Category Jeb Bush
Jeb Bush wins in 1998 landslide
On this week’s Florida History Podcast, we discuss Jeb Bush’s 1998 election as governor. You can listen to the Florida History Podcast on Anchor (which hosts our show), Spotify, Google, Apple Podcasts, Radio Public, Breaker, Overcast, Castro or Pocket Casts. Overcast, Castro, Spotify, Radio Public and Breaker have App Store apps for free which enable you to subscribe and listen on your iPhone if you do […]
Florida Republicans then and now: the ideological change – tonight at 5pm ET
Tonight we’re doing a Twitter Space on the complete ideological shift of Florida Republicans, who were once considered a moderate party which was strong in suburbs and some urban areas. The 1990’s Florida GOP was generally viewed as more centrist than the national party. While elements of the shift rightward and toward culture wars and […]
Revisiting Florida’s Tort Reform debates: Many Conservatives have now shown true colors on human life.
In the late 1990’s conservatives throughout the country were pushing Tort Reform as a larger scheme to “defund the left.” Florida was an epicenter of activity as Jeb Bush’s Republican Party made breaking the Trial Lawyers and Teacher’s Union (via merit pay, school vouchers and other education “reforms”) the priorities of having complete control of […]
Does Jeb Bush sound like a candidate or phony neoconservative senior statesman?
Few individuals have done as much damage to this state as Governor Jeb Bush and few families have done as much damage to this country and the global order as the Bush family. Yet in this Trump era, Jeb Bush and his brother, former President George W. Bush as sounding strangely reasonable. Bush’s latest shots […]
Flashback Friday: The Democrats who happily handed our state over to the GOP two decades ago – #neverforget
After losing a close election in 1994, Republican Jeb Bush faced Lieutenant Governor Buddy MacKay in the 1998 General Election. MacKay who was one of the most qualified candidates ever to run for Governor in this state suffered from a divided Democratic Party which was full of political opportunists who backed Bush. The election was […]
What we are reading: When the Subject Is Civil Rights, There Are Two George Bushes
In the era of Donald Trump, a convenient narrative has emerged that the Bush family was more or less color-blind and fighters for racial equality. While that might be true of the generation that included President George W. Bush and Governor Jeb Bush (it should be noted in the 1990’s when the GOP was being […]
Holiday book recommendations: The Bush America – American Dynasty and American Theocracy
Jeb Bush’s failed bid for the Presidency in 2016 provides the perfect time to discuss a timeless classic with a little more comfort. Kevin Phillips, who was dubbed in 1995 by one of my Political Science Professors at the University of Florida as “the smartest Republican around,” is widely viewed as the chief architect of […]
Florida hurricanes, the Bush family and Presidential politics
Every twelve years it now seems tropical weather becomes inextricably linked with presidential politics in Florida. For whatever reason, 1992, 2004 and 2016 are all years where major storm events have impacted Florida. Given Donald Trump’s loose and dirty mouth it appears he is not poised to take advantage of the perception that Governor Rick […]
Inability to define himself – Jeb Bush was doomed from the start
Former Governor Jeb Bush who was arguably the most ideologically conservative Governor in the state’s post-World War II history ended his Presidential aspirations with a whimper Saturday night, after a sluggish fourth place finish in the South Carolina Primary. Bush’s campaign in hindsight which started with so much fanfare was doomed from the get-go. Governor […]
Jeb Bush changed Florida politics
GOP Presidential candidate Jeb Bush left the Governor’s office over eight years ago, yet his influence continues to dominate the legislative agenda of the state GOP. His views on education have been particularly damaging and each GOP legislator in our state must pass a “Bush litmus test” on education in order to be in the […]
The Florida Squeeze 