Posted on 04/16/2014 7:32:11 AM PDT by GIdget2004
If Jeb Bush decides to run for president, he’ll have to defend his family’s controversial political name.
But more immediate family concerns might keep him from running at all.
Republican donors and operatives are chattering about Bush’s publicity-shy wife, so worried she isn’t on board with a 2016 White House run that they’re urging people in the family’s orbit to make the case.
Columba Bush has long been deeply averse to the spotlight, especially after an embarrassing encounter with U.S. Customs while her husband was still in office.
Donors also wonder whether Bush is willing to subject his family and their personal lives to the inevitable scrutiny that comes with a national campaign. Two of his children have been in the news in past years for arrests linked to drug problems and public intoxication.
So while the buzz picks up around Bush, the donor class’s new questions about old issues are a sign of not only the dynamics of a potential Bush campaign, but of how seriously a key establishment group is taking the idea of a Bush bid.
“The issues have been brought up by the press and others in the past, and the family issues may well be brought out again,” said Al Cardenas, the chairman of the American Conservative Union, who headed the Florida GOP while Bush was governor. “If these matters are brought up, it would hurt him, not politically but personally. He has to make up his mind whether that’s a burden he wants to bear.”
A top Republican bundler with ties to the Bushes described the rising concern among those lobbying Jeb Bush to enter the race that his wife’s opposition will keep him from running.
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
The DNC would just love to have another bush run in 2016, and the grovelling RNC would just fall all over themselves to oblige them.
I would call it “fascism vs. oligarchy redux”.
In the mean time, I wouldn’t give either one of them the correct time of day, let alone my vote.
You’d be surprised how many Texans favor Jebbie, but they don’t know why. It’s just another familiar name.
Can you explain why Texans continue to admire all Bushes?
Not all Texans do, no more than all conservatives do. I cannot explain the allure. Perhaps the presentation of ‘wholesome family’. Perhaps the superabundance of self confidence. I cannot explain what I do not understand.
Bull$h!t! Only Republicans are subjected to this anal aperture exam! When a Republican is involved, “reporters”
find their third grade classmates and ask if they were bullies!
I’m sick of the hypocritical bull$h!t!
Can you explain why Texans continue to admire all Bushes?
Well they are nice people. I mean politically speaking they are frustrating, but I think as far as getting to “know” them, they seem like very nice people. You can admire someone that you don’t necessarily agree on every issues.
Even if you like Jeb Bush he would be a terrible candidate for the GOP. The info in this article about his wife and kids is true. It would cloud the issues. Columba speaks with a heavy spanish accent. She is no Ann Romney or Laura Bush.
The Bush kids’ problems have been much publicized by the media. It was just been a long time ago.
No offense, but all you really know of them is what their handlers present to the public.
Upon entering office, Bush bought a cattle ranch in Crawford and was often seen 'working' on the ranch, clearing brush, driving around in his pickup, etc.
Upon leaving office, he promptly sold the ranch and the pick-up, then bought a condo in Midland.
The whole 'folksy' thing was purely for public consumption. Which is a nice way to say, to dupe conservatives into believing Bush was one of their own.
Yes, I know, at the time, but about the way Gore’s kid or the Kennedy kids have been covered—not in the least in the way that Palin’s daughter’s pregnancy was in scope or scale or as a direct reflection of parenting.
To be fair, eight years is a long time for an older person. It’s very possible that once his two terms were over, President Bush no longer had the stamina to care for a ranch.
I’ve noticed with surprise that even I have failed in resisting the declines of age.
June 22, 1999|By DAVID COX and JOHN KENNEDY Tallahassee Bureau
TALLAHASSEE — Florida first lady Columba Bush made a mistake and “feels horrible” about her embarrassing run-in with U.S. Customs agents late last week, a chagrined Gov. Jeb Bush said Monday.
“I can assure you it was a difficult weekend at our house,” the governor said. “She knew that what she did was wrong and [she] made a mistake.”
Columba Bush was briefly detained and fined at Atlanta’s Hartsfield International Airport on Thursday after her arrival following a five-day shopping spree in Paris. The governor was not with her. She declared only $500 worth of merchandise on a Customs form at the airport. But during a random check, agents found receipts indicating the governor’s wife was toting about $19,000 worth of clothing and jewelry bought in France.
Using a personal check, she paid $4,100 in duty and fines on the items. She was then allowed to continue to Tallahassee.
I have had private conversations with all of them except Babs...and she is the only one I don't like. I don't want to meet her.
Father and son are very nice and you feel like they live next door.
George W is nothing like what you see on TV. He doesn't grope for words...real talkative, funny and big tease. We see a lot of him on local TV with vets...he really does have deep admiration for the military.
George HW is just as nice as you'll ever meet. I have heard many stories of how thoughtful he is to people who have worked for him... like the contractor who built their Houston house.
Laura ...kinda shy but very warm...and funny.
I don't pretend to be 'FRIENDS" with the Bushes!
The question was why are they so popular in Texas. I have met them the same way as have thousands of Texans. I knew them BEFORE they became active in politics. I lived in Houston. I had a friend who played tennis with W way back when...the mid '60's. (Friend loved Babs!)
They are nice, friendly, likeable people.
I have never had a political discussion with any of them.
I guess many of us see them more as people than as politicians!...away from their "handlers."
Do you really think a governor's kids are going to get the same attention as kids of a POTUS or VPOTUS or candidate?
You care more that it's about a Bush than what the kids of a former FL governor did?
I don't like Jeb either but not because of what his kids did 12 or 15 years ago?
LOL! What are your sources?
Are you bearing false witness? I don't think he sold his ranch and I doubt he bought a condo in Midland.
Do you realize how much it saved the taxpayers that he went to his ranch...or to Walker's Point for vacations?
My guess is the Bushes spent less on vacations in 12 years total than Michelle by herself in six!
You're right. He didn't sell the ranch, but he did sell his pick-up and bought a condo in Houston.
Do you realize how much it saved the taxpayers that he went to his ranch...or to Walker's Point for vacations?
Huzzah! He saved the taxpayers by vacationing in Texas. How much did his Anti-American, Pro-Mexican immigration and economic policies cost Americans?
My guess is the Bushes spent less on vacations in 12 years total than Michelle by herself in six!
Any encouraging words on his policies and their effects on the American economy? Nation-building in Iraq & Afghanistan? Bailing out the banks who helped cause the sub-prime real estate debacle?
Oh, that's right. He was a real-nice guy. Just like all his Mexican friends who are just wanting to do the jobs Americans won't do.
You are an so ignorant! The truck was sold and $$$$ donated to a charity.
Why would he buy a condo in Houston? He didn't!
Have you forgotten the part that Dodd and Frank played on the economy during Bush's term?
I doubt you knew at the time!
Who signed the Partnership for Prosperity Agreement with Mexico in 2001? Bush, Dodd or Frank?
Who signed the USA PATRIOT Act into law that changed the banking regulations to allow Mexican illegal aliens access to US bank accounts, business, home & auto loans and US credit card accounts, Bush, Dodd or Frank?
In June, 2002, who said he wanted to see 5.5 million new homeowners by 2010 and called on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to increase commitments to the 'minority' market by $440 billion, Bush, Dodd or Frank?
In June, 2002, who called for the creation of the American Dream Down Payment Fund and signed it into law, Bush, Dodd or Frank?
Who created the New Alliance Task Force in 2003, Bush, Dodd or Frank?
Who was responsible for the decline of worksite arrests of illegal aliens falling some 97 percent, from 2,859 in 1999 to 159 in 2004, Bush, Dodd or Frank?
Who was responsible for the investigations targeting employers of illegal immigrants falling more than 70 percent, from 7,637 in 1997 to 2,194 in 2003, Bush, Dodd or Frank?
Who caused arrests on job sites falling from 17,554 in 1997 to 445 in 2003 and fines levied for immigration-law violations to fall from 778 in 1997 to 124 in 2003, Bush, Dodd or Frank?
Who was responsible for notices of intent to fine employers to fall from 865 in 1997 to just 3 in 2004, Bush Dodd or Frank?
Who failed to build the border fence despite receiving funding from Congress, Bush, Dodd or Frank?
Who signed the Social Security Totalization Agreement (with Mexico) in 2004, Bush, Dodd or Frank?
"And let me talk about some of the progress which we have made to date, as an example for others to follow. First of all, government sponsored corporations that help create our mortgage system -- I introduced two of the leaders here today -- they call those people Fannie May and Freddie Mac, as well as the federal home loan banks, will increase their commitment to minority markets by more than $440 billion. I want to thank Leland and Franklin for that commitment. It's a commitment that conforms to their charters, as well, and also conforms to their hearts."
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