Tag: Jeb Bush

AHHH-CHOO! Sorry…….. I’m Allergic To Bullsh*t!

That was the only thing I could think of when I heard a recent speech by presidential hopeful, Jeb Bush…..he decided that he would make a speech to show his foreign policy bona fides……and boy was it a chuckle.

Jeb’s foreign policy speech was a dud.  One he got his big historical perspective wrong and two, he got the official total of ISIS fighters wrong…..all in all the speech was a resounding dud.

You know I have been absent when reporting on future 2016 candidates……well for good reason….THEY ARE BORING!  But I have a feeling that is about to change.

My fave part of his little speech was that and I quote…..”I am my own man”…..Let’s look at that shall we?

He’s got two former presidents—and about two dozen top-level advisers to those presidents—by his side, but Jeb Bush says he’s got his own foreign-policy views. “I love my father and my brother. I admire their service to the nation and the difficult decisions they had to make. But I am my own man—and my views are shaped by my own thinking and own experiences,” Bush says in prepared remarks ahead of a Chicago speech today, as per the Washington Post. But, as the Post points out, Jeb Bush already has at least 20 veterans of his brother’s and father’s administrations to lean on as he preps for a campaign: That list includes two ex-secretaries of state under his father and Ronald Reagan (James Baker and George Schultz), two former CIA directors, two former Homeland Security directors, and other foreign-policy aces and diplomats.

So he is his own man?  But he will depend on the same pricks that gave us Iraq in 2003…..without much international experience he will depend on his advisers to make his case for him

If that does not scare you from the path of Jeb….then maybe his thoughts on international affairs will help you out……

………he’ll forge his own path to strengthen the US as a world leader and reinvigorate weakened relationships in the Middle East, Europe, and Latin America. Bush’s statements also take on the economy, the current administration (“Hashtag campaigns replace actual diplomacy and engagement”), and the military: “The President’s word needs to be backed by the greatest military power in the world. Because I believe, fundamentally, that weakness invites war … and strength encourages peace.

He seems to be echoing Reagan, GW and to a small part Bush 1……this should keep the neo-cons on board, at least for now…….

Typical political BS….kinda like “the will of the people”………Jeb will be a carbon copy of every neo-con that has ever run for office…….does anyone recall a piece I wrote recently about the military was getting to the point of being too expensive to use?  Keep that in mind anytime a neo-con thumps its chest like a sex crazed primate about the military……..it will be EXPENSIVE!

A Bush In 2016?

Damn!  There has been a Bush or a Clinton since 1979…..in case your math is a little rusty that is………  45 years!

A gleeful media is all over the announcement that Jeb would actively explore the possibility of running from the GOP nomination…….it is the story of the week…….and no doubt by Friday you will be sick of all the crap associated with this announcement……

(Newser) – Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush today took his most definitive step yet toward running for president, announcing plans to “actively explore” a campaign and form a new political operation allowing him to raise money for like-minded Republicans. In a holiday message posted on Bush’s Facebook page and Twitter account, the son and brother of past Republican presidents said he discussed the “future of our nation” and a potential bid for the White House with members of his family over the Thanksgiving holiday. “As a result of these conversations and thoughtful consideration of the kind of strong leadership I think America needs, I have decided to actively explore the possibility of running for president of the United States,” Bush wrote in the message, which was reportedly first “riddled with typos” but has apparently since been fixed. “In the coming months, I hope to visit with many of you and have a conversation about restoring the promise of America.”

Kristy Campbell, a spokeswoman for Bush, 61, said he will announce his final decision on whether to seek the nomination next year “after gauging support.” “This is a natural next step and represents a new phase of his consideration process,” Campbell said. That phase will include an expansion of Bush’s political operations. He said today he will start his own leadership political action committee in January, which will allow him to raise money and use it to support candidates in other races. In his statement, Bush said the committee “will help me facilitate conversations with citizens across America to discuss the most critical challenges facing our exceptional nation. The PAC’s purpose will be to support leaders, ideas and policies that will expand opportunity and prosperity for all Americans.” Politico reported yesterday that South Carolina could be pivotal to Bush’s success.

My guess is that he will run……Mitt and Christie are crying in their beers about now……..

Maybe Jeb should consider a couple of things before his decision is made…….one would be the opposition research into his life and such…..with as nasty as the Super PACs are….there is lots of stuff that could be the focus of some very negative ads……..Mother Jones has a few of them…….

Jeb Bush Just Took a Big Step Toward Running for President. Here Are 23 Reasons He Should Reconsider. | Mother Jones.

I have always said that Jeb was the smartest of the brothers….but it is time to end the dynasties of the Clinton and Bush…….

Is it laziness or ignorance that keeps the American people fixated on dynastic rule?

Eric To Jeb–Run Away!

I would like to say congrats to the no name dude that beat Cantor……could not happen to a more worthy person.  Yeah, that’s right i do not like cantor….I do not trust anyone that looks like a weasel or anyone who smiles while discussing pressing problems.

By now everyone and I do mean….EVERYONE has heard about the sound beating that the GOP’s majority leader, Eric cantor took in the primary, right?  Some are happy….some not so much…..if you support the Tea Party then you are hiding in the corner tossing your jolly and counting the days for the next primary and praying for a repeat……and are starting to dream of the 2016 elections with a small twinkle in your eye….am I right?

Cantor was beat by a constant brow beating o his immigration stands…everything he ever said was used against him….and in the end it was his downfall….and the peasants danced.

Let’s fast forward to the 2016 election which the field should start to coalesce in the mid year of 2015….there are some I the GOP that think that another Bush should throw his hat in the ring…….that Bush would be Jeb……..but you know after the stomping Cantor took he might want to rethink that choice.

Bush’s vulnerabilities in a Republican primary would be remarkably similar to those Cantor faced. Bush is an unapologetic supporter of comprehensive immigration reform, famously calling illegal immigrants’ attempts to come to this country “an act of love.” Last Friday, Cantor stirred the pot before his primary by suggesting he could work with President Obama to allow a path to citizenship for some children of illegal immigrants already in the country. On education, Bush has championed the Common Core educational standards, which have become a litmus-test issue for conservatives, who view them as usurping local control of schools. In the congressional campaign, David Brat criticized Cantor for supporting centralized educational reforms, including Common Core.

Jeb has made a few statements on immigration that will no doubt come back time and time again and bite him on the ass……..since the South has become a white bastion of politics he may want to consider the chances that he will be about as welcome down there as a rattlesnake in church.  Much could change between now and the primaries for 2016……but right now Immigration is looking like a good topic of contention.

Cantor’s defeat has made Jeb a less attractive prospect for the GOP……and since immigration is being set up as a major issue in the 2016 race….he has shot himself in the foot  with his past statements on the subject…….I think Jeb is dead as the GOP nominee.

Any thoughts from my readers?

Jeb The Reb

By now unless you live under a rock yuou have seen or heard of the panic that the brother of GW Bush, Jeb, has created with his latest statements about the GOP……let me paraphrase in case you are under that damn rock…..”Ronald Reagan would have, based on his record of finding accommodation, finding some degree of common ground, as would my dad — they would have a hard time if you define the Republican party — and I don’t — as having an orthodoxy that doesn’t allow for disagreement, doesn’t allow for finding some common ground,” Bush said, adding that he views the hyper-partisan moment as “temporary.”

Immediately the GOP trotted out every pundit and spokesperson they could find to explain what Jeb meant when he made his statement….there is a simpler way to solve the mystery….ASK JEB!

But since that is not what will happen The WEEK magazine has given four theories on why Jeb made his statement……

1. Jeb wants to save the GOP from itself
Bush is “on a quest to push his party away from the political extreme,” says Aaron Blake at The Washington Post. He senses that the GOP is sacrificing political ground to the Democrats on important issues like immigration and the budget. The “GOP brand has been bad for a while” — about 40 percent of Americans have a favorable view of the GOP, while only 25 percent approve of Republicans in Congress. Bush’s remarks might be a thorn in Romney’s side, but the GOP candidate might benefit from listening to Jeb’s critique.

2. Bush is setting up a 2016 presidential run
“Bush is clearly engaged in an effort to position himself as the next leader of the Republican Party,” says Jonathan Chait at New York. If Romney loses in the fall, the GOP “will recognize that its harsh partisan rhetoric turned off voters, and will urgently want to woo Latinos,” a demographic that is “growing in size and seems to be tilting every more strongly toward the Democrats.” Bush is “setting himself as the cure” in case Romney blows it in November.

3. Jeb is defending his family’s political legacy
Bush’s remarks reflect “the growing drift of the party’s base from the Bush family,” which conservatives have criticized for selling out the party’s principles, says Jim Rutenberg at The New York Times. George W.’s big domestic achievements — from the expansion of Medicare to No Child Left Behind — were bipartisan efforts that have been assailed by Romney and other Republicans as models of big-government conservatism. Jeb even praised his father’s 1990 deficit-reduction deal, in which George H.W. famously broke his “no new taxes” pledge and earned himself the dreaded epithet of a RINO (Republican in Name Only).

4. Bush is taking on the ideology police
Bush was especially critical of Grover Norquist, the anti-tax activist who has gotten an “astounding 95 percent of elected Republicans” to sign a pledge to oppose “any and all” tax increases, says Ana Marie Cox at Britain’s The Guardian. The power of Norquist, conservative super PACs, and other members of the “outside ideology police” has made it impossible for elected Republicans to compromise on key issues, shattering “the illusion of a relationship between the goals of the party and the goals of most Americans.” And without some kind of pushback, the ideology police will end up running the party.

There you have the prevailing theories.  Personally, I think Jeb wants to run in 2016 and he is laying the ground work for that run….I do believe that he said just what he meant….he is no dummy and I beleive that the GOP is to survive Mitt and the PACs then they need to heed his words.

Enough of what I think……any other opinions out there?

Yet Another Bush As Prez?

Former President George H.W. Bush said his son Jeb should run for president and blasted the New York Times for its “grossly unfair” criticism of another son, President George W. Bush.

During an interview on “FOX News Sunday,” the nation’s 41st president said Jeb, the former governor of Florida, is “as qualified and as able as anyone I know in the political scene” to be president.

In the meantime, Jeb could take another job, his father suggested.

“If Jeb wants to run for the Senate from Florida, he ought to do it,” Bush said. “He’d be an outstanding senator. This is a guy that really has a feel for people, the issues in Florida and nationally. And his political days ought not to be over, says his old father.”

Please…NO more talk about another Bush presidency–we have been punished enough by the last one.

Yet Another Bush In Washington?

Damn!  Is there no end to this saga!

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush — the younger brother of the president — is weighing a run for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican Mel Martinez.

A source close to Bush said he’ll be thoughtful and methodical about the decision-making process. He will consider the impact a race would have on his family and his business and whether or not the U.S. Senate is the best forum from which to continue his advocacy for issues such as education, immigration and GOP solutions to health care reform.

In an interview with Politico immediately after November’s election, the former governor said the Republican Party should take four primary steps to regain favor with voters:

• Show no tolerance for corruption.

• Practice what it preaches about limiting the scope of government (“There should not be such a thing as a Big Government Republican.”).

• Stand for working families and small business.

• Embrace reform.

Bush said conservatives should “do the math of the new demographics of the United States,” explaining that the Republican Party “can’t be anti-Hispanic, anti-young person — anti many things — and be surprised when we don’t win elections.”

Is it too soon for another Bush?  Will the smell of brother GW soil his attempt?

What Now For The GOP?

First of all, looks like the Reagan era is over!  The next great conservative movement will be back to the future type of government, more Goldwater-esque.  Smaller government, less spending, government out of private lives, etc….but the question will be…who will lead the new GOP?

I look for the likes of Romney, Giuliani, Jeb Bush and Palin fighting it out for control of the Party.  I feel that Romney and Jeb Bush wioll come out of the battle with the control.  Palin will be marginalized, but a heavy hitter.  She will most likely become the Huckabee of the next election.

After this past election, take a long hard look at the map, the red states in particular, The GOP has become the party of white rural America and a party of the South.  To play in the rest of the US it has to find a new direction.  This coming battle for control could become the political story of the next 4 years.

The GOP has to find a new message that will appeal to Americans, a new direction and a new face.  They may deny it, but the GOP voting was along racial lines, to discount this is to deny the obvious.

The Republicans have a number of problems.

Younger voters favoured Mr Obama by a big margin. So too did Latinos. Both groups represent major parts of the electorate in the coming years.

The executive editor of the Weekly Standard, Fred Barnes, argues that two things have gone wrong.

“The first is the party’s image, which has suffered because of an unpopular Republican president, scandals in Congress, and a party the media claims is too conservative.

“The other is the sour political mood in the country caused by a weak economy, the financial meltdown, and the feeling the nation is headed in the wrong direction.”

A possible Republican response to its problems, Mr Barnes suggests, “might be to elevate moderates to positions of leadership”.

It is a huge umbrella group of social-conservatives – whose primary policy goal is the protection of the unborn; fiscal-conservatives who wish the party instead would focus on tax rates; neo-conservatives who advocate military pre-emption abroad; anti-immigration hawks who helped turn off the Latino vote.

The battle, some believe, will be between economic conservatives and culture warriors.

Ms Palin may lead the cultural conservative faction’s efforts to control the party in 2012 in a battle with Republicans seeking a more centrist approach.

“Is the Republican Party finished? No, and even though it will go through the typical agonizing post-train-wreck re-appraisals, the party’s remedy might be far simpler than it now appears. The Republicans are just one compelling leader away from being back in the game.'”  Now the question that needs to be asked is:  Who will that leader be?