Rick Scott Hearts Obamacare Dollars

Time was, Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL) reigned as a right-wing folk hero. Florida's Tea Partiers drank up his anti-Obama rhetoric like it was free prune juice at a blue plate special. He vetoed $600 million in funding for homeless veterans, death paneled the Florida Innocence Commission and generally competed with "Florida Man" for the worst headlines generated by a citizen of the Sunshine State. And yet there is no joy in Tea Party land:

Erick Erikson: "It is a sad day for conservatives."

Ace of Spades: "Scott just agreed to kill the state of Florida."

Philip Kein: "…waving the white flag is an accurate description of Scott's decision."

The source of all this right-wing bellyaching–the one condition exacerbated by Obamacare–is Scott's decision to enroll poor Floridians in an expansion of Medicaid financed by the Affordable Care Act.

Now, why would he do such a thing? Is it because he's thinking about his 2014 relection campaign? Is he concerned about hospital lobbyists, or the fact that Joe Biden knows where he lives?

Maybe it has something to do with a health care services company called Solantic:

The Florida governor founded Solantic in 2001, only a few years after he resigned as the CEO of hospital giant Columbia/HCA amid a massive Medicare fraud scandal. In January, according to the Palm Beach Post, he transferred his $62 million stake in Solantic to his wife, Ann Scott, a homemaker involved in various charitable organizations.

It's too soon to say if Scott has found religion, but there's a pretty good chance he's found an angle.

Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images/Getty Images

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Tags: Florida, Health Care, Obamacare, Rick Scott

Tuesday Links: Sara Schaefer's Fiscal Cliff

* Comedian Sara Schaefer is responsible for the financial crisis.

* Speaking of Sara Schaefer, be sure to catch the premiere of Nikki & Sara Live tonight on MTV at 11pm ET. (Unless you hate being happy.)

* Perhaps the greatest gif in history.

* Get excited for this Rob Corddry spy show.

* Florida, you never fail to make us laugh.

* Kumail Nanjiani finds a vegan strip club in Portland, OR.

* A group of UFO believers in Colorado get industrious.

* Andy Richter must be pretty flexible if he can outsource himself.

* The Super Bowl is coming! You should learn how to talk about the Super Bowl.

* Dave Brubeck fought communism with jazz, like the great American he was.

Tags: Anderson Cooper, Andy Richter, China, Colorado, Communism, Conan O'Brien, Daily Links, Financial Reform, Florida, Funny or Die, Kumail Nanjiani, Portland, Rob Corddry, Sara Schaefer, Sports, The Onion, UFO

Monday Links: Gary Busey Belongs in Middle Earth

* Every other movie star seems completely sane compared to Gary Busey.

* The Real World: Skyrim edition.

* First They Came for My Assault Rifle…

* Kate Middleton as Vigo the Carpathian.

* The Smithsonian's inaugural relics collection.

* Peter Sagal has a new show about the Constitution.

* We need a more equal distribution of smut, from The Onion.

* Make your life easier by going moose hunting in the morning, ladies!

* Governor Rick Scott has Florida's Satanists wrapped around his finger.

* The latest New Yorker cover  shows President Obama's job woes are nothing to sneeze at.

Tags: Daily Links, Florida, Gary Busey, Guns, Hollywood, Inauguration, Kate Middleton, Nerdiness, Porn, Rick Scott, The New Yorker, The Onion, Women's Rights

9 Strange New Laws for 2013

On January 1, 400 new federal laws took effect. Meanwhile, state legislatures passed 29,000 bills and resolutions, many of which came into force on the first of the year. Local government added thousands of new laws.

Ignorance is no excuse, so start cramming on all the weird new regulations you have to follow as of Tuesday:

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Tags: Alcohol, Animals, California, Children, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, North Carolina, Sex, State Legislature

Our Endorsements: The Simpsons Jump the Fiscal Cliff

* Mr. Burns explains the fiscal cliff.

* God's boss seems like a real douche.

* Cracked counts down four political errors.

* What to get a royal baby that has everything.

* McSweeney's recommends a whole lot of cool things.

* The Sklar brothers talk smack about the Popemobile.

* Hot sauce on the balls is not legitimate penal policy… need we say more?

* Christian Slater's vote was rejected in Florida. Guess they forgot he existed, too.

Tags: Daily Links, Fiscal Cliff, Florida, Karl Rove, Kate Middleton, Mitt Romney, Pope Benedict XVI, Prince William