Rick Scott certainly has not made himself popular among transit supporters by rejecting high speed rail funding, holding up Orlando’s SunRail, and criticizing Tri-Rail. His unpopularity extends beyond transit aficionados, as his proposed budget cutbacks affect many people. Last night, 10,000 to 15,000 people demonstrated across the state, protesting his cuts. From 750 to 1,300 people congregated along Broward Blvd. in downtown Fort Lauderdale, chanting “Recall Scott” and “They say cutback, we say fight back.” While anti-Scott protesters covered three street corners and spread about a block down Broward Blvd. at Third Ave., 60 to 100 Tea Party supporters congregated on the remaining corner in front of the First Baptist Church.
Police closed portions of Third Ave. and Broward Blvd. as the crowd swelled. In the video below you can hear the protesters chanting and see them swarming across the street as they did nearly every time the police allowed people to cross.

The Sun-Sentinel article points out that some of the protesters were out because of Scott’s rejection of rail funding, while a Tea Party counterprotester called for Scott to kill SunRail as well. As long as Scott and other libertarians are convinced that subsidizing highways is OK, but subsidizing transit is wasteful, we will remain divided on transportation infrastructure spending.