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Jeb Bush has NOTHING to offer America.
Jeb Bush campaign says criticism of his old writings about 'shame' are just 'cheap shots'A series of controversial passages about "shame" that appeared in "Profiles in Character," a book former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) co-wrote in 1995 have resurfaced ahead of his expected presidential campaign announcement last week.
In a statement to Business Insider, Bush spokesperson Allie Brandenburger described criticism of the writings as "cheap shots."
Many of the controversial passages appeared in a section of the book titled "The Restoration of Shame." In it, Bush argued "our inner city streets" and other areas of society "are in dire need of some sense of shame." Bush suggested shame could deter people from "irresponsible behavior" including crime and having children out of wedlock.
He also described how he thought public shaming could be used on young criminals.
"In the context of present-day society we may need to make kids feel shame before their friends rather than their family," Bush wrote. "The Miami Herald columnist Robert Steinback has a good idea. He suggests dressing these juvenile offenders in frilly pink jumpsuits and making them sweep the streets of their own neighborhoods! Would these kids be so cavalier then? It's not just our inner city streets that are in dire need of some sense of shame."
Brandenburger responded by saying Bush has proven his desire to help people who are struggling.
"Anyone can take cheap shots, but Governor Bush has dedicated himself to helping low-income kids in broken homes, single moms, and victims of domestic abuse so that they can achieve their dreams. That's what he is all about," she explained.
Brandenburger also pointed to Bush's record in Florida including efforts to fight domestic violence, child support enforcement, and education programs for low income children.
.....
In a statement to Business Insider, Bush spokesperson Allie Brandenburger described criticism of the writings as "cheap shots."
Many of the controversial passages appeared in a section of the book titled "The Restoration of Shame." In it, Bush argued "our inner city streets" and other areas of society "are in dire need of some sense of shame." Bush suggested shame could deter people from "irresponsible behavior" including crime and having children out of wedlock.
He also described how he thought public shaming could be used on young criminals.
"In the context of present-day society we may need to make kids feel shame before their friends rather than their family," Bush wrote. "The Miami Herald columnist Robert Steinback has a good idea. He suggests dressing these juvenile offenders in frilly pink jumpsuits and making them sweep the streets of their own neighborhoods! Would these kids be so cavalier then? It's not just our inner city streets that are in dire need of some sense of shame."
Brandenburger responded by saying Bush has proven his desire to help people who are struggling.
"Anyone can take cheap shots, but Governor Bush has dedicated himself to helping low-income kids in broken homes, single moms, and victims of domestic abuse so that they can achieve their dreams. That's what he is all about," she explained.
Brandenburger also pointed to Bush's record in Florida including efforts to fight domestic violence, child support enforcement, and education programs for low income children.
.....
Not so fast, Ms. Brandenburger.
From the Washington Post on Bush's last few days as governor:
The Jeb Bush Era Ends in Florida, January 7, 2007 (Unfortunately, it actually steamrolls onward.)
.....
Bush's back-to-back terms were marred by frequent ethics scandals, official bungling and the inability of the government he downsized to meet growing demands for state services, including education and aid for the infirm and the elderly.
..... He championed tax cuts that chiefly benefited business and the wealthy, trimmed the state's payroll, stripped job protection from thousands of mid-level civil servants, ...... launched the nation's first statewide private-school voucher program.
.....
But his administration -- the Department of Children and Families, in particular -- was vilified for losing track of 500 youngsters under state care and for failing to prevent the deaths of several others. A smiling Rilya Wilson became the poster child for all that was wrong with the agency and, by extension, the Bush administration's failure to serve Floridians in need. Although her body was never found, it is believed the 5-year-old Miami girl was killed in December 2000, 15 months before the state realized she was missing.
.....
"He led the enactment of tax cuts that will drain the state of needed revenue for health care and children and senior citizens -- and we already rank at the bottom of the nation in those services," said Karen Woodall, a lobbyist for migrant workers and the poor.
.....
Bush battled against government intrusion in private lives but commandeered the state's executive and legislative branches to prolong the life of (Terri) Schiavo, Florida's legislature and Congress. Ignoring the repeated verdicts of judges, Bush, a convert to Roman Catholicism who approached this battle with moral zeal, rammed through a special law to restore Schiavo's feeding tube in what many saw as an attempt to pander to the religious right. But the courts had the final word and on March 31, 2005, the 41-year-old Schiavo died.
.....
A fiscal conservative, Bush slashed the number of state workers by giving their jobs to private companies. Many public services -- including the state's foster-care system -- were spun off without official oversight, and some ran up cost overruns in the millions. .....
Though he proclaimed himself the "education governor," ...... Florida's high school dropout rate and per-pupil spending continued to rank among the nation's worst.
.....
Perhaps Bush's most grievous blunder came with the enactment of One Florida, a plan to end affirmative-action preferences for minorities in university admissions and state contracting. It sparked a sit-in by two black legislators in the governor's executive suite -- and hundreds of black college students in the hallway outside his office -- and the largest ever protest-march, led by the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, on the state Capitol in 2000.
One Florida was a prime example of Bush's shoot-first, take-no-advice method of governing.[/b
.....
Bush's back-to-back terms were marred by frequent ethics scandals, official bungling and the inability of the government he downsized to meet growing demands for state services, including education and aid for the infirm and the elderly.
..... He championed tax cuts that chiefly benefited business and the wealthy, trimmed the state's payroll, stripped job protection from thousands of mid-level civil servants, ...... launched the nation's first statewide private-school voucher program.
.....
But his administration -- the Department of Children and Families, in particular -- was vilified for losing track of 500 youngsters under state care and for failing to prevent the deaths of several others. A smiling Rilya Wilson became the poster child for all that was wrong with the agency and, by extension, the Bush administration's failure to serve Floridians in need. Although her body was never found, it is believed the 5-year-old Miami girl was killed in December 2000, 15 months before the state realized she was missing.
.....
"He led the enactment of tax cuts that will drain the state of needed revenue for health care and children and senior citizens -- and we already rank at the bottom of the nation in those services," said Karen Woodall, a lobbyist for migrant workers and the poor.
.....
Bush battled against government intrusion in private lives but commandeered the state's executive and legislative branches to prolong the life of (Terri) Schiavo, Florida's legislature and Congress. Ignoring the repeated verdicts of judges, Bush, a convert to Roman Catholicism who approached this battle with moral zeal, rammed through a special law to restore Schiavo's feeding tube in what many saw as an attempt to pander to the religious right. But the courts had the final word and on March 31, 2005, the 41-year-old Schiavo died.
.....
A fiscal conservative, Bush slashed the number of state workers by giving their jobs to private companies. Many public services -- including the state's foster-care system -- were spun off without official oversight, and some ran up cost overruns in the millions. .....
Though he proclaimed himself the "education governor," ...... Florida's high school dropout rate and per-pupil spending continued to rank among the nation's worst.
.....
Perhaps Bush's most grievous blunder came with the enactment of One Florida, a plan to end affirmative-action preferences for minorities in university admissions and state contracting. It sparked a sit-in by two black legislators in the governor's executive suite -- and hundreds of black college students in the hallway outside his office -- and the largest ever protest-march, led by the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, on the state Capitol in 2000.
One Florida was a prime example of Bush's shoot-first, take-no-advice method of governing.[/b
.....
We Floridians had an early clue in 1994 as to what kind of governor Jeb Bush would be for minorities.
.....
He would have been President of the United States before his brother George but the first time Jeb Bush ran for governor in 1994 he lost. During the campaign Bush was asked by reporters what his administration might do for Black Floridians. He made a tactical blunder. He gave an honest answer. He said, "Probably nothing." Jeb Bush got 4% of the African-American vote and Lawton Chiles beat him in a close race.
.....
He would have been President of the United States before his brother George but the first time Jeb Bush ran for governor in 1994 he lost. During the campaign Bush was asked by reporters what his administration might do for Black Floridians. He made a tactical blunder. He gave an honest answer. He said, "Probably nothing." Jeb Bush got 4% of the African-American vote and Lawton Chiles beat him in a close race.
.....
And we haven't forgotten about Martin Lee Anderson, the young black boy who was beaten and suffocated to death in 2006, in the notorious boot camp for juveniles in north Florida, while Jeb was governor. After dragging his feet for months, and after major protest marches on the Capitol in Tallahassee, Jeb finally was shamed into meeting with Martin's parents to hear their concerns about the glacial pace of the investigation into their son's gruesome death at the hands of camp guards.
And, now, Jeb Bush wants the White House.
This is the take-home message: Jeb Bush has NOTHING to offer women, minorities, public school children, children in foster homes, poor people, old people, sick people, workers or voters who want a say in how their government serves their needs. In short, he has nothing to offer America except a self-serving, mean-spirited, deliberate socioeconomic misery.
To Jeb "my way or the highway" Bush:
There is the highway. Take it.
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I had a journal entry about it at the time here, but the photo is not there now. Jeb says it was actually "a boiler room".....
He absolutely hates the press, and is a-skeered of them.
Thanks for that flashback, valerief.
