May 18, 1998

This fall, Florida's voters will be heading to the booths to elect a senator, 23 congressmen, and a new governor to replace Lawton Chiles, who has served his maximum term limit. It is the latter of these races that has me most concerned. While the Republican Party preaches ethics and morals, they seem to have selective memory when it comes to these same issues with candidates in their own party. Case in point, Jeb Bush. I just saw a television spot by the Bush for governor folks, touting the fact that he is not a politician, he is a successful Florida businessman. You're kidding, right?

True, he is not a politician, he has never held an office, but his political influence, especially during his fathers White House years, has been scrutinized and widely reported on. In 1987, the Wall Street Journal ran a front-page article on how Jeb helped a Cuban con man, Miguel Recarey, bilk Medicare out of an estimated $200 million. Jeb made arrangements with the Health and Human Services Secretary waiving HMO regulations limiting Medicare income for Recarey. ABC's 20/20 reported that Jeb pocketed $75,000 in this deal.

Beyond that mess, there's the subject of Jeb as a successful businessman. Anyone remember Broward Federal Savings and Loan? It went belly-up in 1988, thanks in great part to the $4.6 million default by Jeb and his business partner Armando Codina on a loan they had taken out to buy a Miami office tower. The government absorbed over $4 million of that debt, while Jeb and his partner ended up paying only half a million, and they got to keep the building which they later sold for $8.7 million, although Jeb denies making any money on this deal.

In April of 1992, the New York Times ran a story listing many of Bush's questionable deals, and as recently as March of this year, Bush has found himself the target of investigations. A television news investigation has questioned the financial dealings of The Foundation for Florida's Future, a non-profit group founded by Bush in 1994. It is being reported that the foundation has utilized only 27% of their budget on their targeted programs, which compares to the 85% average of other non-profit organizations. It has been shown that he majority of the money has been spent on staff salaries. Bush likes to claim that his organization funded a charter school in the Miami area, but records show that the foundation only gave the school 2% of the money it raised, a measly $33,000. They were kind enough however to loan the school an additional $40K.

There's no need to take my word on any of this. Jeb's escapades have been well documented over the last decade. Check out the Gainesville Sun Voter Guide, the Mother Jones articles "Whitewashing the Bush Boys" and "Fugitive Fingers Jeb Bush", the WJXT Eyewitness News report, or the article "The Family That Preys Together", which also shows links between Jeb and the Contra scandal.

Though Bush denies the dozens of allegations that have been made against him, the facts speak for themselves. If the Republican Party truly wants to clean up the government, they need to take a good hard look at their own candidate in Florida, as should we all... before going to the polls.

Ray Finkel I am a determined anti-conservative. This doesn't mean you can label me a liberal, but I can not stand the behavior of the extreme right masquerading behind this facade of morality while they commit sins, crimes, and transgressions at every turn. Other Articles I've Written