rick scott said that welfare recipients use drugs at a higher rate than the general population.be he was high when he said that. >> the way that it works is they have to pay the approximately $30 for the drug test up front. >> reporter: whoa. you mean the poor people pay the $30 first. >> that's correct rted. >> and then the state of florida reimburses them if they pass the drug test. >> reporter: and humiliation for the 98% that passed is a small price to pay for a program that is saved floridians negative $200,000. but some can't be bothered with statistics. >> this law is unconstitutional and violates the fourth amendment. >> reporter: are you poor and on drugs. what do you know about the constitution? >> i was in the united states navy. >> you're a veteran. >> yes, i tack an oath to support and defend the constitution. >> any citizen whether a veteran or not should be happy to take the drug test, as a veteran, i would think that he would be concerned about the freedom of the taxpayers. the taxpayers that are working day and night, sometimes two and three jobs, and he won't e

rick scott was born and raised in a humble family. his dad was a trucker who got jobs when he could. do you remember the old country song about how mama did everything she could? he has a great wife who is a great wife and mother who makes a great team and is a great first lady. it is her birthday. they just had their first grandchild. what a wonderful family. he met her and marry her -- married her and then went into the navy to serve his country. she became a good military wife. when he left military service and went to texas, he worked hard while he was going to law school. he started practicing law. they put all their money into buying a hospital with other investors. after 15 years, he was the chairman of the board, founder and creator of the largest hospital chain in america's history. [applause] he quasi--retired -- quasi- retired in our state and decided to run for governor. he ran for governor without ever holding public office. he is the ultimate citizen- service. he ran in the state with the highest unemployment rate, the h

many of those especially -- rick scott spent $70 million of his own money. the state party at the time, quite frankly, was not well organized. the candidates on our side struggled to put together the campaign. but still one of the closest elections. >> thank you so much. florida is going to be important enough because here's rick santorum ready to speak. >> thank you very much shawn and scott and bobby. thank you all very, very much for your support, your endorsement, your kind words. it is great to be here and i'm told that i can holdover my former colleague john thune. prior to tonight, he held the biggest crowd but tonight we beat that at 604. i'm going to take credit for that. thank you. many of you have noticed that i had a different neckwear on when i first walked around but they told me that they want to auction off this tie. so i -- and they wanted me to wear it. i am wearing the tie. i will now take it off and sign the tie and then you folks -- i'll do it right here in flont of everyone -- should i sign on the back or the front? the back. okay. i di

. >>> former governor rick scott is one of the cpac headliners. he joins us live in about 15 minutes as well to review his speech. >> voter are gathering. ron paul is due in lewises ton at this hour. mitt romney is expected shortly at the portland caucuses. he'll sneak with the voters, try to sway them undoubtedly. they're the only two candidates campaigning in maine. be sure to tune in to cnn later this evening for all of the results. cnn's coverage begins tonight at 6:00 eastern time. >>> citing what it says are serious moral concerns, the u.s. conference of catholic bishops is taking aim at president obama's contraception plan despite recent changes turned new rules. the employers with religious affiliates will not be required to offer contraceptive coverage to workers. instead it will be provided by the insurance at no cost but the bishops says the proposal could violate some people to violate their religious beliefs. >>> turning now to syria where the violence is escalating as government there continues its bloody crackdown on disi dents, u.n

rick scott, you know, was born and raised in a humble family.cker who got jobs when he could. you remember the old country song "momma did all she could." he also has a great wife and makes a great team. it's her birthday and just had their first grandchild. what a wonderful family. he met her and married her and then went to the navy to serve our country. and she became a good military wife. and those of you who are know what that's like. when he left the military service, went to texas and worked hard while he was going to law school. got out of law school and started practicing law and got that entrepreneurship bug and put all the monies that the family had into buying their first hospital with some other investors. after a 15-year journey, he was chairman of the board, founder and creator of the largest hospital chain in america's history. [applause] >> he quasi-retired, got restless about doing something about the folks in our good state and decided to run for governor and ran for governor without being known by anyone, without holding publ

. >>> florida's governor rick scott will address the political action conference, cpac later today. spoke to him earlier about his message and the 2012 elections. >> run your state like you run a business. keep your costs low and in our case keep your taxes as low as possible. treat people like you want them in your state, and, gosh, it works. you know, our unemployment dropped the fastest -- other than one state, we dropped 1.2%. generated thousands of jobs. what i'm talking about is if we want our fed raleigh-durham economy to get going, we've got to reduce taxes, reduce regulation, reduce litigation, and say we want american companies to be more successful than companies anywhere in the world. >> if you're a rising star in the republican parties, how important is this opportunity for you to address the folks at cp cpac? >> oh, this is -- you know, this is a great opportunity. it's -- you know, the conservative bedrock of the country. it's the individuals that are going to -- you know, they're going to help elect the next president. you can hear behind me they're applauding. they'

florida passed it last year by rick scott. in this one place where it has been tried it turned out to be a bit of a disaster. when governor rick scott defended his plan for forced drug testing of the poor in florida last year, he did so on the grounds poor people just do so much more -- so many more drugs than rich people do. >> studies show people on welfare are higher users of drugs than people not on welfare. but the bottom line is this --. >> sir, to that point, i would stop people in their tracks and i don't have whatever study you're referring to you're saying people out there who need assistance, lost jobs on welfare have a higher tendency to use drugs? >> absolutely. >> absolutely. did i say there was a study? absolutely. here is the problem, the initial results from florida governor's own big plan to seize the bodily fluids of poor people in his state showed that there was a 2% positive rate. 2% of poor people in florida testing positive for drugs. that compares to the overallstate average for floridians of 8% of peop

a man who knows how tough it can be to win in florida, governor rick scott.e's yet to endorse a republican presidential candidate. with mitt romney's giant victory tonight, will that change? a moment ago, i spoke with him. governor, why do you think mitt romney had such a thumping victory tonight? >> it was a big night for florida. i think our voters voted based on what they thought was going to happen in the economy. this is the biggest issue we have. as you know, our unemployment has dropped 2.1%, the second fastest in the country, but we still have 900,000 people out of work. we're reducing taxes, reducing regulation, and floridians want somebody who's going to be in washington who's going to do the same thing and be a great federal partner. reduce taxes, reduce regulation. we want more jobs in america, and we clearly want more jobs in florida. >> why do you think they believe mitt romney is going to be the guy that's going to provide that for him because newt gingrich, until ten days ago, is suddenly ahead in florida. then this huge turnaround. it seemed

rick scott. with the giant victory tonight, all that changed. a moment ago i spoke with him.overnor, why do you think mitt romney has such a thumping victory tonight? >> it was a big night for florida. i think our voters voted based on,down, what they thought was going to happen in the economy. this is the biggest issue we have. our unemployment's dropped 2.1%. the second fastest in the country. we still have people out of work. we're reducing taxes and regulation. floridians want somebody in washington that's going to do the same thing and be a great federal partner. reduce taxes, reduce regulation. we want more jobs in america and we clearly want more jobs in florida. >> why do you think they believe that mitt romney is the guy that's going to provide that for them? not newt gingrich. because newt gingrich until ten days ago was actually ahead in florida. suddenly this huge turnaround and it seems to be based around romney's better performances in the debates and the relentless negative advertising. why is mitt romney seen as the savior economically? >> i think what floridi

governor rick scott here live. >> and atheists lose this fight.d. [ male announcer ] juice drink too watery? ♪ feel the power my young friend. mmm! [ male announcer ] for excellent fruit and veggie nutrition... v8 v-fusion, also refreshing plus tea. could've had a v8. -three. -one. two. three. one. -two. -three. -one. -two. -three. [ male announcer ] with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card, earn 1% cash back everywhere, every time. 2% back on groceries. and 3% back on gas. automatically. no hoops to jump through. -it's as easy as...one. -two. -three. [ male announcer ] 1, 2, 3 percent cash back for the things you buy most. the bankamericard cash rewards card. apply online or at a bank of america near you. >> he stayed on the sidelines during the primary process over in florida but now that the florida primary is done, will the state's governor rick scott back a candidate? >> let's give him the chance. joining us from tallahassee is the governor rick scott. good morning to you, sir. >> good morning. i'm going to support the republican nomin

. >> florida's republican governor rick scott. thank you, sir. it'sa i pleasure to see you.s is something that marco rubio said earlier, so goes florida, so goes the nomination so goes the election. it's become the quint essential purple state, governor scott. is that fair? so goes florida? so goes the country. this is the microcosm of the country. 19 million people, the biggest swing state. if you win florida, you know, i think you'll beat the nominee. it's going to be and it's going come down to jobs. whoever wins tonight it looks like right now it will be romney and it's because floridians believe they'll do what we've done in florida, focus on jobs, reduce like we did to 2.1%, the second fastest growing state in dropping unemployment and that's what's going to matter. it's going to be the economy and whoever wins tonight, the public here has believed that they'll turn the economy around and become a good partner for us and what we're doing in florida. >> governor scott, just quickly, sir, and i apologize for the brevity of time, but did mitt romney get the real economic,

. >>> a rising republican star florida governor rick scott addresses cpac today. we'll talk to him two hours from now, as well. >>> there is no end in sight to the bloodshed in syria. prodemocracy advocates say 64 civilians are among 110 people killed in syria on friday. here is restrictions on journalists making it impossible to verify reports or video. this amateur video shows the total chaos in the northern city of alapo. that's where a state media is plaming terrorists gangs for suicide bombings believed to have killed 28 people. ivan joins us live from istanbul where he's keeping track of the developing situation in syria. what are you hearing in terms of the latest as the day progresses in syria? >> good morning, ted. we just got word from activists in the southern provinces, which has been a real hot bed of protests from the very beginning. five minute were killed in a village town of mouseffa. we can't confirm this because we're now allowed in by the syrian government. the siege-like conditions continue in the city of homs, the third largest city in syria,

"starting point" continues with former governor rick scott joining us. about his experience as a businessman and why that makes him a great governor and why that would make romney a good president. what is the connection to private sector success when you're in office? >>> and the violent battle over syria. have you guys seen the pictures? in the streets. and the u.n. as well. resolution could help but it is going to be tough to get there. people are saying it's dead in the water. >>> plus, long lost recordings from the air force one flight back to washington, d.c. on the day that jfk was killed. we'll hear the chilg tape. that's all straight ahead. we have a short break. but not your wrinkles? neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair. its retinol formula visibly reduces wrinkles in just one week. why wait if you don't have to. neutrogena®. this was the gulf's best tourism season in years. why wait if you don't have to. all because so many people wanted to visit us... in louisiana. they came to see us in florida... nice try, they came to hang out with us in alab

. >> coming up, florida governor rick scott on the results from his state's primary." back in two minutes. intuitive trading platform from charles schwab. fine-tune technical analysis with the integrated chart tools sidebar. pinpoint your target more efficiently with clearly categorized, highly customizable technical studies. plus, scan any stock or etf against time-tested indicators with built-in chart pattern recognition. call 1-888-4schwab. and open an account and trade up to 6 months commission-free. talk to chuck and get started with streetsmart edge today. >>> a big week on "squawk box." maybe you thought about facebook going public or want to say hello to the gang, tweet u us, @squawkcnbc is our handle. >>> the fight for florida was a nasty battle between mitt romney and newt gingrich. with gingrich vowing he won't quit, the field of candidates now put their chips down in nevada. here more with the heated gop battle, senator fred thompson, former gop presidential candidate who has endorsed newt gingrich and familiar to everyone, you know, i got to apologize, i

that is clearly and firmly attached to governor rick scott.ffer the fallout from is an unwillingness to invest in infrastructure, to invest in rebuilding our infrastructure, to invest in the aging, water, sewer networks that we all experience. if you don't think the federal stimulus has an impact come be a mayor for a day. it builds and rebuilding the infrastructure of our country. >> this issue about who has a policy to invest in our nation a opposed to investing somewhere else, whether it is a tax policy that encourages job creation here or investment in infrastructure, or who has a policy that helps to create a job market for our people. florida has huge solar resources. i'm curious as to whether any of the republican candidates talked about that sector? i'm guessing they probably didn't because nobody believes in climate change anymore. but to me that's a good general election issue for florida isn't it? >> yes, and investing in r&d and national resources, you don't hear any plan of how we rebuild that intellectual capital and become the l

that's made off the size of its profit of the state of florida then the other governor got in there rick scott he said oh yeah we even though this is fully paid for and fully funded because i'm anti stimulus and i'm anti investing in my own people mind you florida the highest unemployment in the country he returned the check to the president that makes absolutely no sense and at the end of the way and the and the it doesn't pay for itself argument amtrak for example almost pays for itself but not when you but when you consider the societal benefits of you know i mean i live here in washington d.c. when i moved here from portland i sold my car so i'm no longer i don't longer have a twenty thousand dollar liability i'm no longer going to be in a car accident you know fifty thousand americans die in car accidents i'm no longer blowing carbon out to to the tune of tons of it every year i'm you know i'm no longer contributing to traffic jams there are all kinds of societal benefits that come from having transportation infrastructure that's not car based and road based that that if you factor those

sure we know if we can doing anything better but those families just are devastated. >> governor rick scottw silent about the latest concern for carmo who is an illegal immigrant. who pay her medical bills? she was seriously injured and has no health insurance. today scott's office released this statement. he said we have been working closely with her church. our office has been in regular communication with her pastor bobby curtis over the last several days and we are coordinating through him. governor scott is the very moved by this horrible tragedy and is making every effort to assist as quickly as possible. we want to turn to martin savidge on the story. give sus some background. why do the girls loved ones believe that the cost will be covered by the government. >> a conversation that the governor had with the family back on sunday, the day of the incident. the accident happened about 4:00 in the morning. later in the day the governor came to the hospital in the ar know that they would be taken care of. the carmo family has taken this very much to heart. they have a terrible tragedy th

. >> the latest has a mitt romney look a like taking aim at rick santorum. scott is in the news center with more. >> i am not sure if any had in the race has generated this kind of buzz. it has come out this morning. it is meant to portray mitt romney as the ultimate mother's letter. >> we have seen politicians opposing with cold hard steel before but maybe not like this. >> the negative attack machine is back on full throttle. >> he is firing away at rick santorum, albeit with mud. it is the latest shock value add on the airwaves. it does across the line? >> is there a line? it is clever, so well done. >> i think sometimes they do go too far. >> i think it is going too far yes. they are showing the killing very important people. >> there is a sense of sensitivity involved. sarah palin took heat for her adds that once put political districts up and crosshairs. one of the district's happen to be that of gabrielle giffords. as for today's at, mitt romney laughed it off. >> that is the nature of politics. >> romney's team told abc news -- technically, mitt romney has

i think rick scott, our governor has done an absolutely fantastic job in going about attracting businesseso the state but it has taken a while. you know, you take a look at certain pockets in and around the country. a lot of the things that were promised, remember that old peggy joseph line there, if i vote for him, he's going to support me, it was a very famous thing from one of his campaigns. i don't think the people are getting that support and, you know, people in florida, they'll change their minds very, very quickly in regard to somebody. >> and overall, chris, just your opinion, do you believe the republicans helped or hurt themselves in florida against president obama? >> oh, i think they helped. i don't think any of this negative stuff matters. it's kind of like the giants, they lost to the redskins, what, about a month, month and a half ago but they're in the super bowl today. one the super bowl kicks off and that's the general election, none of this negative stuff is going to matter. >> kind of negative for you to bring up the giants in their last loss. i happened to be at that

voted against the plan even though it had the backing of top state republicans including governor rick scott for more on the privatization of prisons in florida, i am joined by one of the republican lawmakers who did vote against the bill, state senator paula dockery from tallahassee. she comes to us from the state capitol, state senator, welcome into the war room. thank you for joining us this evening. >> great. >> great to be with you governor. >> why don't you explain to our viewers why you voted against it. what was the main reason? >> well, first, a little bit of history: last year, last legislative session, the leaders in the senate had decided that there wouldn't be enough votes to pass prison privatization. by prison privatization, you have to understand we have seven of our prisons privatized but this was seeking to private eyes 18 counties worth of prisons and 29 prisons. they understood they didn't have the votes last year. so they snuck it through in proviso language in the state budget. the courts have ruled that that was not the proper way to do it. so this year, they attempted

rick scott in florida not doing well. there are eight -- there are 12 governor races this year.states and four in republican controlled states. i do not ask you to be betting people, but if you have to guess how the tide will shift, where do you think we are going, looking at what is happen engin virginia and in maryland with the passage of gay marriage. >> it's tough to be a governor these days they have a legal requirement to balance the budget and they have to make cuts they never imagined they would be making. it has less to do with being republican and democrat, and pit has more -- it has more to do with inheriting the obligations to public employees and they cannot balance their books. you have to do unhappy things to make it happen. you'll have another wave election if you goes in direction. we have seen it many times, people are saying somebody else. somebody else. >> i can do math well enough to know that in a situation where there's four republican governorships th s thas that ar not a great year to pick up democratic seats. scott walker is the one with a best chance.

severely is not really a positive term, but that strikes the image of john kasich in ohio and rick scott, severely conservative republican governors whose numbers are really in the tank at this moment. and if he's trying to identify with governors like that and calling himself severely conservative, the democrats are ready to pounce. in fact, democratic officials today were jumping all over that comment and they plan to use that in ads in the general election if romney is the nominee. along with some of those comments that you just played that showed that mitt romney is all over the map. that he doesn't have a core.ç that he doesn't have conviction. we're going to hear that a lot. >> well, he's severely desperate. let me show you, richard, some polls. fox news. no liberal station. and their last poll has president obama up and romney down. 41%/28% on who they'd rather see elected. then you have the rasmussen poll has the president up ten points. he's gone from up to down to where he's up ten points. so even the polls that are considered right leaning has president obama decisively ahead

>> in that ad there he morphed into a picture of the florida governor rick scott. if democrats think he's weak and unions aren't worried about mitt romney why are they spending so much money against him, david? >> well, i said he was a weak frontrunner. on obviously he's spending a fortune so that enhances his chances of winning. i can't speak for those who ran that ad. that was an independent expenditure. but look, i've been very candid about it. i've said that he was a weak frontrunner and that he likely would be the nominee because of the nature of the field in which he was running. nothing has changed my view of that. it's been a little surprising about how much difficulty he's had in closing the deal. and relative to the polling that you mentioned, will polling that interests me is watching what's happened to governor romney's standing over the course of this primary campaign. it's hardly elevated him in the eye office the american people. the "washington post" poll had him at 31 positive, 49 negative. what was really stunning about it was among independent vo