Outcome of Florida gubernatorial race will have big impact on nation

It’s a given that whoever wins the gubernatorial race in Florida will end up having a big impact on the rest of the nation. The Rick Scott (R) vs. Alex Sink (D) battle will be resolved once Floridians cast their votes on Tuesday, but the winner’s political platform will impact issues like healthcare, immigration and the 2012 General Election. Voters may want to consider exactly how a Democrat victory will impact not only the state but the country. [Article continues after photo.]

Election of Yesteryear: Illustration shows an elderly German American man with one hand pointing to his head and the other pointing to a coin bank labeled "Savings Bank" on a table. He winks to show he thinks his investments in the U.S. Bonds protruding from his vest and his savings are wise decisions. On the left is a poster showing a bust portrait of President William McKinley (R) labeled "Expansion" and captioned "Gold Standard and Sound Money" and on the right is a poster showing a bust portrait of William Jennings Bryan (D) labeled "Anti-Expansion" and captioned "Repudiation and 16 to 1." [Aug. 15, 1900 issue of Puck; image from Library of Congress. No known restrictions on publication.]

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In Florida ‘Debate-Gate’ Sink broke rules then denied responsibility

Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink (D) is dealing with after-effects of what we might call ‘Debate-Gate’ in her bid to become Florida governor. Sink technically cheated during a commercial break in a debate.

Throughout the campaign, Sink’s focus has been an attack strategy. With compliance from docile media, she has given the impression to voters that something in her Republican opponent Rick Scott's past—something he readily acknowledged publicly—is the best reason to elect her. Few if any newspapers, or for that matter, TV stations, have presented the facts in full context.

The Democrat candidate has explained away her own past and media have largely given her a pass. This is typical when it comes to the so-called ‘progressive’ roster.

During the CNN-hosted debate on Tuesday, Sink read a text message from her campaign staff. She studied the device, she didn’t just give it a nod and push it away. She then explained she did it because she was a mom and her daughter was in Europe. She fired a staffer, presumably the individual who arranged for the makeup artist to carry the device to Sink.

Tallahassee.com said, “Rules of the debate—agreed to by both sides—forbade notes, consultation or messages from staff.”

CNN has posted the video of the incident. The text message Sink’s staffer sent instructed her on how to deal with a controversial issue of her own detailed at TampaBay.com—a lawsuit from a past Sink has portrayed as holier-than-thou. We might recall electing another holier-than-thou candidate who is presently in the White House. You’d think we might learn from that.

The one-term chief financial officer has made much of the fine Scott’s company paid over government insurance billing practices. The fine was large but the company was one of the largest if not the largest in the nation.

Gulf Coast Business Review put the matter in perspective, naming other high profile medical institutions that were fined for practices. The magazine said, “The overbilling practices for which Columbia-HCA was fined were common, accepted and consistent practices in the hospital industry prior to the Columbia-HCA raids. One illustration of that is the list on page 16 of hospitals and pharmaceutical companies that also paid Medicare-overbilling fraud fines. They include some of the most prestigious education institutions in the nation.” 

Sink broke the rules.

The most troubling aspect of the act is that she refuses to admit culpability, instead attempting to establish political fact. She even used the Mom card. That is a political strategy that has caused the Sunshine State economy to—well, just about sink. (Commentary by Kay B. Day/Oct. 27, 2010)

Election bulletin: paper said Sink cheated during debate

The St. Petersburg Times has confirmed Florida GOP gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott's accusation against Democrat nominee Alex Sink is true. Scott said Sink cheated during the debate. The paper said, "He's correct."

The Times said Sink was shown a phone message by a makeup artist. The paper explains it all on the political blog The Buzz.

According to Real Clear Politics, Scott has a slight lead when all polls are averaged. However, that is based on lesser polls by TC Palm and Sunshine State News. Rasmussen Reports has Scott ahead by 6 and CNN has him up by 3.

Democrat voters commenting on The Buzz article defended Sink's cheating, citing Scott's issues with HCA. Apparently those voters aren't aware of the widespread practices of well-respected hospitals when it comes to government insurance programs. (Commentary by Kay B. Day/Oct. 25, 2010)

Update Oct. 26, 2010

Alex Sink has fired the staffer [involved in] revealing a cell phone message during the last gubernatorial debate. In the Politico story, note how Sink, in the vein of President Barack Obama's blame game, throws blame at GOP candidate Rick Scott: "

"While he told me it was out of anger with Rick Scott's repeated distortion of facts, it was a foolish thing to do. It violated a debate agreement and I immediately removed him from the campaign."

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1010/44183.html#ixzz13TSriAaG

See the video of the Sink cheating segment here; apparently CNN is limiting damage by prohibiting embedding of the video.

Ironically debate moderators didn't catch the cheating, Scott did.

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.

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Florida governor’s race in a nutshell: businessman or bureaucrat?

Gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott with running mate Rep. Jennifer Carroll. [Photo from Republican Women's Club of Duval Federated.]The gubernatorial debate at Nova Southeastern in Davie, Florida, on Wednesday revealed a clear choice for voters. Do we want a businessman to lead the state out of the current quagmire or a bureaucrat? Both candidates stuck to talking points, sometimes specfic and sometimes general.

One question seemed ludicrous, considering the limited time.

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Sink’s banking record spotlighted as Scott takes off gloves in Florida governor race

Reporters for select media might give Democrats a pass, but GOP gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott won’t. The Scott campaign advised media a new ad would be released on Tuesday. The announcement disclosed: “A new ad debuting tomorrow highlights Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink's empty claims to never have been associated with a ‘whiff of scandal’ in light of revelations about fines for ‘deceptive sales practices’ and a $30 million settlement with NationsBank customers over fraud.” 

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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.

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