Rick Scott says he would support offshore drilling as governor(McCollum supports Crist Ban)

http://www.postonpolitics.com ^ | May 2010 | by Michael C. Bender

[Maelstorm]

Rick Scott, the Republican flooding TV airwaves in Florida, said today that he would oppose a constitutional ban on offshore drilling that Gov. Charlie Crist wants lawmakers to put on the November ballot.

“We need to protect our beaches, break our dependency on foreign oil and hold oil companies accountable when there are problems,” Scott said. “As governor, I’ll look to strike a balance between responsible exploration that takes every precaution and is far enough from our shores while holding oil companies accountable for their mistakes.”

Attorney General Bill McCollum, the front-runner in the GOP primary, say he opposes offshore drilling but wants a loophole in the constitutional amendment to allow for safe drilling in the future.

Scott also drew another distinction with McCollum today. Scott said he supports for the controversial Arizona immigration law. McCollum has said Arizona’s law should not be replicated in Florida.

“The Arizona law is a common sense enforcement of already existing law. If you break the law then law enforcement should be able to ask for identification that shows you are in the United States legally,” Scott said.

UPDATE: We’re a little slow on McCollum’s position on immigration. McCollum’s campaign brings us up to speed: “Leaders in Arizona rightfully made changes to the state’s new law to crack down on illegal immigration, addressing concerns about the law. He supports the changes that bring the law more in line with what Florida has worked toward – under Attorney General McCollum’s leadership – in expanding the federal 287(g) program.”

[Maelstorm]

Rick Scott for Governor

After seeing how Bill McCollum has flipped around on the AZ immigration law and how he supports Charilie Crist's proposed ban on offshore drilling I just can't support him. Rick Scott is the real deal. He did nothing wrong in the HCA debacle and medicare coding problems are very common and even coding experts often disagree. Scott has built health care organizations that are profitable and work. He spear headed the fight against Obamacare and spent millions of his own money to try to stop it. He is an articulate spokes person for conservatism and he won't back down. He is going to have challenges related to HCA but he is the type of candidate that can address them. He will be good for Florida and a perfect candidate for Senate in the future.

[livius]

I heard an ad for him today. He sounded pretty good.

[Frantzie]

I like McCollum but I am voting for Rick Scott. I would take McCollum over Rubio for Senate.

[Maelstorm]

I’ve know of Rick Scott for a long time. He founded Conservatives for Patients Rights CPR which was instrumental in fighting Obamacare.

http://www.cprights.org/

[Frantzie]

“McCollum has said Arizona’s law should not be replicated in Florida.”

BS - he sounds like Rubio. FL needs it as much as AZ. Stinking RINOs. Stinking FL RINO GOP.

Rick Scott gets my vote.

[goseminoles]

Apparently the federal government found he did things wrong. He inflated cost reports, he thought marketing costs were reimbursable, he filed false data, his hospitals exaggerated illnesses, and patients were charged for treatment they never received. He ended up paying 1.7 billion in fines. He then walked with 300 million in stock.

I’m conservative but I won’t be casting my vote for this guy. What can he do for me except rip me off like the rest of them?

Another Perot/ rich guy that can afford ads ad nauseum.

[Joe Brower]

Florida Freeper

[sten]

the America I grew up in wouldn’t cower from a challenge and would face the hard problems head on. get a set of bawls or go home.

this guy sounds promising

[Paradox]

As a first time Republican, I plan to vote for Rick Scott, at least in the primaries when I can.

[Reagan69]

My spouse knows Rick Scott personally... from previous hospital relationships.

He said Rick would make an excellent Gov. He’s a brilliant businessman, and honest and trustworthy. It takes A LOT to impress my spouse who is also brilliant, honest and trustworthy.

I’d like to see him win. We sure are seeing a lot of his ads here in FL.

[Reagan69]

NO NO NO. My husband was involved with that whole situation. That was during the Hillary-Care nightmare. The Feds (Hillary) was piszzed at Rick Scott’s organization for not backing her plan.

They stormed the offices and made all sorts of allegations which would have cost billions in legal costs. They settled to get out of it. Nothing wrong was ever proven.

You do not know the whole story - not blaming you - you’ve just been told that. I’ll see if I can get more details to update this. Rick Scott is highly regarded. That whole thing was thuggery.

[Maelstorm]

No that was HCA. Scott was never charged with anything and saying he inflated cost reports is a lie. He was the sacrificial lamb. Also the federal Government did not reach a plea agreement with HCA until 2001 well after Scott was ousted from Columbia/HCA in 1997. HCA ended up paying 40 million to address the Marketing related claims against them. The primary claims against HCA involved Medicare coding which is an inexact process and constantly changing. Also they claimed some of the hospitals were charging for tests that were not necessary and that Doctors were being paid for referrals. The settlement came under Janet Reno and had been a target of the Clinton Administration which had failed at Health Care reform but was threatened by Companies like Columbia/HCA which were finally producing profitable efficient service oriented hospitals. They were becoming the Walmart of hospitals. Also HCA only reached a voluntary settlement and did not admit and nor were they convicted of crimes.

http://seniorhealth.about.com/library/weekly/aa121700a.htm

Rick Scott I believe is an honest man who ran one of the best and most profitable private hospital companies before the Government and the NY Times took him and his company down. We can not exclude politics from our analysis.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/us/politics/02scott.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2

[dljordan]

“Rick Scott is the real deal. He did nothing wrong in the HCA debacle and medicare coding problems are very common and even coding experts often disagree.”

You think the problems he had at HCA were ‘coding problems’? Is he paying you for this?

[I got the rope]

I’m with you. Not voting for the establishment Republican. Vote’m out.

Vote for Rick!

[Maelstorm]

I like Rick. At first I was worried about Columbia/HCA the more it looked like a political hit. Can’t have someone turning Hospitals profitable and lowering cost while improving services. Rick does need to make his case because the opposition is going to hammer him hard with this. I want to see him as Gov and I’d like to see him in the Senate some day. Bill McCollum is a nice guy but he is soft. He waffled on Immigration and is supporting offshore drilling bans? I don’t want him to be set on the road to the Senate. We need to think beyond the moment to what we wan to accomplish when we regain power. This means being really careful with who we put on the road to power. Rick Scott is a guy who can change the dynamic. He is like Rand Paul in that respect. We don’t need shy spokepeople for our cause who practice themselves in the art of political ambiguity.

[Frantzie]

I wish there was a Rick Scott running for FL senate seat.

[poobear]

Well, well.

[darkwing104]

I like what I am hearing from this guy...

[lexington minuteman 1775]

The guys sounds conservative.Plus point,
He is not a lifetime politician. Plus point.
McCollum is a politician.
I am leaning towards Scott. He certainly must be well funded even if its his own money i see him in ads all the time.

[seekthetruth]

Thanks for the ping! I also like Rick Scott. Looking forward to debates!