bushbabies

George W. "What, Me Worry?" Bush (pseudo-President of the United States) and his little brother John E. "JEB" Bush (Governor of Florida) have some things in common. Besides the shenanigans surrounding the 2000 Presidential Election, that is, and besides their bloodlines.

They both have difficulty understanding - and accepting - their own complicity in troublesome circumstances, and they insist on finding questionable (often barely legal, sometimes outright illegal) methods of extricating themselves from these situations.

And, of course, they find somewhere to place the blame; as far from themselves as possible. You won't find them apologizing for anything. They are Republicans, after all, so how could they have done anything to apologize for?

Here in Florida, where many of our classrooms are grossly overcrowded (over 40 children in a second-grade classroom? Sad but true!) Jeb was elected to his first term thanks in part to his promise to "fix" the school system. Instead, he bled money away so that not only did the class sizes continue to grow, but other existing problems couldn't be helped either. (Sound familiar? Kind of like W's "No Child Left Behind" program?)

In the November 2002 elections, the Florida voters wisely passed an amendment to the Florida Constitution that mandates reasonable class sizes. This puts a severe strain on Jeb's budget, because he has been cutting taxes here and there since he first took office. He has also granted tax relief to moneyed interests who did not need tax relief; the taxes they should have paid would have been a great help.

One foolish move on the part of the voters was the reelection of Jeb Bush. His campaign staff was sharp: they mercilessly spread lies about his strongest opponent who, to be fair, did not run a particularly strong campaign. The race was close, though, until a few days before the election. Then Jeb's staff really stepped up the lies - claiming that his Democratic opponent would institute a statewide income tax (the Governor does not have the power to do that). That was the kicker.

Now Jeb wants to distribute the circulating collection of the State Library from here in the capital city, Tallahassee; he says it's "to save money." But, he's going to "donate" it to Nova University and give them $5 million to take care of the collection! How is that saving money?

At first he was going to distribute the entire Library, historical archives and all, around the state. The uproar was tremendous. Many letters were written, protests were made; one of my letters (badly eviscerated) was published in the town rag, the "Tallahassee Democrat."

And now, Jeb is saying that he wants to hold a Special Election so the voters can have another crack at a few of the new amendments that Jebby doesn't want to pay for.

I'll take a break from my screed on Jeb to fill y'all in on this amendment issue. It deserves a few words before I continue.

When I first went to the polls after moving to Florida in 2000, there were Constitutional Amendments on the ballot. One was for a "High-Speed Bullet Train." A constitutional amendment decreeing the construction of a bullet train? I thought, "is this for real? This is not what a State Constitution is for." I voted against it. All I could think of when I pondered the bullet train was a Simpsons episode where a huckster sells the town a monorail, promising an economic wonder. The monorail turns out to be a deathtrap. Now, it is well over two years later and the State does not have any private firms lined up to begin work on even the first leg of this marvelous bullet train.

Amendments, act II - Elections 2002: This time around, our paper ballot has candidates on the entire front side of the page, and the whole back side was proposed amendments to the State Contitution! Why these things couldn't be handled by the Legislature using ordinary laws, I do not know. Most had no business at all being in the Constitution. "No Smoking in Restaurants." "Humane Treatment for Pregnant Pigs." Oh, yes. The famous Pregnant Pigs Amendment. It was featured on comedy shows nationwide, and with good reason. No, I didn't vote for it. Of course I believe that pregnant pigs should be treated humanely, but they do not deserve a constitutional amendment of their own! Surely this belongs in some agricultural or animal husbandry statute: "Subsection G, paragraph 3: Housing, feeding and treatment of domesticated swine after impregnation, whether by artificial insemination or natural means, shall ..."

So, I agree with Jeb on one thing: there are too many silly things being put up for a vote as potential amendments. But the ones that were voted in are here; don't weasel out on them, Jebby Boy.

Back to the Bushbabies. Jeb's weaseling on the amendments ("ooh, they'll cost money! We'll get the voters to take them back!") is typical of the behavior I have come to expect from his brother. They act like spoiled brats, expecting to get their way at every turn.

George the Whatmeworry's claim of being "a uniter, not a divider" only works if you unite with him under his terms. Jeb's claim to improve the education system in Florida has left it in progressively worse shape. They're not getting their way, and now we're going to war with a pipsqueak who has a pocketful of rocks.

How do these people sleep?