Customer Reviews

From Yellow Dog Democrats to Red State Republicans: Florida and Its Politics since 1940

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'm afraid I have to disagree with a previous reviewer that called this book very even handed. I found Colburn to have a very pro-democratic bias in his account, but I will start with the positive things I have to say about the book.

The book does present a great overview of Florida's political history, at least at the state level, during the critical period of change in Florida from 1940 to the relative present. Colburn is very adept at incorporating explanations of demographic changes in Florida's voting population, and how this affected statewide elections, in a way that was very clear and accessible to the reader. Taking such statistical data and turning it into a clear narrative is not an easy task, and Colburn did a great job with it. I would have liked the narrative even better if Colburn had not chosen to focus almost exclusively on the governors and state legislature. Instead, I think he could have included more of the local or Congressional races that were interesting or telling of change in Florida's political makeup. But that was his choice, and with an issue like that, I have to let the author decide what he was going to write about and accept it as I read the book. Plus, it really did not hurt the book not to include those elements.

What did hurt the book's effectiveness was Colburn's obvious pro-Democratic bias. Every author is going to bring some bias to his/her work, but Colburn doesn't do a good job at trying to be balanced in his presentation-which an author tackling such a subject with such a clearly academically-based book should do.

For example, Colburn called Governors Askew, Graham, and Chiles a trio that represented remarkable governorship. He supported this statement with his chapters that dealt with these three governors' administrations, which presented these three men as governors that could do no wrong. Almost everything he had to say about all three was positive, and Colburn indulged in a little hero worship of each one in his narrative. This is especially glaring in the book's portrayal of Lawtown Chiles. While a popular Florida political figure because of his cracker style, the passage of time and revelation of new evidence has been showing that Chiles was not an overly effective governor and that he let too many issues of importance fall by the wayside. Florida's educational system, for example, sunk very low in national rankings under Chiles' tenor.

On the other hand, in chapters that dealt with Republican governors, Colburn's slant was extremely negative on each one. He had nothing good to say about Claude Kirk, painting him as a bully who was completely ineffective (for a strong refutation of this, read Edmund Kallina's book on Kirk). Colburn potrayed Bob Martinez as a good natured bumbler and idiot. And Jeb Bush--Colburn must think Bush is the devil incarnate, because his chapters on Bush's two terms paint the governor as an overbearing tyrant that did nothing good for the state. He characterizes Bush as being akin to a dictator. While I'm not a big fan of Jeb Bush myself, I even recognize he did some good things as governor, but Colburn says almost nothing about the positive things Bush did.

The best illustration of Colburn's bias is in the chapter on the 2000 election. Colburn spends plenty of time speaking about ways the Republicans tried to influence the process that may not have been above board, but only one or two paragraphs on ways some democratic officials tried to make things go their way that were not necessarily on the up-and-up. Plus, there is a picture of a parody of a Florida election ballot that is not clearly identified as a parody. Instead, it is included on a page in the book that discusses problems with the real ballots. This might have led some readers to believe that the fake parody ballot may have actually been a picture of a real one. Granted, to someone paying close attention, you could clearly see it was a parody, but if someone wasn't....Colburn had a duty to make this clear, and did not.

There was also a very glaring error in Colburn's narrative about the 2000 election. He mentioned the controversy about the counting of military ballots, but then said, quote, "with the nation at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, Americans on both sides of the political divide felt the troops should be given every opportunity to vote." Uh, I hope Professor Colburn knows that we were not yet at war in Iraq or Afghanistan in the 2000 election, and that this was some kind of typo. But such a glaring error, I feel, calls into question the entire book's accurracy, and makes me want to check up on more of Colburn's facts. Not good for a book that should be THE standard on the subject.

Good thing I read it first the book never stays on topic and should be re-titled A History of the Democrats in Florida as the author has apparent disdain for anything Conservative,Lots of praise for Askew,Chiles and Graham and even Carter!while he does not Demonize The Republican Party there is subtle jabs here and there at The Bushes,Jeb,George H.W AND G.W.He is right(No Pun intended or is there?) in saying Florida has become a Red State and for Good reason we have better Air down here to breathe in,This book had potential but it's off-balance and biased because it is mainly a book on The Democrats(as he mentioned who controlled florida-like Tammany Hall for many years.)No Democrat could do no harm in the author's eyes.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wishes to obtain insight into Florida politics during the second half of the 20th century. It is a very reader friendly book which can easily be read during the course of a week. This book focuses on the political changes in Florida which had been dominated by the Democratic Party for over a century prior to the relatively recent change toward becoming a Republican dominated state. This is despite the fact that the majority of Floridians remain registered Democrats. The focus has been primarily on Florida governors during the years since World War Two. There has been some focus on racist politics on the part of legislators during the 1950s and 1960s which impacted on efforts to integrate Black Floridians into the schools and other sectors of life.

Several factors were explored in this book which brings light on how this change came about. One factor noted was how the Republican Party was able to dominate the State's reapportionment process which determines the District lines for State legislators. During the late 1990s with the cooperation of several Democratic Black legislators who did not believe that the the Democratic Party was sufficiently supportive of their desire to have strengthened districts which would allow for the election of Black candidates into offices and, thus, to have a stronger role in the State's political processes. As a result, this has helped to tip the odds in favoring Republican Party candidates. Other factors noted involved the growing presence of Cuban Americans and retired people migrating into the State.

This book is very even handed and would not please partisans who are either Democrats or Republicans. One thing is very clear about the State of Florida is that it remains a very politically volatile state and is subject to change at any time in the near future. We can continue to expect the unexpected from Florida and this book shines a very bright light on this fact.

Dr. Colburn has done his usually great job of dissecting the political climate of change in Florida post World War II. During the period he covers, Florida changed from a small somewhat backwaterish state to a mega-state and problems attendant to such a change.

Dr. Colburn is particularly enamored with the Askew, Graham and Chiles administrations as models on how states should be run. He also gives well deserved attention to some lesser known but influential state political figures like Tom Slade, the GOP state chairman, as well as to the far-reaching effects of legislative apportionment and congressional redistricting.

I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in Florida politics and history, and the changes wrought over the past three decades.

Dr. Colburn manages to succinctly provide an overview and analysis of Florida's post-WWII political developments in this highly informative, entertaining reference. Colburn does provide some background information on Florida's historical roots - the years as a frontier state, and the century of hegemony by White Democrats - but the key analysis is focused on developments between the governorships of LeRoy Collins and Charlie Crist. In a state that continues to develop rapidly, we might wonder if some of this analysis is now dated, but the essentials of modern Florida politics are there - how North Florida became conservative Republican, South Florida liberal Democrat, and the Central region an unpredictable mix of those elements, yielding the most politically divided state in the nation. For politicos and Floridians (like me), the book will introduce many new, interesting facts and expand your knowledge of the state. For others, you'll learn a great day about political developments in the Sunshine State. Highly recommended for anybody with an interest in politics, particularly the politics of rapidly developing Sunbelt states.