"Jeb!" Shows He's Unable To Lead, Floridians Regret Having Elected Him - Sorry, no such news to report today. Instead we get pablum like this.
"Budget Shock" - "The Florida Senate's decision to drop its demands for additional spending for education and social services may turn out to be the best thing for the state. In the short run, it should facilitate budget negotiations during the $40,000-a-day special session that opens Monday. In the longer term the Senate's concession, and the bare-bones budget it presages, may awaken Floridians to the failure of their state government to provide for their basic needs." See "Get ready for budget shock Bare-bones plan may awaken Floridians to state government's failure"
Polling: Part One, The Legislature - "By a margin of nearly 4 to 1, registered voters across ethnic, gender and party lines said they disapprove of the job the Legislature has done -- or hasn't done -- so far this year. . . . 'It's eye-popping,' said Washington-based Republican pollster Kellyanne Conway, who conducted the survey with Democratic pollster Rob Schroth for The Herald, the St. Petersburg Times and the Palm Beach Post. `I have never in 15 years of polling seen a legislature graded so poorly.' The poll was conducted May 6-8, after the regular session ended, and has a margin of error of 4 percentage points." Consider:
- "Just 16 percent of respondents gave the Legislature their approval."
- "six in 10 voters believe Florida spends ''too little'' on its schools".
- "54 percent would vote for the same costly cap on class sizes that Bush wants to repeal".
- "84 percent -- said Bush should veto the phone legislation, even when told that it might foster competition."
- "Floridians [are] evenly divided on whether the state is `on the right track.'"
Polling: Part Two, The Governor - "Remarkably, Bush remains a Teflon governor."
"He posts a 56-percent approval rating -- consistent with his past numbers -- suggesting his presidential brother's post-war popularity could immunize the governor from the Legislature's foibles. The number also underscores an ongoing frustrating reality for Democrats: Even if voters disagree with the governor, they generally like and trust him. While Gov. Bush cannot run for a third term, his ratings are an important barometer for his brother's hope of winning Florida in the 2004 presidential race, and his continued popularity is key for the state GOP's continued success. The governor is liked by both men and women -- a troubling sign for Democrats who rely on female voters -- and his ratings soar among the politically crucial bloc of Hispanic voters. And nearly one in three Democrats said they approved of Bush's job performance."
Polling: Part Three, Our Thoughts - The good news in the story cited above is that the survey "suggests tepid support for the anti-spending, small-government philosophies championed by Gov. Jeb Bush and the House leadership just six months after their party made historic electoral gains by sweeping every statewide office and winning unprecedented legislative majorities." The bad news is that Floridians are still supportive of Bush even though: (1) Bush leads the Florida GOP, which controls both the house and the senate, which have the 16% approval rating; (2) Bush is the state's chief executive officer, and has shown absolutely no leadership during the session; and (3) Bush has pushed - albeit behind the scenes and through proxies - the positions that the survey says Floridians opposed (the telecommunications bill, the 'Glades sellout, revisiting the class size amendment). Why the dissonance? Why does the public direct scorn at the legislature, and not Bush?
Bush has managed, with the complicity of the media, to avoid being characterized as the far right conservative that he is. Johnnie Byrd and Bush have precisely the same political philosophies, yet Bush is permitted to cultivate an image of being something "different", when he in fact is nothing of the sort. Bush has been permitted to distance himself from Byrd, while at the same time have Byrd do his bidding. The media - with a few isolated exceptions - has sat on its hands, harshly criticizing the Legislature, but portraying Bush as above the fray. The media corporate are far too deferential to Bush, perhaps because of who his brother and father are; or perhaps because they see him as a nascent national figure who they do not want to offend. Whatever the reason, you can be sure that when the Bush led GOP Legislature (which the public strongly disapproves of) finishes work, and the legislation (which the public overwhelmingly opposes) is signed by Bush (with feigned reluctance), Bush will not suffer.
Everglades Sellout Looms - Bush's (Phoney) Enviromental Image On The Line - "'Glades ruling puts Bush on spot" is an absolute must read. The piece addresses larger issues related Bush's "ideology" (if you can call it that).
The House Has No Idea What It's Doing - "State lawmakers aren't known for their smooth finishes. Major legislation often bounces between the House and the Senate as the regular two-month session winds down and is resolved only in the final days and minutes. But they usually finish up and go home. That hasn't happened the past two years, and many believe term limits is a major reason. Florida was among the states that rode the term-limits wave of the 1990s." See "Term limits cited in sessions' collapse - Newcomers still learning ropes". And we can thank Bush's Buddy, Phil Handy, who spearheaded Florida's term limits movement a decade ago.
To be fair to the House, our esteemed Governor - who insists on the moniker "Jeb!" - likewise has no idea how to govern. But, what can we expect from someone who, prior to being Governor, had never held elected office, and had a career as a failed pump salesman and "developer", and rose to power on his family connections.
Tallahassee, I Presume? Tom Blackburn tries to explain Tallahassee, and the GOP meltdown.
"If you get hurt in Florida, die! . . . That's the only way to collect benefits." - An excellent review of the Workers' Comp issue - "Lawyers appear to have lost the battle, in which lobbyists and money shaped legislation overhauling the system".
Sugar Rules - "It was an impressive display of political power. When the sugar industry proposed state legislation to delay the cleanup of the Everglades, the idea was attacked by both Democrats and Republicans in Congress. It was denounced at the top of The New York Times' editorial page. A federal judge threatened to intervene. Yet the proposal passed overwhelmingly in the state House and Senate, in a testament to the enduring political clout of the sugar growers south of Lake Okeechobee." See "Sugar groups sway votes".
Shouldn't The State Be Emphasizing Keeping Foster Kids From Being Killed? Some are unnerved that a facility teaches Christian theology to state foster children. See "Faith-based foster care stirs debate"
Jax Race - The Florida Times Union endorses Peyton (no surprise there); "Jeb!" rallies for Peyton ("Jeb!" and Peyton are similar people, rich kids propped up by the parents who deign to start at the top); and a poll has Peyton ahead 54-44 among "probable voters. Coverage of the race from the GOP perspective here.
Is This News? "Teaching children to read is key to preventing delinquency and behavioral problems, Gov. Jeb Bush said as he dedicated a new boarding school campus for boys who have been through the juvenile justice system." "Bush links reading, teen behavior".
Byrd Just Doesn't Get It - "Johnny Byrd, R-Plant City, talks endlessly about the need to pass a "live within our means" budge. But his self-righteous rhetoric aside, Byrd has no problem squandering tens of millions of dollars of taxpayer money to build an unnecessary monument to his own ego." See "Byrd's monument".
Hospital Certification Exemption - Why Have Rules? "Gov. Jeb Bush reads the staff analysis of a bill exempting certain hospitals from state certification to open heart-surgery units, he would find ample reason to veto it. In a word, the veto would save lives." See "Veto Hospital Bill".