There they go again...
One of the most predictable aspects of modern journalism as it pertains to coverage of elected officials and their efforts to win elections is a focus on what I will refer to as 'positioning.' This phenomenon has been described in other ways, such as the focus on process over substance, or the horserace aspect of politics. The MSM loves to tell stories about who's up, who's down, and the politics behind why policy X is being proposed rather than describing policy X itself.
In coverage of political races, this phenomenon translates into significant coverage of fundraising and the latest poll numbers, etc. and not much coverage on policy proposals and their impacts on voters. This type of coverage can be thought of as high-brow gossip. Gossip not in the sense that the truth of the assertion made is dubious, but in its function as a status locator.
I have witnessed one variation of this coverage since Jeb Bush became Governor of Florida. For several of the early years of his administration, the MSM repeatedly generated stories with the theme, "Bush honeymoon is now over." I couldn't help laughing out loud the third or fourth time this old storyline was trotted out in connection with whatever the latest legislative dispute was. Just as People and US magazines are keen to predict the inevitable cycle of a relationship, (Brad and Jen, and now Brad and Angelina) the MSM covers elected officials' relationship with voters, the Legislature and others in a similar archetype, hence the 'honeymoon is over' metaphor.
Whether the honeymoon is over or not has absolutely nothing to do with the policies and their impacts on real people, it has only to do with the perception of the governor's power vis-a-vis others in the political realm, in this instance, the Legislature, i.e. is the governor weaker or stronger than he was last month, last year, etc.? The guilty pleasure of gossip's status-locating function.
The latest iteration of this 'who's up, who's down' coverage is the spate of articles that mimic each other in theme and premise (can you say pack journalism?) about the political implications of the 2005 Legislative Session. Here they are:
Times: Moderates dilute Bush's pull
Herald analysis: Rebuffs reduce Gov. Bush's power
Sun-Sentinel: Legislature hands Gov. Bush disappointing crumbs
Sentinel: Legislature cut Gov. Bush's list down to size
Times-Union: Governor, his major initiatives left in cold
Democrat: Session showed Gov. Bush era waning
I suppose if this were three years ago, the headlines would have said, "Bush honeymoon over." Now, my point is not to attempt to dispute the conclusions made by the high priests and priestesses in the Florida MSM, but only to point out how predictable, unedifying and gossipy such coverage is and now to offer a little bit of needed context to their conclusions.
Consider Gov. Bush's legislative defeats and his legislative victories. First the defeats: 1. Failure to get constitutional amendment allowing LARGER class sizes on the ballot, 2. Failure to get a massive expansion of the nation's only statewide school voucher program, 3. Failure to get significant lawsuit limitations against businesses. The victories: 1. Passage of Medicaid reform legislation that allows statewide reform to begin initially with pilot projects, 2. Passage of growth management reform.
My first observation, looking at the list of failures and successes is that most governors, especially during their 7th year in office, would have likely selected one, maybe two, of those bold ideas to attempt to push through the Legislature. Not many, if any, would have attempted all five, in addition to the other miscellaneous, less high-profile legislative agenda items an administration has that never make the headlines.
With regard to the class-size issue, it's difficult to think of many governors who would make repeal of a voter-approved amendment for smaller class sizes something that he or she would champion and expect success. Were many people predicting easy passage of this ballot amendment, which required 60% approval of both the House and the Senate? The undisputed fact is: no mere mortal would even attempt such a move, only a political demigod would think of it, but Jeb Bush did. Now that he hasn't succeeded, the MSM is quick to pronounce failure as a weakness. In my opinion, the mere attempt itself shows 1) political and popular strength that other governors can only dream of, and 2) the incredibly high expectations that Jeb Bush and political observers have set for Bush, which result in a natural presumption of superhuman political achievements.
The same observation pertains with respect to the failure to get an expansion of Florida's voucher program. Florida remains the only state in the nation with a statewide school voucher program. A Harvard study last month confirmed that Florida's voucher program has had a positive impact on Florida's public schools. How many governors would dare to propose a statewide voucher program in a perennially purple state, let alone press for a massive expansion of a school voucher program? Again, in my view, the mere attempt was a high-risk, high-reward gambit that reveals strength and confidence in the durability of one's political capital, not weakness. I'm not saying that its failure was a sign of strength, but simply that its failure should be viewed in the context of the true daring-do of the proposal.
The same holds true for lawsuit limitations on businesses. Not many elected officials have so boldly dared to take on one of the most powerful and richest special interests in the nation, the trial bar, and live to tell about it. Jeb Bush dares to do it and dares to fail doing it.
As for the successes, which the MSM will inevitably downplay in coming days, the Medicaid reform legislation that passed will require significant waivers from the federal government. The legislation could completely reshape the delivery of health care to Florida's poorest residents and could ultimately become a model for other states who are thinking about reforming their Medicaid delivery system. The program accounts for approximately $16 billion of state spending, the largest expenditure after education. The Legislature formed a special committee that travelled the state in February and March and many if not most members of the public who spoke at the hearings were NOT in favor of Medicaid reform. Yet despite these political and policy challenges, it passed both Houses of the Legislature and is headed to Gov. Bush for his signature. Three or four years from now, the full magnitude of the passage of this law will begin to be realized.
Finally, the growth management legislation is arguably the most significant to pass since 1985, and unlike that law, will commit funds, $1.5 Billion, for growth related to roads and schools. While understanding the intricacies of the issue of growth management is not easy, it is THE most-discussed quality of life issue with people that I regularly talk to in social contexts ("the rising cost of housing, the worsening traffic, the crowded schools, the impacts on our natural resources"). Again, I predict that the significance of this legislation will only be realized in the coming years as the state and local governments begin its implementation.
So, two paradigm-shifting pieces of legislation pass, one in health care and the other related to growth, and three other paradigm-shifting pieces of legislation fail, and the conclusion is that the governor is weaker. Perhaps a tad weaker than his former demigod-like self, but, still MUCH stronger than a typical American governor in his 7th year in office.
The following quote from the Governor says it all:
In coverage of political races, this phenomenon translates into significant coverage of fundraising and the latest poll numbers, etc. and not much coverage on policy proposals and their impacts on voters. This type of coverage can be thought of as high-brow gossip. Gossip not in the sense that the truth of the assertion made is dubious, but in its function as a status locator.
I have witnessed one variation of this coverage since Jeb Bush became Governor of Florida. For several of the early years of his administration, the MSM repeatedly generated stories with the theme, "Bush honeymoon is now over." I couldn't help laughing out loud the third or fourth time this old storyline was trotted out in connection with whatever the latest legislative dispute was. Just as People and US magazines are keen to predict the inevitable cycle of a relationship, (Brad and Jen, and now Brad and Angelina) the MSM covers elected officials' relationship with voters, the Legislature and others in a similar archetype, hence the 'honeymoon is over' metaphor.
Whether the honeymoon is over or not has absolutely nothing to do with the policies and their impacts on real people, it has only to do with the perception of the governor's power vis-a-vis others in the political realm, in this instance, the Legislature, i.e. is the governor weaker or stronger than he was last month, last year, etc.? The guilty pleasure of gossip's status-locating function.
The latest iteration of this 'who's up, who's down' coverage is the spate of articles that mimic each other in theme and premise (can you say pack journalism?) about the political implications of the 2005 Legislative Session. Here they are:
Times: Moderates dilute Bush's pull
Herald analysis: Rebuffs reduce Gov. Bush's power
Sun-Sentinel: Legislature hands Gov. Bush disappointing crumbs
Sentinel: Legislature cut Gov. Bush's list down to size
Times-Union: Governor, his major initiatives left in cold
Democrat: Session showed Gov. Bush era waning
I suppose if this were three years ago, the headlines would have said, "Bush honeymoon over." Now, my point is not to attempt to dispute the conclusions made by the high priests and priestesses in the Florida MSM, but only to point out how predictable, unedifying and gossipy such coverage is and now to offer a little bit of needed context to their conclusions.
Consider Gov. Bush's legislative defeats and his legislative victories. First the defeats: 1. Failure to get constitutional amendment allowing LARGER class sizes on the ballot, 2. Failure to get a massive expansion of the nation's only statewide school voucher program, 3. Failure to get significant lawsuit limitations against businesses. The victories: 1. Passage of Medicaid reform legislation that allows statewide reform to begin initially with pilot projects, 2. Passage of growth management reform.
My first observation, looking at the list of failures and successes is that most governors, especially during their 7th year in office, would have likely selected one, maybe two, of those bold ideas to attempt to push through the Legislature. Not many, if any, would have attempted all five, in addition to the other miscellaneous, less high-profile legislative agenda items an administration has that never make the headlines.
With regard to the class-size issue, it's difficult to think of many governors who would make repeal of a voter-approved amendment for smaller class sizes something that he or she would champion and expect success. Were many people predicting easy passage of this ballot amendment, which required 60% approval of both the House and the Senate? The undisputed fact is: no mere mortal would even attempt such a move, only a political demigod would think of it, but Jeb Bush did. Now that he hasn't succeeded, the MSM is quick to pronounce failure as a weakness. In my opinion, the mere attempt itself shows 1) political and popular strength that other governors can only dream of, and 2) the incredibly high expectations that Jeb Bush and political observers have set for Bush, which result in a natural presumption of superhuman political achievements.
The same observation pertains with respect to the failure to get an expansion of Florida's voucher program. Florida remains the only state in the nation with a statewide school voucher program. A Harvard study last month confirmed that Florida's voucher program has had a positive impact on Florida's public schools. How many governors would dare to propose a statewide voucher program in a perennially purple state, let alone press for a massive expansion of a school voucher program? Again, in my view, the mere attempt was a high-risk, high-reward gambit that reveals strength and confidence in the durability of one's political capital, not weakness. I'm not saying that its failure was a sign of strength, but simply that its failure should be viewed in the context of the true daring-do of the proposal.
The same holds true for lawsuit limitations on businesses. Not many elected officials have so boldly dared to take on one of the most powerful and richest special interests in the nation, the trial bar, and live to tell about it. Jeb Bush dares to do it and dares to fail doing it.
As for the successes, which the MSM will inevitably downplay in coming days, the Medicaid reform legislation that passed will require significant waivers from the federal government. The legislation could completely reshape the delivery of health care to Florida's poorest residents and could ultimately become a model for other states who are thinking about reforming their Medicaid delivery system. The program accounts for approximately $16 billion of state spending, the largest expenditure after education. The Legislature formed a special committee that travelled the state in February and March and many if not most members of the public who spoke at the hearings were NOT in favor of Medicaid reform. Yet despite these political and policy challenges, it passed both Houses of the Legislature and is headed to Gov. Bush for his signature. Three or four years from now, the full magnitude of the passage of this law will begin to be realized.
Finally, the growth management legislation is arguably the most significant to pass since 1985, and unlike that law, will commit funds, $1.5 Billion, for growth related to roads and schools. While understanding the intricacies of the issue of growth management is not easy, it is THE most-discussed quality of life issue with people that I regularly talk to in social contexts ("the rising cost of housing, the worsening traffic, the crowded schools, the impacts on our natural resources"). Again, I predict that the significance of this legislation will only be realized in the coming years as the state and local governments begin its implementation.
So, two paradigm-shifting pieces of legislation pass, one in health care and the other related to growth, and three other paradigm-shifting pieces of legislation fail, and the conclusion is that the governor is weaker. Perhaps a tad weaker than his former demigod-like self, but, still MUCH stronger than a typical American governor in his 7th year in office.
The following quote from the Governor says it all:
Inevitably, the MSM will continue to keep their won-loss card, and will undoubtedly continue to attempt to help their readers and listeners understand the positioning and status-location implications of the losses more than the human impact of the wins.
I don't keep a win/loss card. I know that others do that, but that's not what this is about.
posted by Justin @ Sunday, May 08, 2005
2 comments
