Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) ripped Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) in an op-ed published in the Sun Sentinel on Monday, slamming his administration for spending "much of 2013 in chaos."
"His first two years were marked by massive education cuts, restrictions on women's health care, and big taxpayer giveaways," Wasserman Schultz wrote. "It quickly became clear that Rick Scott was not on the side of hardworking Florida families."
Wasserman Schultz specifically targeted Scott's actions in 2013, saying "the past year cast Scott's failures in sharper relief than ever before" and that voters will "hold him accountable" when he's up for reelection next year:
The year began with Scott trying to appear moderate by endorsing a key component of the Affordable Care Act, an expansion of Medicaid that would help over a million Floridians get health care. Unfortunately for Floridians, while Scott said he supported Medicaid expansion, he didn't lift a finger to try to persuade his tea party colleagues in the legislature to pass the measure, and didn't say a word as they torpedoed the proposal.
Rick Scott wanted voters to think he had changed his stripes, but all he did was prove that he is willing to say anything to win reelection.
In fact, Rick Scott doubled down this year on denying Floridians access to health care. Over the summer he banned health care navigators, who are specially trained to help people sign up for health care, from state health facilities — the exact place where those who need help would be most likely to go.
Scott found new ways to alienate voters as well. He vetoed a common sense bill that would have let legal, young immigrants obtain a driver's license — a bill that had received near-unanimous support in the Florida legislature. Abandoning his responsibilities in Tallahassee, he took long trips to Paris and Chile funded by wealthy special interests.
This isn't the first time Wasserman Schultz has taken a shot at Scott. In May, she criticized the governor's stance on health care, and in August she hit his "hypocrisy" on the same topic.
“He has been hell-bent on obstructing the smooth implementation of ObamaCare,” Wasserman Schultz said. “He's done everything he can to block it and impede its implementation.”
Read Wasserman Schultz's full op-ed here.
Before You Go
