Scott vs. Sink enters final chapter as voters ask who’s best for Florida governor

GOP candidate for governor Rick Scott with running mate Rep. Jennifer Carroll shortly after Scott's Primary victory. [Photo Republican Women of Duval County.]On Sunday a newspaper most categorize as conservative declared support for Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, Democrat nominee for Florida governor. There were talking points the paper memed from Sink supporters.

Yes, Sink sat on the board that oversaw the state’s pension fund. But the paper concluded responsibility for losses should be spread among all who were on that board. Never mind the title 'chief financial officer.'

That's a pass worthy of an NFL standout quarterback.

The newspaper story about Sink quoted supporters mostly so the general slant was positive.

The article on Scott wasn’t so benign. For one thing, Scott refused to do the political dance that involves a candidate sitting down with a newspaper editorial board.

Frankly, considering the reputation of newspapers today, I don’t blame him. A Republican candidate will rarely get the ink love a Democrat will get. Scott laid his record bare from day one. What the paper couldn’t seem to get over is Scott’s desire to run the state like a business and the fines his former company HCA paid to the government over billing practices related to government run healthcare programs.

What no newspaper has admitted but what many of us voters remember is the climate that changed once then First Lady Hillary Clinton’s healthcare plan collapsed. Over the next decade, many in the healthcare industry would pay fines, including state-run facilities in California ($22,500,000) and prestigious institutions like Yale University School of Medicine ($5,500,000).

The publication that did some of the best research on the HCA fine was Gulf Coast Business Review.The publication ran a list of institutions that were in the same boat as HCA.  A lengthy article and accompanying document makes it clear HCA had plenty of company when it came to interpreting and complying with labyrinthine government regulations. Newspapers once again failed on full reportage.

No newspaper has asked Sink, by the way, about the record levels of fraud that have made S. Florida famous—who oversees the current payouts to companies that aren’t even in the real healthcare business but are simply fronts for outright fraud as opposed to differences in billing practices?

Nobody asked Sink about her association with the scandalized Ken Lewis, characterized by a major newspaper as Sink’s “mentor.” Nobody asked Sink about the millions Florida has paid to middle men to essentially do what The Tampa Tribune called setting up meetings and opening doors on that beleaguered pension fund.

As a voter, I weighed both candidates. I watched Scott and Sink debate. I looked at Scott’s mostly private sector supporters vs. Sink’s mostly union and traditional Democrat supporters. I asked myself who would deal better with the 675,000 illegal aliens in our state and who would stand up against the Democrat status quo in Washington when it comes to the legislative disaster we now call Obamacare or the federal government’s deliberate failure to secure our country’s borders.

Fact is I know Scott much better than I know Sink. She got a media pass typical for candidates backed by those on the left.

Scott will do a better job in my opinion. I recall another Democrat many newspapers backed. He’s in the White House and the results are not only lackluster, they’re an economic disaster undermining US sovereignty to a dangerous tipping point.

This week is the final chapter in a long bloody campaign for the governorship of America’s 4^th largest state. If you’re a Floridian interested in learning more about the candidates before you vote for governor, check out The Gulf Coast Business Review article and check out both candidates’ campaign sites. At least you can tell yourself you’re making an informed decision rather than one based on a sloppy media that gave one candidate a pass throughout the whole season, including the Primary. (Analysis by Kay B. Day/Oct. 25, 2010)

[Disclosure: Obviously I am backing  Rick Scott for governor of Florida. I receive no rewards or benefits of any kind for doing so.]