Free Republic

American Action Network is pimping Marco Rubio and amnesty. They spent $300,000 television advertising campaign to “end de facto amnesty.” The ad will only run on Fox News. Of course, the amnesty bill supported by Rubio, McCain, Lindsey Graham and Democrat is de facto amnesty. Of course American Action Network doesn’t want you to believe that. They tout Marco Rubio in an ad called ‘disaster’ ad that’s been on (especially on Hannity) the last few days. Watch out for American Action Network. They may try and appear to be conservative, but they are nothing more than a progressive action group....

W. TO JEB: RUN!

There are times when the words "never" and "always" are the only ones that work. In my case, "never" is becoming the word I must use to describe how I feel about certain candidates for high office. For example, I voted four times for a Bush and once for a McCain — something I will never do again. In 1988, it was Bush the elder over Michael Dukakis. In 1992, I resisted the temptation to punish President "Read-My-Lips" by casting my ballot for Ross Perot, knowing that a vote for the pintsized Texas screwball would simply be handing the presidency...

George Bush Says Brother Jeb Best Man For The White House April 21, 2013 Since leaving office in 2009, former President George W. Bush has offered few political insights. But when it comes to his brother, Bush has a firm opinion: Jeb Bush is the best man to be president. “Yeah, he’d be the best candidate,” tells Parade Magazine in an exclusive interview published today. “I told him he ought to run, and he didn’t answer me. No, he’d be great. “He’s got a proven track record. He was a governor of a big state. He’s very articulate. He could...

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) will speak at a luncheon hosted by the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth on April 24, the Council announced Monday. Bush's speech coincides with a speech former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton plans to give at the National Multi Housing Council at the Four Seasons Resort and Club, also in Dallas, on April 24. Both Bush and Clinton have been mentioned as possible presidential candidates in 2016. Clinton and Bush are also set to appear at the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Center at Southern Methodist University on April 25. Clinton's...

Terri Schiavo Dies After Enduring 13 Day Court-Ordered Starvation by Steven Ertelt LifeNews.com Editor March 31, 2005 Pinellas Park, FL (LifeNews.com) — Terri Schiavo has passed away after enduring 13 days of a painful starvation and dehydration death that six state and federal courts declined to prevent. While her family will remember a loving daughter and sister, her death will be the beginning of a renewed debate about euthanasia and end of life issues. Terri died Thursday morning at Woodside Hospice, and Paul O’Donnell, a Franciscan monk who has been a spokesman for the Schindlers during the last two weeks,...

The day before the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments on the constitutionality of gay marriage, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush tells Newsmax TV in an exclusive interview that the issue should be decided by the states. “I would prefer it to be a state-by-state issue,” Bush tells Newsmax. “That’s how we have dealt with a lot of issues in the United States. “Our federal system is a spectacular way to deal with changing mores—and states can take advantage of opportunities much better than federal government,” Bush says. “This could be a place where the states play a role, as is...

There are strong indications that Jeb Bush will be a candidate in 2016: http://todaynews.today.com/_news/2013/03/04/17179710-jeb-bush-i-wont-rule-out-2016-white-house-run-but-i-wont-declare-today?lite It also well known that Hillary Clinton is preparing to run in 2016. Did you know that there has been a Dole, Bush, or Clinton running for President or Vice-President (including primaries) since the year 1976, with the sole exception of the year 2012? That is a total of 9 Presidential elections - 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008! If either Jeb Bush or Hillary Clinton is a candidate in 2016, then America will have officially become a banana republic, and the...

I have my problems with Jeb Bush, but this passage of his speech at CPAC is not one of them. "It is not a validation of our conservative principles if we can only point to the increasingly rare individual who overcomes adversity and succeeds in America," Bush said. "Here’s reality: if you’re fortunate enough to count yourself among the privileged, much of the rest of the nation is drowning. "In our country today, if you’re born poor, if your parents didn’t go to college, if you don’t know your father, if English isn’t spoken at home, then the odds are...

America could be on the threshold of its greatest century. With new drilling technologies, the United States will soon have an energy surplus. This means trillions of dollars in new wealth and a foreign policy not dominated by oil. .... But the bright future is at risk if the federal government continues on its arc of irresponsibility. America's government-spending addiction and its lackluster system of public education are the two greatest impediments to achieving the country's potential. I know conservatives have the solution. As governor of Florida, I balanced the state budget for eight years in a row while cutting...

Former Governor Jeb Bush (R-FL) spoke at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush gave the keynote speech Friday night at the Conservative Political Action Conference 2013 Reagan Dinner and received what was described as a “respectful” standing ovation when introduced, as reported by Twitchy.com. As he laid out what appeared to be the foundation for a future presidential campaign platform, there was a general lack of enthusiasm that brought some to describe it as tepid.

There are 23 names on the Conservative Political Action Conference's much watched 2016 GOP presidential nomination straw poll. And there's one glaring omission: Jeb Bush. It appears the former two-term Florida governor is the reason his name isn't on the ballot. "He requested not to be put on the poll this year," an official with the American Conservative Union, the group that puts on CPAC, told CNN.

After a week of Rand Paul dominating the news, and rocking the Obama Administration back on its heels, what we clearly needed on Sunday was six shows filled with Jeb Bush launching a long-shot four-year quest for the White House by explaining why he disagrees with the book on immigration reform he just published. The scheduling is probably a tribute to the aggressiveness of Bush's literary publicists and political team, but the net effect is to defuse the momentum from Paul's filibuster, which stood on the verge of crushing Sunday show producers' favorite Republican, John McCain, into the pavement of...

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush told Chris Wallace on FOX News Sunday that there is no Bush fatigue in America. Chris Wallace: Do you think there would be any Bush baggage? Do you think that would be a problem? Jeb Bush: No. I don’t think there is any Bush baggage at all. I love my brother. I’m proud of his accomplishments. I love my dad. I am proud to be a Bush. And, if I run for president, it’s not because there is something in my DNA that compels me to do it...

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said his new book, “Immigration Wars: Forging an American Solution,” is aimed at conservatives who might have a hard time embracing the increasingly important path-to-citizenship issue. Bush appeared Sunday in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” to talk about what has been described as a flip flop on his previous position of enabling undocumented workers to become U.S. citizens. …

. . . . . . “I thought about that issue a lot and [went] back and forth on it before I signed on to my principles and I just concluded that it’s not good for the country in the long term to have millions and millions of people who are forever prohibited from becoming citizens,” Rubio told reporters on his way to a Senate vote. “That hasn’t worked out well for Europe.” Responding to a question from TPM, Rubio said he did not think Bush’s surprise move would make it harder to convince conservatives to accept an eventual path...

“The chatter is he's up to something,” says one Florida operative. If Jeb Bush decides to convert his media tour into a presidential bid in a couple years, he won't have to look far for a campaign staff: The well-funded education foundation he runs out his office in a Miami hotel is stacked with former political operatives, a large communications team, and a rapidly growing staff whose work stretches into 40 states. It is common practice for undeclared presidential candidates to build a campaign infrastructure under the guise of a political action committee, but Bush appears to be laying the...

Jeb Bush generated quite a bit of publicity for his new book yesterday by suggesting that amnestied illegal immigrants should not be eligible for citizenship. Instead, he’s suggesting they be given some kind of permanent status that would provide them work cards, Social Security numbers, driver’s licenses, and the right to travel abroad and return, but not allow for eventual naturalization — in effect, a kind of permanent guestworker program or a green-card-lite, rather than an actual green card. This is consistent with suggestions from other pro-amnesty Republicans, including Senator Rubio and a group of House members working up an...

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush Tuesday described the growing economic chasm between rich and poor as "un-American" and called it the biggest "structural" problem facing the nation on Tuesday. "Going forward, we have to deal with our longer structural problems. The biggest one, as far as I'm concerned, is that we're no longer socially mobile as a country," Bush said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program. "You have people that are born poor and there's a higher and higher probability that they're going to stay poor. And you have people that are born rich and there's a greater probability that they'll...

Via Politico, I … was not expecting that. Neither was HuffPo, which points to this piece from last summer as proof that he was singing a different tune in 2012: “You have to deal with this issue. You can’t ignore it, and so either a path to citizenship, which I would support–and that does put me probably out of the mainstream of most conservatives–or … a path… to residency of some kind,” he said during an interview last week with Charlie Rose on CBS. Bush’s position diverges from that of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who oppposes amnesty, supports...

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush won’t confirm he’s a candidate for the next presidential race, but he sounded like a White House hopeful Monday, declaring his party in need of leadership. “I have a voice, I want to share my beliefs about how the conservative movement and the Republican party can regain its footing, because we’ve lost our way,” he told TODAY’s Matt Lauer. Bush said he wouldn’t rule out a run in 2016, “but I won’t declare today either.”

During an appearance on NBC’s “The Today Show,” Bush said it’s not the time to talk about increasing taxes after what he called the biggest tax hike in American history two months ago following the fiscal cliff deal. But he also wouldn’t rule out the idea that revenues could be part of a package — something Republicans in Congress have said is off the table.

Republican strategist Steve Schmidt, the former campaign adviser to 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain, has repeatedly argued that the Republican Party should be more inclusive — of almost everyone, it seems, except Sarah Palin. On Friday night’s broadcast of HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher,” during its online “Overtime” segment, Schmidt tersely responded to a viewer question about McCain’s selection of Palin to be his running mate: MAHER: Steve Schmidt, ‘Is it possible you picked Sarah Palin the wrong year?’ Oh, my. ‘Could she have swung the women vote in 2012 enough to have put Romney in the White...

In what has become a recurring theme for the Spanish language network Univision, one of their employees took to social media recently to smear Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). According to the Miami Herald, a top assistant to a Univision news boss criticized Rubio being chosen as the Republican response to the State of the Union. The employee at the center of the controversy is one Angelica Artiles who took to Facebook to post the following vicious attack: "Oh, wow, the loser is going to speak after our President. Anything to get publicity. Ask him to do us a favor and...

Rubio staked his marker in the education-reform debate last week when he delivered a speech at the Chamber of Commerce calling for policy changes to improve the skills of the American workforce. Education is not a high-profile topic in Washington, but some Republicans see it, along with immigration reform, as crucial to winning a key part of the electorate: women voters. “We need a champion in both areas. We lost the last election at the PTA meeting and the Hispanic chamber of commerce. Jeb Bush wins elections at the PTA meeting and Hispanic chamber,” said Don Gaetz, president of the...

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is voicing confidence in the prospects for immigration reform in the House, saying that a bipartisan group of lawmakers “basically [has] an agreement” after more than three years of secret talks. -snip- Obama is preparing to launch a major push for comprehensive immigration reform with a speech in Las Vegas next week. Much of the spotlight has focused on the Senate, where a bipartisan group is reportedly close to announcing an agreement on basic principles for an overhaul of the system. That group now includes Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), a potential presidential contender who laid out...

A bipartisan group of House members has been quietly meeting and is close to an agreement on changes to propose the nation’s immigration laws, House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) said last week in a speech to a Republican group.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush—one of the top potential GOP contenders for a 2016 presidential run—has been tapped to become chairman of the Board of Trustees at the prestigious National Constitution Center, succeeding former President Bill Clinton. Bush is the second in his family to serve as the chairman of center’s Board of Trustees—his father former President George H.W. Bush had the post in 2007. “I am honored to have this opportunity and am humbled to follow in the footsteps of my beloved father … who first exemplified to me what it means to be a good citizen and to...

Jeb Bush in 2016? (CNN) -- For all of our post-2012 election talk about the changing culture, the changing demographics and, perhaps, a changing party, preliminary thoughts out of D.C. about the 2016 election have us headed toward not much change at all: Clinton vs Bush ... again. I am as intrigued by the prospects of these two juggernauts, Jeb and Hillary, locking ideological horns as I am repulsed by the thought of half of my life being dominated by two family names. One, Clinton, has risen from the ashes after the White House. The other name, Bush, is so...

Former Florida governor Jeb Bush met Monday with a group of his former staffers at the J. W. Marriott hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue, just steps from the White House. Bush, a potential 2016 presidential contender, spent an hour in the hotel’s Cannon room, reminiscing and entertaining questions about his political future. In an interview with NRO, Bush did not rule out a presidential run. “I am here to catch up with folks and promote education reform,” he said, smiling. When asked again whether he will issue a Sherman-type statement about his future, Bush remained coy. “We have an alumni group...

Allahpundit at Hot Air is relating what he thinks may be a nightmare scenario for 2016, the presidential candidacy of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the brother of one former president and the son of another. It just smacks too much of dynastic politics. This is especially true if Bush wound up running against Hillary Clinton, the wife of a former president, former senator and soon to be former secretary of state. There is an alternative, however

The talk has already started about a possible 2016 presidential bid by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, but before that happens friends say he’ll be busy rebuilding his personal wealth and restoring his family’s relationship with the Republican Party. If he decides to seek the GOP nomination, it could put a damper on any plans by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to run in four years, according to The New York Times. … After this year’s loss to President Barack Obama, Republicans are looking for a candidate who can appeal to a different voter demographic that’s no longer dominated by white...

A lot can change in just four years. For former Florida Governor Jeb Bush a four-year timetable is enough for a significant shift for the Republican party. He tells Joe Hagan of New York magazine: “It’s a math question. Four years from now, Texas is going to be a so-called blue state. Imagine Texas as a blue state, how hard it would be to carry the presidency or gain control of the Senate.” Hagan starts the article for New York magazine with this idea that Texas’ rapidly changing demographic will unfavorably affect the Republican party. He writes: “Sitting down across...

R. Lee Ermey, the actor best known for his role as the drill sergeant in Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket," claims he was fired by GEICO for criticizing President Obama. After being asked about his GEICO commercial wherein he played a psychiatrist calling his patient a "jackwagon," Ermey said, "GEICO fired me because I had, I wasn’t too kind about speaking with the, about the administration, so the present administration. So they fired me." "So they fired you because of political reasons?" asked the TMZ representative. "Yeah," Ermey answered. "If you’re a conservative in this town, you better watch out."

“I think it’s a very bold choice. And an exciting and interesting pick. It’s going to elevate the campaign into a debate over big ideas. It means Romney-Ryan can run on principles and provide some real direction and vision for the Republican Party. And probably lose. Maybe big,” said former President George W. Bush senior adviser Mark McKinnon. Joked another: “The most popular phrase in Washington right now is: ‘I love Paul Ryan, but …’” And the more pessimistic strategists don’t even feign good cheer: They think the Ryan pick is a disaster for the GOP. Many of these people...

Former Sen. Rick Santorum gave Mitt Romney a run for his money during the Republican primaries. In return, Santorum will get a major speaking role at the Republican National Convention, organizers will announce Tuesday. Convention organizers will also announce they are giving major speaking roles to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin and Sen. Rand Paul, the son of Rep. Ron Paul, another of Romney's more dogged rivals. Handing Santorum a prime speaking slot is a hat tip to his underdog presidential campaign. The under-funded, little-known former senator notched a surprising upset in Iowa, where his brand...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush thinks Sen. Marco Rubio is ready to be vice president and he shared those thoughts with presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney, he said Wednesday. Bush said he has been a huge fan of Rubio's for years and hopes that Romney chooses him. He said he made his pitch to Romney in a recent conversation, but the former Massachusetts governor didn't reveal which direction he was leaning. Bush said the choice is a personal one and respects Romney for keeping his thoughts close to his vest. Romney has said he is considering Rubio,...

Mitt Romney may have encountered a tough crowd addressing a group of Latinos Thursday, but former Florida Governor Jeb Bush transitioned easily from Spanish to English and drew loud applause on the issue of education reform and school choice – and complimented the presumptive Republican nominee’s rival, President Obama. At the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials or NALEO in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., Bush began by giving Romney a nod. “We heard an excellent speech, I thought, from Mitt Romney, who is a supporter of education reform and of school choice,” Bush said. However, in his next...

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) offered criticism Thursday morning of President Obama's recent executive action dealing with illegal immigrants beyond the oft-heard Republican point that it was “extra-constitutional.” In Rubio’s words, “we don’t know how many will be affected by it, whether kids will come up and identify themselves as illegal” and that the president’s order was in no way bipartisan. “There are many unanswered questions. How many does it affect? Are kids going to come out and identify themselves?," Rubio said this morning at the Christian Science Monitor breakfast. Many felt that President Obama upstaged the Florida senator with the...

Kruathammer says that Jeb Bush is wrong about Reagan, that he would indeed be very comfortable with the Tea Party movement. He adds that Reagan’s successes weren’t because Reagan was ‘the great compromiser’, but because he campaigned on a specific agenda and the American people awarded him with a clear mandate to accomplish that agenda, of which Democrat leaders couldn’t stand in the way. Krauthammer: Reagan would be very comfortable with today’s Tea Party movement

Former FL Gov. Jeb Bush says Ronald Reagan would have a hard time winning the Republican nomination today, because the party has veered too far to the right, and is “dysfunctional.” “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.” “Back to my...

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush today said that both Ronald Reagan and his father, George H.W. Bush, would have a hard time getting nominated by the more conservative voters in today’s Republican Party. “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, according to Buzzfeed, which reported Bush’s giving the comments at the headquarters of...

Jeb Bush gave an impassioned endorsement of fellow Floridian Marco Rubio, advising Mitt Romney to pick him as his running mate and describing him as “the most articulate conservative elected official on the scene today,” and even spoke of the “great pride” he has for the U.S. senator from his home state. “Marco Rubio is my favorite [choice], because we have a close relationship,” the former Florida governor told Charlie Rose in an interview that aired on his PBS show Thursday evening. “I admire him greatly … He speaks with great passion about American exceptionalism. I think he would lift...

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush sure looks like a politician who is not running for office. In a wide ranging interview with Charlie Rose for "CBS This Morning," Bush offered some light praise for President Obama and said he thinks Republicans should be willing to raise revenue to get the deficit down. The brother of the Mr. Obama's predecessor noted that Mr. Obama had chosen the head of the Chicago public school system, Arne Duncan, as his education secretary and they had worked to focus more on school children and less on the adults running the schools. "Any time an...

Over the last few days, since Romney clinched the GOP nomination for President by going over the 1,144 committed delegates needed with his win in the Texas Primary on Tuesday, May 29, 2012, a number of new endorsements have come in for Romney's bid for the Presidency. These include George Shultz, former Secretary of State; Condoliza Rice, former Secretrary of State and National Security Advisor; Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas and presidential candidate; and Nancy Reagan, wife of President Ronald Reagan. Here's what each of them had to say on the date they endorsed Romney: NANCY REAGAN endorses Mitt...

(CBS News) Showing his willingness to break from his party, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said on Friday he would accept $10 in spending cuts for every $1 in revenue increases and criticized activist Grover Norquist's no-tax pledge that most GOP lawmakers have signed.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who was elected to his first term with help from the Tea Party in 2010 and who is sometimes cited as a potential GOP vice presidential pick, lauded the United Nations, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for following their respective visions instead of asserting “narrow American interests” in a speech today on U.S. foreign policy. In remarks at the liberal Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., Rubio sketched the advances made globally since the end of World War II as a result of America’s leadership. “The purpose of the institutions we established, from...

President Obama holds a 50-to-45 percent lead over Mitt Romney in Florida, according to a new poll from the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling. PPP also tested four potential Florida running mates for Romney — Sen. Marco Rubio, former Gov. Jeb Bush, Gov. Rick Scott and U.S. Rep. Allen West — and found that only Bush would have a positive effect on the GOP ticket in Florida. A Romney/Bush ticket would narrow Obama’s advantage to 49-46, within the poll’s 3.7 percent margin of error. The survey of 700 Florida voters was taken Thursday through Sunday. The Obama/Joe Biden ticket holds...

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush says he'd consider running as vice president with Mitt Romney, but doubts he'll ever be asked. Bush tells the conservative website Newsmax that Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is "probably the best" choice to share the ticket with Romney, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee. Bush said he hopes the freshman senator is offered the No. 2 slot and accepts it. Rubio has said repeatedly that he isn't interested in leaving the Senate.