Posted on 03/31/2014 7:48:40 AM PDT by xzins
Saturday’s Washington Post gave prominent placement to an article headlined “Influential Republicans working to draft Jeb Bush into 2016 presidential race” that detailed the establishment GOP’s desperate attempt to recruit the former Governor of Florida to run for president.
The article by Philip Rucker and Robert Costa claims that “Concerned that the George Washington Bridge traffic scandal has damaged New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s political standing and alarmed by the steady rise of Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.), prominent donors, conservative leaders and longtime operatives say they consider Bush the GOP’s brightest hope to win back the White House.”
Rucker and Costa then proceed to list exactly zero “conservative leaders” who are actively recruiting Bush to run for President.
They did, however, provide a long list of progressive Republican billionaires and establishment Republican supporters of Mitt Romney, and his disastrous failure in the 2012 presidential campaign, whose views of Jeb Bush were well stated by former Secretary of State and progressive Republican foreign policy guru Henry Kissinger: “He is someone who is experienced, moderate and thoughtful.”
The Washington Post writers then gave some examples of Bush’s recent political activity (remember he left office in 2006) that should give real pause to any conservative activist or Tea Party movement supporter who might be thinking that Bush wouldn’t be too bad.
Bush campaigned for Obama’s go-to Republican Senator, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, against State Rep. Joe Carr, the consensus Senate candidate of the state's Tea Party and limited government constitutional conservatives.
Last spring, Bush hosted a dozen high-profile conservatives, including writers for the Wall Street Journal’s editorial page, at a dinner at Washington’s Willard InterContinental Hotel, where he defended Common Core.
During the fight to defund Obamacare Bush called Senator Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire to commend her for opposing the conservatives whose fight to cut spending and defund Obamacare led to the federal government shutdown.
In other words, openly opposing the views of the grassroots conservative activist base of the Republican Party is what Rucker and Costa call “small steps to assert his conservative bona fides.”
Some may be inclined to chalk-up The Washington Post article as another example of the media not knowing anything about conservatives and the conservative movement and thus making the erroneous assumption that all Republicans, including Jeb Bush, are “conservative.”
But we don’t see it that way.
What we see is a steady and well-orchestrated effort to redefine “conservatism” to the left, and thus marginalize as “radical” or “unelectable” any candidate or elected official who subscribes to limited government constitutional conservative principles.
This can only help establishment Republican candidates like Chris Christie and Jeb Bush assert their conservative bona fides.
The Washington Post article was also really quite revealing in defining the civil war in the Republican Party by who it did and didn’t quote.
On one side were the “quote-ees;” the establishment Republican players, billionaire Romney “bundlers,” former ambassadors appointed by Jeb Bush’s father and brother and the prospective ambassadors to be appointed by Jeb if he gains the presidency.
On the other side were the “not-quoted;” the TEA Party activists, conservative movement leaders, limited government advocates and opponents of the surveillance state – including a good chunk of Silicon Valley – who have already seen what two Bush presidencies look like and want no part of another.
As CHQ Chairman Richard A. Viguerie observed in his new book TAKEOVER, due out on April 8, “No matter who else gets in the Republican presidential primaries, Jeb Bush will remain the ‘great white hope’ of the Republican establishment. In addition to supporting all of their major policy goals from Common Core to amnesty for illegal aliens, a Bush candidacy also holds out the hope of millions of dollars in consulting business and lucrative lobbying contracts for a small but powerful coterie of Bush family supporters and acolytes.
No one else in America, save Hillary Clinton, starts the 2016 political season with a larger Rolodex of Washington insider supporters than does Jeb Bush. A Jeb Bush election as president would ensure that the Republican establishment stays in power for at least another decade, and it would also ensure that, no matter if Jeb or the Democrat wins, Big Government will prevail.”
Click the link to read “Influential Republicans working to draft Jeb Bush into 2016 presidential race” by Philip Rucker and Robert Costa from Saturday’s Washington Post.
No conservative candidate to vote for, or the GOP doesn’t get my vote.
It’s that simple this time around.
Conservative equals: pro-life/God social, small government economic, strong posture foreign relations/defense.
You missing one of the legs, then you ain’t conservative. The can run an atheist, small government, pro-defense pseudo-conservative, but I’m not voting for him/her.
The likely female will be Martinez, imho.
I agree that his name is ruined beyond repair. They can do damage control, but then the democrats will simply tear that down quickly once they start advertising.
Yea....thats what I said about McPain..!
TX has already launched the new Bush dynasty in George P. People are too uninformed to know better.
Not “one or two”, only one, as a plurality will win it all.
Taft did it in Ohio. For generations now his spawn keep creeping into high political office. Fortunately, none have ascended to the presidency.
In America, “name” is its own type of aristocracy. Money is another.
I want no more Bush’s playing games with the Founders intent for the USA. This family along with stepson Bill Clinton apparently think/believe they are royalty. I will not give my WWII service nor my brother’s death in that war away to such government predators who have not used the chance Reagan offered to keep the USA for true and patriotic citizens.
Yes. It seems designed to fail. They can’t be THAT stupid.
Jeb Bush is running to the left of McCain.
The establishment pick will be Christie, Jindal or Walker.
Thud-bump. It will be the penultimate act of betrayal and force, if the GOP-E manage to thrust Jeb Bush on an unwilling party faithful, something they have done at least 13 times since 1892.
Time to snap their string. Time for conservative voters to find someone else to rally behind, instead of the kept seraglio of Sheldon Adelson and other rich RiNO's.
More like, the People know better, but it happens anyway.
That’s his just killed Terri Schiavo face while pretending that he was on his way to save her while she was still breathing. Weak governor caved to elite pressure - too weak to pardon an innocent Florida woman. He deferred to the now.
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.