Bush Dynasty to continue

Jeb really has eye on presidency
• Don't be confused by his denials today that he is not interested in the job; his campaign for the highest office in this land has already begun.

by Gema Hernandez
July 23, 2006
http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060723/OPINION/607230389/1015

We Floridians have a moral and ethical responsibility with the rest of the nation, and as such, we need to provide our fellow citizens with a complete assessment of Jeb Bush's legacy to our state.

There is a royal plan in place, and Jeb is making sure that his political resume includes all the necessary components so when he is ready to run in 2016 no questions will be asked.

The plan is to portray Jeb as the right Bush for the turbulent times his brother will leave behind.

This will eliminate the need to explain why Jeb is not part of the Bush Dynasty, separating him from his brother and at the same time reaffirming the Bush mantra of faith, family and friends.

This requires a very delicate balance that Jeb is beginning to maintain.

This propaganda, excuse me, this political campaign, is going to be so great and so well orchestrated that Jeb will be practically elected president by popular demand.

Don't be confused by his denials today that he is not interested in the job; his campaign for the highest office in this land has already begun for the 2016 election, but because he is an impatient person he may decide to do it sooner in 2012.

Explore his record

As Floridians we need to make sure the media explore all aspects of his accomplishments and not just the bullet points they are being fed by Jeb's machine.

We should explore the so- called success of his People First program.

While it is true that on paper the size of the official government work force has been reduced, what truly has taken place has been a reclassification of jobs from Career Services positions to Other Personnel Services (OPS) positions.

These are not "officially counted" as being part of the government work force.

OPS workers are supposed to be temporary workers as defined by Florida statute, but under Jeb's leadership they have become a permanent and growing part of a shadow government work force.

As we examine Jeb's legacy we need to remember that the much needed increases in funding for programs for individuals with disabilities were obtained not because of Jeb's sensitivity to the disabled but as a result of legal actions against the state and won by disabled people.

Let us remember the Lawton Chiles Tobacco Settlement, another legal action won by the previous administration but awarded during Jeb's term in office.

This financial windfall was to provide services to frail elders. Unfortunately, after the first few years, elder programs stopped receiving the funding in proportion to their needs.

Jeb's plans are so well orchestrated that when he named the tobacco trust fund in "honor" of Lawton Chiles everyone in Florida was impressed by his generosity and his willingness to honor his predecessor.

Now, eight years later we begin to discover that the naming of the program was not to honor his predecessor but as a way of distancing himself from an action that is against Big industry.

His alleged accomplishments in the educational arena should be examined.

Those accomplishments did little to move Florida's educational system from being at the bottom of the national ranking.

Part of his educational program included the Opportunity Scholarships Program, a program that was declared unconstitutional by the pre- Bush appointed Supreme Court because it uses taxpayer dollars to support religious schools.

Jeb as CEO

Jeb's legacy to our state includes the role of governor as a CEO.

As a CEO he began outsourcing traditional jobs to other corporations, such as human resources, eligibility determination, management of prisons and detention centers and the the leasing of government offices.

As a CEO, Jeb capped malpractice cases, opening the doors for doctors, hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living facilities to be more relaxed in their handling of people.

As a CEO he failed to inspire his own people to follow his vision. His failure in this area forced him to settle many discrimination cases out of court and forced him to fire key staff members after the media exposed their abuse of power.

If Jeb was just another governor with no further political ambition and not a member of a royal political family, framing his legacy with less accuracy could be accepted.

We need to demand of our media to use their resources and talent to objectively and properly present all his accomplishments. They should not omit or bypass pieces of information that could critically skew his overall effectiveness as a governor.

After all, we Floridians do have a moral and ethical responsibility to the rest of the nation and that responsibility is to be witness to what is to come when our governor reaches his next political goal.

Gema G. Hernandez is the former Secretary of the Florida Department of Elder Affairs. She resides part-time on Fort Myers Beach.