"Lawyers for McBride . . . labeled the investigation a political vendetta by a Republican-led Florida Elections Commission loyal to Gov. Jeb Bush", and they are obviously right about that. The GOP vainly "defended the decision by the commission, saying that four sitting members of the commission were asked to recuse themselves from the McBride vote because of their close ties to Bush and the Republican Party". This self serving claim ignores the fact that "it was ["Jeb!"] Bush -- who appoints elections commission members -- who chose the four people [all GOP loyalists] who acted as substitute commissioners for the May 21 and 22 meetings" See "Elections panel finds violation in McBride ads The Democrat could be fined $5.6 million for illegal contributions; his lawyer calls the vote 'payback'".
Likewise, the GOP's claim that this is not political misrepresents how all this started in the first place. You may recall that when the charges were originally filed, they were dismissed as being without meritby the Florida Election Commission's executive director. However, in the midst of the election, "the Republican Party of Florida persuaded the [GOP run] Florida Elections Commission to investigate [even] after the agency's executive director had concluded there was no legal basis to do so." See "GOP: McBride TV spot is illegal".
Now This Is Medicaid Fraud - "Critics say there is no evidence that the value-added programs are generating the promised savings or significantly improving the long-term health of the patients involved. They cite the recent government audit, which concluded the state could save $64.2 million during fiscal 2003-04 alone if the programs were canceled and the four drug makers were made to discount their medications like everyone else.". See "Critics: Medicaid deal a loser".
Voucher Foolishness - ''Anational spotlight is shining on Florida. Other states and even the federal government are dazzled by Gov. Jeb Bush's explosive success in shifting more than 24,000 students to private schools with public money. If only all that attention could shine some real light on Florida's fledgling voucher programs. Maybe then state taxpayers could have a clue whether the tax money being directed to private schools is yielding any real academic results." See "Flying blind".