Notes For Sunday, December 08, 2002

THE TERRORISM THING. "The Bush Family’s Terror Connections", a blog entry over at Blog Soup (one of our recommended blogs), is well worth a read. 6:54 PM [Go to current Florida Politics site (no popup ads)]

SUNDAY SURVEY: Bereft as ever, the Florida editorial boards, have nothing substantial to say about Governor Bush. The Orlando Sentinel gives us a puff piece on Bush's "laudable vision for Florida's university system", yet fails to take him to task for the Repub plans to raise tuition, gut Bright Futures and pre-paid tuition plans, and sidestep the constitutional amendment on changing the university system's governing structure. Instead, like obsequious children, the Sentinel board suggests that Bush is somehow above his craven subordinates in the Repub party and will lead them to the promised land of his "laudable vision".

Pleez . . . these writers - who endorsed Bush over McBride - refuse to accept reality: Bush will not spend money to fix problems. The ONLY REASON he can prance around saying he spent 3 billion on education is the media's abject refusal to mention that this money was a gift from the Chiles administration/Chiules-Clinton economy; and, this magical 3 billion, as we all know, simply covered growth - there was no actual increase in per capita spending. John Ellis Bush has plenty of "vision" - unlike his father - but none of the courage it takes to put that vision into action - courage his father did have (in recognizing the need to raise taxes). Instead we get half baked privatization schemes (which are starting to backfire), calls for volunteerism, and cuts to intangible taxes.

There is an interesting editorial on the national political scene though: a short editorial on George Bush's absolutely gross decision to give $15,000 bonuses to high-paid (more than $115,000 aannually) political appointees, while at the same time reducing the measly annual raises next year for the folks who actually do the work. On top of that, he plans to "privatize" nearly a million federal employees.

["The new GOP patronage". Editorial.]

Precisely the same thing is going on in Florida, with traditionally public sector functions being transferred to the private sector. The private sector recipients of this largesse turn around and contribute to the Repub party. In the meantime, good government jobs are axed. 8:40 AM [Go to current Florida Politics site (no popup ads)]

WHY BUSH WON: An article in the Daytona Beach News Journal today reports that "Bush didn't win because of minority turnout. He won because he increased his share of white voters . . . About 50-59 percent of registered white voters cast ballots statewide this fall, 15-20 percentage points above the turnout for registered black or Hispanic voters." And, why don't minorities turn out? Because they are crammed into majority-minority districts where the only competetive races are in the Dem primaries.

This is nothing new, but rather the function of what Miami Herald writer Tyler Bridges referred to last week as the "unholy alliance" between Black Dems and Repubs in the redistricting process - the end result: a few super-safe Black seats and the majority of seats leaning or strongly Republican.

The News Journal's solution? It is "supporting an initiative to create an independent 17-member commission to draw Florida House, Senate and congressional districts. This plan was initiated by the Constitution Revision Commission in 1998, and it almost went on the ballot -- but was destroyed by a crude political maneuver prompted by legislative leaders. It is now a proposed constitutional amendment supported by the League of Women Voters and Common Cause. Under the plan, legislators would appoint 16 members to a commission, eight from each party. The new commission would then select a 17th member. The rules would help reduce political interference: None of the members could be elected officials. Nor could they be lobbyists or party officers. Districts would have to be approved by three-fifths vote. And after it completes its job, the commission is dissolved."

["Whose vote counts?" Article in the Daytona Beach News Journal.]

8:11 AM [Go to current Florida Politics site (no popup ads)]