The recent revelations about the unprecedented levels of corruption (yes a loaded term but must be used here) of the Ben Sasse tenure as University of Florida President along with Richard Corcoran’s book-dumping at New College are the logical culmination of 25 years of Republican Party efforts to turn Florida’s State Universities into a repository for political cronyism and ideological zealotry.

Since Jeb Bush assumed the Governorship, one of the key goals of the Florida GOP has been not only to turn academic institutions into laboratories for libertarian policy ideas and undermining liberal thought but perhaps more importantly as a repository for cronyism, particularly with high-salary jobs.

The efforts of Bush to undermine the state university system and create a place for political cronies to hold court with six figure jobs at taxpayer expense rubbed Bob Graham the wrong way. Despite having a non-partisan reputation which allowed him to be the best vote-getter in the state, Graham took Bush on directly when it came to higher education in 2001 and 2002. The very independence of state universities and academics was at stake.

Graham pushed through a constitutional amendment (which gained 61% of the vote statewide) that established local boards of trustees to administer each state university and establish a statewide governing board to oversee the entire university system. This was intended to give an additional degree of protection from both Bush and the legislature. But the victory was temporary.

Because the Democrats have not won the Governorship since the new governance structure was put in place and in the GOP has never fallen below 73 seats in the State House or 23 seats in the State Senate since 2002, all the imitative did was delay the inevitable.

One GOP politician after another augmented by prominent Republican donors filled up the boards and even the Presidencies and Provost positions of state universities and colleges. In time, the lamentable state of higher education in this state all done under the guise of “reform,” was inevitable with one party controlling state government and gradually eliminating all the guardrails with regards to ethics and proper conduct in public life.

Ben Sasse could not have gotten away with his diverting of hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to cronies in most public institutions, be they in blue states or red ones. But Florida has become a place where this is standard practice these days – if you want to steal a living come to Florida and tie yourself to the Republican Party.

But even more brazen is the conduct of Richard Corcoran as President of New College. Turning a liberal arts school into a right-wing factory and openly tossing books into the dumpster is what happens after the GOP learned no amount of public outrage or bad behavior will cost them elections in this state. The pathetic weakness of Florida Democrats is a large part of how we go to this awful place.

Higher education is being debased in Florida in a manner it is not in any other large US state, be it a Democratic or GOP run place. But this did not happen overnight…it took a quarter century to get here and unfortunately I do not think we get the colleges and universities we were once so proud of in Florida back…ever.