Mr. Wizard he ain't.
Posted on 04/07/2014 11:27:10 PM PDT by Bratch
Via BuzzFeed, a vignette from the big Bushworld confab over the weekend to honor Bush 41. Imagine if the “tea-party era” in Republican politics, which began after eight years of Dubya and the nomination of John McCain, produced Mitt Romney and then Jeb Bush as presidential nominees.
I’m treating the prospect of another Bush nomination as a test of whether the Republican grassroots, realistically, has any influence at all over who their party chooses. Say what you will about O but his win over Hillary six years ago proved that it’s still possible for the establishment favorite to be beaten in a Democratic primary. When was the last time that happened on our side? If a power complex exists within the party capable of elevating a guy to the nomination (a) who hasn’t run a campaign in 12 years, (b) who’s suspicious to the party’s own base, and (c) whose surname is a heavy liability everywhere in the country except within that power complex, in what way does any sort of conservative activism — at the national level at least — matter?
“We have a responsibility to make sure Jeb runs,” said longtime Bush adviser Andy Card after the speech.
“If Jeb Bush does not run, shame on us.” Card added, “I would work in a Jeb administration in a heartbeat.”
“Look at all of us,” said another former campaign aide, Jill Collins, excitedly motioning to an auditorium filled with former ambassadors, appointees, and cabinet members. “We are all ready to fundraise and start planting yard signs. We have all done it before and we will do it again.”…
“Those of us who support [H.W. Bush] know that he was worthy of a second term,” McGrath said. “The Bush style of leadership needs to return to Washington.”
“If Mitt Romney had had the Jeb package,” said tireless Romney 2012 surrogate John Sununu, “we would have won in 2012.” Even if Jeb doesn’t run, though, or — miraculously — ends up getting beat in the primaries by a righty insurgent, how many former Bush advisors will end up as part of the eventual nominee’s campaign? It may be possible to avoid having another Bush on the ticket. I’m not sure it’s possible to have a new Republican administration that keeps Bushworld out of the White House. Here’s WaPo on the “credentials caucus,” the race among 2016 Republican hopefuls to recruit policy advisors before the primaries start hopping:
With the exception of some voices within the circle of libertarian-leaning Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), those being tapped hew to Republican norms on foreign policy, with emphasis on a vigorous military and a willingness to use force overseas…
Former defense secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, known for his controversial decisions during the Iraq war, has been courted by several potential candidates and plans to meet with Cruz. Cruz has hired former Rumsfeld aide Victoria Coates as his national security adviser…
Walker is doing more prep on global issues and has developed a bond with Washington Post columnist Marc A. Thiessen, a former George W. Bush speechwriter and a foreign policy hawk. In 2013, when Thiessen helped Walker write the governor’s memoir, they talked via Skype about many issues.
Actual quote: “On foreign policy especially, the potential candidates are still learning. A frequent counselor is Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the GOP’s 2008 nominee.” I’m guessing Cruz isn’t one of them, although the fact that Cruz is hiring Rumsfeld alums means the Cruz/Paul contrast on foreign policy next year will be even sharper than we thought. Maybe that’s Rand’s best play — presenting himself as an alternative not just to Republican orthodoxy generally but to the Bush legacy specifically. Is that too risky in a Republican primary, though, even five years after the tea party emerged? The one virtue of a new Bush candidacy is that it’d be a fascinating temperature check of GOPers about Dubya’s legacy. Are they, after flirtations with libertarianism and isolationism, nonetheless prepared to offer Bush 3.0 to the country? Can the party’s coalition survive that?
The one really obvious move Jeb could make to lighten some of the baggage he’s carrying and present himself to voters as distinctly his own man would be to criticize the Iraq war, even to the point of saying that it never should have happened. I doubt he’s willing to do it, though, and even if he was, he’s on record as recently as last year as saying he thinks people will eventually stop seeing the war as a mistake. Rand’s been tiptoeing away from dad’s views for the past three years and people are still suspicious of his true intentions. Even if Jeb tried the same move vis-a-vis Dubya’s foreign policy, how likely is it he could convince people at this point that he’d be different? And even if he did, how excited would Bushworld be about him then?
Bushies = Shamnesty = failure to launch.
Are they giving up on Christie after Bridgegate?
It is clear that the Republican Party is bought and sold like a cheap hooker. Now what to do about it.
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yeah, I bet this buttwipe would like to work again in an environment of power, prestige and influence. He didn't make enough money out of the last time.
How do you explain the constitution and its relevance today while assuring average voters that illegal immigration is an act of love.
Jeb Bush is an IDIOT.
Yes indeed just what we need another Big Government Executive Branch expansionist POTUS to make way for a tyrant to come afterward far worse than Obama his brother George the Smirking Chimp helped paved the way for. Obama enjoys many abuse that were either Chimps ideas or his I want databases kept on citizens lawful activities Attorney General. We’ve had quite enough Bush ideas thank you.
Now I see their plan. Good call.
I also like the idea of all the retread rinos running to split the moderate vote. We have to use some smart strategy to get our conservatives to win this time.
And the amazing thing is you never see Karl’s lips move while they are talking LOL.
**facepalm**
Go away Jeb.
the republican establishment can try all they want to shove Jeb up our asses.
Won’t work. I will not vote for another Bush. No Bush is conservative. I’m tired of their bull crap “compassionate conservatism”, or coming here illegally is, “an act of love”?
What kind of crap is this???
The RINOs should be allowed to run only IF the GOP primaries and caucuses are closed so that independents and Demonrats can’t vote in them.
Mr. Wizard he ain't.
All the Leftist consultants are scared out of their minds that they might not have a candidate meal ticket to feast off of. These guys don’t care about winning, they want another big payday!
How far goes Jeff’s love for those who violate U.S. sovereignty and laws?
Crime: The Open Borders Lobby’s Dirty Little Secret
By FrontPage Magazine
FrontPageMagazine.com | October 4, 2005
On August 26, 2005, the Center for the Study of Popular Culture, the Federation for American Immigration Reform, and the Coalition for Immigration Reform of California co-sponsored a conference on illegal immigration at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. Below are the transcripts of speeches given by three of the participants in that conference: Heather MacDonald, a John M. Olin fellow at the Manhattan Institute; Dr. James Edwards, an Adjunct Fellow at the Hudson Institute; and Dr. Glynn Custred, a Professor of Anthropology at California State University, the East Bay. All three touch on the interrelated nature of illegal immigration and crime in American society. — The Editors.
Heather MacDonald: Thank you. I’m honored to be here at this beautiful spot with such an extraordinary group of thinkers.
I think I detected in Mr. Hayworth’s presentation this morning a slight note of irony towards the mainstream media. I want to continue that a little bit on their treatment of illegal immigration, and take as my text for this morning a Washington Post editorial from August 10th called, “The Reality of Gangs.” Now, the title was misleading. It would have more appropriately been called, “The Unreality of Media Coverage of the Illegal Alien Crime Wave.”
The editorial describes the unending series of maimings, stabbings, killings, that have been unleashed recently in the Northern Virginia area by Mara Salvatrucha – usually shortened in the media to “M13” – a gang predominantly of Salvadoran descent that has spread from its home in Los Angeles across the country.
And predictably the Washington Post called for more social programs to try to dissuade ever-younger Hispanics from joining the gangster life they’re starting at ages 8-12 now. I’ve seen a picture of a class of kids from Shenandoah standing in front of the Washington Memorial in D.C. flashing gang signals.
Even as the Post called for more social spending, it completely ignored the most salient feature of Mara Salvatrucha, which is the astoundingly high number of illegals within its ranks. The Justice Department estimates that more than 50 percent of all members of Mara Salvatrucha are illegal. I talked to an LAPD Officer who deals with this gang daily, and he puts the figures much higher. I’ve heard cops tell me they think it’s almost 100 percent. I think that’s too high, but it’s somewhere between there.
AWAKE AMERICA - READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE
http://archive.frontpagemag.com/Printable.aspx?ArtId=7052
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