League of Women’s Voters guide proves GOP objective: winning and power, not governing

Commentary

Senator Rick Scott’s support of Herschel Walker’s ‘Georgia values’ confirms it

A funny thing happened on my way to fill out my mail-in ballot. The Palm Beach Post published a comprehensive and important League of Women’s Voters (LWV) Non-Partisan voters’ guide. Guides like this are critical if voters are to make informed decisions about candidates without the taint of partisan, and often dubiously correct, political ads.

In creating and publishing the guide, the LWV might not have realized the unintended consequences it created for the GOP. There were 26 partisan races in the guide for my and neighboring districts, from U.S. Senate down to Port of Palm Beach Commissioner. The guide asked four questions to each of the candidates in these 26 contests. The Democratic candidate answered the questions in every case. But only 12 Republican candidates, less than half, provided answers. According to the LWV, the silent 14 “did not respond to our invitation.”

Importantly, among the 14 non-respondents were:

Senator Marco Rubio

Governor Ron DeSantis

Attorney General Ashley Moody

CFO Jimmy Patronis

I can’t imagine a better example of GOP arrogance, of the party’s desire to win and maintain power, but not to actually govern and address the issues affecting their constituents.

Wait, what? There is, if not a better example of GOP arrogance, at least one that is equal in its cynicism and quest for power:

Rick Scott, Florida’s Republican junior senator, who is also the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, announced yesterday that he will campaign for Herschel Walker in Georgia on Tuesday amid a firestorm spurred by reports the Republican Senate candidate allegedly paid the mother of one of his children to have an abortion.

In a statement to The Washington Post, Scott said that Democrats “want to destroy this country, and they will destroy anyone who gets in their way.”

“Today, it’s Herschel Walker, but tomorrow it’s the American people,” Scott said, according to The Post. “I’m on Herschel’s team — they picked the wrong Georgian to mess with. I’m proud to stand with Herschel Walker and make sure Georgians know that he will always fight to protect them from the forces trying to destroy Georgia values.”

Scott did not detail the ‘Georgia values’ that Walker is fighting to protect, but if they’re anything like Walker’s values, I’d put Georgia on my list of places not to visit.

Joining Scott on this Walker ‘do anything/say anything/back anyone to keep the power’ campaign swing is sanctimonious Arkansas Republican senator, Tom Cotton.

By the way, Walker and his opponent, incumbent Democratic senator Raphael Warnock, are set to meet for their first debate on Friday. That should be quite a show!