Gov. Rick Scott: I’ll Back Candidate With Best Economic Plan
By Space Coast Daily // August 4, 2015
Statement From Gov. Rick Scott
We now have enough Republican presidential candidates to field nearly two baseball teams. I am asked all the time who I will vote for, but like most voters, I really don’t know the answer to that question yet.
I hope the upcoming debates on August 6th will help.
America needs a strong, intelligent, driven leader who has a specific action plan for our country. Entertaining speeches are not enough. We have had almost eight years of great speeches and they all glossed over massive government takeovers that grew the government sector of our economy at the expense of individual opportunity.
America is a superpower because we have long been a place of opportunity for all.
Yes, foreign policy is very important, and yes, cultural issues are very important as well. But, as for me, I will support the candidate who has both the best plan to grow the real American economy, not the government economy, and the capability to actually execute that plan.
When I first ran for Governor in 2010, I laid out a plan to create 700,000 jobs for Florida in seven years. Florida had lost over 800,000 jobs during the four years before I became Governor.
My opponents scoffed, but in Florida we have now created nearly 900,000 jobs in just four and a half years.
The next president must have a plan to add 12 million jobs across the country in four years.
However, this alone will not rebuild America’s economy.
The next Republican president must cut federal regulation in half. The growth of government regulation is stifling American companies’ ability to create jobs.
The next Republican president must also balance the budget now and not in 10 years.
American families and business owners are expected to balance their budgets. We have to balance our budget at the state level in Florida. Over the last four years, we have balanced Florida’s budget and reduced state debt by $7.5 billion.
Career politicians in Washington should be forced to do the same. Making a national balanced budget a priority is common sense.
The next Republican president must immediately eliminate the individual and employer mandates and all taxes under Obamacare, and also transform the federal insurance exchanges in the Medicaid program into a block grant system that gives the money directly to governors so they can provide healthcare the way they think is best for their citizens.
The one-size-fits-all mandates that are the hallmark of the Obama administration have to go.
Obamacare is crippling business growth and will cripple state governments that chose to implement it. (Notably, we have not expanded Obamacare in Florida.
The next Republican president must also improve our national security relations, including the termination of the Iran deal, which imperils the state of Israel and world peace.
We must also cease President Obama’s appeasement strategy with Cuba. Here in Florida, we know plenty about the Castro brothers and we hear stories of their ruthless and violent rule far too often.
It is shameful that we would grant them any shred of legitimacy.
At the same time, the next Republican president must make it clear across the globe that America will extinguish ISIS. Not contain or fight, but extinguish and eliminate off the face of the earth.
We are at war with an evil enemy that is intent on America’s destruction.
Unfortunately, the theme of our international policy, spearheaded by Hillary Clinton, has been: Ignorance is bliss. But, choosing to ignore the nature of the enemy we are at war with will not change their behavior or goals.
The next Republican president must be a fearless advocate for the strength of America abroad. America is the greatest country on Earth because of our beliefs in individuals’ rights and we, and the rest of the world, must not forget that.
Hillary Clinton will be beaten by the most intelligent, driven, selfless, determined individual of the 17 Republican candidates.
This candidate must not be afraid to stick to his or her ideals and transform America into the economic superpower we should be.
Which Republican individual possesses these attributes? It may be a while before we know. Hopefully, we will start to get an idea in this first round of Republican debates this week.
But again, I believe that I speak for most Americans when I say that having a specific plan to make sure every American family who wants a job has one has to be job one.
-Governor Rick Scott
