Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Oh, that feeling when he's gone.

Some of you may have knowledge of Morgan's Raid led by Gen. John Hunt Morgan in 1862. The raid lasted 46 days and covered 1000 miles through Indiana and Ohio. This was during the American Civil War. The raid struck fear in the civilian population and drew tens of thousands of Federal troops away from their regular war duties, to protect the citizenry. There are historical markers all through southern Indiana and Ohio to this day. We were taught this bit of history in our schools in the small town I grew up near. Having knowledge of and reading the papers about Rick Scott, I am reminded of Morgan's Raid.

Rick Scott was born in Illinois, moved to Kansas City and went to high school and junior college there, enlisted in the Navy for 29 months, came back to Kansas City and graduated from law school. He moved to Texas and practiced law with the state's largest firm in Dallas. He and two other people started Columbia Hospital Corporation and with further acquisitions of competitors, the company evolved into the largest health care corporation in the country.

Mr. Scott passed through Louisville when Columbia acquired a subsidiary of Humana. They announced their headquarters would be in Louisville and the city was delighted to have them here. Billboards were put up on all the expressways. The corporation contributed big bucks to the arts and Mr. and Mrs. Scott were invited to all the best parties and galas. There wasn't a week when they were not featured in the social pages.

It wasn't just the old and new society money who embraced the Scotts. The State government gave low and no tax deals to the corporation. The city was told new high paying jobs would come together in Louisville and so the city helped with those nagging occupational taxes. Then before the commuters got tired of the billboards, Mr. Scott and the corporation decamped to Nashville.

The local paper was full of outrage. Letters to the editor were numerous. We were never told what Nashville used to lure them there, but we as a city were not amused.

In the late 90's Columbia/HCA was charged by the Federal government in a huge Medicare fraud case. Mr. Scott was CEO of the corporation. Among the crimes uncovered were doctors being offered financial incentives to bring in patients, falsifying diagnostic codes to increase reimbursements from Medicare and other government programs, and billing the government for unnecessary tests. The case was never brought to court and was settled with a payout of $1.7 billion.

Mr. Scott was never personally charged, but the corporation ousted him. In an application of veneer to hide their crimes, the corporation changed its name to HCA Mr. Scott went on to spend the next decade investing in health care service firms and technology start ups.

Now Mr. Scott has turned to politics in Florida. He is the GOP candidate for governor there. His campaign has been saturating the airwaves in an effort to introduce himself and wash away the dirt on his resume. By Sunday he will have spent $24.9 million of his personal wealth in this.

He is also pushing the legal limit of things to get the public financing laws changed in his favor. He's upset because his opponent, who is not a millionaire, will begin getting public financing when Mr. Scott reaches his spending limit Sunday.

I could write about the injustice of election financing. I won't do that today.

In 2009 Mr. Scott put up the initial funding for Conservatives for Patients' Rights. The organization sounds like it would be working to help individual patients get help. The true purpose is to reduce the growth of Medicare and other government programs.

The irony just does not stop!

Mr. Scott and his companies get all the tax breaks they can scare the state out of, and then abandon Kentucky to zip down to Tennessee, which also abates taxes for them. Then through guile and clever machinations with cunning schemes that amount to out and out theft, they cheat the Federal government of funds that should have been used to help more people.

I know how we feel here in Louisville after experiencing the acquaintance of Rick Scott. I'd advise Florida to take note. I suspect if he's elected governor there, they will have a similar feeling when he leaves.

16 comments:

  1. He is a self-absorbed asshole...that makes him qualified for politics.

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  2. Nicely done Charlene, he has been a puke for years. I worked for SEIU for a few years and his he well hated. As an aside, I am quite familiar with Morgan's Raids. Cheers Charlene!!

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  3. I hope people in Florida read this!

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  4. Wonderful polemic, Charlene, firing from the hip, all parts of speech blazing. Keep up the good work!

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  5. there is no cure for stupid..hope he loses.

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  6. Christopher gets the prize for teaching me a new word. I love it! Polemic. SMILE

    Also a gentleman named Lester V Horwitz has corrected some details I posted that were wrong. He should know, having published a book in 1999 about Morgan's Raid entitled: The Longest Raid of the Civil War: Little-Known and Untold Stories of Morgan's Raid into Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio. It's available from bn.com and costs $26. I found a used copy in Lexington, so I'll read the book. Anyone wants to borrow it, let me know.

    Per Mr. Horwitz the Raid started July 2 in 1863 and lasted only 21 days. Sigh.

    I remember my maternal grandmother talking about this. She was born in 1882 and told me her grandmother and mother talked about the Raid. She wasn't so good at dates I guess. :o)

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  7. Interesting and frightening. Course, Florida had Jeb Bush for governor, so they are well used to sleaze bags.

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  8. So I'm hazzarding a guess, he wouldn't get your vote, then? (Ow, stoppit with the swat, here!) Such a well written, if thoroughly depressing post, Charlene, he sounds a perfectly repulsive speciman off all that is wrong with the electoral system.

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  9. sounds like the fox might end up guarding the hen house in florida.

    on the other hand it takes a crook to catch a crooke. he might uncover all sorts of stuff in florida if he wants to cleanse his soul for judgement day.

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  10. Shrinky. I see him as a type: a person who is smart and focused on making money no matter who is harmed.

    billy pilgrim: I don't believe any of these type of people would be devoted to being honest and principaled after they have been successful by not being.

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  11. I would have read this post if it wasn't evening and I've have 7 beers.

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  12. Wow, I was over at billy pilgrim's blog, liked your comment, came over here and literally got a chill when I read the beginning of this post.
    I'm kin to John Hunt Morgan. It's cool with me if you see him in a negative Northern light. You might find this interesting since you know about him from history. First of all I'm not officially kin to him, let me explain. The history books say he was killed by Northern soldiers in Greensville? I think (I haven't thought about this in a long time.)
    To get to the point - He faked his death, killed and switched clothes with a Yankee soldier, messed up the soldier's face. The Northern troops were so happy that they had caught (killed) him that they drug his body through the streets by horse, further messing up the body. Morgan had to get the hell out of Dodge or Greensville. He went to Indian territory, changed his name and started a new life. He married a full blood Cherokee (my great great grandmother) Morgan was my great great grandpa. I'm sure this is very hard to believe, but it is true. I wish I remembered more details, I'll check my facts and get back to you.

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  13. My people are from Kentucky, Northern Kentucky and my grandmother knew the story. One of my ancestral names is one of his. I don't think it was the same family though.

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  14. This time I read what your post was really about, I think you're right, Florida should steer clear of this guy, big time.

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  15. Oooooh, guys like this make my blood boil!!! I think greedy, selfish, rich people are some of the lowest on the planet. I wish I still lived in Florida, but I'm hoping many of their citizens read your blog. Thanks for getting the word out!!

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  16. A letter to the editor in the July 15 2010 Courier Journal:

    Just when I thought I' heard everything, I read that Rick Scott, former CEO of Columbia/HCA, is running for governor of Florida. I assume he had returned to Texas with his tail between his legs, after singlehandedly dismantling Galen Healthcare 9the former Louisville-based Humana Hospital corporation) and relocating the corporate office, and all those high-paying jobs, to Nashville. I suggest Florida react pre-emptively and have Scott declared a federal disaster and removed from the gubernatorial ballot. Florida has had enough to deal with this year with the BP oil spill; it doesn't need another disaster. ---Sherry Moak

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