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Letter thanking Texans and putting Biden on notice

A prominent Washington lobbyist close to Kevin McCarthy, the House minority leader, is warning Republican political consultants that they must choose between working for Representative Liz Cheney or Mr. McCarthy, an ultimatum that marks the full rupture between the two House Republicans. Jeff Miller, the lobbyist and a confidant of Mr. McCarthy’s dating to their youthful days in California politics, has conveyed this us-or-her message to Republican strategists in recent weeks, prompting one fund-raising firm to disassociate itself from Ms. Cheney, a Republican from Wyoming. In response, The Morning Group, a fund-raising firm she hired to help prepare for a...

Donald Trump has re-established his commanding lead of the Republican presidential race in a new Washington Post/ABC News poll. If anything, the poll shows that Trump's surge seems to be strong and possibly getting stronger. As the Post points out, the poll comes after a "tumultuous period that has included terrorist attacks in Paris, calls for stepped-up efforts to combat Islamic State militants, a backlash against accepting refugees from Syria, and two Republican debates..." Trump's sizable lead puts him ahead of the popular but controversial Ben Carson. Trump leads the field with 32 percent support among registered Republicans and Republican-leaning...

Swing and a miss. It was the story of the night, the story of the debate, and it might soon be the story of Jeb Bush's campaign. His timing was logical and yet inopportune; CNBC's Carl Quintanilla had been quizzing Rubio about his mounting number of missed Senate votes, which prompted a Florida newspaper to call for his resignation. Rubio responded forcefully by decrying the newspaper's "double standard" of endorsing Democratic candidates who had similarly missed votes. The audience rallied behind Rubio, roaring with approval - and just then, Bush decided to jump in. "Marco, when you signed up for...

Whatever Nicolle Wallace had for breakfast this morning, Jeb should down a double order . . . On today's Morning Joe, former Bush communications chief Wallace slammed a Politico story in which former McCain staffers rejected parallels between Jeb's campaign and that of McCain, who came back from the political wilderness to win the nomination in 2008. Wallace repeatedly pointed out that the sources for the story were McCain staffers now working for other candidates in the current GOP race. Such folks would obviously have a vested interest in scotching the notion of a Jeb comeback. View the video here.

Jeb Bush is being outspent in the crucial early presidential caucus and primary states, while Donald Trump has quietly been building a competitive, ground-level campaign operation. With the first Iowa caucus votes less than 100 days away, the Globe examined what Republican campaigns are doing to build the on-the-ground networks required to get supporters to the polls during the cold of winter. The review analyzed state-by-state spending since each of the candidates jumped into the race. It shows that Bush has spent less money in the first four states — Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada — than some...

In the wake of widespread campaign cuts and tumbling poll numbers, Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush is attempting to take control of his own narrative, quite literally, by releasing it online. His e-book, Reply All, a tome of his email from two terms as governor of Florida, will be released next Monday. The same week, Bush will also try to bolster a faltering campaign by launching a “Jeb Can Fix It” tour — all an effort to focus on his record as governor, an overarching principle of his campaign. The tour begins in Tampa, Florida, next Monday with remarks from...

What happened to that self-proclaimed "joyful tortoise"? At a Saturday town hall event in South Carolina, Jeb Bush was sure sounding frustrated with the current state of the GOP race for the nomination. "If this election is about how we're going to fight to get nothing done, then ... I don't want any part of it," he said. "I don't want to be elected president to sit around and see gridlock just become so dominant that people literally are in decline in their lives. That is not my motivation." He dismissed the suggestion that the recent financial cutbacks at his...

Donald Trump on Monday mocked former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush for having to consult his parents over the weekend about his floundering presidential run. "Bush is out there, his campaign is a disaster," Trump told a morning crowd in Atkinson, N.H. "That's because I came along! I'm proud of it." Trump also hit Bush for cutting the salaries of his campaign staff. "So he's meeting now with mom and dad," he said. "No it's true, he needs counsel." "He was very angry over the week. He said, 'if this is going to be this nasty, let them have Trump as...

This weekend illustrates why Trump (or somebody like him) could be president. The second rule of pres­id­en­tial polit­ics is nev­er tell voters you’ve got something bet­ter to do. Jeb Bush on Sat­urday: “I’ve got a lot of really cool things I could do oth­er than sit around, be­ing miser­able, listen­ing to people de­mon­ize me and me feel­ing com­pelled to de­mon­ize them.” The third rule of pres­id­en­tial polit­ics is nev­er tell voters to vote for some­body else. Jeb Bush: “That is a joke. Elect Trump if you want that.” The fourth rule of pres­id­en­tial polit­ics is polit­ics today sucks. Deal with...

Jeb Bush did his best to reassure his wealthiest donors over a Texas barbecue on Sunday, telling them that his Republican presidential campaign is trimming its costs and correcting itself like any business. -snip- And while some pundits are already writing off Jeb Bush's chances of winning the Republican nomination, a number of major donors and Bush operatives interviewed by The Hill said they were confident he could turn the polls around by the time votes are cast in primaries next February and March. A number of these donors and operatives say they have faith that the pro-Bush super-PAC Right...

This closed-door summit for Jeb Bush’s richest donors was meant to be a pep rally, a reunion for loyalists eager to celebrate the family legacy with two former presidents. But as George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush draw supporters together under gray skies and unrelenting rains, the gathering has become a rescue operation for a candidate who looks unable to meet the expectations of the family brand. “The patient is either in intensive care and in need of some good doctors who can save him or being put into hospice and we’re going to see a slow death," said...

Jeb Bush and his family 'are set to attend meeting that will consider the Republican 2016 hopeful's finances and his candidacy'. Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush will reportedly be in Houston, Texas, for a finances meeting. CBS News reported that Bush, along with his brother and both of his parents, are going to be at the Sunday and Monday meeting. The website reported it is 'designed to assess where Bush's candidacy stands in the face of large-scale staff cutbacks and underwhelming poll numbers.'

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush shouldn't be running the country if he can't even run his own campaign. Trump was in Jacksonville on Saturday, the day after the Bush campaign announced staff trims and 40 per cent pay cuts for those who remain. He said Bush, the son and brother of former presidents, is embarrassing his family. -snip- Trump also made fun of Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, saying he's out of money and "sweating like a dog."

A day after his campaign slashed staff and salaries to retrench ahead of the Iowa caucuses, Jeb Bush decried the toxic tone of the presidential race and suggesting that “demonizing” people isn’t what he signed up for in this campaign. Mr. Bush made the remarks at a town hall in South Carolina, where, according to a report by CNN, he seemed fired up about taking on the person who has overshadowed him during the campaign, Donald J. Trump, who is leading most Republican polls so far. “If this election is about how we’re going to fight to get nothing done,”...

Longtime political strategist Karl Rove is warning Republicans not to nominate a presidential candidate that reflects the same "populist anger" that gave birth to the rise of Donald Trump. In his latest op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Rove explained the GOP will have two choices when delegates gather in Cleveland, Ohio, next July to determine which remaining Republican hopeful they wish to see challenge Democrats in the general election. "Will the party choose a nominee with a conservative agenda or one reflecting populist anger?" Rove wrote. "The two are hardly the same," he noted. "Conservative principles provide a winning...

EXCERPT "Like many in New Hampshire, Lauren is a student at St. Anselm's who is passionate about and active in politics and attended this event on her own accord," Bush spokeswoman Allie Bradenburger said. "While this question was not sanctioned by the campaign, we can't help but notice Mr. Trump does seem to be very sensitive about being challenged by women." Bush's campaign confirmed to CNN that Batchelder has volunteered at events for the candidate but has never been paid as staff.

Sad Little !Jeb Plane: Bush Super Pac Attempts To Troll Trump, Gives Former Governor A Black Man’s Hand In Mailer. A Super PAC backing former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush for president with more than $100 million is officially embarrassing itself. Just one day after the Bush Super PAC Right to Rise USA flew a tiny plane with a banner attached to the end of it over 2016 GOP frontrunner Donald Trump’s Mobile, Alabama rally, the geniuses backing yet another Bush for president appear to have photoshopped a black man’s hand onto the former Florida governor. -snip- “Moments before Trump was...

The powerfully funded super PAC backing Republican Jeb Bush will spend at least $10 million on television time in the earliest voting presidential primary states, the first salvo in a massive TV ad campaign to support the former Florida governor's bid for the Republican nomination. Officials with Right to Rise USA say they will buy time in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina TV markets and on cable television in the three states. Ads are scheduled to begin in Iowa and New Hampshire on Sept. 15, in South Carolina a week later and then run continuously through the end of...

A massive unforced error committed by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush Tuesday has not only allowed Hillary Clinton and her media (especially CNN) to go on the offense over the Planned Parenthood issue, it has created a video clip that will haunt Bush and the GOP for as long as Bush is in the presidential race. During a relaxed forum where Bush was under no pressure and had plenty of time to expand on anything he wanted to discuss, he said, “I’m not sure we need a half-billion dollars for women’s health issues.” Full quote below. “You could take dollar...