What did Ayn Rand teach Paul Ryan about monetary policy?

Posted by Brad Plumer on August 13, 2012 at 11:53 am

     In 2005, Paul Ryan explained that he often looks to Ayn Rand’s novel “Atlas Shrugged” as inspiration for his views on monetary policy. “I always go back to, you know, Francisco d’Anconia’s speech, at Bill Taggart’s wedding, on money when I think about monetary policy,” he said in a speech to the Atlas Society. So what are Ryan’s views on this front? And what do they have to do with Ayn Rand?

     Over the past few years, economists and policymakers have been debating whether the Federal Reserve should do more to bolster the economy and bring down the still-high U.S. unemployment rate. True, the central bank has already cut interest rates — its traditional tool for stimulus — as far as possible. But the Fed has shifted to a number of novel tactics, such as quantitative easing, to try to bring down real rates even further and inject more money into the economy.

     Paul Ryan has been heavily involved in these debates from his perch in the House. But he comes at monetary policy from a somewhat non-mainstream perspective. Like many other Republicans, he has repeatedly criticized Ben Bernanke’s efforts to stimulate the economy. But he has also gone further, arguing that the Federal Reserve shouldn’t be focused on reducing unemployment, period. And he has argued repeatedly for a “sound money” policy that has left some economists scratching their heads.

     Perhaps Ryan’s most unconventional opinion on monetary policy came in the summer of 2010, when he told Ezra Klein that the Federal Reserve should actually raise interest rates even as the U.S. economy was still struggling: “[T]here’s a lot of capital parked out there, and we need to coax it out into the markets,” he said. “I think literally that if we raised the federal funds rate by a point, it would help push money into the economy, as right now, the safest play is to stay with the federal money and federal paper.”

     This is not a common view. Most economists tend to think that raising interest rates will slow the economy down. Here, for instance, is Mitt Romney’s economic adviser Kevin Hassett explaining the basics of monetary policy back in 2007: ”When inflation fears are aroused, the Fed increases the fed funds rate (called a ‘tightening’) in order to slow activity in sectors of the economy, such as housing and automobiles, that are particularly sensitive to interest rates.”

     As Hassett explains, raising rates is something the Fed does when the economy is overheating and inflation is at elevated levels. Yet, at the moment, inflation doesn’t appear to be the main problem facing the U.S. economy. High unemployment is:

Ryan, however, has been consistent in his view that the Fed should do whatever it takes to fight inflation — and stop trying to fret over the unemployment rate. In 2008, Ryan sponsored a bill that would repeal the Federal Reserve’s “dual mandate” to tackle both inflation and high unemployment. Instead, under his bill, the Fed would focus only on “price stability.”

     To that end, Ryan has roundly criticized Bernanke’s efforts to stimulate the U.S. economy by buying up assets and injecting money into the economy. For instance, one way the Fed’s efforts are thought to work is by reducing the value of the dollar, helping U.S. exports. But Ryan has countered that there is “nothing more insidious that a country can do to its citizens than debase its currency.” (See this report by Reuters’s Mark Felsenthal for a round-up of Ryan’s criticisms of Bernanke over the years.)

     As an alternative approach, Ryan has suggested that the United States should return to “sound money” by anchoring the value of the dollar to, say, the price of a basket of commodities. This isn’t quite a return to the long-abandoned gold standard, but it’s a roughly similar concept. It would prevent the Federal Reserve from boosting the money supply in times of crisis, as the Fed did in 2008. And Ryan’s approach could have other downsides as well. As economist David Beckworth explained here, if the dollar was pegged to commodities like metals or soybeans, it would be greatly affected by outside forces, such as swings in Chinese demand. “For better or for worse,” he told FrumForum’s Noah Kristula-Green, “the political process can’t allow big swings in the monetary policy by outside forces.”

     So what does any of this have to do with Ayn Rand? Over at Slate, Dave Weigel has a longer explanation of the parallels between Ryan’s monetary policy and “Atlas Shrugged.” In the passages that Ryan has highlighted, Rand’s characters lament that statists have destroyed all “objective standards” for currency by abandoning the gold standard and boosting the supply of paper money in order to assist the “looters and moochers.” (Franklin Roosevelt abolished the gold standard in 1934 in order to fight the Great Depression — economists such as Milton Friedman and Bernanke have argued that the gold standard had been making monetary policy unduly contractionary.)

     “Now, take all of that and apply it to our current debates about the Federal Reserve,” writes Weigel. “I hope it doesn’t surprise you that Ryan, since at least 2008, has wanted the Fed to abandon the employment mandate. He doesn’t say this in a stupid way, like Rick Perry. He says it by citing Ayn Rand.”

 Same2U2

     "Catholic Leaders to Rep. Paul Ryan: Stop Distorting Church Teaching to Justify Immoral Budget" 
 Nearly 60 prominent theologians, priests, nuns and national Catholic social justice leaders released a statement today refuting Rep. Paul Ryan’s claim that his GOP budget proposal reflects Catholic teaching on care for the poor, which he made in an interview earlier this week with the Christian Broadcasting Network. The group of Catholic leaders — including a former high-ranking U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops official, a priest in Rep. Ryan’s district and the leadership team of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas — called on Ryan to “reconsider his radical budget proposal and refrain from distorting Church teaching.” 
     “If Rep. Ryan thinks a budget that takes food and healthcare away from millions of vulnerable people upholds Catholic values, then he also probably believes Jesus was a Tea Partier who lectured the poor to stop being so lazy and work harder,” said John Gehring, Catholic Outreach Coordinator at Faith in Public Life. “This budget turns centuries of Catholic social teaching on its head. These Catholic leaders and many Catholics in the pews are tired of faith being misused to bless an immoral agenda.” 
     The leaders wrote: “Simply put, this budget is morally indefensible and betrays Catholic principles of solidarity, just taxation and a commitment to the common good. A budget that turns its back on the hungry, the elderly and the sick while giving more tax breaks to the wealthiest few can’t be justified in Christian terms. Ayn Rand was an atheist, adamantly opposed to all religion.

Aristotle3

     I wonder if Ryan manages his personal finances as unconventionally: Does he buy high and sell low? Does he shop for things when they're off sale?

Same2U2

     His family wouldn't let near the money or the books when they gave him a short-lived job in the family firm. Recognizing that his only talent was as an innumerate snake oil salesman, they put him in "marketing."

Same2U2

     Ryan was the co-author (along with John Sununu) of the ridiculous, short-lived plan to privatize Social Security that Bush got behind until Bush realized that the country was totally opposed.  
The transition costs of that Ryan plan were estimated at $2 trillion -- to be paid for by the taxpayer. Ryan had zero problems with that.

     Ryan's latest "plan" is still trying peddle the privatization of Social Security, along with gutting and killing Medicare and giving another $4.6 trillion to America's wealthiest in tax cuts while increasing both deficits and the national debt.

     That Ryan, a barely-educated, innumerate halfwit, got his crackpot economic "ideas" (sic) from the novels of a crazed Russian atheist, novelist and screenwriter (who supported abortion, opposed the war in Vietnam and ended her days on Social Security and Medicare) should come as no surprise.  
 If Ryan is the brightest bulb the Republicans have got, it's lights out for the GOP. 

Janell Ross

Janell.Ross@huffingtonpost.com

Marco Rubio's Evolving Immigration Story May Brand Him Latino Leader Or Misleader

Posted: 04/26/2012 9:34 am Updated: 04/26/2012 12:22 pm

Siting behind a computer screen in his Los Angles-area home, Luis Alvarado was sipping coffee and making his usual online run though the morning’s headlines when he saw the news.

A new book examining the life of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) indicates that the Tea Party Republican and possible GOP vice presidential pick may understand more about life under the shadow of potential deportation than some of his most vocal Latino critics think. In 1962, an immigration court ordered Rubio’s maternal grandfather deported, according to excerpts from a soon-to-be-released Rubio biography published by The Politico on Tuesday. Despite the court’s order, Rubio’s Cuban grandfather, Pedro Victor Garcia, did not leave the country, according to the book. He stayed in the United States.

“What was the first thing that came to mind?” said Alvarado, a Mexican-American and strategist with Revolvis, a political consulting firm. Alvarado is also chair of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly of Greater Los Angeles and a supporter of GOP presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. “Well, a few weeks ago a Democratic organization said that they were going to stop the ‘Brown Knight’ from having an effect in this election. So I thought wow, I guess the real campaign has started. Rubio is under attack.”

Washington Post reporter Manuel Roig-Franzia penned "The Rise of Marco Rubio," the Rubio biography slated for release in June that made public a new version of the Rubio family history. The revelation marks the second time that the reporter has reshaped the public’s understanding of Rubio, his family and their immigration experience. The revelation could also galvanize Rubio supporters, serving as evidence that Rubio has taken principled rather than politically or personally expedient stances on immigration policy. Or, it could shine a bright light on one of the long-simmering tensions that divides segments of the Latino electorate and render Rubio a weaker magnet for Hispanic voters.

"Senator Rubio's grandfather fled Castro's Cuba and his immigration experience is a classic exile story," Alex Conant, a spokesman for Rubio said in a statement emailed The Huffington Post Thursday. "Like other refugees, it makes sense that he didn't arrive with the proper visas, but the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act legalized his status. Senator Rubio has pointed to the Cuban refugees' experience as an example for how we should treat young people who are undocumented in America through no fault of their own."

Cuban Americans, who first began arriving in the United States in large numbers in the late 1950s after fleeing political conditions in Cuba, are eligible for special visas and ultimately citizenship if they can make it to American soil. Nearly 1,700 Cubans were stopped at sea or landed in the United States during fiscal year 2011, which ended Sept. 30, according to figures compiled by El Nuevo Herald from Homeland Security Department data.

In contrast, flagging Central American economies, the American housing boom and a limited number of visas for migrants drove the surge in illegal immigration to the United States during the 1990s and 2000s, many demographers say. Migration from the region has since leveled off. For the first time since The Great Depression more Mexicans left the United States in 2011 than arrived, according to a report from the Pew Hispanic Center released this week. A Mexican with relatives in the United States can face a wait of 16 to 20 years for a visa and a legal opportunity to immigrate, U.S. State Department data shows.

Today, Cubans and their desendants, such as Rubio, comprise about 3.5 percent of the nation’s Latino population and 4.5 percent of eligible Hispanic voters, according to the most recent Census data. The same data indicate that Mexicans and Mexican-Americans make up about 63 percent of the Hispanic population and nearly 60 percent of the nation’s Latino electorate.

That’s the backdrop that will shape the next presidential election, said DeeDee Garcia Blase, a Mexican-American who lives in Arizona and founded Somos (We Are) Republicans before leaving the party last year and declaring herself an Independent.

Garcia Blase says she left the GOP after Rubio sponsored federal legislation that she regarded as a direct attack on the country’s mostly Central American undocumented immigrants. Rubio has also criticized President Ronald Regan's 1986 amnesty program for undocumented immigrants, Garcia Blase said.

“The bottom line is, the party knows that they cannot win without the Latin vote,” she said. “But Rubio already drove a wedge between the Cuban-American and Mexican-American communities. I don’t think Mexicans are going to buy Marco Rubio and his new story.”

Rubio, 40, has repeatedly described himself as the son of Cuban exiles who struggled to build a new life in America after being forced to flea the communist and oppressive Cuban regime.

Last year, Roig-Franzia, the Washington Post reporter behind the forthcoming Rubio biography, “The Rise of Marco Rubio,” reported information that directly contradicted Rubio’s account of his parents' escape from communist Cuba. Roig-Franzia found that Rubio’s parents left Cuba for Miami in 1956, nearly three years before Fidel Castro seized power on New Year's Day 1959.

The difference: Rubio’s version casts him as the son of exiles and part of a Cuban diaspora, displaced by a communist regime and forced to make a new life in the United States. Roig-Franzia’s’ findings detail a less evocative immigrant experience.

Now, Roig-Franiza has unearthed information indicating that Rubio’s maternal grandfather allegedly returned to Cuba after Castro’s rise to power and worked for the government for about two years before deciding to return to the United States, Politico reported. When he did, U.S. officials questioned his political exile claim and ordered him deported.

In a statement released Wednesday, Rubio's office described the book’s revelations as proof of his grandfather’s “bold actions to escape Castro’s Cuba after the Bay of Pigs. The tale of his grandfather’s desperate escape from Castro’s Cuba is the quintessential exile story.”

The book also contains significant contradictions and factual errors, the statement said.

“The book’s claims are about as relevant to Rubio’s ability to govern as the revelation that Obama ate dog years and years ago,” said Alvarado, the California-based political consultant. "Both are ridiculous." Alvarado worked on presidential campaigns for former Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush and served as a mouthpiece for the Arizona Sen. John McCain-Sarah Palin ticket in 2008 on English and Spanish-language TV.

And, few voters will hold Rubio accountable for decisions his grandfather made before Rubio was born, Alvarado said.

Alvarado believes that the revaluations in the forthcoming Rubio biography will only reinforce the idea that Rubio is fit for leadership, he said. Despite an immigration struggle in his own family, Rubio has taken principled and consistent stances on public policy, said Alvarado.

“As a Latino on the West Coast, I can tell you that right now, his name is not synonymous with leadership,” Alvarado said. “There isn’t really another Latino in that role either. But if Latinos identify with his biography, or at least see that this man was not elected to represent the interest of Latinos, he was elected to serve his entire constituency, and that has guided him, then I think Latinos across the country will start to see him as the leader that he is.”

This week, Rubio appeared on political talk shows and gave a foreign policy speech at The Brookings Institution, a nonpartisan Washington, D.C. think tank. In the last few weeks, Rubio has also campaigned along side Romney in Arizona and agreed to meet with three Democratic Congress members to discuss his Dream Act-like proposal that would give young undocumented immigrants access to long-term visas and the legal ability to work.

Rubio has publicly and repeatedly opposed the measure known as the Dream Act -- supported primarily by Democrats over the last decade -- that would give young people brought to the country illegally by their parents a pathway to citizenship if they work, join the military or attend college. And, he has been a vocal supporter of Arizona's SB 1070, a state-level immigration enforcement policy that, among other things, requires police to demand immigration paperwork and ID from anyone suspected of being in the country illegally. The law is at the center of a Supreme Court case being considered this week.

On Wednesday, the same day that arguments were heard on the law, the new allegations about the Rubio family immigration history emerged.

"I suppose he’ll say look, my grandfather was almost deported too,” Garcia Blase said. "But of course he'll have to do that after he’s already lied about being a Cuban exile and after he's benefited personally from Cuban-American amnesty. He’s made himself an enemy of every self-respecting Mexicano, every Latino in the United States."

UPDATE: This story has been updated to include a statement from Sen. Marco Rubio's office.

Mitt Romney releases jobs plan as he faces a surging Rick Perry

September 06, 2011|By Michael Finnegan, Los Angeles Times

The former Massachusetts governor calls President Obama's ideas outdated, a 'pay-phone strategy' in a 'smartphone world.' But Romney's 59-point agenda is dismissed by his GOP rivals. Facing new trouble in his quest for the Republican presidential nomination, Mitt Romney released a detailed plan Tuesday to revive the nation's stumbling economy, proposing tax cuts and rollbacks in environmental, health and banking rules.

Romney's 59-point agenda came two days before President Obama plans to unveil his own proposals to combat the nation's stubbornly high joblessness, a pivotal step in his reelection campaign. Speaking to invited guests at a truck dealership in North Las Vegas, Romney said Obama "just doesn't have a clue what to do" to revive the economy. The former Massachusetts governor described Obama's ideas as outdated.

"Your pay-phone strategy does not work in a smartphone world," Romney said. Romney, former chief executive of the Bain Capital investment firm, brandished a blue paperback copy of his plan, "Believe in America." "This is the product of somebody who spent his life in the private sector," he told the crowd.

Romney put out his plan amid a raft of new polls that show he has lost his presumptive Republican front-runner status in recent days to Texas Gov. Rick Perry. A debate of the party's White House contenders on Wednesday at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley is supposed to be the first to include Perry, if wildfires in Texas don't keep him from attending.

The growing rivalry between Perry and the field's former front-runner was on display Tuesday with Romney's pointed reference to his own business background — Perry has spent decades in government — and as the Texas governor's campaign denounced Romney's jobs plan. "As governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney failed to create a pro-jobs environment and failed to institute many of the reforms he now claims to support," Perry spokesman Mark Miner said in a statement. Romney's 160-page plan fit mainstream conservative doctrine. He called for cutting the corporate income tax rate from 35% to 25%, eliminating the estate tax and extending personal income tax cuts enacted under President George W. Bush. He proposed a 10% cut in the federal workforce and a $200-billion-per-year reduction in the Medicaid healthcare program for the poor. Romney would convert Medicaid into a block grant for states.

Romney's plan included a harsh critique of Obama's economic record that in some cases ignored steps by Obama that have disappointed Democrats. Romney slammed the president for his "costly and ineffective anti-carbon agenda" despite criticism by former Vice President Al Gore and others that Obama had failed to show leadership in fighting global warming.

Ben LaBolt, an Obama campaign spokesman, said Romney's plan "would tip the scales against hardworking Americans." Romney "repackaged the same old policies that helped create the economic crisis: boosting oil company profits and allowing Wall Street to write its own rules, more tax breaks for large corporations and more tax cuts for the wealthiest while working Americans are forced to carry a greater burden," he said. Romney's plan was also denounced by the campaign of former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., a Republican presidential contender who released similar proposals last week. Americans "should hope that Gov. Romney's plan builds on exactly the opposite of what he did in Massachusetts, where he raised corporate fees and taxes and passed a government healthcare plan that includes mandates and fines on small businesses and job creators," said Matt David, Huntsman's campaign manager.

Romney: “Of course I’ll win, I’m the white guy”

May 22, 2012

By Sarah Wood

What could have been a game changing moment in Mitt Romney’s campaign turned into a horrendous gaffe Tuesday afternoon when the former governor was having lunch with a few of his supporters. Romney was hoping to show America how well he relates to the average working American by having a press recorded lunch at a local pancake house in rural Kentucky where the primary elections were taking place. However, what turned from a nice preplanned lunch with “common-folk conversation” ended up getting off track when one of Romney’s supporters asked him how he was so certain he would win. Romney turned to the man seated on his left and seemingly forgetting the ten plus reporters in the room said, “Well between you and me, we have to think about the reality of the situation. Obama is a popular guy and his supporters are hell-bent in getting him reelected. There is one thing that his campaign seems to keep forgetting over and over, and that is how many Americans can’t stand the guy for an obvious reason. Of course I’ll win, I’m the white guy.” 

The Romney supporter looked at Romney with a look of agreement yet bewilderment. The chatter within the room got quite loud as reporters grabbed at their phones and took rapid notes. It’s not every day that a candidate is so brutally honest with his supporters.

One of Romney’s aides quickly tapped the former governor on the shoulder and whispered something into his ear. Romney’s face had a stone cold expression that can only be described as terrified. After talking with his aide for a minute or so, Romney turned back to the table and smiled saying, “It’s a good thing we all know how to take a joke here, huh? Of course the reason that I know I’m going to win in because I’m the guy that will stand up for true conservative values and economic prosperity. Which of course is what the American people will want come November.” 

After Romney finished speaking he stood up from the table and was ushered outside to a waiting car. In hopes that he was able to successfully spin his verbal gaffe, Romney made sure to get a spot on Fox News’ Hannity as soon as possible to further clear up any “liberal spin” that may occur.

Only time will tell if he can recover from this clear opinion of his true beliefs in why he thinks he will win this upcoming November.

Who Said: “Well between you and me, we have to think about the reality of the situation. Obama is a popular guy and his supporters are hell-bent in getting him reelected. There is one thing that his campaign seems to keep forgetting over and over, and that is how many Americans can’t stand the guy for an obvious reason. Of course I’ll win, I’m the white guy.” Romney is a buffoon, he better not become the President of this Country! How dare he assume that all white people in this land dislike someone because of their color, just because he does? What an ASS! I have always supported Barack Obama prior to the previous election. It wasn't because he is of color, I'm not. It was because he was the best (by far) of the 2 candidates. Obviously, he still is!

Mitt Romney is a bigot, LGBT hater, Rich & 'out of touch' idiot, that has no business in any political office, let alone as our President. What an embarrassment he is to our entire nation! For God's sake, his people set the luncheon up to make him look good! #HateFreeFriday #EqualityForAll 1stBeStrong.

Reply · 145 · Unlike · Follow Post · May 23 at 6:11pm

Except this IS NOT TRUE. Do you know what "Almost Reliable" means? If this satire wrote that Romney said "a presidential race should not be made on the basis of a racial agenda, but the personal and professional history of the candidates", I bet you would have been the first to point out that this is a satire site and nothing here is actual news or even true. If people should be removed for saying something stupid, why are you still here?

Reply · 16 · Like · May 27 at 9:48am

If what Romney said is true. We do not need a leader who thinks he is superior because he is white. I am not supporting a candidate who thinks he should win because he is white. We have to fight racism every day already. With a leader who is a racist, the crazies will have a field day on further discriminating against minorities. What a stupid remark to make. The truth always comes to the surface eventually.

Reply · 34 · Unlike · May 27 at 3:24pm

Dennis, I would like to refer you the header of this "news" site. It says "News that is almost reliable". That means you can't trust them. I don't know about you, but I would never trust a news organization that tells me their news is made up. In fact, I am more apt to believe the total opposite. Romney has never been my first choice. Or even my second choice. But, I don't think he is any more or less a racist than President Obama. Bottom line here is what this article said Romney said is not true, and there is no way an intelligent person would base something so important on information that is known to be false.

Reply · 5 · Like · May 27 at 5:12pm

What continues to amaze me about America is that you can be incredibly stupid, and run for President! I don't remember that being the case when I was a little boy. Perhaps it's that I didn't know how to pay attention like I do in my adult life...but I doubt that would be it. This Country CONTINUES to dumb itself down. What's MOST frightening about that, for me, is that NO ONE "seems" to want to have THAT conversation!

Reply · 31 · Unlike · Follow Post · May 25 at 11:34am

wonderful, Obama gains office and African Americans every were get a champion against racism, and if this puts gets in African Americans every were can expect to wear the chains their ancestors wore, I can’t believe that in this day and age that someone can be so blatantly raciest.

Reply · 25 · Like · Follow Post · May 25 at 11:41am

I don't think that Romney is racist. The conclusion you want me to reach requires that I understand that Romney cares about race. I also believe that in our world of cultural sensitivity, anyone in any type of affinity group considers it hostile or phobic if anyone else doesn't agree with, support or promote their particular point of view. For instance, I don't care about the LGBT issues; therefore, I am often labeled a homo-phoebe or worse. The fact is that the issues do not affect me in any way, so I do not participate in the discussions.

Just because Romney doesn't think that any race should get special treatment over another doesn't automatically make him a racist. In fact, it means that he is not a racist. But, someone of a race that feels they should get special treatment may view him as discriminatory against them. And just because President Obama is black doesn't mean he isn't. Racism comes in many forms. I believe that President Obama has racist tendencies, but manages to suppress them most of the time.
To get to the original point of this thread, though, you need to go a lower level, not higher. He is saying that Romney will re-institute slavery. "They will wear the chains their ancestors work". Figuratively, or literally, that means the wholesale oppression of black Americans. I doubt with all sincerity that any president could cause that.

Reply · 6 · Like · May 27 at 2:02pm

Heard today on NPR that 80% of the new Superpac money out there supports Romney, and it comes mainly from about 100 ultra wealthy donors. That means that a lot of private money will determine, as with the Swift Boat campaign, what hyped rumors will influence voters. Not comforting. Our government is truly for sale, I believe.

Reply · 7 · Like · Follow Post · May 26 at 6:11pm

Governor Rick Scott’s Emailed Tea Party Groups around the state

When Florida Governor Rick Scott announced "my emails" would be available online for journalists and taxpayers to peruse in his new transparency program "Project Sunburst", he omitted one important detail: the emails wouldn't be those sent to his official state account,rick.scott@eog.myflorida.com.

In fact, the emails displayed to the public were from a separate email account, RLS@eog.myflorida.com. That email address is not found on any state website, according to a report by the Herald/Times, but is instead commonly found published as "Governor Rick Scott's email" on the pages of Tea Party groups around the state.

The Herald/Times uncovered the issue after noticing an "unrealistically high percentage of favorable emails" in the database, which Scott launched in May with the promise that "all Sunburst participant emails (SENT or RECEIVED) are forwarded" into the system, which the public can access and search.

"This is a big step forward for transparency," the Governor said at a news conference, while a release touted the system as an unprecedented program giving "members of the media an open and transparent window into how their state government works."

Read the full Herald/Times report to find out how, after reporters were urged to use the database in lieu of filing public records requests, Project Sunburst's omissions skewed a recent media report on Lieutenant Governor Jennifer Carroll's anti-gay comments.

Scott's office said in a statement sent to HuffPost that the exclusion of his official email address was a good faith effort to ensure the privacy of citizens whose emails include personal information.

"In an effort to protect those citizens, the initial rollout of the Sunburst system did not include emails sent or received using the official website contact form or its associated email address," the statement read. "The initial launch of the Sunburst system only included 11 email accounts so that technical issues could be resolved before more email addresses are added."

The second address has now been set to auto forward to Scott's official email, which will reportedly also receive a copy of emails sent through his online contact form, the Governor's office said. Though the statement indicated it may take "a day or two" before all of Scott's emails are available in Project Sunburst, several negative missives have already made their way into the system.

"We don't support you and will work and vote against you next time out," read a new email in Scott's Sunburst folder, though it wasn't clear to which account it was sent. Another new inclusion was even more succinct: "u r a dipshit," wrote a man named Steve.

The omission of Scott's emails from a program purporting to display a full account to journalists isn't the first time the Governor's staff has been accused of attempting to make him look good at the expense of media. In April, the Texas company that manages Scott's Facebook was forced to remove a doctored image of the Miami Herald's front page that featured a photo shopped headlining praising his plan to add jobs in Florida.