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Thursday, April 14, 2011

Huffington Post: Gov . Rick Scott activates labor backlash

WASHINGTON -- Garrett Lamp, a fireman, has been a lifelong Republican. He voted for Jeb Bush for governor and even worked on a few political campaigns.

He calls himself a social conservative, but he will be going to the local Supervisor of Elections and changing his party identification to "Independent."

"As a public safety employee, as a fireman, as a father of three children [and] my sister has a special needs child, I'm fed up with the ridiculous cuts that are being made right and left," Lamp told The Huffington Post.

"It's almost like the Republicans are in a feeding frenzy, decimating working-class families,” He added.

You can't do away with taxes for corporations and put it on the backs of middle-class working people, and that's what they're doing.

On Sunday, Lamp posted a message on his Facebook wall:

Join me on Wednesday at 11:30 at the Viera Supervisor of Elections as I become an Independent Voter.

Lamp said that in the past he had consistently voted for Republicans; but he never fully trusted Gov. Rick Scott . He voted for Democrat Alex Sink in the 2010 gubernatorial race.

A bill, sponsored by state Sen. John Thrasher (R), would prohibit state and local governments from automatically deducting union dues from employees' paychecks. Union members would also have to give written consent before their dues are used for political purposes.

But as Politifact noted, "Employees automatically have money taken out of their paycheck to pay for all kinds of things. The state of Florida currently has 364 groups or agencies that have the ability to take money directly from employees' paychecks."

Lamp’s could serve as a warning for GOP governors around the nation who are battling the labor community in the run-up to the 2012 elections.

Lamp is a member of the International Association of Firefighters union.

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