Rick Scott will take center stage in his inaugural on Tuesday with a simple message: conservative governance can work.
Scott will point out the benefits of small government and lower taxes in his inaugural address. Noting the advantages provided by Floridas attractive business climate, Scott will woo businesses and residents of other states much as hes done over the last four years.
Entering his second term, Scott now becomes one of the most senior Republican governors in the nation. Scott hails from a swing state and, despite his often awkward presentations and less than compelling public persona, beat a highly regarded challenger in Charlie Crist last year. At the same time, Scott has crafted a solid record, taking Florida out of the recession.
Scott will have the opportunity to add to his record in the months to come. Already, he plans to pursue additional tax cuts in the upcoming legislative session even as the state government takes in more revenue as business booms in Florida. Scott is already planning to send some of that money to Floridas schools while continuing to call for colleges and universities to rein in tuition.
During most of his first term, Scott generally avoided national Republican politics, staying on the sidelines during the 2012 presidential contest and avoiding intraparty battles. Not a favorite of the party leadership during his primary battle against Bill McCollum in 2010, Scott has eased into a larger role for the GOP as the years have gone by. Longtime Republican governors like Rick Perry are headed off while others like Bobby Jindal are winding down their time in office. Republicans presiding over large swing states like Scott, John Kasich and Rick Snyder have a large role to play, especially as nobody expects answers from Washington, D.C.
Scott will get some attention from the national GOP on Tuesday. Both Perry and Chris Christie will be in attendance as Scott gets sworn in for a second term.
But Perry, Christie and other Republicans thinking about running for president should do more than take in Scotts hoopla; they should be taking notes. Scotts put a blueprint together for Floridas future: lower taxes, more funds for education, less regulation, holding the line on tuition, keeping government spending under control, though that is easier said than done. So far the results have been solid.
Scotts not exactly going to be at the top of most peoples list of presidential candidates any time soon and he still has Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio ahead of him here in Florida. But Republicans could do worse than look at Scotts record and results as they try to come up with a game plan for 2016 against Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren or whoever the Democrats nominate. If Republicans want to say GOP governors have the solutions to move Americas economy forward, they would be wise to look at Scotts record.
Tallahassee political writer Jeff Henderson wrote this analysis exclusively for Sunshine State News.
