In Florida Scott pulls ahead of Sink, goes creative with property tax calculator

It’s impossible for me to recall how many times I predicted early on  in various conversations with political insiders and junkies, the strength of Florida GOP gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott. Don’t get me wrong—I had a large amount of respect for Att. Gen. Bill McCollum. I praised his work long before he decided to run in the GOP race for the governorship nomination.

 My predictions had nothing to do with enthusiasm for Scott at the time—they had to do with the way the political winds were blowing and continue to blow and with what I observed about his campaign. Sometimes I see things and even if I know people I respect won’t like what I see, I tell them anyway. So it’s no surprise to  me Scott has pulled ahead of Sink significantly in the latest Rasmussen Reports Poll, leading the Democrat by 6 points among likely voters.

Graphic on GOP gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott's property tax calculator page. (Screen snip)

The Scott campaign also touts a key  bit of insight from that latest poll—“Scott also leads by a whopping 21 percent among the crucial swing voter group of unaffiliated likely voters.”

‘Crucial’ is the operative here—if Scott gets that voter group in addition to the solid GOP support he’s getting, he’s a shoo-in.

Besides that, Scott’s campaign added a fun feature for political junkies—a property tax calculator. You input your annual tax and the calculator shows what you’ll pay under the Scott ‘Real Relief’ plan and the Sink plan.

On the site where the calculator is listed, there’s a campaign graphic titled ‘Alex Sink-ing’ Florida.

Which brings me to another factor I thought important early on. Sink’s surname is a negative. If you think that doesn’t matter to your average voter, you’d be wrong. ‘Sink’ as a verb or noun—it doesn’t matter. It’s negative. Plus it rhymes with too many other words.

You could have a field day playing on that name regardless of the candidate’s qualifications.

Scott emerged early on as a strong candidate determined to win. That attitude cannot be underestimated. You can always tell with a candidate how badly he or she wants to win—numerous nuances in body language, the overall tone and grip of a campaign, the dedication of the candidate to physically meeting people and above all, to being accessible to people emotionally. Toss in a steady media narrative and an excellent news pipeline. All that was part of his early package and it is working well for him against a Democratic opponent that, simply put, does not inspire confidence in the average voter with the exception of hardcore Democrats.

Add in the Obama factor—right now, envisioning a governor whose party is the same as the current administration and Congress is not a pleasant daydream. The states will ultimately be the only defense Americans have against a government that will inflate until it explodes. ‘Too big to fail’ can most definitely apply to our government and more drastic bailouts will certainly come on the backs of the US taxpayers—all of us—if we continue on our present path.

Here’s what most taxpayers don’t get. When the government taxes the rich, not only will that affect the poor and all in-between, it will ultimately be used to justify a broader tax increase. Politicians deal in political fact not reality.

Therefore, a state’s only hope is to elect officials who have the stamina and the intellect to stand up to the federal government on issues that will eventually demand solutions—healthcare, tax reform, immigration are but a few. At the moment it is my opinion that a Democrat in any key state position is an obstacle to that state’s recovery, to that state redefining its own sovereignty and taking steps to begin to reduce dependency on Washington—all as a means to protecting freedom.

Scott’s earned a respectable lead and he appears to be able to enjoy the humor in a campaign as well. He’s even given us a little cyber candy to have some fun (or horror, depending on how much your taxes are) in the calculator on his site. That’s spot on by the way—cities like Jacksonville are facing another tax increase.

It’s looking like the political class, the government bureaucrat complex and certain neoliberal media will have to confront the prospect of Governor Scott. I have to say that will be amusing and intriguing from the gitgo. (Commentary by Kay B. Day/Sept. 27, 2010)