'Don Jeb' makes legislators an offer they can't refuse [View All]

[Dirty Hippie]

...

Waking from his slumber, he discovers a gruesome sight: a horse's head, severed and lying next to him. He cries out in terror, "Governor, please forgive me! I will never go against the family again!"

This isn't a scene from the movie "The Godfather," but the political equivalent of it.

...

Florida has a governor and a Legislature with two chambers. Each of these has a responsibility to deliberate policy in the best interest of Florida's citizens. But recent behavior by Florida's godfather ... er, governor ... suggests that his insistence on a $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages has less to do with good policy than rewarding his insurance industry contributors and getting even with his enemies. At a recent luncheon in Orlando, the governor claimed that those who represent Floridians in malpractice cases were "the No. 1 interest group in the country that is opposed to the president ... and Republican principles."

Even many Republicans agree that the governor's motives are suspect. Sen. Tom Lee, R-Brandon, said, "It led some of us to believe this is a very personal vendetta for those of us who don't make policy decisions that way."

And Republicans are questioning Bush's strong-arm tactics. Sen. Nancy Argenziano, R-Dunnellon, said, "even though he's in my party, he is not King Jeb the First."


http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/democrat/news/opinion/6335656.htm