Posted on 02/26/2015 10:19:57 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
So clever of BuzzFeed to drop this today, with Bush set to sit down with Sean Hannity onstage at CPAC in 24 hours for Q&A. Think this story might come up? Think itll be talked about tonight at the local bars among conservatives already suspicious of Jebs ideological leanings?
Theres more evidence here than I can fairly excerpt of how strongly Bushs top advisors feel about this issue, so youll have to read the whole thing. Heres the key bit, though:
But inside Bushs orbit, some believe his personal feelings on the subject may have evolved beyond his on-the-record statements. Three Republican supporters who have recently spoken with Bush as hes blitzed the GOP fundraising circuit told BuzzFeed News they came away with the impression that on the question of marriage equality, he was supportive at best and agnostic at worst
If, as many observers expect, the Supreme Court rules this June to extend marriage rights to all same-sex couples nationwide, some of Bushs pro-gay donors are hoping he will use the moment to fully pivot toward an embrace of marriage equality turning himself into the first serious pro-gay GOP presidential candidate. His thinking appears to have evolved, said David Aufhauser, a former senior Treasury official who co-hosted a fundraiser for Bush earlier this month in Virginia. Aufhauser, well known in GOP circles for his gay rights advocacy, stressed that he doesnt speak for Bush, but contended that the candidate would benefit from opening up about how he now views the marriage issue. He suggested Bush deliver a high-profile statement of principles following the Courts decision this summer, pledging to remove all barriers of state discrimination, discussing how he abhors hate based on orientation, and also championing strong protections for churches.
If handled right, Aufhauser argued, Bush could draw a sharp contrast between himself and other Republicans and in a twist that would defy the chatter about the generational divide in the GOP field, he could even succeed in siphoning off younger voters from opponents like Rand Paul or Marco Rubio. When the governor speaks on this issue, Im confident people like my kids a demographic the party needs will find him to be thoughtful and embracing, he said.
His campaign manager, chief strategist, and communications director all support legalizing gay marriage. His base, the GOPs wealthy donor class, is famously closer to the left on cultural issues like immigration and gay marriage than it is to the right. Jeb himself has told every reporter wholl listen that hell campaign in the primaries with the same message hed take to the general election, which is his way of saying that hes a loud-and-proud centrist and wont pretend otherwise to flatter the right. Put all that together and you have the Republican version of Obamas 2008 stance on gay marriage: Here again we have a guy facing a socially conservative electorate and professing (for the moment) to be anti-SSM when everything about him, culturally and politically, suggests he feels otherwise. This has suddenly become the ultimate test of whether Jebs serious about his no-pandering strategy. Will he cop to being at least undecided about gay marriage? Will he go so far as to come out in favor, which would blow up the primaries by parachuting this issue right into the middle of the debates?
Theres a strategic argument for doing so. Grassroots righties are long gone from the Jeb 2016 camp so hes not losing any tea partiers by declaring himself in favor of SSM. Meanwhile, if you believe the polls, there are plenty of Republicans in the center and the center-right who quietly support legalizing gay marriage and might be impressed by Jeb running against his own partys orthodoxy in backing it. As BuzzFeed notes, young Republicans in particular might take notice, which could cause headaches for someone like Rubio whos eager to pitch himself as the future and Jeb as old news. Endorsing gay marriage would also earn Jeb some friends in the media, with whom he has a complicated relationship right now. The media obviously favors him in the primaries against right-wingers but they also worry that, because of his fundraising, hes the strongest GOP challenger for Hillary. Theyll hit him hard in the general, as they always do with the GOP nominee, to protect their own side, but they might not hit Jeb as hard if he sides with them against conservatives on their pet social issue. Theyve turned that into a litmus test for decency and progressive thinking among politicians, so for Jeb to join their camp on it would necessarily complicate their narrative that the Republican nominee has malevolent retrograde designs on America.
The strategic risk to backing SSM isnt that itll cost Jeb tea-party votes, which, as I say, are long gone, its that itll so alienate social conservatives that theyll stay home for the general election. Mike Huckabee has said openly in the past that as soon as the GOP embraces gay marriage, hes gone. Not all social cons will feel that way but a few hundred thousand spread across swing states are potentially the difference between winning and losing. And for someone like Jeb, because of his other heresies on immigration and Common Core, a gay-marriage reversal would immolate whatever conservative credibility he has left even with righties who may not feel strongly about SSM. The rights perennial fear of moderate Republicans is that they campaign as conservatives and govern as independents. Jebs not even campaigning as a conservative, really, raising the question of what hed govern as. Add an endorsement of gay marriage to that mix and the attack line that hes really just a conservative Democrat will gain traction even with people whove ignored it so far. The best-case scenario for him is that the party splits sharply in two, with people like Huckabee and Santorum eventually lining up behind a more viable social conservative like Walker or Rubio, and Jeb narrowly wins the nomination with centrist support only to find theres no way to repair the rift. But maybe thats the hidden virtue of a Jeb campaign like no one else in the field, he heightens the contradictions between the partys centrists and its conservative base. Why continue to paper over them in the name of nominating people like McCain and Romney whom no ones real thrilled with? Lets get this out in the open.
Looks like straw.
To take the issue off the table, see?
Reading between the lines: Bush is waiting to see what SCOTUS
does before he comes out.
...should the Supreme Court make it the law of the land in June, which they, you know, probably will.
So not a "moderate" Republican but a liberal one. Ah, whatever, that's fine. I suppose I should credit him, at least, for being somewhat honest about it.
Well, if the party is craving a liberal candidate, he would be a decent choice.
I'm not craving that but I'm sure the various Wall Streeters -- again, let me note they all live in New York City and that one's politics are substantially formed by the culture one lives in -- are all for a Republican Party which is liberal in every single way except corporate tax rates and top personal marginal rates.
Bush is a closet Democrat - only now coming out...
Someone needs to mass market barf bags. I do not care what Jeb evolves into. He is already a progressive. If the GOP thinks they are going to fool us, they are in for a SURPRISE.
Jeb should just declare as Hilary’s running mate. I’d be a better fit.
The Shrub clan has always been “conservative {uhhhhh} but progrethive”.
F’em, and the RINO-draw logcabin jackwagon they Rhode in on.
I just watched the lying SOB fatter version of GW Bush being questioned by Hannity. He told two lies that no one should forget. First he said he was “pro-life”. No he’s not. He believes in murdering the baby if he doesn’t like who the father is, as in rape and incest. He claims he’s a Catholic but goes directly against the doctrine of the Catholic Church with his selective abortion views. He also said he is for “traditional marriage”. Another lie. If this democrat wannabe manages to buy the GOP nomination he will immediately say he has “evolved” on the issue, once again going against the Catholic Church.
The fatter Bush is a disaster as a republican and if the GOP wants to see another RINO lose to a democrat, then nominate the bloated looking, grinning closeted-democrat. He also allowed the state of Florida to murder Teri Schievo. He could have stepped in and stopped the murder, but he did nothing. And as far as the border go, like his brother, he would love to see them torn down and the USA and Mexico become one big country.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.