Why I called Florida Governor Rick Scott an asshole

Two months ago, hated Florida Governor Rick Scott made the catastrophic error of walking into the same Starbucks as Gainesville hero Cara Jennings.

Spotting her chance, Cara immediately laid into Scott, calling him “an asshole” in front of the other customers.

“You don’t care about working people, you should be ashamed to show your face around here,” she yelled at him as he walked out.

We caught up with Cara to find out what happened.

Can you give me a rundown of your encounter with Governor Rick Scott in Starbucks?

I had a chance encounter with Governor Rick Scott at a Starbucks in Florida. I was working on my laptop and he was there. At first I wasn’t sure if it was him, so I asked, and he turned around – confirming it was him. When I attempted to talk about HB-1411, an anti-abortion bill for low income women, he was dismissive. I was really upset that he wouldn’t hear what I had to say, and I decided to give him a piece of my mind.

How did you handle the situation?

Well, by now I’m sure you’ve seen the video. I started calmly, and when he refused to answer questions and tried to ignore talking about healthcare, some mean words were exchanged. It ends in him leaving angrily.

If you could go back, what elements of the conversation would you emphasize, change, or clarify?

Not a thing. I feel strongly about my beliefs and I wanted to convey my unhappiness and significant impact his legislation has on a woman like myself. The policies Gov. Scott supports are damaging. It impacts women like me.

I read somewhere that after the incident, you actually asked the Governor to grab coffee. How did that work out?

A day or two after the Starbucks incident I made a formal request via email and phone call to see if I could patch things up over coffee and the governor never replied. The next day his press release attacked me.

Have you been working on anything recently – either in politics or other areas?

I’ve been involved in a lot of activist projects within my community, and in south Florida regarding environmental development issues. I also campaigned, was elected, and served as an elected official in South Florida. My most taxing role is that I am a mother.

Rank your top three political concerns.

Endless list that I don’t agree with. We live in a coastal state and Scott doesn’t address climate change. We have bad prison systems, and a state minimum wage that is too low. “8.05 is plenty,” says Scott, but his Starbucks order costs almost that much. Rick Scott seems heartless. He has no concern regarding reproductive healthcare and the Medicaid gap. Millions of Floridians are stuck because Governor Scott won’t expand Medicaid leaving people uninsured. The conservative leg is pushing a right wing agenda. They are up for reelection, so if we apply pressure we can stop Scott’s rampage.