OPINION:
Like a lot of mothers, Sen. Rick Scott’s mom had a clear plan for her son: He was going to make straight A’s, be an Eagle Scout, go to church, and eventually get a job and make money. This plan — created by a loving mother who was struggling through a difficult first marriage — set the path and tone for Mr. Scott’s life. He was a good student, an Eagle Scout, went to church and, eventually, made a considerable amount of money.
More importantly to him, he became a husband, father and grandfather. He also learned to make his own plans on bigger stages involving other people. In moving onto those bigger stages, he has been animated and informed — as all of us are — by personal experience. His philosophy is simple: “I just thought my job all along was, how do you make sure a kid like me … a poor kid that had no role models, could get ahead?”
Perhaps as a result of the challenges he faced, the Florida Republican has clarity about the necessity of thinking about what one needs to do next. “When I started my hospital company … I had to borrow $65 million. So, I wrote a plan and I convinced [people] to invest with me … because I had such a detailed plan of exactly what I was going to do, that they trusted me basically with their money.”
It turns out the skill is transferable. “I did the same thing when I ran for governor. I wrote a plan ‘Seven steps to 700,000 jobs over seven years.’ Actually, at one point we had 1.7 million instead … I believe the country is in deep trouble. And I think what’s going to be important is that we have a plan.”
Consequently, it should come as no surprise that he wants to make sure that Republicans have some sort of idea about what they’ll try to do if they win House and Senate majorities in November. The process of sorting that out entails some risk, but the alternative to something is, of course, nothing. For those who care chiefly about titles and power, the idea of focusing on policies and ideas and content is scary; it implies that politics and governing are ultimately about something other than self-aggrandizement.
For those who want to get things done, like Mr. Scott, having a plan that is known and knowable is common sense. He correctly notes: “If you don’t have a plan for your life, if you don’t have a plan for your company, if you don’t have a plan for your family, if you don’t have a plan for your government, then you’re just going to drift and you are not going to do the tough things. You’re not going to do the hard things.”
For all voters, the opportunity to consider policies and plans should be welcome. Debate and discussion about the preferences of candidates and parties is the living core of the concept of popular sovereignty. If elected officials and those who want to be elected officials aren’t confident enough to share their ideas, why should anyone trust them?
In response to critics of his approach, Mr. Scott offers: “There’s clearly people that believe you don’t ever tell people what you’re going to do because then somebody might disagree with you. I don’t believe that way. I actually really believe we ought to have a heated conversation about what we are going to do and may the best ideas win.”
As important as it is to have a plan, the person who executes it is equally important.
Mr. Scott started off our conversation by simply noting that he is “the most blessed person in America.” His personal history is different than most politicians on the Republican side and indicates that he is a man who can execute a plan. He is the son of a divorced mother whose family constantly struggled and lived in public housing for a time. He served in the Navy right out of high school. He achieved success in businesses both large and small, as well as in politics. He has his priorities in order, routinely alerting people that he thinks of himself first and foremost as a father and grandfather.
Politically, he has won not once or twice but three times statewide in a large, demographically complicated state (which was very much a swing state when he first ran for office in 2010 after emerging as an opponent to Obamacare). He has the kind of experience Republican voters prize — success in business, experience as a governor, an appetite for policy and a biography that speaks to the moment.
If he seeks higher office in 2024, his opponents will need a very good plan to beat him.
• Michael McKenna, a columnist for The Washington Times, is the president of MWR Strategies. He was most recently a deputy assistant to the president and deputy director of the Office of Legislative Affairs at the White House.
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