Daniel TilsonPardon an old pun, but…Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt. In fact, it’s becoming one of Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s favorite “go-to” plays in a still-new second administration chock full of full-court pressure from the press.
This latest denial was of the claim made in a story first published last weekend by the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting (FCIR), that Scott had banned use of the phrases “climate change” and “global warming” by Department of Environmental Protection staff.
“It’s not true” said the governor of few words, especially ones that could clarify why multiple past and present DEP employees had verified the story’s veracity.
A follow-up from FCIR suggests ample deniability capacity for the governor and others was built into the effort by keeping it an unofficial and unwritten rule for staffers to live by – if they wanted to work for Gov. Scott:
“Their superiors told them that using the terms ‘climate change’ and ‘global warming’ would not be good for their state careers.”
All this insulting, frightening foolishness begs a question.
What other verboten words and forbidden phrases are lurking on a no-no list that doesn’t exist, somewhere in the overcrowded, under-ventilated attic of Rick Scott’s furtively worrisome mind?
Funny you should ask. Using the Vulcan mind meld in new ways (with the great Leonard Nimoy gone, there’s more bandwidth available), I’ve obtained the following “Top Ten” list of terms not to use in any form if working for the governor; plus preferred alternatives!
10. “Affordable Care Act” should be…“Obamacare” or “Socialist health care law”
9. “Voter suppression” should be …“Fighting voter fraud” or “Election integrity”
8. “Living wages” should be…“Job killers” or “Burdening job creators”
7. “At-risk uninsured” should be…“Self-insured” or “Victims of Obamacare”
6. “Corporate tax evasion” should be…“Business incentives” or “Business growth”
5. “Poverty” should be…“Big government dependency” or “Individual responsibility”
4. “Privatization” should be…“Smaller government” or “streamlining”
3. “Democratic activists”…should be…“Left-leaning liberals” or “Union thugs”
2. “Bad jobs” should be…“New opportunities” or “Let’s keep working”
1. “Middle-class stagnation”…should be “Economic growth” or “Obama’s failure”
Just remember – especially if you work in state government – there is no such list, it does not exist. But if you fail to commit it to memory, the governor will be pissed.
Daniel Tilson has a Boca Raton-based communications firm called Full Cup Media, specializing in online video and written content for non-profits, political candidates and organizations, and small businesses. Column courtesy of Context Florida.
