Jeb Bush, GOP: Time to leave Reagan behind

washingtontimes ^ | Sunday, May 3, 2009 | Joseph Curl

[VU4G10]

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said Saturday that it's time for the Republican Party to give up its "nostalgia" for the heyday of the Reagan era and look forward, even if it means stealing the winning strategy deployed by Democrats in the 2008 election.

"You can't beat something with nothing, and the other side has something. I don't like it, but they have it, and we have to be respectful and mindful of that," Mr. Bush said.

The former president's brother, often mentioned as a potential candidate in 2012, said President Obama's message of hope and change during the 2008 campaign clearly resonated with Americans.

"So our ideas need to be forward looking and relevant. I felt like there was a lot of nostalgia and the good old days in the [Republican] messaging. I mean, it's great, but it doesn't draw people toward your cause," Mr. Bush said.

[trisham]

So our ideas need to be forward looking and relevant.

*******************

Sounds a lot like "progressive" to me.

[bestintxas]

I wil never support another Bush as President. They ahve fooled us twice now and there must be a certain type of tea they are drinking that keeps them from being true conservatives.

I just do not care if Jeb is the best of the bunch or if he is the most conservative.

The SMS will promote him just like old McCain as they know he is not a conservative.

Dump him and get someone who actually believes in liberty and conservatism.

[farmer18th]

Romney doesn’t do his cause much good by appearing on stage with a Bush either.

[luvie]

Well....scratch Jeb off my list of “maybe’s”.

I am ready for something called the Conservative Party.

Clarify things!

[Sudetenland]

Your blind if you are incapable of seeing the truth in what he is saying. Almost half of the electorate was not even alive or at least politically aware when Reagan was president. Talking of the Reagan years says nothing to them...especially after they have spent 12 years in school being told how wrong Reagan was.

We need the same ideals and ideas but we need a new way to present them. Living in the past is pointless and will only lead to more Obamas.

[farmer18th]

And you’re blind if you think Americans don’t understand history. Reagan himself, (much to my disapproval), talked about FDR to people who had never experienced the 1930s. Politics doesn’t take place in a vacuum. It takes place in the context of history—and that history needs to be made new every day, but Jeb Bush is the last person in the world to be talking about progressive forward-looking ideas. When a member of the Bush family does that, you should put a hand over your wallet.

[tanknetter]

we are now replacing a leftist member of the SCOTUS who GOT THERE by a member of the Bush family itself. I’m telling you we need some anti-Bush itch ointment in the Republican party.

With all due respect, the two Bush's gave us Souter, Thomas, Roberts and Alito (with Roberts as Chief Justice), so three solid Conservatives for one Liberal. Reagan gave us O'Connor, Scalia and Kennedy (with Rehnquist as Chief Justice), so one solid Conservative for two Moderates. 75% of the Conservatives on the current SCOTUS were appointed by Bushes.

I'm not going to stand here as a staunch defender of GHWB and GWB, they both had serious issues when it came to standing by, and standing up for, Conservative principles. But their appointments to the Court shouldn't be seen as one of those areas. They did well, especially considering that Souter basically lied to Sinunnu (a very old friend of his) and GHWB in order to land his seat.

I'm also no promoter of political dynasties. But I think there's too much knee-jerk reaction about the Bushes. They aren't the Kennedys, who are basically ideological clones. GHWB was substantially different than his father, and based on what I've seen Jeb is substantially different (in a better way, from a Conservative perspective) from either of them. As much as we should be skeptical of political dynasties, I don't believe that concerns about dynasty alone should be a show-stopper for the advancement of someone who is a solid leader and Conservative. At this point (and I have no problem being shown as wrong on this) I think Jeb fits that bill, His last name and family relationships shouldn't entitle him to advancement, but they shouldn't prohibit it either.

[HighlyOpinionated]

The GOP needs to repackage Reagan’s Conservative Principles in a New Wrapper.

And the prettiest wrapper who already has that same Reagan Spirit is, of course, Governor Sarah Palin. I can’t imagine more of an excited electorate if the GOP nominees were Sarah Palin and Michele Bachman.

[farmer18th]

Bush Senior called Reagan’s economic ideas—remember the ones that reduced income taxes from 70 to 28% ??—”Vodoo Economics.” Bush senior tore up his NRA card, when the NRA called Reno’s jack-booted thugs, “jack booted thugs.” Bush Jr. sent American boys to die for an Iraqi Constitution that indicated nothing in Iraqi law could contradict Islam. Bush Jr. spent us into the current semi-Depression. When you look at those realities, against the Souther fiasco, you realize that the family is one of two things: lazy or evil. I don’t base my antipathy towards the Bush family simply on the Souter mistake. There’s a lot of pure idiocy in that pack to pick from. Any future strategy for the Republican party has to include a willingness to repudiate the progeny of the old Nazi trader—Prescott Bush.

They are demon seed.

[Reagan Man]

If the GOP wants to be a successful political party once again, it needs to return to the Reagan era policy agenda.

Leaving behind ALL the Bush’s is sound advice for conservatives.

[Long Island Pete]

The former president's brother, often mentioned as a potential candidate in 2012

By who and why?

[ameribbean expat]

Jeb Bush is up to his *cullo* in this mortgage/banking crisis. He is unfit for further public service.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aj3K4H7aXnBM&refer=exclusive

http://www.forbes.com/2007/11/30/florida-bush-lehman-biz-beltway-cx_mb_1130florida.html

[LowTaxesEqualProsperity]

No more Bushes, please, not now, not ever.

[prairiebreeze]

This is precisely the sort of foolish thinking that will ensure the GOP remains out of power.

Idiot.

[rwfromkansas]

Again, here are some facts.

He is only saying we need some new ideas considering it is almost 30 years after 1980. He is not saying toss conservative ideals, but stop looking back at the glory days. Find what we need to do today.

If you actually read his comments AND NOT THE INTERPRETATION provided by the Times reporter, I don’t see how any sane person could disagree with Jeb here.

[servantboy777]

Man oh man, look at all the RINOs popping their lil heads up lately.

So, how’z that republican party thing goin y'all?

I'm sayin, if we keep fishin from the same ol pond, were gonna keep catchin the same ol big mouth bass.

Time for a conservative party.

[wbill]

Another important part was that he didn’t fight a meaningful fight. Chance after chance to strip Obama’s flim flams bare were simply wasted.

My completely unsolicited $0.02? McCain had his golden opportunity and blew it.

During all of the flap over gov't bailouts....rather than parroting the party line, if he had said "Look, I've (talked to my constituents / examined the bill / whatever excuse is convenient) and I can't - in good conscience - vote for the bailouts."

Instantly differentiates him from BO, and pulls the conservatives home. IMHO, it turns an Obama victory into a close contest.

For what it's worth, though, I think that we might be better off without him. McCain get elected, there's no tea parties. There's no conservative blowback. AND, we'd just wind up with roughly the same crap being shoveled at us. For instance, instead of BO passing a 800 billion dollar bailout bill a couple of months ago.....the Dems would have started at 1.2 trillion. Then there would have been "negotiations", the bill would have gotten trimmed down to "only 750 Billion" and McCain would have signed it. People here on FR would be saying "WOW! Be glad there's a Republican in the White House or things would be REALLY bad!" ....and we'd be in roughly the same boat as we are now, minus the conservative public activism.

[frogjerk]

More RINO bullcrap. They just don’t get it. It’s not about Reagan himself but about the ideas and basic tenets of conservatism he believed in that he received from the Founding Fathers and other great thinkers and doers.

[rwfromkansas]

Wow, a Freeper who can actually read.

This place is getting sad, and tanknetter is one of the few who understand what Jeb is doing....he isn’t abandoning Reagan or conservatism. He is saying a more hopeful message like Reagan did himself as opposed to all negative would get us more results.

[rwfromkansas]

Wow, a Freeper who can actually read.

This place is getting sad, and tanknetter is one of the few who understand what Jeb is doing....he isn’t abandoning Reagan or conservatism. He is saying a more hopeful message like Reagan did himself as opposed to all negative would get us more results.