Rick Scott Still Won’t Investigate Putnam’s Background Check Fiasco

Scott, Who Once Said “The Buck Stops Here,” Refuses To Hold Putnam Accountable

 

In an interview yesterday, Rick Scott refused to commit to investigating Adam Putnam’s growing background check scandal. Despite promising to take responsibility for his Cabinet, telling Floridians that “the buck stops here,” Scott is aiding and abetting Putnam’s cover-up of his incompetent management of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

It’s been 40 days since the Tampa Bay Times first revealed that Adam Putnam failed to conduct background checks for more than a year. Since then, Floridians have learned hundreds of Floridians received a concealed weapons permit from Putnam’s department without proper vetting, and a whistle-blower revealed she was told by a Putnam employee she “worked for the NRA.”

With calls for an independent investigation in Putnam’s negligence growing, Scott is failing to hold Putnam accountable — instead giving […]

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Dean Heller Chooses Pro-Yucca Brett Kavanaugh Over Nevadans

“Dean Heller’s endorsement of pro-Yucca Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh says it all: Heller won’t even blink before selling out Nevadans to please his establishment cronies,” said American Bridge spokesperson Amelia Penniman.

 

Washington Post: The Energy 202: Kavanaugh’s court decision on Yucca Mountain could be campaign issue in Nevada Senate race

By Dino Grandoni | July 18

Dean Heller has “lauded” Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s “record of adherence to the Constitution.”
“But there is one spot in that record that may haunt Heller: an opinion penned byKavanaugh compelling the federal government to move forward with a nuclear waste storage project deeply unpopular in his home state of Nevada.”
“Five years ago, a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ordered the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to consider an application to store nuclear waste within a remote mountain about 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas.”
“Writing […]

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QUICK CLIPS: Rick Scott’s Legal Battle to Hide His Finances From Floridians

As Rick Scott battles in court to hide his ill-gotten millions from Floridians — including how he made $550 million in one deal last year — he’s earning even more negative coverage.

“Rick Scott has spent seven years as governor working to profit from state business, from oil pipelines to healthcare contracts. Just yesterday, as Scott’s lawyers were arguing the public has no right to see Scott’s finances, Scott himself was lying about $120 million in shady outside income. This level of deceit and corruption is why Floridians know they can’t trust Rick Scott to look out for anyone but himself,” said American Bridge spokesperson Joshua Karp.

Bay News 9: “Last year alone [Scott] reported that his net income rose by $80 million.”

WFOX: “Lawyers for Governor Scott are trying to block […]

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MEMO: STATE OF THE RACE: Summer of Scandal Sinks Adam Putnam

To: Interested Parties

From: American Bridge 21st Century

Date: 7/18/18

Subject: MEMO: STATE OF THE RACE: Summer of Scandal Sinks Adam Putnam

In May, American Bridge predicted that Fox News Contributor Ron DeSantis “looks like the new-frontrunner in the Republican primary” for Florida Governor. Two months later, that prediction has rung true.

Whether you believe DeSantis’s internal polling showing him ahead of former frontrunner Adam Putnam by 19 points, or other polling that gives DeSantis a more modest 6 point lead, it is undeniable that Putnam’s once massive lead for the Republican nomination has eroded.

If you look at Putnam’s news coverage this summer, it isn’t hard to understand why this happened. While DeSantis has seen his support among likely Republican primary voters surge following President Trump’s “re-endorsement” of his primary campaign, Putnam’s own self-inflicted wounds have left him exposed. Putnam has spent years planning his campaign for Governor. But while he was plotting the next steps of his political career, he wasn’t focused on the job he had. It seems a […]

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Patrick Morrisey and Josh Hawley Are Selling Out Americans With Pre-Existing Conditions

“Patrick Morrisey and Josh Hawley knew exactly what they were doing when they joined their lawsuit attacking the Affordable Care Act. Their actions put millions of West Virginians and Missourians with pre-existing conditions at risk. Vulnerable Americans deserve better than blatant politicking done at their expense,” said American Bridge spokesperson Amelia Penniman. 

Kaiser Health News: States Attacking ACA Would Suffer Most If Preexisting Conditions Shield Gets Axed
By Harriet Rowan | July 17, 2018

“If the Affordable Care Act’s protections for people with preexisting medical conditions are struck down in court, residents of the Republican-led states that are challenging the law have the most to lose.”
“Twenty Republican state attorneys general and governors challenged the constitutionality of the ACA in federal court in February…The states’ lawsuit argues that because Congress eliminated the Obamacare tax penalty for not having insurance coverage, effective next year, the entire law is unconstitutional. By extension, the […]

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Senate Brief: Rick Scott’s Toxic Algae Nightmare

Week of Monday, July 16, 2018

IN BRIEF: Rick Scott’s policies are poisoning Florida’s waterways with toxic algae, forcing businesses to close and families to evacuate — and even stopping one church from performing baptisms. 

The blue-green algae grows in Central Florida’s Lake Okeechobee because of years of Rick Scott’s negligent environmental policies that put special interest polluters first. The algae releases dangerous, foul-smelling vapors, is dangerous to touch and is toxic to ingest. Commerce along the affected waterways is brought to a standstill.
Rick Scott has a seven-year record of putting special interests ahead of Florida’s environment. He’s kicked the can down the road on toxic algae for seven years, kowtowing to his wealthy financial backers; he’s advocated for drilling off the Florida coast; he’s banned state government from even uttering the words “climate change”; and he’s weakened oversight of polluters.
That’s why Florida newspapers are blaming Rick Scott for the crisis. Sun-Sentinel says Scott is “to […]

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Patrick Morrisey Is Still Raking In Cash From Big Pharma

“Patrick Morrisey is promising West Virginians he’ll ‘drain the swamp.’ What he’s not telling them is that he’s the swampiest of them all — perpetuating the ‘broken system’ he’s decried and accepting donations from lobbyists for the Big Pharma companies that flooded West Virginia with opioids,” said American Bridge spokesperson Amelia Penniman. “Morrisey has raked in over $1 million from Big Pharma. West Virginians can’t trust him to be on their side.”

 

Mother Jones: He’s Running as a Hero of the Opioid Epidemic. Here’s the Catch.

By Julia Lurie | July 13, 2018

“Patrick Morrisey—the West Virginia Republican running for US Senate—often brags that no one has done more than he has to address the state’s devastating opioid epidemic.”
“For many in his state, the issue is personal: West Virginia has the highest overdose rate in the country…So it’s no surprise that the epidemic is now at the center of one […]

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