Yes, Florida, John Ellis Bush Is An Extreme Right Wing Conservative - In an article today, Peter Wallsten reminds us - as he has several times in the past - that our "governor is no moderate".
"Gov. Jeb Bush is already a hero to the nation's conservative movement for his sweeping rollback of affirmative action, massive tax cuts and a status-quo-crumbling push for school accountability through standardized tests. Florida's Republican governor, who once cast himself as a moderate to win office in this divided state, is now a hero again to his party's ideological base -- this time for his provocative move requesting a legal guardian for a fetus."
"'New Democrats To Watch' List" - The Tallahassee Democrat has this blurb on the (neo conservative) DLC's Dems to watch list; including five in Florida: Reps. Loranne Ausley of Tallahassee, Ron Greenstein of Coconut Creek, Bob Henriquez of Tampa, Stacy Ritter of Coral Springs, and St. Petersburg City Council member Rick Kriseman.
Public Education "Crumbs" - "Having already decided a half-loaf will do, Florida lawmakers begin to distribute the public education crumbs today. One rational approach for appropriations conferees would be to feed today's children before giving birth to more, but, once again, House Speaker Johnnie Byrd has something else in mind." See "Fighting over the crumbs". See also "Blame the Legislature for painful school cuts".
Role Reversal - "A St. Petersburg Times poll earlier this month found more than 60 percent of Pinellas County voters would support raising taxes to reduce class sizes. But in Hillsborough, 60 percent oppose such a tax increase. In Pinellas, Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Graham would trounce President Bush. But Graham would lose to the Republican incumbent in Hillsborough. Hillsborough, once a Democratic stronghold, increasingly leans Republican. Pinellas, a GOP bastion that once sent the first Southern Republican to Congress since Reconstruction, is a moderate swing county." See "Political winds shift across bay".
Wonder What "Jeb!" Will Do? - Will John Ellis Bush Veto bills that bar local government living wage laws or a bill that "would prohibit all Florida counties except one from using their authority to regulate the activities on land used for agricultural purposes when some other agency -- state or federal -- also has jurisdiction"? The living wage legislation, if not vetoed by Bush, will result in as "many as 2,000 workers at MIA -- including baggage handlers -- could see their paychecks considerably reduced".
Last week the St Pete Times published this we all love "Jeb!" and wouldn't he be a great president piece by this right wing nut. The trusty readers of the St Pete Times responded with ferocity.
Jax Election - The Florida Times Union shares its wisdom with us about the mayoral election: "When a conservative wins office, the liberal side insists upon a healing process, during which the winner essentially apologizes for winning and promises to give liberals a lot of jobs in his administration.
Conversely, when a liberal wins, there is no need for the healing process. It is announced that the people have spoken, evil has been vanquished and justice has triumphed. Plums and perks go to the followers of the successful liberal candidate. He does not 'reach out' to the conservative voters."
Graham Allegation Of A 9-11 Report Coverup - In connection with Graham's 9-11 Report coverup allegations, we are told that "The report details failures of `senior administration officials' - National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and possibly President Bush - to heed warnings in August 2001 of a possible attack on U.S. interests somewhere in the world, possibly involving al-Qaida hijackings of airplanes."
However, "the warnings are said to have been too unclear for authorities to take decisive steps, at specific locations, at precise times or against identified individuals to conceivably prevent the terrorist attacks." No surprise there, considering who "wrote" the report.
Where Is The Headline? In "Democrats urge unity in Orlando", mentioned above, we read that " Orlando City Commissioner Betty Wyman, who bolted to the Republican Party more than two years ago, used the occasion to announce her return." When a Repub of this stature converts from D to R, it is always accompanied by a headline; here, the info is buried in a story about the Jefferson-Jax dinner in Orange County. 7:27 AM
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