that the elites do not want the common person to have access to the same benefits that they do.

The republican mantra: Do as I say, not as I do.

August 13, 2011 at 10:32 AM  
Blogger Snave said...

What Jerry said.

This is just another illustration of how the "tea party" is not really a "grass roots" movement but rather just another case of wealthy opportunists taking advantage of millions of voters. "Manipulate them so they will vote for candidates who represent what we want." It doesn't matter whether it's the handful of wealthy people who dictate much of our national policy or it's the politicians who do their bidding, it's the millions of voters who unwittingly do their bidding who get screwed.

August 13, 2011 at 11:02 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Why don't they just come out and say it?

"WE'RE PRIVILEGED!"

Erik

August 13, 2011 at 12:07 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

And now it turns out Rick Scott pays $30 a month for his own health insurance. It’s taxpayer-funded and it covers his entire family. Meanwhile, thousands of lower-level state employees are paying six times that much for their health insurance. Wow-friggin-wee, and this man is quite well-off, not not an uber-rich sumbitch. If this kinda 411 doesn't piss off the voters in FL, they got the Governor they deserve.

August 13, 2011 at 1:10 PM  
Blogger Jim Marquis said...

Private matter my ass. The hyopcrisy is breathtaking.

August 13, 2011 at 1:53 PM  
Blogger Jim Marquis said...

hypocrisy...I had a little moment of spelling dyslexia there.

August 13, 2011 at 1:53 PM  
Anonymous S.W. Anderson said...

"A spokesman for Rick Scott told reporters that Scott’s public-funded health coverage was 'a private matter.'”


That spokesman should get some kind of award for spectacular outperformance in the field of Public Display of Stupidity.

Tom, this is a worthy post, so don't get me wrong. But I have to ask, after years and years of seeing blatant examples of Republican, conservative and other right-wingers' hypocrisy, what's the use?

We know what they're like. They do this stuff all the time. It's made public and bloggers blog about it. MSNBC hosts highlight it. Olbermann names them Worst Person. The public ignores it or people just yawn and go on about their business. Something's wrong here, and it's not just how unabashedly hypocritical Republicans are.

August 13, 2011 at 4:55 PM  
Blogger Randal Graves said...

SWA, I'm surprised at you, and the surprise has hurt my brain, but luckily, all us public sector employees live large so I'll just go to the hospital. No copay, too.

August 14, 2011 at 4:11 AM  
Blogger Tom Harper said...

Jerry: They want a nanny state for themselves; bootstraps for the rest of us.

Snave: The tea party is basically a bunch of dupes who got conned by corporate interests. There's a lot of genuine anger out there, but Republicans were able to lasso that anger and channel it toward their own corporate-driven agenda.

Erik: That would ruin their folksy "grass roots" image if they came right out and said what they think.

Dusty: I think Rick Scott has the lowest approval rating of any governor. I don't know if Florida has a mechanism for recalling politicians or not. I hope they do.

J: I guess conservatives really do believe in a right to privacy. For themselves.

SW: I keep thinking that if enough bloggers and pundits and talking heads keep hammering these same points over and over, the public will finally stop yawning and snap awake. Call me a dreamer :)

Randal: Hospital visits with no co-pay, vacations in the Carribean -- you public employees have ruined America.

August 14, 2011 at 12:26 PM  
Blogger jadedj said...

Truth is, Rick Scott, et al, do not give a rats ass what any of us think, regards what they do. To them, we are simply gnats who pester them, but are of no consequence.

Is it me, or is it coincidence that two arrogant asswipe Republican Governors are named Rick?

August 14, 2011 at 12:31 PM  
Blogger Jerry Critter said...

Maybe that's so no one will call them [a] Dick.

August 14, 2011 at 12:42 PM  
Blogger jadedj said...

Jerry - HA!

August 14, 2011 at 12:58 PM  
Anonymous S.W. Anderson said...

"The tea party is basically a bunch of dupes who got conned by corporate interests."

That's true to an extent, of the initial group that went out in buses to raise hell at Democratic Congress members' town halls.

But those early subsidized tea partyers were soon joined by a whole lot of former George W. Bush/Dick Cheney loyalists. These were regular hard-right Republicans who realized in 2007-2008, after the economic collapse, that openly being a loyal Bush Republican was not a good calling card any more. In fact, it made them as welcome as a Yaws victim in a day care. So, they donned tea party camouflage and carried on.

August 15, 2011 at 12:09 PM  
Blogger Lisa said...

wow state employees only pay 180.00per month for health insurance.
Maybe we should all work for the state.

Too bad Pelosi and Obama won't be getting the same health care they are imposing on the rest of us.

August 15, 2011 at 2:01 PM  

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