You Don't Think?

"Jeb!"

won't be running for governor in 2006 because of term limits, but his proposal this week to freeze class-size cap efforts and give teachers pay raises with the money saved may give Republicans seeking his job a powerful weapon to attack their Democratic opponents.

"It's a great Republican issue and a great Republican idea," said Richard Pinsky, a veteran campaign consultant for the party. "It was a stroke of genius to tie it to teacher salaries."

"Repeal push could help GOP governor hopefuls".

Excuse me ... precisely what is the "great Republican issue and a great Republican idea" here? Myriam Marquez sees it this way:

"I've got a couple of devious plans, if this thing passes, that we might want to consider having another look at it -- kind of the full Monty."

-- Jeb Bush, 2002

It was funny, and a little naughty, back when, as he met with lawmakers, the governor's off-the-cuff "devious" talk to derail the class-size amendment was caught on tape by a reporter he didn't know was in the room.

That was before 52 percent of Florida voters approved the class-size amendment despite Jeb's "sky will fall" claims that hiring more teachers and building more classrooms would break the budget.

That was before the self-described "education governor" gave in to the day-care lobby and negotiated away "quality" in the state's new pre-kindergarten program.

That was before Jeb threw a few more billion dollars in tax breaks at the richest Floridians while changing the rules to keep thousands of children, the working poor and disabled on waiting lists, stuck without state-subsidized health care.

Now it turns out the governor is doing pretty much what he told those Panhandle legislators he would do. Among his suggestions then: play politics with the teachers' union by proposing to limit the money the union can use for collective bargaining, then redirecting that money to increase teachers' pay. Another tactic: list popular programs that would have to be cut to pay for smaller classes.

Sure enough, the governor this week proposed raising teacher pay to a statewide minimum of $35,000 -- but only if voters approve tinkering with the class-size requirement. Oh, yeah, he offered doomsday scenarios that would occur if the voters reject his offer: Art and music classes might have to be scrapped to make room for smaller classes for required courses, such as English; school districts might have to rezone kids from far-away neighborhoods (read: busing to poor, black neighborhoods from overcrowded, white, suburban schools).

Talk about a devious plan. The governor should try the truth for a change.

A "devious plan"; you don't suppose that is what GOoPer hack Pinsky meant by "a great Republican idea"?

In any event, Mark Lane has more on "Devious Plan Ver. 4.0".