Nothing moderate about McBride (Democrat for FL Gov.)

Nothing moderate about McBride Peter A. Brown October 18, 2002 The Federal Trade Commission should haul Bill McBride into court for violating truth-in-advertising rules by running for governor as a political moderate. He's entitled to that label if he's running in Berkeley or Boston, but not in Florida, where looney liberalism and raising taxes by the billions are outside the mainstream. McBride has an admirable military and business record, but his desire to put a hold on capital punishment, free local schools from the teeth of accountability and return to a system of racial preferences stamps him as more in tune with Ted Kennedy than Bob Graham. He was packaged as a moderate by desperate Democrats who knew that if Janet Reno were their candidate, the party would go down the tubes unless Jeb Bush was caught, as the old political saying goes, in a compromising situation with a dead woman or a live boy. McBride is adept at telling each audience what it wants to hear and ducking the real questions, most importantly how to pay for his ambitious agenda. In this regard, he's similar to Bill Clinton, but without the former president's considerable charm and political skills. McBride touts his Marine service and experience as the managing partner of the state's largest law firm as evidence he isn't one of those squishy liberals who have led the Democratic Party to the brink of irrelevance in Florida. But what counts is not where he's been, but where he wants to go. McBride, whose folksy "aw shucks" persona belies his sharp mind (you have to be smart to duck questions as adroitly as he does), seems to answer most questions about issues other than education by saying he'd get all sides together and hammer out a solution. Pardon my cynicism, but that sounds like law- yerese for "I don't have a clue." On most issues, McBride is long on fluff and short on substance. Regarding education, McBride has been specific -- and here it's clear that he may be a lawyer by training, but he's a social engineer by inclination. Witness his desire to reimpose racial preferences in college admission. Of course he knows that in Florida that won't fly politically. So McBride is trying to follow the lead of the few Democrats who have bucked the Republican tide in Florida --- such as the late Gov. Lawton Chiles and Graham. That is, by finessing the liberal-dominated primary election, then running as more fiscally and culturally conservative in November. But whether there is any substance to that self-identification is questionable. True Democratic moderates take on the party's special interests -- not pander to them. Moderates don't call for hundreds of millions of dollars in new taxes, as McBride has done. They don't talk about tax reform to make everyone pay their fair share but want to exempt the wealthiest Democratic special-interest constituency: trial lawyers, such as McBride. Moderates don't, as McBride has done, kowtow to the teacher unions. Moderates offer new ideas to improve schools, not the same old ones that he's pushing to increase funding without requiring anything tangible in return. McBride would end the grading of individual schools based on student testing and then holding the school and its unionized staff responsible for the results. He has made the FCAT -- the test Florida students take annually to determine which students get promoted -- Public Enemy No. 1, as if the exam, not the students who fail it and the educational system that prepares them for it, are at fault. Moderates do not endorse the teachers-union effort, as does McBride, to bar competition from the system by trying to rescind financial incentives for businesses to provide scholarships for poor kids to attend private schools. Moderates don't see why opportunities for those children, most of whom are racial minorities, should be denied to curry favor with teachers, one of the most powerful Democratic interest groups. Moderates don't claim they are for the death penalty, but oppose carrying it out until a hypothetical time when the never-ending concerns of opponents can be met. Most of all, moderates don't argue that the proposed amendment that would limit the size of public-school classes wouldn't cost much, when in fact it would lead to billions in new taxes in addition to the hundreds of millions he already proposes. McBride is for the amendment because it is the top agenda item for the teachers union, which has spent millions to promote his candidacy. As much as McBride tries to convince voters that he isn't Michael Dukakis with a Southern accent, the company he keeps and the ideas he has adopted give him away. Reach Peter A. Brown at pbrown@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5276.

Nothing moderate about McBride
Peter A. Brown

October 18, 2002

The Federal Trade Commission should haul Bill McBride into court for violating truth-in-advertising rules by running for governor as a political moderate.

He's entitled to that label if he's running in Berkeley or Boston, but not in Florida, where looney liberalism and raising taxes by the billions are outside the mainstream.

McBride has an admirable military and business record, but his desire to put a hold on capital punishment, free local schools from the teeth of accountability and return to a system of racial preferences stamps him as more in tune with Ted Kennedy than Bob Graham.

He was packaged as a moderate by desperate Democrats who knew that if Janet Reno were their candidate, the party would go down the tubes unless Jeb Bush was caught, as the old political saying goes, in a compromising situation with a dead woman or a live boy.

McBride is adept at telling each audience what it wants to hear and ducking the real questions, most importantly how to pay for his ambitious agenda. In this regard, he's similar to Bill Clinton, but without the former president's considerable charm and political skills.

McBride touts his Marine service and experience as the managing partner of the state's largest law firm as evidence he isn't one of those squishy liberals who have led the Democratic Party to the brink of irrelevance in Florida.

But what counts is not where he's been, but where he wants to go.

McBride, whose folksy "aw shucks" persona belies his sharp mind (you have to be smart to duck questions as adroitly as he does), seems to answer most questions about issues other than education by saying he'd get all sides together and hammer out a solution. Pardon my cynicism, but that sounds like law- yerese for "I don't have a clue." On most issues, McBride is long on fluff and short on substance.

Regarding education, McBride has been specific -- and here it's clear that he may be a lawyer by training, but he's a social engineer by inclination.

Witness his desire to reimpose racial preferences in college admission. Of course he knows that in Florida that won't fly politically.

So McBride is trying to follow the lead of the few Democrats who have bucked the Republican tide in Florida --- such as the late Gov. Lawton Chiles and Graham. That is, by finessing the liberal-dominated primary election, then running as more fiscally and culturally conservative in November.

But whether there is any substance to that self-identification is questionable. True Democratic moderates take on the party's special interests -- not pander to them.

Moderates don't call for hundreds of millions of dollars in new taxes, as McBride has done. They don't talk about tax reform to make everyone pay their fair share but want to exempt the wealthiest Democratic special-interest constituency: trial lawyers, such as McBride.

Moderates don't, as McBride has done, kowtow to the teacher unions. Moderates offer new ideas to improve schools, not the same old ones that he's pushing to increase funding without requiring anything tangible in return.

McBride would end the grading of individual schools based on student testing and then holding the school and its unionized staff responsible for the results.

He has made the FCAT -- the test Florida students take annually to determine which students get promoted -- Public Enemy No. 1, as if the exam, not the students who fail it and the educational system that prepares them for it, are at fault.

Moderates do not endorse the teachers-union effort, as does McBride, to bar competition from the system by trying to rescind financial incentives for businesses to provide scholarships for poor kids to attend private schools.

Moderates don't see why opportunities for those children, most of whom are racial minorities, should be denied to curry favor with teachers, one of the most powerful Democratic interest groups.

Moderates don't claim they are for the death penalty, but oppose carrying it out until a hypothetical time when the never-ending concerns of opponents can be met.

Most of all, moderates don't argue that the proposed amendment that would limit the size of public-school classes wouldn't cost much, when in fact it would lead to billions in new taxes in addition to the hundreds of millions he already proposes. McBride is for the amendment because it is the top agenda item for the teachers union, which has spent millions to promote his candidacy.

As much as McBride tries to convince voters that he isn't Michael Dukakis with a Southern accent, the company he keeps and the ideas he has adopted give him away.

Reach Peter A. Brown at pbrown@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5276.

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