The coast isnt clear for Rick Scott but the worst of the storm around his firing of Gerald Bailey from the FDLE seems to be over.
Without a smoking gun, there simply isnt much Scotts opponents can do here. The fact that Bailey would far prefer to talk to the Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times crew than Willie Meggs in the state attorneys office isnt helping. If Baileys ouster stays a media issue instead of a legal one, Scott will easily survive. So far, the various "sunshine law" cases have gone nowhere though they continue to get filed. As the media turn to increasingly irrelevant angles on the story --including Jennifer Carrolls thoughts on the whole thing -- the story is starting to run out of steam.
Last weeks Quinnipiac poll had Scott upside down -- just like he has been for his entire governorship. The people who like Scott still support him. The people who loathe Scott continue to dislike him. The FDLE controversy has done nothing to move the needle one way or the other on Scott.
The poll also holds the key to why Scott won a second term despite being more disliked than liked. Floridians simply feel better about the economy and Scott gets some of the credit since its the issue he has focused on more than any other during his political career. There are plenty of people in Florida who dont like Scott but ended up voting for him since the economy was rebounding.
With that in mind, Charlie Crist was made to order for Scott. The Democrats ran the former Republican governor against Scott under who tanked the economy and under who improved it. Sure, Crist is more charismatic and friendly than Scott. But after all his pivots, party changes and repositioning, Crist ended up standing for nothing. Add in Floridas lousy economy during his time in Tallahassee and Crist was the perfect opponent for Scott.
Scott got another win on Monday when he announced tourism saw record highs in Florida during 2014. Its another nice addition to Scotts resume, especially as most Floridians recognize tourism plays an important part in the states economy.
Unless there is conclusive evidence that proves Scott and his team acted in the wrong in throwing Bailey overboard, the governor will easily survive the controversy. Scott will never be popular with the voters but he has gotten his agenda through before. Even after the FDLE mess, Scotts numbers really didnt drop from where they have been over most of the last four years. Expect more of the same in the months to come with Rick Scotts agenda still far more popular than he is as the economy continues to grow.
Tallahassee political writer Jeff Henderson wrote this analysis exclusively for Sunshine State News.
