NYT Best Seller/Anti-Bush book claims: Jeb's 1994 Running Mate was a Marxist (who died in 1942)

March 21, 2004 | summer

[summer]

Note from summer: This is a true story.

I was in Barnes & Nobel today, and I happened to pick up a new, non-fiction, NYT best-seller, anti-Bush book, published in January 2004, titled:

American Dynasty: Aristocracy, Fortune, and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bush
by Kevin Phillips

It is currently ranked #3 on the NYT Best Seller list for hardcover, non-fiction. Here is the cover of the book:



I was reading a few pages about FL Gov Jeb Bush, and thinking it was nothing I hadn't seen before on some Dem web site, until I got to page 221.

On that page, the author informs us that the person who ran as Gov Jeb Bush's running mate in the 1994 FL Gov Race was "Tom Mooney."

Now, I do not know everything, but I was pretty sure that was wrong. And, it only took me about 2 second to look up Gov Bush's running mate on google, and confirm I was right: The name of his running mate in 1994 was Tom Feeney.

I then looked up the name "Tom Mooney" who is alleged by the author of that book, above, to have been the running mate of Gov Jeb Bush, and found that "Tom Mooney" is a Marxist who died in 1942.

Needless to say -- I did not buy the book.

[summer]

This authors = This author, Kevin Phillips,....

[summer]

I meant: If the author has a different opinion than I do (and, a bunch of non-facts painted as facts that he wants to throw in),...

[summer]

See post #2.

[summer]

Re your post #5 - Maybe, but what does that imply about the rest of the "facts" in this book? It seems like a hit 'n miss proposition here.

Here's another example: The author says when Gov Bush worked in real estate in Miami, Gov Bush actually made "$75,000" renting out office building(s). Well, the author implies this is some monumental sum of money to be paid for work done by a realator, or that it was earned improperly. But what if that was just the legal fee for that property or properties? You have to know that (1) people working in real estate usually DO expect to paid for their work; and (2) earning $75,000 in Miami commercial real estate is no big deal. Believe me, I know realators in FL, and they work hard and atually expect to be paid when they close a sale or rental agreement. It is not the groundbreaking news the author tries to make it out to be.

[summer]

atually = actually

[summer]

realators = realtors

[summer]

With the exception of Crown Forum, Regnery, and now the Free Press, everything else is liberals, liberals, liberals. As far as the eyes can see.

I think "Bush County" was published by St Martin's Press.

[NYCVirago]

Sadly, Kevin Phillips used to be a conservative.

He's been bashing Republicans for 20+ years now, and the media *still* calls him a conservative Republican!

[mdefranc]

Hmmm, I think that B&N would respond to your proposal this way: conservative nonfiction in the OPINION section and liberal opinion in the NONFICTION section. B&N employees, like most liberals, aren't too hung up on reality and facts - with them, it's how an author FEELS about certain topics that determines a book's merit.

[summer]

conservative nonfiction in the OPINION section and liberal opinion in the NONFICTION section

IMO, that's EXACTLY the way the NYT previously published its weekly education column, titled at that time, "Lessons." It was always written by someone taking a liberal point of view, and always bashing any reforms in education by conservatives. Any rebuttal written by a conservative was published in the "Op Ed" (opinion) section of the newspaper, but never in the "Lessons" column,

Now, they have changed the title of the column to something like "Education" -- but they seemed to have abandoned their simultaneous announcement that they would now have a variety of writers on that column. I have only read recent bashing of education reforms by the same writer, a Michael someone.

In short, I think you make a very valid point.

[Eva]

I'm afraid that it looks like this another one of those Democrat inspired, hurriedly put together hit pieces. It looks like the man prostituted his writing skills and his good name.

[summer]

I just hope that these kind of books - and there are a lot of them - are not seen as "historial" in the future. I don't think they can honestly claim to be historial in nature. I hope this is not all we are left with.

[Eva]

Someone will do a good serious biography on Bush when this is all over, and maybe someone will do one on Condelezza Rice too.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Seeing such a simple piece of factual information be so wrong like that made me wonder how much of the rest of the book was likewise tossed together, without any regard for facts.

Pretty much par for the course. There is little, if any, true fact checking done before a book or article is published.

I don't even know why the publishers bother with editors anymore. They certainly are not fulfilling their traditional role.

[squidly]

He's been bashing Republicans for 20+ years now, and the media *still* calls him a conservative Republican!

Anyone who had any kind of job anywhere in the Nixon administration will forever after be thusly categorized. That's the way these things work.

[mware]

Why dont you contact Sean Hannity or Rush regarding your findings?

[mware]

Better yet, why don't you contact the NYT's?

[summer]

RE post #36. Thanks, mware. SH- FYI.

[summer]

Better yet, why don't you contact the NYT's?

Oh, I don't think they will care. But, I'll tell you - I just read the entire link on this "Tom Mooney" and he is quite an interesting guy, with a very sad life story, after he is repeatedly framed. And, the page makes mention of the fact no GOP governor would ever help him. I am wondering if this "mistake" is perhaps deliberate, to make the subject GOP governor, Jeb Bush, look bad in some way, by association in this "mistake" or "typo." I don't want to accuse anyone like the author, Kevin Phillips, of deliberately doing that, but, good grief - read the link I posted about this Tom Mooney. His life was sheer H*ll because no one would listen to him after he was framed.

[summer]

Better yet, why don't you contact the NYT's?

Oh, I don't think they will care. But, I'll tell you - I just read the entire link on this "Tom Mooney" and he is quite an interesting guy, with a very sad life story, after he is repeatedly framed. And, the page makes mention of the fact no GOP governor would ever help him. I am wondering if this "mistake" is perhaps deliberate, to make the subject GOP governor, Jeb Bush, look bad in some way, by association in this "mistake" or "typo." I don't want to accuse anyone like the author, Kevin Phillips, of deliberately doing that, but, good grief - read the link I posted about this Tom Mooney. His life was sheer H*ll because no one would listen to him after he was framed.