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Rick Scott, the Madoff of Medicare, is still deeply damaged from his primary, a bruising battle in the GOP Civil War. His unfavs are 50 percent higher than his favs; he still can’t consolidate Republicans and he’s having even more trouble with Independents.

According to the polling director: “In what is likely to be a very strong year for Republican candidates throughout the country, why is Scott struggling in a GOP-leaning state like Florida?” Mason-Dixon director Brad Coker wrote. “The clear answer is he is hampered by a very high negative rating that is the result of his brutal primary race.”

Meanwhile, Sink continues to successfully communicate her message of creating jobs and revitalizing the economy.

Sink leads Scott 47-40 in new Mason-Dixon poll

By CATHERINE WHITTENBURG | The Tampa Tribune

Democrat Alex Sink commands a seven-point lead over GOP candidate Rick Scott in the Florida governor’s race, new poll results show.

Sink, Florida’s chief financial officer, leads Scott, a multimillionaire businessman, 47 percent to 40 percent according to the findings released this morning by Mason Dixon Polling & Research.

The results show Sink has a stronger base among Democratic voters than Scott has among Republicans. Sink enjoys the support of 81 percent of Democratic voters, while Scott, who has never held political office, has the backing of only 75 percent of Republicans.

That contrasts with the 85-plus percent of GOP support that Govs. Charlie Crist and Jeb Bush enjoyed in the last two gubernatorial elections.

Sink also leads 44 percent to 37 percent among independent voters, bucking the trend of independents siding with Republicans in the last three governor’s races.

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Not only did the Madoff of Medicare rack up the largest fine in history for his company’s fraud of the government program, GOP gubernatorial nominee Rick Scott is getting wide notice for another dubious accomplishment: taking the Fifth 75 times in a deposition.

The Miami Herald calls his aversion to answering questions “a notable achievement, even in Florida” and points out that Scott took the Fifth on a host of questions. They included: “Are you employed?” “Are you a current or former employee of Columbia/HCA?” “Did you at one time hold the office of president and chairman of Columbia/HCA?”

Taking the Fifth — 75 times — an achievement

By FRED GRIMM
fgrimm@MiamiHerald.com

The usual template goes like this: First, we elect a public official. Then, he takes the Fifth.

Rick Scott reversed the old order. He invoked his constitutional right against self-incrimination a decade before plunging into the murk of Florida politics. After his now-infamous deposition, Scott might as well have added, “Well. I got that out of the way early.”

Except that Scott didn’t have much of anything to say on July 27, 2000, as he fended off queries in a Manatee County civil suit against his former company.

The questioning went like this:

“Have you ever seen this document before?”

Scott: “Upon advice of my counsel, I respectfully decline to answer the question by asserting my rights and privileges under the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.”

Other equally mundane questions inspired the same answer. “Are you employed?” Or, “Are you a current or former employee of Columbia/HCA?,” Or, “Did you at one time hold the office of president and chairman of Columbia/HCA?”

Scott took the Fifth 75 times. That’s a notable achievement, even in Florida.

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