After Jeb

[seafan]

After Jeb


CRIST VS. DAVIS: Left, Attorney General Charlie Crist greets supporters in St. Petersburg. Jim Davis, right, stands with his mother Cody Fowler-Davis. AP


September 06, 2006
Daytona Beach News-Journal Editorial


Voters have clear choice in November

For the past eight years, this has been, for better or for worse, Jeb Bush's Florida. The next governor will inherit a state very different from the one that existed when Bush first took office.
It now appears that Democrat Jim Davis and Republican Charlie Crist will face each other in November for the right to succeed Bush. Though he won't appear on any ballot, Bush's legacy still plays a heavy role in voters' decisions.

Crist has made it abundantly clear: He intends to step right into Bush's shoes, preserving most of the changes that Bush pushed during his two terms as governor. Davis offers his own priorities for the state, which include a close look at the costs and benefits of many of Bush's initiatives. That list includes publicly funded school vouchers for private schools, privatization for many state functions and tax cuts aimed at the wealthiest Floridians.
Over the next few weeks, Florida voters should take a hard look at that legacy, and ask themselves how well-served the state has really been by Bush's agenda. Among the issues to consider:

Education: Under Bush, most of the emphasis has been on high-stakes testing, with vouchers as the "punishment" for chronically low-performing schools. But things haven't worked out exactly according to plan. ...snip
Environment: This is one area that took a quiet beating during Bush's terms. State standards -- including growth management rules and endangered-species protections -- were relaxed and the damage is already showing up in springs, species and sprawling neighborhoods across Florida. ...snip
Accountability: Bush pushed hard to privatize state functions, even when his hand-picked experts advised against it. ...snip


But the next governor faces an overall challenge that can't be confined to one issue. As governor, Bush consolidated power in executive offices, to the detriment of both the judicial branch -- which he undermined -- and the Legislature -- which he overwhelmed.
The next governor's biggest challenge may be, simply, to re-establish the governor's office as one of three co-equal branches of government. ...snip

Again, we find ourselves having to clean up behind these rampaging, poop-filled elephants. It's time we corralled them, once and for all.

[seafan]

1. Kick for a succinct editorial for FL voters to remember in November.

It really all comes down to whether we want the devious, hidden hand of Jeb Bush, manipulating our next governor from beyond his term-limited graveyard, or whether we want a sweeping change for the benefit of the people at long last.

The choice is clear.

[riona]

2. It astounds me

that Crist wants to follow in Jeb's footsteps. The SAT's this year were almost the worst in the country. Are we promoting ignorance here?