Jeb Bush Blamed for Poor Child Welfare Services in Florida

The Associated Press
The Associated Press
Javier Manjarres

Just when you thought Democrats couldn’t get any more desperate, Florida’s Democrat Party is pushing a Daily Beast “story” all but blaming Jeb Bush for losing 500 children assigned to the state’s foster care system while he was governor.

Daily Beast:

Jeb Bush was the governor during Rilya’s disappearance and death. Now that he’s campaigning to be president, he talks often about the importance of taking care of society’s most vulnerable.

In his announcement video, he said that his core beliefs “start with the premise that the most vulnerable in our society should be in the front of the line, not the back.”

And in a June 19 speech to social conservative activists, he mentioned the state’s child welfare system and then said his administration “put the most vulnerable in society at the front of the line, guided by my faith.”

Few are more vulnerable than foster children, and as governor, Bush oversaw some sweeping policy changes that angled to get those kids better care.

And though the governor seems to relish all the wonky minutiae of immigration and education policy, he rarely if ever discusses foster care on the trail in any detail (none of the potential presidential candidates do).

The Daily Beast story also pointed out that Bush inherited a failed foster care system. Wait, who were Jeb Bush’s immediate gubernatorial predecessors?

Wait for it…

Democrat Governors Lawton Chiles and Buddy MacKay.

Bush’s move to privatize the child welfare services was praised by many, even former Florida Governor Buddy Mackay. And while the problems with Florida’s children’s services date back several decades, Democrats and media outlets are trying in earnest to paint the picture that this was all Bush’s fault.

Wait, are Democrats “blaming Bush” again?

Here is how the story concluded:

The reality is that Florida has failed a lot of kids. Though Bush’s oversight and innovative policy-making might have helped protect children, the data isn’t clear. And more vulnerable Sunshine State kids are likely to face the same fates as Rilya, Jermaine, Ju’Tyra, and Nubia.

But that’s not good campaign trail material.

A 2016 presidential primary hit piece on Jeb Bush?

Democrats are planning on Bush being the eventual GOP presidential nominee, but are they ready for a possible Rubio or Cruz nomination?

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