Enough cannot be said about Mark Pryor, a so-called Democrat from Arkansas who manages to defeat his own party on every single issue, every single time.
Consider that he is one of just 3 Democrats who held up the battle to repeal DADT for over a year. One of his partners in crime, Blanche Lincoln, already paid the ultimate political price for that... She was not re-elected and a Republican is now keeping her seat warm.
It's easy to understand that he's homophobic when his buddies like Georgia's Saxby Chambliss are busy sending death threats to gay bloggers, but his party is just not down with that... We wanna class it up a bit. In a recent budget discussion, Mark Pryor recently referred to Saxby Chambliss as being "like one of the brave men who flew those airplanes over Great Britain to stop Nazi Germany from invading and defeating the English people."
But perhaps worst of all... Pryor is a total tool for the corporations of America. He voted to block a bill that would tax corporations in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Now, Pryor will say that he always does what's best for Arkansas... That he always "puts Arkansas first"... But let's explain what he really means by that... He puts INFLUENTIAL Arkansans first... like Hillary Clinton. When Hillary Clinton drafted a bill to give federal funds to border states to offer healthcare to illegal immigrants, Pryor sure signed onto that one right away! Sure, that would help New York, California, Florida and Arizona, but what does that do for taxpayers in Arkansas?
As we all know, Barney Frank (D-MA) is going to re-introduce ENDA (the Employment Non-Discrimination Act). Initially, the bill was attacked by both liberals and conservatives alike for different reasons.
The first few rounds were met with frustration from transgender advocates and anti-bullying advocates because it only covered "sexual orientation" as its LGBT protection. Therefore, some transgender persons felt vulnerable because employers would likely claim that transgender persons could be discriminated against under the notion that it's not really their "orientation" or their "gender" that is being scrutinized.
Some were also dissatisfied because a person who is only perceived to be gay or straight by their peers should be protected equally as well. You know... some people might get fired just because of their mannerisms.
Barney Frank and other Democrats finally gave in and said 'no more half measures' so now the new ENDA bill specifically protects transgender people and "perceived sexual orientation" as well... In a nutshell, this means that if an employee SEEMS like a gay person to you, that's not an excuse to fire them either.
This is not the first law to protect people on the basis of their "perceived" sexual orientation - the Mathew Shepard Act features the same language.
Now, the biggest problem that conservatives say that they have with measures like ENDA is their fear that Religion will be affected adversely and their morals will be compromised. That's gone now too - because the new bill exempts religious organizations from having to hire LGBT persons if they don't want to.
But this time, the big hurdle that ENDA must cross is Rep. John Paul Kline (R-MN) who said as part of his campaign that "Job creation is his #1 priority".
Kline is now painting the new additions as "vague language" which are meant to confuse the matter. He pretends not to know what "perceived sexual orientation" means and claims that exempting all religious organizations from this law is still just too risky for Christians... because, well, you know... it's totally against everyone's religion to have to work with people they don't like.
Kline said back then that ENDA "creates an entirely new protected class that is vaguely defined and often subjective." Specifically, he objected to the language of the bill prohibiting discrimination based on "perceived sexual orientation."
"Attempting to legislate individual perceptions is truly uncharted territory," said Kline, "and it does not take a legal scholar to recognize that such vaguely defined protections will lead to an explosion in litigation and inconsistent judicial decisions."
Kline also said he thought legislators should consider the "consequences" ENDA might have on "religious and family-based organizations."
Many people know that I am, among other things, a recovering addict. I've had my ups and downs with drugs and I've voluntarily subjected myself to various treatment options before I was ever in trouble with the law.
Now, before we get too deep into this, you should also know that I support decriminalizing all drugs. Yes, even the really nasty stuff like crack-cocaine and crystal meth. I think that when the status quo tries to take away voting rights from people who are stricken with addiction problems (like Rick Scott is attempting to do), our Democracy crumbles.
Given my intimate experience on the matter, I can recognize what we call "addict behavior" in others. I see this behavior in Governor Rick Scott.
In short, I would not be at all surprised to find out that Rick Scott is an alcoholic. He displays all the tell-tale signs as I know them. In the recovery community, it is referred to as "King Baby Syndrome" and Governor Scott epitomizes this.
Let's flash back to a night before the Republican Primary Election in West Palm Beach, when a handful of wealthy GOP donors were waiting anxiously to hear the first debate between Gubernatorial hopefuls Rick Scott and Bill McCollum. Members of the Boca Raton Republican Club never got to hear that debate. What they got instead was a weird political/religious sermon from Esther Scott (Rick Scott's mother).
According to anonymous sources:
"Scott should have been finished right then and there. You should have seen it... This guy [Rick Scott] never even showed up!"
"Bill McCollum was there and ready to speak. Hell, even Rick Scott's own MOTHER was sitting there waiting for him. She had to get up in front of all the wealthiest Republicans in South Florida and make excuses for her son not being there. The best thing the old woman could come up with was "God has chosen my son to become Governor of Florida."... She REALLY said that! Can you believe it?"
According to both anonymous eye-witnesses, the only explanation they heard for Rick Scott's absence came when he called 15 minutes after the debate had been scheduled to start and reported that he was either lost or stuck in traffic somewhere in the Florida Panhandle!
If you've ever looked at a map of Florida, you can clearly see that the Panhandle is absolutely as far away from West Palm Beach and Boca Raton as you can get in Florida. Some Scott supporters reportedly threw their hands in the air, tore up their signs and shouted obscenities on their way out the door.
This is not something that a sober person does.
But of course, there's more. Rick Scott will also not entertain any questions from the media about essential issues regarding his life prior to being elected Governor. In fact, he gets downright hostile when he's asked to explain his past.
For me, there is no greater annoyance than someone who wants to believe that I'm high on drugs when I'm completely sober... I get that. But years of fending off these kind of questions can create a nasty character defect in a not-so-recovering addict. This character defect will eventually bleed into all other areas of their personal and professional lives and ultimately consume them in one final gulp. This "final gulp" was just on the verge of happening when the media caught wind of the fact that Rick Scott had swindled thousands of elderly persons out of their Medicare dollars.
See Rick Scott's "don't you DARE Question me" attitude in this video:
So, why am I questioning Scott's sobriety in the public square? That's the easy part... I'm calling him out on his hypocrisy because he's questioning the sobriety of all the little people under him... Another hallmark of addiction left unchecked.
Rick Scott wants all public employees to be subject to random drug tests... But so far, he's been unwilling to subject himself to the same rule. Had there been a breathalyzer lock on his car, maybe his mother wouldn't have been forced to embarrass his party. Had he done the first 3 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, he might have learned to focus on himself before worrying about the other addicts in the room...
Governor Scott, please... get help. We will gladly part with some tax dollars for your treatment (as well as for those who are unfortunate enough to have landed in jail) because we need honor and productivity to be restored to your office and throughout Florida. I'm totally sincere in saying that.
Enough cannot be said about Mark Pryor, a so-called Democrat from Arkansas who manages to defeat his own party on every single issue, every single time. 
