Posted on 03/31/2014 7:48:40 AM PDT by xzins
Saturday’s Washington Post gave prominent placement to an article headlined “Influential Republicans working to draft Jeb Bush into 2016 presidential race” that detailed the establishment GOP’s desperate attempt to recruit the former Governor of Florida to run for president.
The article by Philip Rucker and Robert Costa claims that “Concerned that the George Washington Bridge traffic scandal has damaged New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s political standing and alarmed by the steady rise of Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.), prominent donors, conservative leaders and longtime operatives say they consider Bush the GOP’s brightest hope to win back the White House.”
Rucker and Costa then proceed to list exactly zero “conservative leaders” who are actively recruiting Bush to run for President.
They did, however, provide a long list of progressive Republican billionaires and establishment Republican supporters of Mitt Romney, and his disastrous failure in the 2012 presidential campaign, whose views of Jeb Bush were well stated by former Secretary of State and progressive Republican foreign policy guru Henry Kissinger: “He is someone who is experienced, moderate and thoughtful.”
The Washington Post writers then gave some examples of Bush’s recent political activity (remember he left office in 2006) that should give real pause to any conservative activist or Tea Party movement supporter who might be thinking that Bush wouldn’t be too bad.
Bush campaigned for Obama’s go-to Republican Senator, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, against State Rep. Joe Carr, the consensus Senate candidate of the state's Tea Party and limited government constitutional conservatives.
Last spring, Bush hosted a dozen high-profile conservatives, including writers for the Wall Street Journal’s editorial page, at a dinner at Washington’s Willard InterContinental Hotel, where he defended Common Core.
During the fight to defund Obamacare Bush called Senator Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire to commend her for opposing the conservatives whose fight to cut spending and defund Obamacare led to the federal government shutdown.
In other words, openly opposing the views of the grassroots conservative activist base of the Republican Party is what Rucker and Costa call “small steps to assert his conservative bona fides.”
Some may be inclined to chalk-up The Washington Post article as another example of the media not knowing anything about conservatives and the conservative movement and thus making the erroneous assumption that all Republicans, including Jeb Bush, are “conservative.”
But we don’t see it that way.
What we see is a steady and well-orchestrated effort to redefine “conservatism” to the left, and thus marginalize as “radical” or “unelectable” any candidate or elected official who subscribes to limited government constitutional conservative principles.
This can only help establishment Republican candidates like Chris Christie and Jeb Bush assert their conservative bona fides.
The Washington Post article was also really quite revealing in defining the civil war in the Republican Party by who it did and didn’t quote.
On one side were the “quote-ees;” the establishment Republican players, billionaire Romney “bundlers,” former ambassadors appointed by Jeb Bush’s father and brother and the prospective ambassadors to be appointed by Jeb if he gains the presidency.
On the other side were the “not-quoted;” the TEA Party activists, conservative movement leaders, limited government advocates and opponents of the surveillance state – including a good chunk of Silicon Valley – who have already seen what two Bush presidencies look like and want no part of another.
As CHQ Chairman Richard A. Viguerie observed in his new book TAKEOVER, due out on April 8, “No matter who else gets in the Republican presidential primaries, Jeb Bush will remain the ‘great white hope’ of the Republican establishment. In addition to supporting all of their major policy goals from Common Core to amnesty for illegal aliens, a Bush candidacy also holds out the hope of millions of dollars in consulting business and lucrative lobbying contracts for a small but powerful coterie of Bush family supporters and acolytes.
No one else in America, save Hillary Clinton, starts the 2016 political season with a larger Rolodex of Washington insider supporters than does Jeb Bush. A Jeb Bush election as president would ensure that the Republican establishment stays in power for at least another decade, and it would also ensure that, no matter if Jeb or the Democrat wins, Big Government will prevail.”
Click the link to read “Influential Republicans working to draft Jeb Bush into 2016 presidential race” by Philip Rucker and Robert Costa from Saturday’s Washington Post.
Jeb = NO!
I forget who which FReeper wrote it but basically he said the mission of the Bush-Clinton Crime Family is to prevent the rise of another Reagan. He's right but I would add any other non-Establishment butt kisser candidate.
I’d put amnesty #1 and common core #2.
Being part of the Bush machine—and a smug part of it at that—is up there too. Then there’s his insufferable poor-mouthing about how he’s had to go make money after receiving such a pittance in compensation during his governorship.
Agreed completely. All that Bush/Clinton clubbiness is not without purpose.
Jeb supporters spew is that he’s got a LATINO WIFE. Other than that, NOTHING! Latinos probably wouldn’t vote for him either.
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4. Jeb Bush urges states to stay the course on Common Core despite 'myths' advanced by opponents
Conservatives need their own conventions before the GOP ones to decide on conservative candidates
Conservatives need to get out to their state conventions and elect conservative RNC committeemen. You could probably count all the conservatives on the national committee on one hand.
When Terri Land stepped down from the RNC to run for the senate seat, Mitt Romney’s niece replaced her.
Absolutely agree—I don’t know why tea party groups haven’t organized pre-primary conventions by now!
There are no Conservatives for Jeb Bush, leaders or otherwise. Self proclaimed conservatives ,a/k/a Democrats in drag.
If Conservatives and Republicans want a repeat of 2008, just send in the moderate “I’ll please everyone” Jeb. He was a decent gov.
He’s not conservative enough to be my pres
I cannot believe there is actually a possibility of a Bush vs a Clinton in 2016.
THAT will be a sign that elections are just kabuki theater more than anything else.
Great idea.
Cruz needs to start talking again.
Where are conservatives on the Internet giveaway (what better issue to get low info voters on both sides?)? Cancelling Tomahawk missiles? They need to be SCREAMING!!!!!
Bump
NO AMNESTY
NO Common Core
That means NO BUSH, NO Christie.
If they(conservatives) run Jeb Bush, i will never vote for another GOP candidate again! They better get this message because i am not the only one i know saying this.
” Latinos probably wouldn’t”
This one certainly won’t-he is still part of the GOP establishment-and the words “political” and “dynasty” do not belong in the same sentence, ever...
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