Um, guys?Apparently 45 percent of Floridians say Gov. Rick Scott is doing an a-ok job, according to a Quinnipiac poll out today, which we first heard about from the News Service of Florida.
NSF says "[the] poll indicated that 45 percent of voters approve of the way Scott is handling his job, while 44 percent disapprove." That's up from 39 percent in June.
We're guessing it's because of all the wonderful handshakes he's been giving out in Tampa Bay and other regions as he touts the healing of the state's economy as his own doing.
Or, it could be his total maverick attitude we've come to know and love. After all, he's rounding up all the sinners and making them pay.
Recent examples include ordering audits of 129 hospitals in relation to Medicaid managed care contracts — he's "concerned" they're overcharging (as a former Hospital Corporation of America CEO who paid record fines for defrauding Medicare, it's a behavior pattern he knows all too well).
There's also the audit of Planned Parenthood of Florida in the wake of doctored videos implying the organization sells aborted baby parts (yes, there's a donation program, and it's legal, but it does not exist in Florida). All that turned up was what looks like bad math.
And then there's his administration's defense of using $700,000 in taxpayer dollars to settle lawsuits filed over their ignoring of public records requests.
Oh, oh, and those vetoes we all so dearly cherished earlier this summer.
The list goes on.
So what's not to like?
Anyway, the new poll also suggests voters also like U.S. Senators from Florida Marco Rubio, a Republican presidential contender, and Bill Nelson, a Democrat.
The latter had a 45-30 percent approval rating. Rubio, on the other hand, is doing swimmingly. Some 57 percent of Florida's voters approve of the job he's doing, while 31 percent do not.
According to NSF, the poll surveyed 1,093 Florida voters between Aug. 7 and Aug. 18, and its margin of error is three percentage points.