Florida is sometimes called “God’s waiting room.” That’s a reference to the age of that state’s electorate. Given this demographic, there’s no surprise Republican Gov. Rick Scott attacked his congressional opponent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson over skimping on Social Security and Medicare tax payments.
Scott just dropped a new 30-second spot slamming Nelson for staffing his campaign with contractors rather than full-time political operatives. And at first that might seem odd. Why should any voter care how a political operative gets paid?
They might care if they are dependent on Social Security and Medicare, given that employers don’t pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on contractors.
Nelson isn’t just dodging payroll taxes. Scott argues that Nelson is “stealing from Medicare and Social Security.” Dropped coincidentally on the 53rd anniversary of Medicare, it’s a powerful attack.
Is Nelson being hypocritical for defending the social safety net in Congress, then avoiding its obligations on the campaign? Sure.
At the same time, Social Security is going broke and Medicare remains a drag on the economy. Conservatives generally focus on the systemic insolvency of these programs. But down in Florida though, the opportunity to exploit elderly identity politics was too strong for Scott to dismiss.
