Are you sure he has the worst rating? Michigan Governor, Rick Snyder, is being referred to as "Darth" Snyder.

I know, right? A public signing of a public budget in a public place and he can kick Democrats out of their own living area claiming that it's a private event? WTF? What the hell is going on in this country? Where, or where did these people come from?

I bet people don't skip elections now.....

Keep in mind, As voter ID laws are starting to poliferate, Repulicans are trying to make voting a private/by-invitation-only event, too.

a real @!$%#, eh..

he doesn't even genuinely connect - if anyone takes a true look at when he publicly speaks, he doesn't even have a connection to his words.

Isn't most public legislation signed in "private events" on both the state and federal level - and with the press present? You can find hundreds of photos of laws being signed at the White House and any state capital in front of invited guests and not the "general public". I do understand that this was done "off-site", but again some bills are signed at non-govt locations and they still may have only invited guests.

I just think this particular event is a non-story.

Public officials have been using police as their private security forever. This abuse is shameful.....One of the reasons I'm not a cop anymore!!!

The man has no moral standings and is ruining the state. I hope that he gets repealed early in his term. What a dog, sorry dogs!!

http://www.indecisionforever.com/2011/05/23/michigan-congressperson-bans-old-people-from-town-hall-meeting/

Another incident.

Those pesky "old people", always showing up at political events... like the primaries and general elections.

This past 10 years of politics has been the most Un-Amercian series of events I have ever witnessed.

Hypocrisy is a virtue to Republicans!

Wow, that's a really good point! Where are the old folks? Is anyone in that pic (with the exception of the skinhead) over the age of 16?

that's what Laura meant when asking "Who's missing?" in the photo caption.

Luthor knows what he's doing and arranged it perfectly: hold the event in a retiree town and invite a bunch of middle-schoolers, neither of which can provide much resistance.

btw, The Villages is not a retirement home, but a retirement community, a private town, pretty much. so while it has some 8,000 residents, it's still private property, i guess, and so if the local "cops" get word to remove people from what looks like a public square of what looks like a town, but legally may be a common area, they can do it.

like i said, Slick Rick knows what he's doing; it's how he's operated his whole life, including of course, being CEO of the company committing the biggest Medicare fraud in history while getting off -- pardon the pun -- scott-free. 'Rick Scott, slick as snot.'

LOL @ Tomm, to be honest, I didn't even notice the caption. It just hit me that it was a bunch of kids and not retiree`s.

My apologies on the semantics. And if it's a private property, retirement community.....how did the kids get on the property? Generally, those places don't allow children. They certainly don't live there. Rick Hypocrite.

20,000-acre Central Florida complex called The Villages, the largest gated retirement community in America

This not a gated community however there are gates. They are there for traffic control only. The roads are public property. This event was advertised as a Public event not private. The security team of Governor Scott looked and acted like Black-water Operatives. What happened in The Villages was aggressive intimidation by The Governors " Security Team" While senior members of The Villages Management team looked on evidently in support of this activity. This is not an unusual happening in "Florida's Friendliest EXTREMELY CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN Hometown". As long as you support what the Developer does and do not question his decisions, of course you cannot question him because he is never available to anyone The Developer of the Villages needs to understand and respect the residents who have chosen to live within this community who might have have different political views than his families. All should be allowed to express them. It will be interesting to see how the Democratic Club of the Villages will be treated in The Future. The local State Representative Marleene O'Toole a republican was at the budget signing function. She had previously agreed to speak with her Democratic and INdependent constituents at the June Meeting of The Democratic Club of The Villages.

"What happened in Alaska after the news reporter was handcuffed?"

Joe Miller was wiped out by Murkowski.

This "primary challenge" situation is more serious than it seems. Only a tiny number vote in primaries, opening the door for flakes. Bingo, no more major candidate. We may be hooting over the demise of the Tea Party but it would be a shame if TP loons don't knock out a few more mainstream Republicans and let more Democrats into office. Mainstream Republicans are continuing their antics, motivating a reaction from their base. Furthermore agitprop from Fox blows up in Republican faces when flaky voters, inspired by flaky news, vote for flaky candidates. Didn't Palin favor TP loons O'Donnell and Paladino? Basically I'd like to see Boehner or McConnell or Cantor primaried out, replaced by some crazy who then loses to a Democrat.

I agree with all of this. I simply would like to know - what happened to the perpetrators, and who was held accountable, when the reporter was cuffed and detained by private security forces at a public event? They had no authority to do this and it was reported at the time to be a group belonging to Miller. What happened to the individuals? If there are no consequences then the actions will continue.

BTW: if this Rick Scott event were actually a 'private' one, then the deputies will not be on the clock; rather, they will be acting as private security and paid as such. Anyone want to bet there is no accounting for this and that they actually were acting as public employees removing citizens illegally?

The problem is so many states have blithering idiots in office you almost have to buy a private island to escape the madness! I think someone must've invented Capek's Karburator in reverse; rather than unleashing 'The Absolute' it has unleashed hatred, avarice, and ignorance.

.

god how i long for the Crist administration compared with this. hell, i may even take Jeb! over Luthor.

Its called "states rights." It REALLY stinks.

But didnt we fight a civil war over fed trumps state??

I don't think states rights can trump fed constitutional law.

My point exactly.

It won't keep them from trying in every possible way they can...witness Louisiana out-lawing abortion.

Oh gawd, Don. I know, right? It's like they are daring a lawsuit.

Looking at the make up of the Supreme Court and some of their latest greatest hits brrrrrr! You trust these bastards? Want to roll the dice on any of these rulings if they get kicked up there? Scary monsters.

Hell NO, I don't wanna roll the dice on that court. Yes, given past performance, it wouldn't bode well for RvW. But I think that's what the RW wants. To get it challenged. But then, like I said in a previous post...if they overturn RvW, what would they turn to next? Because then, all the wind is out of their sails; so what would they go after then?

Of course, if RvW was overturned, I think that would spark so many damn lawsuits that it would keep us all busy for the next 20 years. Kee-rist....it sucks having to re-fight a fight that was won 40 years ago.

Amen.

How about Kendrick Meek?

i think a number of people may be disenfranchised with Kendrick Meek since his coming in third in the US Senate race; his dropping out and supporting Crist could've kept Rubio from it.

i don't have much worry about finding a Democrat to win statewide office. the way things are now, with Mr. Burns Voldemort Lex Luthor $cott as thoroughly unpopular as he is, a stinging jellyfish could beat him handily.

in fact, can we get a poll that shows the what the results of a do-over election would be for $cott? they got them for Walker and Kasich.

Tomm...are you in Florida? Can Scott be recalled? if so, when?

yes, and no, respectively.

Florida law allows for recall of local officials, but no state or national positions. i'm hoping we citizens can change that via ballot petition for a constitutional amendment (citizens can only initiate putting amendments on a ballot, not statutes). that would still be only in 2012 and then a bit more while signatures were collected (unless there was someway to prompt a special election and have it included, neither of which i'm sure about).

the only other option would be impeachment and with the Legislture a sea of red, that's not going to happen either until at least 2012 and at least into the 2013 session.

Bummer....then you have my sympathies for having to put up with that twit and his twaddle for the next year and a half.....

Mousercasm at it best!!

*raises hand*

i don't understand.

i'm not sure it's possible to have cognitive dissonance without a conscience. nobody in Ingsoc's inner party ever seemed to suffer from it. which is why they're the inner party. #1984

Good point Tom. Also I hope Carrie you were saying you don't understand the Republican mantra. If my thing confused you, you'll have to be more specific so I can explain. I think it's weird how people have the mentality that you must subsidize a company and cut their taxes in order to hire someone. It's like saying OK kid who mows my lawn- I'll pay you 20$ regardless if you do it, 10$ additional if you do it, and 15$ more if you hire another person to do it. It's like...I don't know. O.O

i don't get their mantra, mick, even in a more layman term.

That's what I figured you were saying. I'm right there with you Carrie. I don't understand it at all. And what's interesting? All these supposedly RW bloggers never explain their mantra. John is the only conservative who has tried to explain, but then again John is an actual conservative and not some RW confederate/fascist/authoritarian/libertarian posing as a conservative. FTR I'm not suggesting those political positions are the same, suggesting that I don't know which is the appropriate label.

... he's probably a one-term govenor.

far too long.

and it will be a lot of work to reverse the damage; it's always better to stop it mid-process if you can, the way they're doing in Wisconsin with recalls. it'll be too much work, and some of it will never be undone. again, that's how conservatives think, how they operate: what can we get away with right now, if not tomorrow and the next day, too. while the strategy isn't without some merit in some cases, conservatives take it to the extreme of course. consider the pro-birth movement, for example: it doesn't matter that gluing shut the locks of Planned Parenthood will only close them for maybe a day, they've stopped it for now. meanwhile, the woman who was supposed to visit that day had pregnancy complications and she died ("that's God's will") when she could've been saved and even have another child later on. that's part of what i mean above by 'some of it can never be undone.'

I feel bad for you guys in Florida though since you guys can't veto legislation.

That's one thing that I'm grateful that we've got in Maine because the people will be able to lessen whatever damage LePage and his cronies come up with. Plus, Maine Senators and House Reps only have two year terms, so hopefully, people will give control back to the Democrats when it comes time for mid-terms, and that will really drive LePage nuts.

Edit: Argh....posting error double posted my comment. Ignore this please.

but this isn't a public location, this is a private retirement home. might i reiterate....home.

he kicked out the residents and had himself a private party.

Yes Carrie it is a private retirement village. If it is the same "villages" company that runs some retirement villages up here in Illinois (actually called the villages), these are pretty much like sub-divisions sometimes, with golf courses, pools (indoor and out) and clubhouses. The "villages' up here a pretty large and the residents use golf carts to drive around the complex. So, I think calling it a home is a "little" off. They are homes, condos, clubhouses, pools, golf and tennis courts, etc. And from this picture, and the quote from the newpaper, the signing was at the "villages town square". Like I said these retirement villages are like....villages or towns. Again I beleive even our current President has done signings and other "public" appearances where maybe not all the locals were allowed. I still think it is no big deal. Also, check out my post above. Many Governors and Presidents have signe bills in both public and private settings before.

my mom lives in a gated retirement community in california. their rented space, not only houses the home they own, but their rent covers the pool, the pool hall, the library, the hall, and the hall kitchen....and up keep of all the lanes and everything within the walls of that private community, even the car wash ports.

they co-rent the whole community. they have access to it all - but they also have rules.

to have a private party in the open spaces, one has to get permission, and it has to be posted.

i know my mom's community has one home address, plus space numbers - subdividing this privately owned land - kind of like a room number in a retirement home.

OK - I would imagine that this event was given permission. And if it was given, is it still a problem to you? I also find the paragraph shown from the St. Pete times a little interesting. It states that a group of democrats, mainly retirees were escorted from the signing. Does that mean that the writer asked what their political affiliation was or did they tell him and/or had signs signifying that. And if this is a private venue how come the group was mainly retirees? So people from the public were at this private facility? Also, does that infer that any republican retirees were allowed to stay? This just looks like the writers (the newspaper and Laura here) are trying to get some traction on this non-story.

And again Carrie, the company that uses the term "the villages" are basically builders of pretty large subdivisions that just happen to cater to retirees. I knew a friend that lived at one and it was gated, but had several streets with stop signs and many "community" buildings. And it was named ___— villages. I don't remember the exact name, but it was a town pretty much.

skip: I would think that the dems had signs protesting? Anyone know? And if republican retirees were allowed to stay, why not picture them supporting Scott? Why a bunch of kids who can't even vote? Not to mention the "ready-made" signs. Show me 14 yr old who understands anything about government waste spending. (the sign over the glare of Scotts' forehead )

Nevermind...yes, the retirees removed were the ones holding anti-scott signs. the ones with pro-scott signs were allowed to stay.

Ok thank you Cyncerity on clarifying how they knew they were democrats. But again, many goverenment officials have crowds geared in their favor. Unless you think only Republicans do this. As for the comment on the bunch of kids, I can still see the young man (probably around 12) standing next to President Obama when he signed the health reform bill. I'm not saying it's right or wrong to use kids, but BOTH sides use theatrics when it benefits them. Yeah maybe the kid standiing next to the POTUS had some tie in to the health care bill (actually I think he did), but maybe the children standing behind the Governor were there for a similar purpose, like highlighting an education or child services part of the budget being signed.

I just think that this whole thread/discussion is about nothing. Getting worked up because a Governor signed an annual budget for his state at a "private" event where the people there with him were invited by him. Like that never happens in politics. It ALWAYS happens that way pretty much. The signor surrounds him/herself with supporters of them and/or the bill. Really this is a little amusing.

exactly, cyn.

it might seem like a town, but it's a private residence. just because other politicians do this, does not make it right.

as for your remark on obama holding a signing event, inviting doctors - instructing them to wear their lab coats....

it's a bit different then busing in kids and handing them signs and telling them what to chant!

huge difference.

the coats represented the doctors in who they are and what they do - what they stand for, without ever being told to do so. plus they are highly educated adults understanding what they were doing.

these kids, not so much.

Skip, the Democrats that were removed were self-identified as the Democratic club of The Villages. Frankly, I'm surprised but impressed they managed to scrounge up enough members to be a club from that population. That having been said, I'm waiting for an explanation of "liberal looking."

Much ado about nothing. ... Come on. Save your outrage for something a little more important.

i have plenty of outrage to go around and will spend it on what i want.

unless you're one of those big, intrusive government-types telling me what i can spend my outrage on? 'hands off my outrage!'

for example, i believe that the doctors and nurses which stood behind the president were a) not at a bill signing, and b) were people with whom the president actually met, not shipped in via FedEx. i don't find their being asked to wear career-specific items significantly more stage-crafted than having uniformed soldiers when speaking of military matters. if Luthor wants school kids behind him, hold the signing at a school, not a community of retirees. and the bill the Legislature drafted didn't slash education as much as Scott was asking for, but now he's bringing kids to a retirement community and saying what he cut was for education??

But Carrie they were told to wear their lab coats. IMO it is not much of a difference. It was done for the same reason - a photo op. Nothing more, nothing less. And really, do we need to see doctors behind the President (or kids behing this Governor) for whatever bill or speech du jour? I was not justifying what the Florida Governor was doing, I am just pointing out the hypocrisy of this specific topic/blog. Politicians are all of the same mold when it comes to public displays.

skip, most doctors wear lab coats while working. they wear it with honor, because it represents what they studied to do and worked hard for. they know what the coat represents - which is their position. they would wear their coat without ever being told to do so.

the kids...were handed signs...and told what to chant.

a photo op with people posing as doctors would equal these kids holding the signs and being told what to chant.

the child who stood next to obama, was directly picked due to the child position with health care.

http://www.king5.com/news/local/Obama-pays-tribute-to-Seattle-boy-while-signing-health-care-bill-88923357.html

The President then paid tribute to 11-year-old boy Marcelas Owens, whose mother died because she didn't have insurance and couldn't get the care she needed.

this child, and his family knew exactly what obama was doing - and it was very close to what this child had experienced.

there was no handing him signs or telling him what to chant. anything that child said or stood for, was because of his own personal experience.

Like that never happens in politics. It ALWAYS happens that way pretty much. The signor surrounds him/herself with supporters of them and/or the bill. Really this is a little amusing.

can these kids vote? do they know what he was signing?

FTR, in my post above -- #18.11 -- the first half of it is sarcastic. nobody is, that i have seen, "outraged," as skip is hyberbolically/strawman-ishly trying to claim/present it as.

also,

Like that never happens in politics. It ALWAYS happens that way pretty much.

not in a ersatz public square. stop ignoring the details, the specifics. chimps and humans share better than 90% of their DNA, but chimps are not humans nor vice versa.

Ok thank you Cyncerity on clarifying how they knew they were democrats

Skip, you were the one that was asking:

Does that mean that the writer asked what their political affiliation was or did they tell him and/or had signs signifying that.

And I was merely answering my own question, cuz I didn't know either. I hadn't read the entire article yet. I wasn't poking a stick at you.

And you're right, both sides do use '"Hollywood style" photo ops when signing bills. But Obama using doctors at his back while signing a health care bill is not far-fetched.

*weighs left and right hands up and down* Doctors....health care....hmmmm...who knew they were related?

But for Scott to use kids, who probably have no idea what those signs really mean, at a retirement community, kicking out the retirees themselves, while signing a bill that cuts education?

Really?? That just doesn't really fit, does it? You'd give it a 9, but you can't dance to it.

They were human shields in the event of an attack by a disgruntled populace.

LOL..oh god, Don. How utterly sad. And how utterly apropo. They would do that. Bas-turds. Hell, they're doing it now. Using fetuses as their shields.

I dearly hope each and every one of those children realize when they are old enough to vote how they were used by this skanky man, and are forever revolted by republicans henceforth.

Yeah, kinda like when President Obama had a new conference at the White House during the health care debate and he had doctors behind him - all were instructed to have their white lab coats on. ALL politicians have a little hollywood grandstanding in them. Seriously, you don't believe that both sides do this? Seriously?

either they were retired, or not old enough to work...or old enough to know what was going on.

Oh, well...isn't that nice?

Good Point. I was there. Where were the public school kids from Lady Lake, Fruitland Park or Wildwood. All within 3 miles of this location.

I wonder if the parents of these kids who were bussed in were asked if their children could go to this event. Opps. I forgot The Charter school is controlled by The Villages.

Don, you been reading Douglas Adams again? ;)

Actually Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) The Movie This Island Earth.

Terry:

My heart goes out to you. My thoughts are with you. Fight the good fight.

Mr. Scott...WHERE ARE THE JOBS? Instead of attacking seniors, women's rights and education for the children you surrounded youself with...why aren't you bringing in jobs?!?!?

Beautiful response, Terry.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/vp/43200758#43200758

the specific section on Lex Luthor begins about the 5-minute mark, but there's a Florida 'prologue' of sorts in the first minute.