I have seen versions of his record, which have accomplishments that would be cheered on by conservatives, in a different age.
Balanced and surplus budgets. Taxes cut. School choice. Tough on crime.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Bush led the way among GOP governors with a conservative agenda. By increasing limits on abortions, Bush called himself "probably the most pro-life governor in modern times."
Bush almost provoked a constitutional crisis during the Terri Schiavo case when he took extraordinary measures in an attempt to stop her husband, Michael, from allowing medical authorities to remove a feeding tube from his wife, who was in a vegetative state due to an accident.
A pro-gun state
During Bush's tenure, Florida also became one of the nation's most pro-gun states, with a variety of laws that lessened restrictions on ownership. Under Bush, the concept of the legal use of guns in self-defense was expanded to include the controversial Stand Your Ground law. Moreover, he effectively ended affirmative action in the public sector by executive order and also created a "faith-based" state prison.
Bush's two terms fostered one of the nation's largest experiments in K-12 education. His A+ educational plan used standardized testing as an enforcement tool to evaluate schools, teachers and students. Public schools received grades based upon the aggregated test scores of students along with other factors. These grades determined funding levels, teacher bonuses and advancement for third-graders through high school students.
While this system frustrates many families, it has given parents more options, including charter schools, distance learning and private schools.
This school year, almost 70,000 Florida students are expected to use a tax credit scholarship to attend a private school. Nearly 230,000 Florida students now attend charter schools, which use taxpayer money but are administered by non-profits and businesses.
To the ire of conservative groups, many states have replicated Bush's policies, which have become known as the Common Core standards. Yet during his time as governor, most of the criticism of Bush's policies came from Democrats, including teachers' unions.
Bush also battled public unions in Florida on several fronts. He reclassified more than 16,000 state government workers out of the civil service pool. He also transferred government services to the private and non-profit sectors in areas that include foster care, the human resources division and parts of the state's responsibility for Medicaid. Though these efforts had very mixed results, the many policy changes have largely remained in place after Bush left office in 2007.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2015/02/01/jeb-bush-conservative-credentials-moderate-gop-candidate-governor-column/22702215/
