Senator Rick Scott joined me this morning:

Audio:

09-22hhs-scott

Transcript:

HH: I’m joined by United States Senator Rick Scott from the great state of Florida. Good morning, Senator Scott. Welcome back.

RS: It’s great to be back, and just what a change from last week, right?

HH: Oh, my gosh.

RS: All we’re talking about now is Supreme Court.

HH: Well, let me tell you, I opened the show for the first hour just asking people whether the Senate ought to vote before the election on the President’s nominee. 39-0 yes, calls from Hawaii to Florida, everywhere in between, 39-0, and we’re not screening them. I’m sure I’ll get some noes eventually. Do you think that the Republican majority will make sure that the nominee receives a vote before the election?

RS: Yes. I don’t think there’s any reason why we won’t as long as, you know, the President is, you know, does his nomination, which I guess he’s going to do, I think, by Saturday. Then I think the Judiciary Committee needs to do their job. Then, we need to do our job. You know, review the candidate and make a decision. And so there’s no reason we can’t get it done.

HH: Can the Democrats, can the Democrats in any way delay it? Can they stop Lindsey Graham in any way from moving it to the floor so that Mitch McConnell can immediately schedule it for a vote and go through the, I think you get 16 hours of debate on a Supreme Court justice?

RS: I don’t think so. No, as long as, you know, as long as we do our job, the Republicans do their job, whoever the candidate is, they’re going to get their vote. And if you look at the President’s list of Supreme Court picks, you know, they’re great people, and there’s a lot of, you know, wonderful people on there. so I can’t imagine it’s not going to be somebody that the Republicans are going to want to confirm.

HH: I’m going to ask you about Judge Lagoa in just a second, but to repeat, Rick Scott believes there’s no reason that there won’t be a vote. In other words, there will be a vote on the nominee before the election?

RS: I believe there will be. Yeah, absolutely.

HH: Now tell us about…

RS: I think we should. We need to get it done, because well, who knows what’s going to happen? Look at these ridiculous courts what they’re doing with regard to our election system. They’re changing all the rules. I mean, they’re not the legislative branch of government. They’re judiciary, and they’re changing the rules on elections.

HH: That’s the Pennsylvania Supreme Court just did that. Yes, I believe the Wisconsin district court, federal district court just did that as well. All right, now Senator, I don’t know Judge Lagoa. I have not met her, but I believe you do. Tell us about her. She’s one of the five people on the short list.

RS: Yeah, she’s wonderful. The, you know, she’s Cuban-American. She clearly understands the limited role of the judiciary. She knows there’s three branches of government. She doesn’t, she has no inclination to be part of the executive branch or the legislative branch. So she’s, you know, she will do a great job. She’d be the first Cuban-American on the Supreme Court, first Supreme Court justice from Florida. So she would be a great pick.

HH: I saw her acceptance when she went on the state Supreme Court. She turned to her family, including her mother and father who fled Cuba when Castro drove them away and communism came, in fluent Spanish, address them so emotionally. I thought to myself that would play pretty well in the United States.

RS: Yeah, she’s a wonderful person. She’s got a wonderful story. And she’s done a great job as a judge and justice in Florida, and now on the 11th Circuit. So she would be, you know, she would do a great job.

HH: Now you have lunch today with the Republicans senators, correct?

RS: Absolutely. Yeah, every day we’re in session.

HH: Now I believe that Senator Collins is reflecting her state, which is one-third, one-third, one-third when she says she doesn’t want a vote. I don’t understand Senator Murkowski. Do you expect anyone else to be on the side of delay?

RS: No. I think everybody understands it’s our job. The President’s going to do his job. It’s our job to review the candidate and confirm or not confirm, and I think Republican senators are going to do it.

HH: Has the Leader been working the phones prior to everyone’s return to Washington on this issue?

RS: Well, I was clear. I was clear, so he didn’t need to call me. I was clear. I put out, I think it was Friday, that I believe the President needs to nominate and we need to, and we need to go through the process and either confirm or not confirm. So he didn’t have to call me. But I assume he’s been making phone calls, and I’ve not talked to anybody that is not interested in, you know, the President doing his job and us doing our job. So there’s not one Republican senator I’ve talked to. I understand Susan Collins in her state. She’s in the middle of a tough election. And so, but I think everybody else is going to review the candidate in a responsible manner, and they should. And we’re going to do our job. We got elected to do this job. We don’t have divided government. We have, the voters voted for a Republican Senate in 2016, 2018, and a Republican president in 2016. So they knew there was going to be Supreme Court picks. They picked us to do our jobs. We’re going to do our jobs.

HH: Now last night, Don Lemon on CNN gave voice to the radical Democrats. Don is a radical Democrat. He said this. I’d like your reaction. Cut 33:

CC: …Everybody’s fixed routine.

DL: We’re going to have to blow up the entire system. And you know what we’re going to have to do?

CC: I don’t know about that.

DL: You know what we’re…yes.

CC: Yeah.

DL: …we have to do?

CC: You’ve just go to vote.

DL: Honestly, from what your closing argument is, you’re going to have to get rid of the Electoral College, because the people…

CC: I don’t see it.

DL: Because the minority in this country decides who the judges are, and they decide who the president is. Is that fair?

CC: But you need a Constitutional amendment to do that.

DL: And if Democrats, if Joe Biden wins, Democrats can stack the courts, and they can do that amendment, and they can get it passed.

CC: Well, you need two-thirds vote in the Congress and three-quarters of the state legislatures.

DL: That’s a danger. They may be able to do that.

HH: What do you make of that, Senator Scott? Stack the courts, abolish the Electoral College.

RS: Well…

HH: That’s Don Lemon, CNN. That’s, I believe, voicing the Democratic Party’s line.

RS: Well, didn’t, before this, before the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, they were saying this stuff. They’re saying they want to stack the Supreme Court, they want to make D.C. a state. I mean, this is what they want to do. This is all about the left getting power. They can’t, they know they can’t get power any other way, so they’ll do it whatever way they can. And so we have to take them at their word. And so get out and vote and elect Republicans that believe in the structure that we have of our government right now, that believe in the Constitution that we have right now. So if it’s important to you, you’d better get out there and make sure you vote and get your friends to vote, and you need to vote for Republicans senators. We are the, we are the key to making sure we continue to have responsible government in this country.

HH: I agree with that. I don’t think Don Lemon understands limited government and freedom. The Constitution exists to limit government, to protect our religious liberty, to protect…

RS: It’s just, Hugh, it’s as simple as this.

HH: It’s crazy.

RS: The Democrats want to tell you how to lead your life. Republicans want to give you life. Look at someone like me who grew up in public housing not even knowing my dad. I had a shot, my shot at the dream. I know I had to work my butt off, but give me my shot at the dream. The Democrats know, they want to, they take away rights. They don’t give you rights. So this is, we want limited government. Government should not be telling us how to lead our lives every day.

HH: Now have any of our Democratic colleagues indicated that they would be fair and vote on a fair basis for the nominee?

RS: Now you have to remember, Chuck Schumer spent $60 million dollars to try to beat me in 2018. He still doesn’t talk to me. So Durbin, Schumer, there’s a bunch of them that don’t talk to me. So you can’t, you know, it’s not easy, and it’s very partisan government to build relationships on the other side. But no, not one of them has said they’re going to be responsible in this. And look at what they did to Kavanaugh. I mean, what a circus to a wonderful individual. This was about power.

HH: I believe that the United States electorate is watching and understands this completely, and understands the Democrats have become radical with things like abolish the Electoral College and take away and pack the Supreme Court. That’s the most radical thing, changing the Supreme Court. That is beyond radical. Do you think the electorate understands how off the rails the Democrats have become?

RS: Well, every day, I think they’re learning more. I think that if everybody understood how radical they were, they would not get many votes this year. So I think we have to keep explaining exactly what they’re doing, and repeat what they’re saying, okay? They’re saying that they’re going to do anything, anything to get power. That’s what they’re saying, and they will completely change this country. I mean, the Democratic Party today is a socialist party. Let’s all admit what they are. They appease dictators around the world. They don’t stand up for the American military. They don’t stand up for American law enforcement. That’s who the Democrats are today. They want to defund the police. They don’t want to fund our military. And so that’s who they are.

HH: Now a last question, Senator. On Sunday, George Stephanopoulos floated the idea that Nancy Pelosi could send over articles of impeachment, because the Constitution says that the Senate shall suspend immediately upon the receipt of articles of impeachment. It would be a bogus impeachment just to delay you. If that process begins, do you believe the Senate should move immediately to a vote on the nominee?

RS: I can’t imagine, I mean, gosh, I just can’t imagine what they would do something like that. But I think we need to do everything we can to make sure we have a vote on the nominee. So whatever it takes to do that, I think we ought to be doing it.

HH: All right, I think at lunch today, you should just raise the possibility that you have a backup plan, a failsafe that if they do something crazy like that…

RS: Yeah.

HH: You just move to a vote.

RS: Yeah.

HH: Senator Rick Scott, great to talk to you. Keep coming back. This will be a very interesting month, Rick Scott of Florida.

End of interview.