The Palm Beach Post
Across Florida
What's happening on other political blogs?


In case you missed it: Some abortions were performed at the hundreds of hospitals Scott owned

by Michael C. Bender | August 22nd, 2010

UPDATE: The church has pulled the voter guides after Scott’s campaign complained.

That’s the note in the voter’s guide the Florida Family Policy Council and other Christian groups are disseminating at the 10,000-member El Rey Jesus church in Miami today.

The guide runs through candidates positions in seven races. But the only “note” is included in the GOP governor’s race between Rick Scott and Bill McCollum. The note happens to be a talking point for McCollum, who has been endorsed by the family policy group’s director, John Stemberger.

Note: Mr. Scott was the CEO of Columbia/HCA Healthcare hospitals while they performed elective abortions.

We should note that a tiny fraction of elective abortions happen in hospitals. And we should also note that several GOP operatives have said this is a low blow againt Scott.. Remember Florida GOP icon Jeb Bush is a board member of a hospital where abortions happen, too. (Even McCollum has stopped repeating it in his stump speeches.)

One of the positions not included in voters guide: illegal immigration.


Scott, who is speaking to the El Rey congregation today, said Pastor Guillermo Maldonado is among a handful of Hispanic leaders in South Florida upset that McCollum is pushing an immigration bill that claims to be tougher than the controversial Arizona law.

“A lot of people were put off because Bill McCollum came down and it was disrepectful what he did,” Scott said to reporters. “He talked to leaders here, whether it was Pastor Maldonado or other leaders — like Jeb Bush and Illeana (Ros Lehtinen) and the Diaz Balart brothers — and he didn’t tell them his position. He didn’t tell them that he was going to come out and do something he said was stronger than the Arizona bill.”

McCollum says everything is fine.

“I’ve talked to Pastor Maldonado since that bill came out. He and I had a very pleasant conversation this past week. I think he personally supports me,” McCollum said. “I’d be surprised if I found out otherwise.”

McCollum, however, acknowledged he has since taken down a TV ad with U.S. Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart.

“I don’t think anyone in Miami is really excited about the bill,” McCollum said.

Tags: , , ,

11 Responses to “In case you missed it: Some abortions were performed at the hundreds of hospitals Scott owned”

  1. johnnyDee Says:

    Seriously?

    How many pro-life people own stock in companies that might be ties to elective abortions? Hospital, sugical, drug companies, etc…?

    Nice hatchet job PBP…Bravo!

  2. Tell them what they want to hear McCollum who learned this from none other than CharLIE Says:

    McCOLLUM AND JEB BUSH WERE IN MIAMI LYING THROUGH THEIR TEETH AND BEGGING FOR HISPANIC SUPPORTS TO SIGN ON JUST TWO DAYS BEFORE HE CAME BACK TO ORLANDO AND ANNOUNCED HIS NEW HARSHER THAN ARIZONA TYPE IMMIGRATION BILL! LIE! LIE! LIE! THEN LIE SOME MORE TO COVER UP THSE LIES! THAT’S BILL McCOLLUM CAREER TELL ‘EM WHAT THEY WANT TO HEAR POLITICIAN!

    Bill McCollum feels Hispanic backlash over law targeting migrants

    Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill McCollum is trying to contain any potential fallout among Hispanic supporters due to his efforts to bring an Arizona-style immigration law to Florida.

    ‘Arizona is going to want this law,’ Florida Attorney General and GOP gubernatorial candidate Bill McCollum said when introducing his proposal. ‘We’re better, we’re stronger, we’re tougher and we’re fairer.’

    Asked why the legislation was needed since the number of undocumented workers appears to be declining in Florida, McCollum pointed to the provision that would increase penalties for illegal immigrants who commit crimes such as cocaine trafficking.

    The Arizona law is popular among voters — except Hispanics. And the latest Mason-Dixon polls show Scott trailing badly in the Hispanic community.

    McCollum received support from 57 percent of the Hispanic voters in the survey released Thursday, while Scott was favored by only 21 percent.

    “Where Scott was losing points was that he was using [immigration] as a sledgehammer,” said Mason-Dixon pollster Brad Coker. “You have to walk a fine line and McCollum seemed to be doing a good job at that, but maybe he hit the panic button. We’ll see if he pays a price now.”

    Coker added that since the law is widely favored by white voters — who make up 80 percent of the people who are undecided about the race — it’s possible that increased white support could offset any loss of Hispanic backers. About 15 percent of the likely Republican primary voters are Hispanic.

    Campaigning with McCollum on Monday, former Gov. Jeb Bush acknowledged that he and McCollum differ on the Arizona law but said that wasn’t enough to rule out his support. Another McCollum ally and member of his Hispanic leadership team, Jorge Arrizurieta, the former president of the Florida Free Trade of the Americas, agreed with Bush.

    “I still support Bill 150 percent,” he said. “You can’t blame a candidate for doing what he thinks he has to do to win, though I personally disagree with him having to go that far.”

    Other co-chairs of McCollum’s Hispanic leadership team — Reps. Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart of Miami — could not be reached Thursday.

    Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/12/1773988_p2/hispanic-backlash-over-law-targeting.html#ixzz0xM3nn1WE

  3. BrendaStarr Says:

    So what? I wouldn’t vote for Scott in a million years but in case you neanderthals haven’t heard, abortion is legal!!!!

  4. Why Do Repubs Hate Abortion Anyway They Should Support IT And Most Of OUr Torubles Would Disappear Says:

    Hey, Brenda Starr ~ I’m one repub who is a strong supporter of abortion! I don’t even care if they use the Obama version, you know that partial birth abortion thing when they put that steel rod through the base of the baby’s skull at about 7-8 months and then throw the carcass in the incineration! The reason I don’t care is its the Dumb Dems that believe in it so much! Can you imagine what a great country this would be right about now if the parents of Obama, Pelosi, Reid, Frank, Weiner, Emanuel, Holder, Gibbs, Gore, Kerry, Boxer, Waters, Alien Grayson, and on and on the list goes had chosen to have an abortion instead of allowing the imbeciles to roam in masses and spread their ignorance and deception on the great nation on earth!

  5. Exnjcop Says:

    In case you missed it the Post does another hatchet job on a Republican it doesn’t like. This paper is a Democrat house organ. It is ignored by thinking people.

  6. olrick Says:

    Nope didn’t miss it, just don’t give a damn about abortions. If the woman wants an abortion, she gets an abortion. Case closed. Would the PB Post prefer the woman went the coat hanger route? If your a male you have no opinion on abortion, you can only say like me, it’s her option, it’s her body, I hope she has a nice day.

  7. GrayRiv Says:

    Making immigration law a local issue and and using state and local police and taxpayer dollars to enforce federal administrative law are positions that are causing the GOP to hemorrhage support nationwide, but is simply suicidal, even among Republicans, in Florida. The Bushes, the Diaz-Balarts, and Ros-Lehtinen should follow Ana Navarro’s lead and renounce (or does the GOP say ‘refutiate’?) the McCollum candidacy.

  8. dick Says:

    Abortion is the kiss of death for political candidates. The same for the fetuses. Abortion for convenience is beginning to be a thing of the past. Thank God.
    I’m not sure Scott had enough authority to stop them even if he were on the Board. It needs more inquiry. In case you murderers didn’t know it, it kills humans. You hard hearted libby’s have had your day after millions of abortions. Millions.

  9. Bloggy Bayou Says:

    Drunk Opossums and Florida Politics

    http://www.practicalstate.com/?p=2032

    Cheers

  10. Bloggy Bayou Says:

    Elvis Was A Jew: I Just Got Robo-called by Mike Huckabee in Support of McCollum

    http://www.practicalstate.com/?p=2055

    Cheers

  11. Natalya Vivona Says:

    Hi, for your post. You don’t know how this helped me.

Election 2012 Videos
Florida political tweeters
Categories
Special Reports
Where's the money? Use The Post's interactive database of who wants and who's getting federal dollars.
Stimulus Tracker | Interactive Map

fl_senate_districtsUse these interactive graphics to find and contact Palm Beach County and Treasure Coast legislators.
House | Senate | Congress

fallenheroesSee the faces and find the names of Florida's fallen heroes in Iraq and Afghanistan.
War dead database | Photos

Archives