Rick Scott's Conservative Agenda Annotated

U.S. Senator Rick Scott, a conservative Republican, has released "an eleven point plan to rescue America" (with very polished typesetting and graphic design) that is pretty representative of the larger conservative movement, and urges a shift right from Republican majority leader Mitch McConnell. It offers insights into the current Republican mindset in America. 

What does Rick Scott think is wrong with America (in his own words, emphasis and statements in italics are mine)?

• Our government has created the highest debt in human history 

Mostly due to Republican policies to cut taxes with continuing to spend in defense and corporate welfare. 

• Americans are afraid to speak their minds for fear of being silenced and canceled by the woke elitists 

A society where racism and sexism and homophobia and xenophobia are socially unacceptable isn't a bad thing. The First Amendment is vigorously protecting unpopular speech from governmental interference. 

• Our children are being poisoned by a false political agenda in their schools 

Public schools mostly just have a reality based agenda, there isn't a "false political agenda" in schools. 

• Inflation is a tax placed on us by politicians who waste our money

Inflation can be caused by bad policies that politicians indirectly control and is sometimes equivalent to a tax. But it has very little to do with excessive federal government spending. 

• Our inept withdrawal from Afghanistan dishonored the sacrifices of thousands of Americans and encouraged our enemies 

Our withdrawal from Afghanistan was not well executed. But President Biden largely continued policies put in place by President Trump when he did so, and the collapse of the regime we put in place was a result of two decades of bipartisan failure at the task of state building, which the GOP actively opposed devoting resources to.

• Our porous southern border is a national crisis 

Undocumented immigration and the number of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. are near record lows. Most undocumented immigration involves overstaying temporary visas. The claim that undocumented immigration harms native born Americans is mostly false. Undocumented immigration is not associated with higher levels of crime or a greater burden on government resources, and its labor market impact is quite modest.

• Our cities are overrun by theft, violence, and a 30% increase in murder 

While murder rates are up from a thirty-year record low, violent crime continues to fall and burglary is near record lows too. Other property crimes are stable at their near record lows or are up only modestly. 

• Our government is making us less energy independent and killing jobs 

The U.S. is currently a net exporter of petroleum, natural gas, and coal. It is energy independent. Government policies to reduce fossil fuel consumption through greater efficiency in energy use and a shift to renewables and natural gas are a key reason this is true, has created jobs, and has reduced pollution. 

• American war fighters are being indoctrinated with left-wing woke foolishness and kicked out of the military because of the ‘Big Brother’ vax mandate 

A military not full of extremist racists and misogynists is part and parcel of having a disciplined and effective force in a diverse society. The vax mandates are saving many military lives, making the force less prone to breakdown due to disease, and there is no legitimate reason to be opposed to COVID-19 vaccination.

• Our government is eroding our work ethic by paying people not to work

Strong unemployment benefits during a national crisis when people can't find jobs for reasons beyond their control is not bad policy. The work ethic is not being eroded. 

• We are allowing biological males to destroy women’s sports 

Turning transgender women into scapegoats is driven more by hate than it is due legitimate concern.

• Our kids are taught to hate America and divide each other by skin color

Teaching kids real history which includes negative realities is not hating America. Our kids are being taught to embrace diversity. 

• The FBI is spying on concerned parents who speak out at school board meetings 

The FBI is, as it should, investigating threats of violence directed at public school officials. The violent political tactics embraced by the American right are not acceptable in a democracy based on the rule of law. 

• Washington’s economy is growing, America’s economy is shrinking

America's economy is growing. Measured by factors such as federal government employment and government spending as a share of GDP, "Washington's economy" is has gotten smaller. 

• Lethal drugs are pouring into our country from China and our southern border

The war on drugs has been a failure. Demand and lack of effective treatment, and not supply, is the big problem. Countries like France and Portugal focused on treatment to end the opiate overdose crisis  that each of those nations experienced.

How does Rick Scott propose to address these issues (in his own words, with selective quotations below them with additional details about each point, emphasis and statements in italics are mine)?

1. Our kids will say the pledge of allegiance, salute the Flag, learn that America is a great country, and choose the school that best fits them.

» Parents, not government, will choose the best schools for their kids. 

» We will enact equal opportunity in education (school choice) so no child will be sent to a failing school simply because of their zip code. 

» Kids in public schools will say the Pledge of Allegiance, stand for the National Anthem, and honor the American Flag. We must foster national unity. 

 It is settled law that mandating this is unconstitutional.

» We will open our schools to parents. Parents must have the right to know what their children are being taught, who is teaching them, and which organizations are receiving school contracts. 

» The FBI, DOJ, and all government entities will be expressly forbidden from intimidating parents who dare speak their minds at school board meetings. 

There is nothing wrong with investigating threats of violence against public officials from right wing extremists who are the main terrorist risk in the United States.

» Public schools will teach our children to love America because, while not perfect, it is exceptional, it is good, and it is a beacon of freedom in an often-dark world. 

History needs to include the good and the bad. A PRRI poll showed that 83% of Americans agreed, while 13% favored his view. 

» No child will be taught they are inherently racist because of the color of their skin, or that some Americans are oppressors and others are oppressed. 

» Teacher tenure at public schools must be eliminated because it protects inadequate teachers, not good teachers. 

» We will not allow political or social indoctrination in our schools. Teachers who refuse to comply will need to and new jobs. 

» No public school will be allowed to discriminate against voluntary prayer or force children to check their faith at the door. 

» We will close the federal Department of Education. Education is a state function. If Congress wants to spend money on education, they can cut out the middleman and send it directly to schools and parents. 

» It will be America’s goal to be number one in the world

Great. But your policies won't get us there. 

2. Government will never again ask American citizens to disclose their race, ethnicity, or skin color on any government forms.

» We will stop dividing people by race, skin color, ethnicity, or country of origin, which is an immoral and corrosive habit of the woke crowd. 

» We will be a nation where people will be judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skin. 

» Ban the Box. Government will not ask American citizens to disclose their race, ethnicity, or skin color on any government form. 

» No government policy can be based on race or ethnicity. 

» Our military will engage in ZERO diversity training, teachings on critical race theory, or any woke ideological indoctrination that divides our troops. Our ghting force must be completely united and completely colorblind. 

» Military leadership that prioritizes racial politics over the security of our country must be relieved of their duties. 

» Colleges and universities that favor or discriminate against students based on race or ethnicity in the application process will be ineligible for federal funding and will lose their tax-exempt status. 

» Government will base hiring decisions on qualications, not quotas of any kind. 

» America will strive to provide equal opportunity for everyone but will not guarantee equal outcomes. 

» We simply do not give a damn what color anyone’s skin is. at’s the colorblind future America deserves 

3. The soft-on-crime days of coddling criminal behavior will end. We will refund and respect the police because they, not the criminals, are the good guys.

» We will fund the police and stop all eorts to defund or “re-imagine” policing. 

» We will bring back respect for people who put their lives on the line to keep us safe. 

» We will support mandatory strict minimum sentences for all assaults involving serious injury to law enforcement officers. 

» We will strengthen qualified immunity and legal protections for law enforcement officers to protect them from frivolous lawsuits. 

» We will demand a nationwide crackdown on the and violent crime by imposing stiffer penalties so we can restore law and order to our city streets. 

» We will force prosecutors to prosecute. At present, many prosecutors in big cities are allowing criminals to go free with no justice, and they are doing it on purpose. 

» We will make it a federal crime for any prosecutor, including the US Department of Justice, to pursue prosecution based on political ideology. 

» We will eliminate no-knock warrants in any case that does not involve violent crime. 

» We will increase penalties for spousal abuse and failure to pay child support. 

» We will enact Marsy’s law which ensures victims of crimes have rights and constitutional protections equal to those who commit crimes. 

» We will oppose every attempt to deny our 2nd Amendment freedoms and will defend our gun rights always, at all costs. 

4. We will secure our border, finish building the wall, and name it after President Donald Trump.

» Countries have borders. We will control ours and secure it, once and for all. 

» No one will enter without our permission. We lock our doors at night, not because we hate the people on the outside, but because we love the people on the inside and want to keep them safe. 

» Many potential immigrants love America. Those who don’t will not be allowed to come here. is is our country, and no one has a “right” to come to America. 

» We will employ military assets on our borders as needed. Border security is not simply a matter of domestic policy, it’s also a matter of national security. 

» Immigrants will not be eligible to collect unemployment benefits or welfare for the first 7 years after arriving in the US. 

» We will stop incentivizing people to come to America to receive government benefits. We have plenty of welfare recipients – we need productive citizens instead. 

» We will strip all federal funding from “sanctuary cities” and prosecute any elected officials who flout our immigration laws. 

» We will oppose all “comprehensive” immigration reform measures until we stop the lawlessness on our border, and our border is secured. 

» We oppose cultural segregation. We believe in the ‘melting pot’, where people from many backgrounds go all-in on becoming Americans, “one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” 

5. We will grow America’s economy, starve Washington’s economy, and stop Socialism.

» Socialism will be treated as a foreign combatant which aims to destroy our prosperity and freedom.

Democratic socialist economies are the most prosperous and most free in the world.

» Other than essential core functions, government should not be doing anything that the private sector can do better and cheaper. 

Rick Scott needs to read more Dilbert cartoons. The private sector does many things poorly, including prisons, health care, and education. 

» We will apply the “Do It Better” Test: If American businesses can serve the American people better and cheaper than government, the work goes to them. 

» No government assistance unless you are disabled or aggressively seeking work. If you can work, but refuse to work, you cannot live off of the hard work and sweat of your fellow Americans. 

» We will require “truth in governing."

The GOP doesn't have a good track record in the "truth" department. 

” If government passes a law that does not achieve what it promised, the program will be shut down. 

» We will balance the federal budget. It can be done. States do it all the time. 

» If Congress does not pass a budget, the members of Congress do not get paid. Full stop. 

No problem with this one. 

» Other than disaster relief, the federal government must stop spending money on non-essential state and local projects until the budget is balanced. 

» Eliminate truly non-essential government employee positions, because they are non-essential. 

» Implement the line-item veto. It works in state capitols. It will work in Washington. 

» Expedite all federal permit applications to be granted or denied within 30 days. 

» All Americans should pay some income tax to have skin in the game, even if a small amount. Currently over half of Americans pay no income tax. 

Tax the poor is not a winning political agenda and doesn't make economic sense either. 

» Prohibit debt ceiling increases absent a declaration of war. 

Debt ceiling increases are a natural consequence of appropriations bills already passed by Congress and tax cuts passed by Congress. 

6. We will eliminate all federal programs that can be done locally, and enact term limits for federal bureaucrats and Congress.

» Enact term limits for the Washington ruling class – 12-year limits for Congress and government bureaucrats. (Exceptions for national security reasons only.) 

» Begin paying down debt. Debt = politicians stealing from our future and stealing from all of us right now with inflation.

The government is not the sole beneficiary of inflation which isn't primarily caused by government spending. The main causes of the deficit are GOP tax cuts, excessive defense spending, and COVID-19 related emergency measures.

» Forbid politicians from becoming lobbyists and “cashing-in” on their public service. 

Definitely. Good idea. 

» Eliminate federal programs that can be done locally. Any government function that can be handled locally should be.

How about regulation of cannabis and illegal drugs? 

» Move most Government agencies out of Washington and into the real world. 

» Sell off all non-essential government assets, buildings, and land, and use the proceeds to pay down our national debt. 

» All federal legislation sunsets in 5 years. If a law is worth keeping, Congress can pass it again. 

» All government bids and contracts should be publicly available on the internet. 

» If government fails to comply with the law, citizens must have the right to sue to force them to comply. 

This is already possible in most areas, but law enforcement is allowed to flout the law too often. 

» No government employee can make more than 5 times the national median individual income. 

» We will bar the federal government from using your tax dollars for advertising campaigns. 

» We will drastically simplify the tax code, and eliminate the advantages of those who can afford tax lawyers and lobbyists. 

» We will immediately cut the IRS funding and workforce by 50%. 

Gutting tax collection resources will make the government's debt larger and will benefit only rich people who violate the law. 

» We will allow Veterans to choose how they access health care, either through the VA or private providers, whichever they prefer. 

» Force Congress to issue a report every year telling the public what they plan to do when Social Security and Medicare go bankrupt. 

The Executive branch already does this every single year. The Congressional Budget Office does something similar already too. Your inability to locate resources already available to everyone on the Internet is not evidence that we need new laws. 

7. We will protect the integrity of American Democracy and stop left-wing efforts to rig elections.

 » We will fight for maximum voter participation and zero percent voter fraud. 

We already have zero percent voter fraud. Time to increase voter participation which almost all of the other proposals are calculated to reduce in constituencies that don't vote for Republicans. 

 » Voter ID, requiring a voter to validate their identity, must be the law. Democrats support requiring ID to get a COVID test, vaccination card, or enter a restaurant. All arguments against Voter ID are in favor of fraud. 

There is no fraud. 

» ‘Ballot harvesting’, which the Democrats favor, and which allows political operatives and activists to collect and clone ballots from voters, must be banned. 

» Ballots can only be submitted to a polling location by a voter or the post office. No ballots that show up after election day will be counted, ever. 

» Many Democrats now advocate allowing non-citizens to vote in American elections. New York City now does this. is is too insane for words and must be stopped. 

Why shouldn't people who live in the U.S. have a say in making its laws? 

» The Democrats favor using your taxpayer money to finance political campaigns. No serious person would ever favor this. It must never happen.

In what way is private funding of political campaigns which leads to corruption better? 

» Counting of ballots must be done in full public view, expeditiously, and continue without pause until all votes have been tabulated. 

» There must be no same-day registration, as this does not allow election officials to verify the validity and accuracy of voter information. 

» No one should be automatically registered without their consent or knowledge, as this opens the way for multiple registrations by the same individual and registration of ineligible voters.

It doesn't actually do any of these things. 

» Unmanned or unmonitored ballot boxes in public areas to collect unlimited ballots must be prohibited. 

» No American citizen can be denied their sacred right to vote or be given special voting privileges based on race, religion, zip code, or ethnic origins. 

Wouldn't it be nice if Republicans acted like they believed this? 

8. We will protect, defend, and promote the American Family at all costs.

» No federal program or tax laws will reward people for being unmarried or discriminate against marriage. 

• Even though many single moms heroically do the job of raising a family (as my mom often had to) children need and deserve both parents – and government should not be shy about saying so. 

• Families are crucial in raising young men and women of character and responsible members of society. The best form of governing our society is not government, it is family. 

» Abortions are a tragedy. We must make adoption accessible and affordable. 

• We currently make it very expensive for prospective parents to adopt, even though many kids desperately need families. is is insane and we will change it. 

• We will help low income single women who are considering abortion choose life instead, by paying all costs associated with carrying the child to term and placing the child for adoption.

You are correct that abortion is a woman's choice. Making adoption cheaper would be great. 

• We will STOP Democrat Party efforts to discriminate against faith-based adoption agencies. We will do just the opposite. Most faith-based groups provide far superior service than government agencies do. We will utilize and empower them. 

» School administrators and teachers will work for parents. 

• Parents, not government, will choose which schools their kids attend. 

• We will end the Biden Administration policy of using the FBI to intimidate parents who speak up at school board meetings. 

» We must defend the American family from societal elements that erode it. 

Pornography is not an important source of our nation's woes. Rape has become less common, and legal action to fight sexual abuse by people in positions of trust have increased, at the same time that pornography has become more easily available. 

• We must enforce existing federal obscenity laws. Our society has almost given up on demanding decency, we must aim higher. 

• We must protect our children from the explosion of pornography and cyber predators. The FCC must hold online platforms and broadband providers accountable for not adequately providing tools for parents to keep this trash out of their homes.  

» We will make it impossible for deadbeat dads to avoid paying child support – beginning with paternity. They will either pay up or go to jail, with no other options. 

Lots of dads don't pay child support because they lack the income to do so, and wouldn't be able to pay meaningful amounts if paternity was established. Women who fail to name fathers aren't doing so to undermine their own economic well being. Sending people to jail is not a good way to improve debt collection - we learned this back in the 19th century when debtor's prisoners were abolished. 

9. Men are men, women are women, and unborn babies are babies. We believe in science

Believing in science would be great. 

» Abortion kills human children. To deny that is to deny science.

This is not what science says. 

» Whether you believe in God or not, as a civilized people who accept science, we must protect babies, born and unborn, from all acts of violence.

Science says nothing of the sort. Protecting babies would be nice.  The GOP usually opposes protecting people who are actually born from violence. 

» All government policies will favor having more babies adopted, not aborted. 

The GOP consistently supports policies that do no such thing. 

» Humans are born male and female, there are two genders, and to deny that is to deny science. 

Science says that homosexuality and transgender identity are real. 

» No government forms will include questions about “gender identity” or “sexual preference.”

Ignorance doesn't change reality. 

» No doctor will be allowed to perform irreversible surgical or gender-altering procedures on any minor child. Once they become adults, they can do what they wish. 

Transgender identity is real and surgery is more effective when performed pre-puberty. 

» We will protect women’s sports by banning biological males from competing. It is hugely unfair and would erase many of the gains women have made in athletics over the last 50 years.

Admit that you hate trans people and don't think that they exist and want to persecute them despite the fact that they have done nothing to hurt you. Also transgender tolerance is not a national crisis.

10. Americans will be free to welcome God into all aspects of our lives

The First Amendment strikes a good balance as it is. 

» Americans will not be required to go against their core values and beliefs in order to conform to culture or government. 

» We will reject both the roots and the adherents of cancel culture in America. 

» Every American will be free to live out their religious convictions in the public square, not only in the home or a place of worship. 

» We will forbid government programs from discriminating against the 350,000 religious entities which operate schools, pregnancy resource centers, soup kitchens, drug addiction programs, homeless shelters, and adoption agencies. 

» All social media platforms that censor speech and cancel people will be treated like publishers and subject to legal action. 

» We will require big tech platforms, like Facebook and Twitter, to receive express consent (not as a condition of use) before using Americans’ personal information in any manner, and make it simple for users to opt out. 

» Big Tech platforms will also be required to obtain user consent to sell, share, or convey user data to a third-party entity. 

» No tax dollars will be used to pay for any diversity training or other woke indoctrination that is hostile to faith. 

» Churches and faith-based groups will not be forced to hire employees who disagree with their tenets and convictions. 

» We will stop investing federal retirement dollars with ‘woke’ fund managers and companies that put left-wing politics ahead of profits. 

» Remember – the Second Amendment was established in order to protect the freedoms guaranteed in the First Amendment. 

The Second Amendment has nothing to do with God and is a uniquely American suicide pact that should be repealed. 

11. We are Americans, not globalists.

» We will unapologetically lead the world by example. A world without American leadership would be a very dark world. 

In what way is this not globalist? 

» Adhere to the New Monroe Doctrine – America will not allow any global enemy, such as China, Russia, or Radical Islam, to grow their presence in our hemisphere. 

In what way is this not globalist? 

» No foreign aid to any country that habitually opposes us at the UN. 

There is exceedingly little foreign aid that this describes. 

» We will not pay any dues to the United Nations or any international organization that undermines the national interests of the USA.

My way or the highway isn't an effective foreign policy. 

» We will make our international allies pay their fair share for their own defense. We will not send our kids to do what their kids will not do. 

So, how about you even the scales by spending less on defense? 

» Our military will not be used as a peace-keeping force, it exists to protect us by intimidating or killing our enemies.

Examples please. 

» Nation-building does not work, we will not waste our treasure or troops doing it. 

The Afghanistan departure debacle was a direct result of failing to engage in nation-building. 

» We will always defend our allies, starting with Israel. 

In what way is this not globalist? 

» We will treat our enemies like enemies. 

» No adversarial foreign government or corporation controlled by an adversarial foreign government can purchase American land. 

» The weather is always changing. We take climate change seriously, but not hysterically. We will not adopt nutty policies that harm our economy or our jobs. 

Apparently you don't really believe in science. 

» We will gradually end all imports from Communist China until a new regime honors basic human rights and freedoms. 

This is a good way to harm the American economy. 

» We will build supply chains that rely solely on American workers and allies. We will not be at the mercy of our enemies for medications or any essential commodities. 

Ending international trade is not good for the economy. 

» We will terminate any trade deal that takes away American jobs.

Every trade deal both creates and destroys jobs. The goal is to maximize net economic benefit from trade deals, not to prevent all jobs from being lost. Jobs are not a fixed resource.

» America will be energy independent. 

America is energy independent already.