-Caveat Lector- >>>Sounds as though all the Shrubbies have "devious" plans about one thing or another <<<
From http://www.gopbi.com/partners/pbpost/epaper/editions/saturday/news_d3e9a6ffa262d127 00c5.html Bush foes target his 'devious plans' By Jim Ash and Brian E. Crowley, Palm Beach Post Staff Writers Saturday, October 5, 2002 TALLAHASSEE -- Democrats pounced on Gov. Jeb Bush Friday, taunting the governor with his own tape-recorded words saying he has "devious plans" to ignore voters if they approve a popular state amendment requiring smaller public school class sizes. It was a potentially devastating revelation in the final weeks of a close gubernatorial race in which improving education -- especially reducing class size -- has been the central issue of the campaign. In other remarks, Bush said that he is ready to take some of the power to give teacher raises away from school boards, despite a provision in the state constitution requiring collective bargaining. A clearly annoyed Bush at first did not want to answer questions about his statements but later Friday said he was being "sarcastic" when he discussed the "devious plans" and did not know a reporter was at the meeting. "About two days ago or three days ago, I read in the paper that people were saying that I actually wanted the class-size initiative passed so that I would have an excuse to raise taxes," Bush said. "My sarcastic response to that was, you know, 'I have a devious plan.' That's the context in which this stuff is discussed." Bill McBride, his Democratic opponent, wasn't buying the explanation. "The incredulity level here is really, really high," the Tampa lawyer said. He criticized Bush for "saying one thing in public and something else in private." McBride said Bush "has to convince the people of Florida that what he says can be trusted and what in fact he says he is going to do he will do." 'He needs to own up' Calling the "devious plans" comment "strong language," McBride said: "If he's got devious plans, he needs to own up to them. He needs to talk to the people of Florida about them. We're a little over four weeks from an election, and now he's telling closed groups that he's got some things he's going to do that he has not talked to the people of Florida about. I think that's wrong." McBride's basting came on the heels of reports that Bush, in the same meeting where he talked to five Panhandle lawmakers, also joked about "juicy details" regarding an alleged lesbian relationship between two former caregivers of missing Miami girl Rilya Wilson who were recently arrested. McBride called the remark "totally inappropriate.... The governor of Florida has got to be the governor of everybody, not just people you like or who are like you. He should retract that, and if he was quoted correctly, he needs to apologize." News of the Bush "juicy details" comments even reverberated in Washington. On Friday, Rep. Peter Deutsch, D-Fort Lauderdale, released a statement criticizing Bush for his remarks about Rilya Wilson's caretakers. "This is a time to focus on the needs of Florida's children and the poor state of the Department of Children and Family Services, not for schoolyard gossip," Deutsch said. Earlier the state's largest gay and lesbian advocacy organization, Equality Florida, criticized Bush's comments as "locker room homophobia." Bush's staff at first characterized his remarks as not meant to hurt anyone and said that he thought he was making the comments in private. However, the meeting was publicly posted on Bush's daily schedule. One of the first to pounce on Bush's statements about the class size amendment was Sen. Kendrick Meek, a Miami Democrat who authored Amendment 9 and helped gather more than 500,000 signatures to get it on the ballot. "This is not something that should be taken lightly," Meek said. "It's disturbing not only to parents, but it's disturbing for democracy." Recent polls show the initiative winning with as much as an 80 percent plurality. It would require, over a decade, that classrooms in kindergarten through third grade average no more than 18 students; fourth through eighth, 22; and high school, 25. Bush and other opponents warn that the cost eventually could skyrocket to $27 billion, although other economic analysts say it could be closer to $10 billion. On the tape, recorded by a Pensacola News-Journal reporter at the governor's meeting and later posted on the newspaper's Web site, Bush told Republican lawmakers of his plans for the class size amendment on the Nov. 5 ballot. "So I've got a couple of devious plans if this thing passes," Bush says on the tape. "Voters will have the full ramifications, including which tax will go up and which programs (to cut), to give an alternative." As for teachers' salaries, Bush said he would wait until after the election to roll out that change because he didn't want to appear hypocritical. He has stumped for more autonomy for individual school districts. 'I want to be consistent' "It's one of the things we're looking at doing, and I'm not sure we'll do this in the campaign because it's just kind of a philosophical reversal on my part, and I don't want to spend my time explaining a reversal, I want to be consistent," Bush said. Maureen Dennin, president of the Florida Education Association, which is McBride's principal backer, said Bush's remarks -- coupled with his recently announced $2.8 billion proposal to reduce class size through bonding a communications tax -- represents an astonishing turnaround. "Three and a half years we've worked on class size and three and a half years we've worked on teacher pay," Dennin said. "How come 35 days before an election, he's going into it now? I guess tomorrow I'll wake up, and he'll stop calling me a union boss." Damien Filer, a spokesman for the Coalition to Reduce Class Size, said Bush's statements also add more credence to charges that Bush has been willing to go beyond the bully pulpit of his office to fight the initiative. Filer and other amendment supporters charged that high-level Bush appointees are improperly using state computers to campaign against the amendment. Last week, Bush's appointed Secretary of Education, Jim Horne, used the state e-mail system to deliver "talking points" opposing the amendment to a host of lawmakers and more than 2,000 department employees. At the Department of Elder Affairs, workers reported a briefing from Secretary Terry White warning that passage of the amendment would cost them steep cuts in their programs. White claims he did not ask workers to vote one way or the other on the amendment. Lt. Gov. Frank Brogan defended his boss Friday afternoon. "You know the governor has a streak of satire in him, you all have felt that sword before," Brogan said. "Everybody needs to look inward and ask are there conversations at your own home that you wouldn't have at your neighborhood barbecue?" That explanation left Meek more incensed. "He was speaking his true mind at the meeting," Meek said. "He needs to go to some PTA meetings and share that and see how they take it." The Associated Press also contributed to this story. [EMAIL PROTECTED]@pbpost.com Breaking News Updated every 15 minutes »Port Talks Break Off Indefinitely »Bush Seeks to Answer Iraq Questions »10 Palestinians Die in Gaza Raid »Md. Shooting Spree Victim Buried »Brazil Race Goes to Second Round »Bosnia Nationalists Poised for Win »Tokyo Shares Hit New 19-Year Low »Twins Drop A's 5-4, Advance to ALCS • More national/world news Back to Top Our Partner • PBC Civic Groups • Top Takeout Eateries • Adoptable Pet Photos • Fla. 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