Posted on 03/01/2015 7:02:53 PM PST by lasereye
McKay Coppins of BuzzFeed has written a devastating exposé of the brain trust Jeb Bush has gathered around himself in his campaign for the GOP nomination.
In a word, if personnel is policy, Jeb is telling the pro-family community to drop dead.
Coppins points out that virtually every key slot on Bush’s campaign team - campaign manager, chief strategist, communications director, adviser - has been filled by an ardent proponent of sodomy-based marriage and special rights based entirely on aberrant sexual behavior.
When Bush officially launches his presidential bid later this year, he will likely do so with a campaign manager who has urged the Republican Party to adopt a pro-gay agenda; a chief strategist who signed a Supreme Court amicus brief arguing for marriage equality in California; a longtime adviser who once encouraged her minister to stick to his guns in preaching equality for same-sex couples; and a communications director who is openly gay.
To an extent that would have been unthinkable in past elections, one of the leading candidates for the Republican presidential nomination has stocked his inner circle with advisers who are vocal proponents of gay rights. And while the Bush camp says his platform will not be shaped by his lieutenants’ personal beliefs, many in the monied, moderate, corporate wing of the GOP — including pragmatic donors, secular politicos, and other members of the establishment — are cheering the early hires as a sign that Bush will position himself as the gay-friendly Republican in the 2016 field.
In addition to Kochel, who is expected to run the national campaign, Bush has hired Tim Miller, a star communications and research operative who is gay; longtime aide Sally Bradshaw, whose support for her pro-gay preacher recently showed up in a New York Times profile ; and Mike Murphy, the veteran GOP consultant who joined other prominent Republicans in signing a 2013 brief calling on the Supreme Court to overturn California’s same-sex marriage ban, Proposition 8. What makes this band of operatives unique is not just that they support gay rights, but that many have made it their mission in the past to bring the party along with them.
With his team in place, Bush has attracted a wave of early support from many of the party’s most prominent gay rights advocates. Ken Mehlman, the former Republican National Committee chair who authored the Prop. 8 brief, has reportedly been introducing Bush to donors. At least a dozen of the brief’s 80 signatories have either endorsed him, donated to him, or gone to work for him. Tom Ridge, the former Homeland Security secretary who regularly preaches LGBT inclusion to his fellow Republicans, has declared himself an enthusiastic Bush-backer.
Twice in this piece the dreaded “e” word is used. Bush is said to have “evolved” on the issue in just way President Obama did - just in time to pander to misguided voters and donors with deep pockets.
Jeb himself correctly wrote in 1994,”[Should] sodomy be elevated to the same constitutional status as race and religion? My answer is No.”
Of course it is impossible for the definition of marriage or the immorality of sodomy to “evolve.” Marriage has not evolved any more than the universe or life itself. It’s definition has been fixed by God since the dawn of time. It was then, is now, and forever will be the union of one man and one woman. God’s moral opinion of homosexual conduct has never changed and never will. It will be a sexual perversion - that is, a perversion of his design for human sexuality - until the end of time.
For a Republican to mess with that is to mess with God, the original purpose of the Republican Party, and the conservative base.
The GOP was founded for two reasons: to preserve natural marriage, responding to a movement to legalize polygamy, and to fight the institution of slavery. Changing the definition of marriage was, to the Republican forefathers, a “relic of barbarism.” The Republican Party platform was right then and it is right now.
If Bush leads the party away from a robust defense of marriage as God designed it and defined it, the Republican Party will have lost its reason to exist. Social conservatives will abandon the party so fast it’ll make your eyes water.
That sound of thunder you will hear will be created by the feet of pro-family Republicans stampeding for the exits. They will be gone and will never return. The GOP will be spent as a political force. It’ll have its precious big tent with nobody inside.
It’s time for social conservatives to armor up. Jeb Bush has thrown down the gauntlet. If conservatives want to save their party, and more importantly save America, step one is stopping Jeb Bush dead in his tracks.
(Unless otherwise noted, the opinions expressed are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Family Association or American Family Radio.)
Jeb ought to just go ahead and join the Dem Party.
If he’s the guy I’m voting for him. I want the Democratic machine tossed out the window.
However, I do not think he will be the candidate. He did not do well in the PAC.
I’ll say this - Jeb knows where the MONEY is. Real conservatives will never give him a dime, but the Gays will line up to fork over real dough.
Does he stand a chance in an open election? I doubt he’ll clear any primaries. Doesn’t mean he can’t hurt what’s left of the (R) party.
He must really hate Daddy....
I think a good example of that is Perry in 2012. He supported letting illegal alien children get college financial aid in the first debate, and it seemed like that destroyed him in the eyes of conservatives. But he’s solidly conservative, as he has proven repeatedly.
FUJB!!
“No conservatives are lining up behind Scott Walker.”
I would not say that. He took a strong second place at CPAC only beaten by Paul who paid for his voters at CPAC.
“if Jeb is the nominee I have to seriously consider voting 3rd party”
CONSIDER?!
Is there enough separation between Jeb & Hillary to squeeze a razor blade in between them? They are F’n Siamese twins. They would make GREAT running mates!
My bet is that the GOP establishment will win its primary war against the conservative base and nominate Jeb Bush or someone else of that ilk. In the general election conservatives will either skip the top of the ticket, vote 3rd party, or stay home entirely.
But if there is a warp in the time-space continuum and the Democrats nominate James Webb some conservatives will end up voting for him.
A more likely scenario is Obama declaring the 22nd Amendment null and void, running for a 3rd term, and then announcing that he is Emperor for Life.
They will try to drive him into the nomination, and then team him with a conservative to mend fences.
I’m not buying it. They tried it with McCain/Palin and tried it again with Romney. It won’t fly again. Actually, since neither of them were elected, it obviously didn’t work then either.
I will vote for Cruz if I have to write him in.
I swear, its almost as if GOP is trying to break this party. If they run Jeb, they will finally succeed in doing it.
Its a sad thing. At one time I thought Jeb would make a fine president, but he has spent the last decade trying to prove himself unfit for office.
Jeb supporters, you’ve been warned. If you care about anything beyond one man’s ambitions, don’t do it. We aren’t going to follow this time.
I think either candidate will be more than acceptable. What would be unacceptable would be getting hung up on one vs the other. This has to be decided quickly one way or the other. Cruz, Walker, Paul-it’s all good IMO.
I disagree on Baraq.
He’s totally bored with this POTUS thing, it taking up too much of his time.
He’ll collect a billion $$ in POTUS pardon bribes and live like a potentate for 40 yrs.
I've contributed to both Walker & Cruz. I would be happy with either one. Cruz hasn't gotten in yet and is the better debater. Walker has a record second to none. My only concern is conservatives will fight amongst themselves and Bush will get the mushy soccer moms. Hopefully in the next 6 months we arrive at a consensus conservative and everyone rally's to him.
And it’s not just us. Pat Caddell is saying that GOP insiders have no idea of how angry the base is and how much the GOP establishment is despised. His polling shows something he’s never seen before, the real possibility of a major party dissolving like the Whigs did in the 1850s.
I am already not a Republican, and this gives me zero reason to roll out of bed on election day.
No conservatives are lining up behind Scott Walker.
I believe Walker is good for the party. I believe he pulls away from Jeb.
He may help open the door for a real conservative.
OK, no one is perfect on every issue.
But look how he bused in his supporters to CPAC to cheer him.
He is ready to run.
I see your point.
Bush must be eliminated in the primaries.
“He’s totally bored with this POTUS thing, it taking up too much of his time.”
Well that’s why I think Barky will make himself Emperor. This POTUS thing is beneath him.
The irony is that Miers was hugely more qualified than Kagan (who actually has less than 2 years’ experience in private practice) but got dissed purely because she didn’t got to Harvard or Yale law school.
It is a general Judeo-Christian perspective that identifies the best candidates. They can disagree about a doctrine or two but they have the fundamentals straight.
I don’t like the handwaving about legalization of illegals. It ought to be clear that much of what has come here has not permitted itself to be redeemed and few would miss them. It’s not like being in the US automatically turns you into an angel. But virtually nobody has espoused ejecting them all so what is there to work with. People who are willing to reason through situations and be flexible to best advantage are the best candidates, and Walker for one has shown that ability. He saw that the iron was hotter than he figured for right-to-work, and struck even though he was previously diffident about it.
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