Outdoors Columnist Tells Florida: “Rick Scott hates you.”
Republican Gov. Rick Scott isn’t just running for Senate this fall. He’s also running away from his dismal environmental record, which includes slashing $700 million to protect our fragile rivers and shorelines. Instead, he chose to protect polluters like Big Sugar.
As a result, a plague of toxic blue-green algae runs in our rivers and off our beaches. This is Scott’s legacy. He owns it, along with the Republican-controlled legislature.
Ed Killer, outdoors columnist for Treasure Coast Newspapers and TCPalm.com, is a steward of our environment. Killer penned a balanced, non-partisan column offering his observations about how politicians were dealing (or not) with the algae blooms that pollute our waterways.
He praised some elected or would-be office holders and dismissed others.
His harshest words, however, were aimed squarely at Gov. Scott.
“Aug. 10: Gov. Rick Scott, boat tour of St. Lucie River in Stuart — The governor’s office announced to us at 9 p.m. the day before he would be touring the river at 8 a.m. departing from Sunset Bay Marina. My role: Provide Facebook live for TCPalm.com. My take: Ten minutes before his arrival, we received word, not from Scott’s senatorial campaign people, but from Brian Mast’s re-election campaign, that Scott would board a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission boat elsewhere due to “security concerns.” There were none..…..He (Scott) proceeded to do a weird drive-by of Central Marine in Rio without speaking to its management or even waving, then skipped out of town claiming a campaign event in Tampa. He refused to address any media, or citizens, even supporters while here. Let me just say that I’ve seen dictators with more transparency than Scott. Make no mistake, Rick Scott hates you, Florida, but yet he wants to be your next Senator.”
TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers make a point of telling readers that Killer’s opinions are his own.
Perhaps, but in this case we couldn’t agree with him more.
Right now, the Trump administration and Republican Congress are stripping away our environmental protections at break neck speed, all in a quest to increase profits for companies and shareholders. The Republican legislature shares in their callousness.
Republican environmental anarchists also argue that removing these annoying obstacles will create jobs, but job numbers are no better than in the last years of the Obama administration. Numbers don’t lie.
If elected to the Senate in November, Scott will eagerly join the Republican crusade against the environment across America. He will ally himself will those who deny the science of climate change.
We cannot allow this to happen
If Florida is to thrive, our fragile ecosystem must be cared for. Scott, however, has revealed himself to be a man who cares not. He and the state legislature have diminished Florida in so many ways, from education to healthcare.
It’s time for a change. Join us. Be a part of the solution.
Ed Killer’s column can be found at:
https://www.tcpalm.com/story/sports/2018/08/25/stop-talking-algae-and-do-something/1096775002/
Note from author: My apologies to columnist Ed Killer for using his opinions in such a partisan manner. However, when truth is spoken to power, it must be amplified.
–By Richard Leonard
Communications Committee
