Governor Rick Scott just can't quit you, Big Government Cash™
TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Rick Scott campaigned against President Obama’s “failed stimulus” program – yet the freshman politician kept nearly $370 million of the federal cash in the Florida budget he signed last week.
Scott’s decision to keep the stimulus money stands out in a year when the governor touted record budget vetoes of up to $615 million. He emphasized the vetoes of “wasteful” spending at a Thursday event that featured a campaign-style “Promises Made, Promises Kept” banner.
But as he ran for office last summer, Scott said he “would fight all the stimulus money.” He also told reporters “I would have figured out how to balance the budget without it.”
Well, so much for that idea. The "failed stimulus" program apparently wasn't a big enough failure to warrant its exclusion from Florida's budget.
When asked to explain this glaring contradiction, Scott came up empty:
According to ThinkProgress, 61 lines of the Florida budget contained stimulus money, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the stimulus program) is specifically referenced 66 times.
Keep going Republicans! All the way to 2012! You're doing great!