Rick Scott seems to be a big target when it comes to the majority of Floridians fed up with the way things are run down here.
Will that vitriol be enough to oust Scott in the election come November? Time (and the ballots) will tell.
But another key figure is also running for re-election come November. Someone who has done just as much damage to Florida as Scott has, albeit with a more pretty face.
Officially filed for re-elect this morning-looking forward to continuing working hard and serving the people of Florida! #sayfie
— Pam Bondi (@PamBondi) July 1, 2013Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is flat-out the worst this state has ever seen, and she could very well win re-election due to people not knowing enough about her dirty deeds.
Here now are eight reasons why Pam Bondi is the worst AG Florida has ever had:
See also: Six Ways Rick Scott Has Screwed Florida
8. She Supported Arizona's Crazy Immigration Laws When Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer implemented her draconian immigration laws in Arizona that made it a federal crime for an immigrant to be in Arizona without carrying registration documents, and gave police the freedom to crack down on businesses suspected of hiring immigrants, she received a lot of blowback from other leaders around the country. But, Pam Bondi not only supported Brewer, but embraced her ideas by signing a friend-of-the-court brief in support of Brewer's law as it went to the Supreme Court.
"I'm not saying Florida is in an identical situation, but I did sign on to an amicus and I will continue to sign on to an amicus brief, when they affect states' rights," Bondi said at the time.
7. She's All Kinds of Shady Bondi is a staunch supporter of the death penalty, except when it interferes with a party she wants to throw herself. Last September she requested Gov. Rick Scott to postpone the execution of Marshall Lee Gore because the date of his execution landed on the same day as Bondi's re-election kick-off party. Putting off the execution reportedly cost the Department of Corrections around $1,000.
In another case of lack of self-awareness, Bondi was all up in reviewing allegations in a lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman who went after Donald Trump after he was accused of ripping off 5,000 customers in a supposed "get-rich-scheme."
But just a couple of days into her review, Bondi's "And Justice For All" committee received a big-ass check worth $25 grand from Trump. And then, just be sheer coincidence, Bondi dropped her investigation on Trump.
And then there was that time she was accused of violating public records laws by deleting office emails, and text messages that were requested by an attorney.
6. She Led the Charge Against Obamacare When Rick Scott hinted he would think about Obamacare for Florida, Bondi pounced and was critical of her otherwise good pal. Then she wrote an op-ed piece slamming Obamacare, saying that it was a gate-way to fraud and trolling up the ol' "unconstitutional" talking points.
Then she hit up Fox News to talk about how terrible getting thousands of uninsured Floridians medical insurance — even as said Floridians said they wanted and needed it. In other words, she was pretty fired up to attack the Affordable Care Act from all sides with the passion of a fat guy at an all-you-can-eat Chinese restaurant buffet.
5. She Wants Young Adults to Be Able to Purchase Guns Back in September, Florida — and 20 other states — signed a brief that supported the NRA's quest to have a federal court strike down the law that prohibits the sale of handguns by federally licensed dealers to people aged 18 through 20. This while Florida was still reeling from the Trayvon Martin shooting and George Zimmerman verdict. Not to mention all the other gun-related crimes happening across the country.
So while the majority of the nation wrestled with its conscience on young people senselessly dying from gun violence, Bondi wrestled with the thought of the travesty of living in a country where 18-year-old kids aren't allowed to buy themselves a gun.
4. She Can't Be Trusted With the Environmental Not only did Bondi support polluters of Chesapeake Bay, she went and wasted Florida tax dollars doing it. Earlier this year, she joined other GOPers in filing a legal brief supporting an appeal by the American Farm Bureau to kill a plan to clean up the waters of Chesapeake Bay (which, if you haven't noticed, it not really anywhere near Florida). She even wrote an op-ed piece about it (she does that) explaining that this was all about EPA overreach and not at all about siding with lobbyists and people with lots and lots of money.
The Everglades Coalition sent her a letter asking her to reconsider her stance on not cleaning up the pollution in Chesapeake Bay. She ignored the letter.
3. She's Vehemently Against Legalized Medical Marijuana The number-one talking point for those who oppose medical marijuana is that legalizing it will open the doors to various loop-holes that'll turn Florida into a free-for all for weed smokers. Bondi was the first to make this contrived argument. When the proposal to get the Amendment 2 initiative on the ballot in November first came up, Bondi tried to fight it, saying the proponents of medical marijuana were being deceitful in the wording of the amendment — which, to her, was just a document to make all weed legal throughout the state.
"With no 'condition' off limits, physicians could authorize marijuana for anything, any time, to anyone, of any age," Bondi wrote in her argument.
She continued her fear mongering rhetoric by saying, "So long as a physician held the opinion that the drug use 'would likely outweigh t' the risks, Florida would be powerless to stop it."
All this while more than 70 percent of Floridians support the legalization of medical marijuana for those with debilitating illnesses.
2. She Said Legalizing Gay Marriage Would "Impose Significant Public Harm" Bondi doesn't want gays marrying in Florida, and made it very clear that the state should not overturn its ban on gay marriage by basically calling homosexuality a public hazard.
Arguing against the lawsuit, she wrote, "Disrupting Florida's existing marriage laws would impose significant public harm."
She added, "Florida's marriage laws have a close, direct and rational relationship to society's legitimate interest in increasing the likelihood that children will be born to and raised by the mothers and fathers who produced them in stable and enduring family units."
1. She's Good Pals With Rick Scott
Look at 'em. Like two white peas in a pod.
Send your story tips to the author, Chris Joseph.
Follow Chris Joseph on Twitter
Follow @NewTimesBroward
