Haley retorted by claiming that the Confederate flag has not kept companies from coming to the state.
“What I can tell you is over the last three and a half years, I spent a lot of my days on the phones with CEOs and recruiting jobs to this state. I can honestly say I have not had one conversation with a single CEO about the Confederate flag,” she said.
She also said that she herself has helped combat the state’s image problem.
“But we really kind of fixed all that when you elected the first Indian-American female governor,” Haley said. “When we appointed the first African-American U.S. senator, that sent a huge message.”
Libertarian candidate Steve French said that while he doesn’t mind if individuals display the Confederate flag, he doesn’t think businesses should be able to.
“So, if you want to paint your house in the Confederate flag, I am completely fine with that,” he said.
Thursday Reads: “But where are the clowns? Quick, send in the clowns. Don’t bother, they’re here.”
Posted: October 16, 2014 Filed under: 2014 elections, morning reads 36 CommentsGood Morning!
I’m still a little out of it but I’m nowhere out of it compared to what’s going on in this midterm election season. I’m not about to gamble where it’s going to end up, but I will tell you that it’s just about as strange as any election season I’ve ever seen. 
First up, Republicans that refuse to debate for some reason or another. Perhaps it’s because they open their mouths and turn people off? However, Florida’s governor now has the Temper Tantrum Toddler award for this one.
The Florida gubernatorial debate got off to a rocky start Wednesday night when Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL) refused to come out because his Democratic opponent, former Gov. Charlie Crist, asked for and received a fan under his podium.
The debate moderators at CBS Miami seemed shocked, wondering aloud what to do for several minutes until Scott finally consented to join Crist on stage. Scott apparently told the hosts that the debate rules banned fans from the stage.
“We have been told Governor Scott will not be participating in this debate,” CBS moderator Elliott Rodriguez said. “Now, let me explain what this is all about. Governor Crist has asked to have a fan, a small fan, placed underneath his podium. The rules of the debate that I was shown by the Scott campaign said that there should be no fan. Somehow there is a fan there and for that reason, ladies and gentlemen, Governor Scott will not join us for the debate.”
The announcement was met with jeers and boos from the crowd.
“That’s the ultimate pleading of the Fifth I’ve ever heard,” Crist said from the stage.
Look to a Ponzi state running eternally on the next out-of-town sucker, administered by a gerrymandered GOP hammerlock and overseen by a man who the president of Public Policy Polling once said could be trounced by “a ham sandwich.” That man is Florida Governor Rick Scott, who bought one election and feels like having another, who — depending on your point of view — makes the Sunshine State either more of a national punchline than it already is, or a paradise where every political malignancy can sizzle and bloat before coming home to fuck up wherever it is you live. Meanwhile, the man sent as an alternative to the theory that government’s job is to die quietly is Charlie Crist, a Republican conveniently converted to Democrat, for whom even long-time friends say pursuing policy takes a distant second place to holding office as an end in itself.
That Rick Scott is a Republican is no surprise. He has a classic up-from-his-bootstraps story that doesn’t involve a coal-mining immigrant granddad but actually features himself. And like so many conservative biographies, it’s ideologically impure — estranged from an abusive father, raised at points in public housing, getting a government job, starting a business in part via GI benefits, eventually becoming CEO of Columbia/HCA, the nation’s largest private healthcare company, which grew by undercutting non-profit hospital fatcats with cutthroat private bottom-line policies.
Why he ever wanted to become a Republican candidate remains bit of a mystery, because while CEO of Columbia/HCA, the company was assessed the largest penalty for Medicare and Medicaid fraud in history. In yet another instance of the GOP Cult of the Leader at work, Scott presented the ideal candidate because of the success of his business, which was owed to his vision; the fact that it ultimately paid nearly $1.7 billion in penalties for a criminal enterprise was someone else’s fuckup. Scott himself admitted to exercising his Fifth Amendment privileges in a civil deposition 75 times when it might relate to the federal investigation of Columbia/HCA — not to use his right to avoid self-incrimination but because he didn’t want to indulge a “fishing expedition.” That’s not a legitimate application of the Fifth Amendment. Your chief executive at work: a man for whom the rules of the justice system are just, like, thishassle.
His 2010 candidacy felt spectacularly surreal because, to paraphrase something I wrote then, he was a proud, self-celebratory embodiment of unpunished white collar crime. It was like seeing the executives of Merrill, AIG, Lehman Brothers and Countrywide simultaneously going through Senate confirmations to the Federal Reserve while drawing fingers across their necks at the committee chairperson and mouthing the words, “YOU’RE NEXT.” Scott could run on his record only in the most oblique and vacuous manner, since floating away via golden parachute after bumping your revenues by defrauding the federal government is not a viable state economic model.
Instead, Scott snorted the Tea Party miasma and duly acted as if his gubernatorial opponent were Barack Obama and health insurance. If elected, Scott would move the State Capitol from Washington, D.C. back to Tallahassee. To sell this vision, he insulated himself from campaign accountability in almost every respect. He sent his own mother to a news conference as a substitute, refused to subject himself to interviews from newspaper editorial boards and ducked debates. Reporters were ignored with an almost princely disdain and fed bland focus-group-tested answers to unrelated questions. He instead largely campaigned on television, pouring over $73 million of his own money into saturating the state with ads whose studio magic made him look like an approximation of a human being. It didn’t work. Florida residents and critics nationwide simply call him Voldemort.
Once in office, the limitations of running on his record and as not-Obama immediately showed. Despite going on to set the record for one-term executions since 1970, he admitted he hadn’t considered the responsibility of signing death warrants before he decided to run for office. In fact, the Tallahassee rumor mill suggested he wasn’t even aware that he physically had to sign each order. His office maintained the same level of lockout contempt for the press corps and expressed dismay and outrage at the “partisan” criticism of the office. Such micromanaged disdain for access and devotion to imaging doubtless increased focus on the revelation that Scott made a show on the trail of adopting a rescue dog, then ditched it once it had served its purpose. The secretive nature of the Scott administration continues to this day, with revelations that Scott and aides used private emails and private phones to circumvent the state’s Sunshine Laws.
Meanwhile, despite claiming on the stump that he would create 700,000 new jobs in seven years, on top of the projected job growth of 1,000,000, for a rate of roughly 242,857 jobs per year, Scott almost immediately ratcheted his pledge down by 1,000,000, claiming he merely needed to create 700,000 jobs total. This is akin to pledging 2 billion years ago to build a grand hotel and canyon on the site of the Colorado River, then showing up 2 billion years later to take credit for the Grand Canyon and hope everyone forgot about the hotel. And, as the Tampa Bay Times reports, he still comes up short according to his own office, reporting growth of 620,300 jobs in four years, far short of the 971,428 he should be on track for. Worse, even his own office’s numbers are fudged, because they don’t count public sector job losses — despite the fact that they are jobs — because, well, fuck ’em. Factor in jobs lost to Scott’s budget slashing and elimination of regulatory oversight — 15,000 in just the first eight months alone — and he’s only at 594,900.
Rick Scott is a scary and crooked clown. He’s a tea party sweetheart and a complete nightmare. We’re waiting for him to announce that he is not a witch.
Even before he was elected in 2010, Scott spent $5 million of his own money—earned leading a health care companythat derives much of its revenue from government payments—to fight Obamacare. Florida was the lead plaintiff in the Supreme Court case challenging Obamacare, and even after the court upheld the law, Scott refused to take steps to implement it. His fellow tea partiers are urging lawmakers to do the same: At a hearing in December, activist John Knapp told state legislators, “The American Constitution which you just swore an oath to uphold and defend has been contorted, hijacked, and reduced.”
To get Medicaid in Florida, you have to make less than $3,200 a year—and the state seems set to reject Obamacare subsidies that would fix that.Obamacare is a particular target of tea party wrath in Florida, but it’s hardly the only one in a state where the movement’s ideology has permeated every layer of government. In just one year, Scott and his conservative allies slashed state spending by $4 billioneven as they cut corporate taxes. They’ve rejectedbillions in federal funds in one of the states hardest hitby the recession. They’ve axed everything from health care and public transportation initiatives to mosquito control and water supply programs. “Florida is where the rhetoric becomes the reality. It’s kind of the tea party on steroids,” says state Rep. Mark Pafford, a Democrat. “We’ve lost all navigation in terms of finding that middle ground.”
Similar shifts have occurred in other states where the tea party has amassed political power, including Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas, and Wisconsin. But no state has gone as far as Florida, where small-government advocates have seized the economic crisis and fiscal downturn to reshape the state, often sacrificing benefits for residents to make a broader political point.
Well, that’s just one race. How bizarre can races in the other 49 states be? You probably don’t want me to ask that , do you? Take South Carolina’s Nikki Haley. PLEASE. If the nation’s CEOs aren’t worried about the Confederate flag, why should any one else bother with it?
It costs real money to blanket the state with wall-to-wall commercials, a fact borne out by the quarterly filings of the candidates running for governor.
Republican Bruce Rauner spent $20.3 million in the months from July through September, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections. During the same period, he took in $20.5 million in contributions, including a $1.5 million check he wrote to himself last week.
However Rauner said the rest of his take was fueled by 11,000 individual donors.
“Our campaign is gaining supporters every day and we’ve picked up even more momentum since Pat Quinn admitted that he wants another massive tax hike in exactly three weeks,” Rauner said.
Rauner still had nearly $3.7 million left in his kitty, giving him plenty of ammo to continue waging his televised battle with Gov. Pat Quinn.
Quinn had yet to post his totals for the quarter, but at the end of the previous quarter, he was flush with nearly three times as much ready cash as Rauner.
Republican governor candidate Bruce Rauner made $60.15 million last year — up from $53 million the year before, according to cover sheets of his tax returns his campaign released Friday.
All told, Rauner and wife Diana reported paying $17.25 million in federal and state taxes for 2013. That’s only slightly more than the $17.1 million of his own fortune that Rauner has put into his campaign against Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn. That total includes a $1.5 million contribution the Republican challenger reported making to his campaign fund Friday.
In keeping with past practices, Rauner’s campaign released only copies of the 1040 federal and state forms but did not provide copies of other forms, attachments and schedules that would provide more information about the sources of Rauner’s income, business losses and tax deductions. Rauner released his tax information late Friday afternoon on a holiday weekend, a time when the public tends to be less focused on the news.
State law does not require candidates to release their income tax filings, but it has become commonplace for office seekers to do so. Quinn and many other candidates also provide copies of their entire filings, including attachments and schedules.
Rauner had filed for an extension for the April 15 filing of his federal and state income taxes. That made them due next week, less than a month before the Nov. 4 election.
Prior to launching his campaign in March 2013, Rauner left his position as a name partner at private equity firm GTCR. The candidate’s economic disclosure with the state showed he kept a partnership interest in a lengthy list of the firm’s investment funds.
Rauner, Quinn meet for first televised debate
CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine reports on the first major debate of the Illinois gubernatorial election.
The federal tax information Rauner released Friday showed the bulk of his income — more than $41 million — took the form of capital gains, which are taxed at a lower rate than regular income. Another $14 million came from interest and dividends.Rauner’s tax return cover sheet showed more than $10.1 million in federal deductions, but the materials the campaign released did not specify what they were. Instead, the campaign issued a statement saying the Rauners and a separate family foundation made charitable contributions of more than $5 million.
I’m not sure Louisiana is going to stand up to any more of Jindal’s presidential aspiration set loose on us frankly. Meanwhile, Rick Perry has taken off to Europe while his states completely dysfunctional Public Health System appears to be shipping Ebola around the country. I sincerely wouldn’t recommend electing any of these clowns to your statehouse.
What’s on your reading and blogging list today?
peej
Carissa
bostonboomer
ecocatwoman
mablue2
Mama Lopez
peggysue22
quixote
skydancingguestblogger
Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)
Sky Dancing 
Wow, that Rick Scott story is bizarre. Why didn’t they just get Scott his own fan?
And Nicki Haley! I had no idea that any state was still flying the Confederate flag. If they don’t want to be part of the United States, why don’t they just secede again?
Please, please just secede. We could do with one less wingnut crazy governor and state.
Maybe us Northerners should secede and leave them to their misery.
Scott has the behavioral age of a 2-year-old.
He’s creepy looking too.
I was wondering if all the other Republican Governors were as insane as mine. I think that’s a big yes,
A dozen nurses from the Cleveland Clinic were on the flight from Cleveland to Dallas with Amber Vinson, the second Dallas nurse to get Ebola. Local experts say they are at minimal risk. Nevertheless, they have been put on paid leave.
Kudos to the Cleveland Clinic taking precautions.
7 locals quarantined after Ebola patient contact
Insane Fox News “psychiatrist” Keith Ablow shares his wacko racist conspiracy theory about Obama “unconsciously” wanting to infect Americans with Ebola.
WTF?!
I’ve channel surfed past his ramblings a few times and was astounded by his seething hatred of Obama. I think A-blow needs to do the psychiatrist version of self-deportation and self-commit
Projection much? Sounds like Ablow has a guilty conscience.
NBC News:
Ebola-Stricken Dallas Nurse Nina Pham Expected to Be Moved to Maryland
Glad to see her removed from Texas. She’ll probably get better health care this way. I’d be very afraid to visit a clinic or hospital in Texas after all the horror stories coming out.
I’m glad they moved her too. I’m sure she offered no resistance at the prospect of going to the NIH. She’ll likely survive there.
“I Can No Longer Defend My Hospital”: Dallas Nurse Says Texas Health Presbyterian Unprepared for Ebola
Dallas nurse who treated Nina Pham says “she would ‘do anything’ to avoid being treated there if she were ever to fall ill with the potentially deadly virus.”
In the distant past, when I lived there, Presbyterian was an excellent hospital. However, then it was just Presbyterian Medical Center. Someone must have bought it since it’s name is now Texas Health Presbyterian. Chances are some monstrosity of a for-profit now calls the shots.
Les we forget, Butch Otter of Idaho, another child clown has been ripping off the tax payers here, and anyone else. He was married for 28 years to a Simplot (that’s how he got his millions), divorced then married the Idaho Potatoe Princess. In 1993 he was convicted of DUI, and A. J. Balukoff (Dem.) has called him out on his involvement in the Corrections Corporation of America scandal. He called himself the Master of Privatization. That cost the state millions, and he’s involved his staff in the exchanges. He’s accepted thousands of dollars from CCA for his campaign. And when the inmates sued, and the state lost he refused to accept responsibility. There has been no criminal investigation at the local level. He’s sat by while records were falsified, and you won’t find a more dishonest man than Butch. He’s pretty much like the brotherhood of corruption you speak of. Much like Christ Christie, and the rest, he knows nothing and did nothing wrong. He’s bypass the attorney general’s office, and nobody but A. J. Balukoff is exposing him. Not to mention how much it’s cost the state because of his bloody fight over same sex marriages, and he refuses to allow Madelyn Taylor, a Vietnam Veteran to be buried at the State of Idaho Veteran Cemetery with her spouse.
Then there is Raul Labrador, who had another debate couple nights ago. I mean the stage was set, and the panel were all white men. The moderator was a woman, but she seem to overstep her role and questioned Shirley Ringo like she was the punching bag on stage. It was Raul Labrador who stood up on stage with Ted Cruz, and together they shut down our government. This shut down has caused the National Institute Health to delay and cut back on programs that could have led to an Ebola vaccine. Raul and Ted, are the biggest reason why CDC has been cut back, and defunded, when they now do not have the resources to deal with Ebola. Notice they are the first to say close the boarders.
I’ve made calls for A.J. Balukoff, he’s ready, and he has a chance to change Idaho. I’ve volunteered to make calls for him, and it’s looking like a good chance.
I watched the three hour hearing this morning. The republican’s only answer to Ebola is ban the flights, and lock the doors. They refuse to allow their state hospitals to work with the Feds, and the knuckleheads showed up to prove it. Talk about making it all about politics, that’s what they did for three hours.
I watched it too Fannie and I totally agree with your opinion. The GOP is about politics and scaring the hell out of people with their insistence that flights be banned. From everything I’ve read and heard I don’t believe this will become widespread. It seems apparent to me that the real failure happened at the Presbyterian Hospital when they initially sent Duncan home and then failed to implement safe protocol procedures for their nurses on his admission 2-3 days later. I expect to see other people infected, but when this disease finally works it’s way through the cycle of those exposed by patient number one, I think we’ll all know that the fault lies with the hospital, not the CDC as the GOP is trying to convince the American public.
I’m not surprised, but thanks a lot for watching and reporting.
It’s hard to believe that these idiots have had all this time to just stop any progress in this country and point us right back to the dark ages. Fear Mongering is about all they have left in their repertoire since they’ll get stalked by their crazy base if they try to do anything remotely realistic. That party needs to do some serious soul searching. They’re actively working against the best interests of the country. It’s downright treasonous.
They had 5 experts on the Panel. I don’t remember all 5 agencies, but it was the Director of the CDC, the NIH, the FDA, and the Border Patrol and each of those people explained why stopping air travel would actually make it more difficult to track people coming from African Countries as there would be people who instead of just getting on a plane and flying to Europe and then the USA a percentage of folks would find a way to circumvent the ban and come into the country anyway, which would mean no screening, no contact info, no nothing. My greatest fear is folks running from the epidemic carrying it with them around the world. The experts explanations made perfect sense to me but unlike the fear-mongers in the GOP I’m predisposed to reason and common sense.
And believe it or not Shep Smith at Fox News is calling on the fear mongers to stop propagating the fear and hysteria on TV and in the print media. I’m sure it’s because he remembers all of the fear mongering during the HIV/AIDS epidemic and how the disinformation campaigns launched by the right did more to slow down progress in fighting the epidemic than helping it. Rush Limbaugh mocked Smith’s plea for sanity by calling Smith a “crybaby” and saying “Shep Smith was crying so much during his reporting from New Orleans in Hurricane Katrina his mascara was running,” That Oxycontin Freak just can’t go a single day without gay bashing.
https://twitter.com/mch7576/status/522857305646579712
That sums it up!!!!
I love that.
For sure.
Bingo!
Also mentioned in the hearing today was how much trouble the NIH has had finding commercial partners to help with developing, testing and manufacturing a vaccine. I think he said Glaxo-Smith-Kline is on board now but that most of the research and vaccine trials with Ebola have been done almost exclusively by the National Institute of Health which is funded by the Federal Government. Obviously the For Profit Pharmaceutical companies are not interested in vaccines because there’s not much money in it. This basically is the very same reason the For Profit hospitals don’t put a lot of money into facilities, equipment and staff that have the capacity and know how to treat people with infectious diseases.
How many times did you hear the republicans say “I read a report” and…..You should read this article (Bloomberg), or this indirect report. I am telling you, I mean it was like they had all this required reading for democrats, but no one on their team was listening to Dr. Frieden, he had to repeat, repeat, and repeat everything damn thing he said. Then came Marsha Blackburn, Oh Lord, I didn’t know what her point was, but she wouldn’t let anybody answer her questions. She’d yell, yes or no.
A stark reason why we need government, not Pharma, to fund medical research.
I’ll take any good news I can find…
The conservative Dallas Morning News gives Leticia a wonderful recommendation and takes the hide off Dan Patrick at the same time. 🙂
Dallas Morning News: Editorial: We recommend Leticia Van de Putte for lieutenant governor
So far the major papers in Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio have all endorsed this lovely lady. I hope they make a difference!
GOP minority support … Hahahahaha…