"Few governors in modern history have altered the balance of power in their states as fundamentally as Jeb Bush did in Florida. Both hailed and reviled as the most consequential governor to be sworn into office in Tallahassee, Bush radically--and perhaps permanently--changed the dynamics of Florida politics. The first two-term Republican governor of a historically Democrat-voting state, Bush broadened the reach and bolstered the influence of the executive branch while drastically diminishing the roles of the legislature and the judiciary. During his second inaugural address, the small-government conservative dreamed of an idyllic Tallahassee free of government employees while presiding over the largest accumulation of gubernatorial authority in the state's history. It was the beginning of a new kind of conservative activism, one that only gained strength in the years after Bush left office and which has now spread across the country. Republican governors around the nation have lauded him as a trailblazer, and his path has become the roadmap to their victories, his rhetoric the talking points of nearly every election cycle since."--Publisher's website.