The late George Steinbrenner changed baseball forever in the 1970's by opening up his sizeable check book. If you're a major league player or a Yankees' fan you like the changes wrought by the Boss. If you're a fan of baseball's other 29 teams or you're struggling to pay supersized ticket prices - not so much. Now Rick Scott is attempting to channel his inner Steinbrenner and do the same thing with Florida politics.
But a pesky Florida law is getting in the way of his quest to be the Steinbrenner of Florida politics. It's a 23 year old constitutional amendment, approved by Florida voters, that provides any opponent (in this case Bill McCollum) a dollar-for-dollar match for every dollar a self-funded candidate (in this case Rick Scott) spends over $24.9 million. Scott sued to block the law on the grounds that it limits his 1st Amendment right to free speech. A federal judge threw out Scott's suit. The judge wrote that Florida's law, unlike similar laws in Arizona and Connecticut that were declared unconstitutional, was constitutional because other provisions of the law affect all candidates, not just rich candidates. The judge also ruled that the government's interest in keeping elections free of corruption outweighed Scott's 1st Amendment rights in this case.
Rick Scott has appealed and vowed to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, if necessary. In the interim, McCollum will begin receiving his matching dollars when Scott passes the $24.9 million threshold, which should be soon, since he reported spending over $22 million in his latest campaign report.
Scott is probably the worst candidate to challenge the law for two reasons. One, he made a good deal of his fortune from profits derived from Medicare reimbursement (a.k.a. government dollars) at the 500 hospitals has ran as CEO of Columbia/HCA. Two, under Scott's leadership, Columbia/HCA paid the biggest fine in U.S. history for its corrupt billing practices.
But the question is much bigger than Rick Scott. Let's take Scott out of the equation and insert a selfless, poor candidate. Pick one - Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Gandhi. And let's say they won $200 million in the Powerball Lottery, and wanted to spend that money running for Governor of Florida. Should the State of Florida have the ability to deny them their 1st Amendment right to free political speech?
Still in like with the Millionaire's Law? If not, you're in luck - this November you'll have a chance to vote to repeal the Millionaire's Law. It will be Amendment One on your ballot.
Have a Good Week - Dare To Be Great!
You Might Be Interested In