Jeb Bush the Class Clown, What type of GOP Clown is he?

Some conservatives say Jeb Bush isn’t one of them, citing a handful of positions that cut against Republican orthodoxy. A look at his record as governor of Florida suggests he could not be more one of them between his toes to his head.   

Mr. Bush championed tax cuts, privatized state jobs, fought for school vouchers, won power over the judiciary and labored to prolong the life of a brain-damaged woman, Terry Schiavo.

Well before earmarks became a dirty word in Washington, he campaigned against such pet projects in Tallahassee, promising to veto spending items not approved by his administration. He wound up vetoing some $2 billion in spending over eight years.

If Mr. Bush runs for president, his two terms as governor between 1999 and 2007, and the related question about his conservatism would likely be an issue.

 “Honestly I don’t think I ever came across one person who told me he wasn’t being conservative enough,” said Al Cardenas, who was chairman of the Florida Republican Party during the Bush gubernatorial years

Over his tenure, Mr. Bush cut taxes by some $19 billion, much of it benefiting businesses and investors, such as the repeal of a tax on investments. He created the first school-voucher program in the country, allowing students in failing schools to use public money for private-school tuition, a program later struck down by the state Supreme Court as unconstitutional. Another program, also being challenged in court, gives companies a tax credit if they donate for private school scholarships.

Mr. Bush also sparked protests with his One Florida program, which aimed to end affirmative action preferences for minorities in universities and state contracting.

Mr. Bush was initially opposed to offshore oil drilling, before backing down. He drove to increase the power of the governor’s office, winning total control over judicial nominations, which until then had been shared with the state bar association.
                                                                         

In 2003, he gained national attention with the battle surrounding Ms. Schiavo, a severely brain-damaged woman. The governor pushed legislators to pass a law reinserting her feeding tube, a move later deemed unconstitutional. She died in March 2005. To promote abortion opposition, he approved a “Choose Life” license plate.

On crime, he backed a mandatory sentencing law for offenders using guns and enhanced the state’s concealed carry law. He also signed the “stand your ground” law giving people the right to use deadly force when threatened, which later played a role in the debate over the shooting of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin. Mr. Bush has said he didn’t think the law applied in that case.

For Republican activists, that record has been overshadowed by his more-recent positions on immigration and education. Mr. Bush has said if he runs for the presidency, he won’t back away from his support of granting legal status to many illegal immigrants, or for Common Core, a set of state-driven academic standards. He has also declined to sign a pledge promising never to raise taxes.

“He’s too moderate for the Republican base,” said one-time presidential contender Pat Buchanan in a recent television appearance, echoing a sentiment often heard from the party’s conservative activists.

With “the primary electorate on the Republican side he’ll have to address those issues and I’m sure he will,” said Sen. John Thune (R., S.D.). “Those are issues that wouldn’t be as big of a factor if he were to get through a primary.”                                 

Dan Gelber, who was the Democratic leader in the state House during part of Mr. Bush’s tenure, said on issues including guns, taxes, education and abortion, the former governor led from the right. “Anyone who woke up in Florida every morning knew that Jeb Bush was not a moderate,” he said. “You could check every single box.” Mr. Gelber said neither immigration nor Common Core were issues that arose much during his tenure Keb Bush is a conservative Republican do doubt. The question is how smart is he..