Posted on 02/14/2009 4:43:12 AM PST by Jim Noble
His grandfather Prescott Bush was a U.S. senator, and his father and brother were presidents. Yet Jeb Bush doesn't believe in political dynasties, and seems perfectly willing to let his family's legacy of serving in high office in Washington pass him by.
But Mr. Bush becomes animated when talking about ideas and policy innovations -- he's an unorthodox Republican who latches onto reform ideas wherever he finds them. He's a fan of the school system in Sweden (more on this below)....
"Beyond the ideas and all of that," Mr. Bush says the GOP must be a national party. That means "we need to be competitive in California,"...
Republicans must also clean up their act on immigration, Mr. Bush insists. Last year, he says they "set a tone" that pushed Hispanic voters away. "The tone of the debate reached a point that was very damning to the Republican Party, and the evidence is in. The chest pounders lost."....
Mr. Bush supports immigration reform as championed by his brother and John McCain, which would allow illegals already in this country to stay. "Politics has to be about ideas and values and aspirations." he says. "It shouldn't be about anger and preying on people's emotions. You can't lead a mob."...
Mr. Bush has kind words for Mr. Obama. He was the first Democrat to win Florida since 1976, and Mr. Bush has nothing but praise for his "spectacularly well-run campaign....
Mr. Bush has a personal motive for urging Republicans to "avoid personal, partisan attacks" on Mr. Obama, a strategy they've largely followed in Washington. "I would never want Obama to go through what my brother went through.... But it's not right for our country, it's not going to help us, and it's not going to help Republicans."
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
The Goldwater agenda never had a majority in the country.
Republicans won because of Democrat mistakes.
And in recent years the Republicans have been in charge and making the mistakes -- or at least having to take responsibility for them.
That's not to say that the country is Democrat at heart.
I'd still say America is a Republican, center-right country.
It's just that some conservatives forget about the "center" part.
Bump that!
That’s right, blame the candidates, like a helpless, hapless, hopeless waif.
That is precisely why Republicans are down to 26%... Reagan Conservatism is the only basis for any of your wins... You reject the only ground you have to stand upon. The Republican party is toast.
So Jeb Bush equates opposition to illegal immigration with “anger and preying on emotions”. He can go to hell.
Because McCain't ain't a Conservative.
That isn't quite weak enough. Could you wussify it a little more, please?
Screw them. GW got us into the mess that got Obama elected. We don’t need another bush. we don’t need the republican party.
Did GWB run as a Reagan Conservative?
Y'all don't spend much time over on the religion board, do you? The division between Catholic and Evangelical is very deep and very wide.
However, the difference between Liberal factions and their Conservative counterparts are wider still by an order of magnitude.
I believe my Catholic brethren and I will stand together on nearly every point of the Social Conservative agenda, despite our differences, as will our Hebrew brethren.
This is not about Evangelicals- This is about Social Conservatism vs. Social Liberalism... And if you think for one minute that you can throw the (Judeo-)Christian Right under the bus, I think you will find yourself without a party to worry about by next election.
And even worse than that, his tone wasn't right.
*shrugs* Where else does the blame lie? It is not my job to vote for what I don't want. The candidate must appeal to me and win my vote.
If my choice is between a puke sandwich and a crap burger, is it any wonder that I would wander off to find something more palatable? If you want more customers in the Republican restaurant, screaming threats at them as they walk out the door is not going make them come back, you know. The thing you need to do is look at what is on the menu. That's where the problem lies.
The key is to build a coalition that takes into account the concerns of Calvinist/evangelical/Pentecostal voters, while not driving away those of other religious traditions, or the seculars/holiday Christians for that matter.
You mean like "ROT IN HELL RINO POS TRAITOR"?
Again, McCain did well among areas that constitute what can be called the conservative heartland. Can you tell me a region of the country dominated by Catholics or Scandanavian Lutherans that traditionally supports conservative candidates at this point in time? Don't get me started on how we are losing suburbanites outside of the South (although said people should come back after the messiah blows it).
Minnie Pearl, uh, Sarah Palin will do well in the Scots-Irish belt, but get killed everywhere else, unless she starts retool her image and focus on concerns on people outside Applachia, the rural, interior west, and the South.
For the most part, yes. It is fair to say that he ran far to the right of his real position, and came back to the left after he was in office. He was honest about his position too, but he used slogans which were yet to be defined- "kinder, gentler"... "New World Order"... By the time people figured out what the hell he was talking about, he was on pretty shaky ground.
Oh, and how about the brilliance and propriety of screaming for someone to get the hell out because he has the wrong last name?
Ya, that's Reaganesque!
BTW: I really wish that I agree with you, but we are no longer in Ronald Reagan’s American (or FDR’s America for that matter). The issues of bussing/neighborhood integration/crime that drove the white Democrats to vote for Nixon and Reagan are gone, and their kids either went to college (and to better neighborhoods and careers) or simply moved left on cultural issues. The world of 2008 is WAY different from 1980 in many ways, even if one looks only at the northeast.
trying to pick fights for no apparent reason?
THAT is wussy.
Here we go again, more “New Tone” and “reaching out” crapola. Hey Jeb - remember the landslides of 1980, 1984, and 1994? Did we win by compromising?
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