Loyalty

Bush sells out Katherine Harris. Yes, it couldn’t happen to a nicer lady, but it tells you something about what Bush is really made of.

Whatever else you say about George W. Bush, at least he’s a loyal friend, right?

Try telling that to Katherine Harris. She took a bullet for the team, stealing Florida’s crucial electoral votes in 2000 and making herself a hated figure (outside the base) as a result. She got elected to Congress from a safe district, but now wants to run statewide, where the pros are convinced she’ll get creamed by Bill Nelson.

So Bush, through puppetmeister Rove, is trying to force her out of the race. So far, it’s not working, according to Florida Blues, but there’s at least one candidate still in the pipeline.

But the incident makes clear what Bush means by “valuing loyalty.” He values loyalty to George W. Bush, and sets a good example by being loyal to himself, first, last, and always.

Author: Mark Kleiman

Professor of Public Policy at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management and editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. Teaches about the methods of policy analysis about drug abuse control and crime control policy, working out the implications of two principles: that swift and certain sanctions don't have to be severe to be effective, and that well-designed threats usually don't have to be carried out. Books: Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know (with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken) When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Princeton, 2009; named one of the "books of the year" by The Economist Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results (Basic, 1993) Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control (Greenwood, 1989) UCLA Homepage Curriculum Vitae Contact: Markarkleiman-at-gmail.com