Florida's Most Effective Political Ad of the Year

Let's be clear on this: I'd sooner vote for a tapeworm than Rick Scott. He's one of the worst candidates in history. How many people who ran a company that was responsible for one of the great frauds in American history has the gall to run for governor? His company, Columbia/HCA, ran up $1.7 billion in...

By Bob Norman

August 14, 2010

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Let's be clear on this: I'd sooner vote for a tapeworm than Rick Scott.

He's one of the worst candidates in history. How many people who ran a company that was responsible for one of the great frauds in American history has the gall to run for governor? His company, Columbia/HCA, ran up $1.7 billion in settlement fines for cheating Medicare, and he's walking around with hundreds of millions of dollars. What's wrong with this picture?

The feds didn't do their jobs. They nail the companies but let the architects of the crimes walk on civil charges. That way nobody's accountable. Columbia gave hundreds of millions in political contributions. Scott's cofounder in HCA was Thomas Frist, brother of then-powerful Republican senator Bill Frist. Scott was forced to resign when the FBI began investigating, while Frist did the obligatory "restructuring" of the company. Money talked; Scott walked.

But Scott's ad guys are good. Or maybe his opponent, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, is just that bad. After the jump, we've got the the most effective political ad I've seen this season. It's based on McCollum's own words, it plays on the rampant xenophobia of Republican voters, it's 34 seconds long, and it might help one of the worst candidates in history win a major party nomination for Florida governor.

Check inside to see it. Classic line: "I beg to differ."

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Journalist Bob Norman has been raking the muck of South Florida for the past 25 years. His work has led to criminal cases against corrupt politicians, the ouster of bad judges from the bench, and has garnered dozens of state, regional, and national awards.

Contact: Bob Norman