Jeb Bush: Republican Candidates "appealing to people's fears"

Darn, a Republican sounding... (0.00 / 0)

semi-reasonable...what's up with that? This should be front page news in all world newspapers...I'm in shock...

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by: wmchase65 @ Fri Feb 24, 2012 at 13:57:39 PM UTC

On Fox News? (0.00 / 0)

Is this the beginning of an Establishment move to push Jeb into the limelight and ultimately give him the nomination, despite his last name?

For some time it has seemed to me that Jeb might show up this selection cycle, rather than wait. While he sounds like a breath of faint sanity (by comparison with the rest of the herd), he is actually a raging conservative and would not be much of an improvement---- just that he plays the moderate game better than, say Gingrich.... until he is in office, and then he's charter school, anti-union, etc. He has an Hispanic wife, and speaks Spanish, also, and that might strike The Establishment as a good way to go after the Latino  vote (after the rest of the herd has done nothing but attack Latinos).

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by: Teddy Goodson @ Fri Feb 24, 2012 at 14:46:33 PM UTC

Jeb won't be a savior for this crowd (0.00 / 0)

The reason why the GOP candidates who are still in the mix are either, in the cases of Paul and Santorum, actual right wing extremists, or in the cases of Gingrich and Romney, shameless political opportunists with an exceptional skill level of pandering to anyone without any shame so they can don the ephemera of right wing extremism, is because a sizeable portion of the GOP electorate reflects these beliefs.

If Bush were actually in the race, he would either be tripping over himself on a dash from his current views to the extreme right wing of the party, or he would have long ago been voted off the island. Sheesh, the mere fact that his ideas on  immigration don't stem from Latino xenophobia would disqualify him in the eyes of a significant portion, if not a majority, of GOP voters.

Add to that the fact that the GOP primary has turned into a campaign against not only Obama, but also George W. Bush -- consider the last debate's discussion of NCLB, TARP bailouts, Medicare Part D and Specter's election, among other issues ... well, you get the idea. I just don't see Jeb slamming his brother's legacy like this.

I don't know how all this will play out in the long term. Clearly, we are in the throes of a longer term realignment of the GOP, one that I would date back to 1988, in which the traditional coalition of the Wall Street/economically conservative/socially liberal wing and the cultural/Evangelical conservatives is beginning to fray.

It doesn't mean there are no GOP Presidential victories in the future -- there will be, as it is a process that can take a while to play out. Candidates may emerge that will temporarily be able to bridge the divide, (Christie, maybe, Rubio, Rand Paul), or Democrats could nominate awful candidates like Dukakis or Mondale, or, possibly, circumstances could occasionally develop that will make the GOP's brand of crackpot right wing extremism temporarily appealing to the electorate.

More significantly, because of how the Congress is structured, right wing extremism will play a more significant role in the legislative branch for the foreseeable future.  But that's for another discussion.

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by: aznew @ Fri Feb 24, 2012 at 14:54:59 PM UTC

Another McDonnell in Sheep's Clothing (0.00 / 0)

My hunch is that the Jebster is pretending to sound moderate in order to appeal to a broader audience. However, I also think that he's just emulating our own Bob McDonnnell - pretending to be reasonable and logical, but just waiting for the opportunity to regress and lurch to the right.  

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by: greenmoon @ Fri Feb 24, 2012 at 15:23:34 PM UTC

Don't most of them (0.00 / 0)

hide their true intentions long enough to get elected?  Isn't that what's happened in Virginia?  They got elected by saying they wanted to go to Richmond to improve the economy and create jobs, but after being elected they have done nothing to do either.  They used the same playbook Republicans used in the 2010 Congressional elections:  lie to get elected, then when elected do nothing but attack women's rights, gay and lesbian rights, environmental issues...shall I go on?

When will the Republican rank and file realize what their candidates are truly about?   How long will they vote against their own self-interests?  

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by: pontoon @ Fri Feb 24, 2012 at 16:02:23 PM UTC

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NJ Example (0.00 / 0)

NJ governor Christie did a good job prosecuting political corruption as a federal attorney but as soon as he was elected he made an abrupt right turn and became a GOP darling. I would expect the same from Jeb.  

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by: glennbear @ Fri Feb 24, 2012 at 19:42:16 PM UTC

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Jeb (0.00 / 0)

Was always the better politician than his brother, he just lived in the wrong state.  Too bad he has a toxic last name.  I'm not sure he could run in 2016, even though out of the choices (assuming that nominee will be someone we know now, which, given that this is the Republican party, is pretty likely, since even for Dems it's fairly rare...) he is among the most Reasonable.  A Republican, yes, but reasonable within that framework.

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by: GretchenLaskas @ Fri Feb 24, 2012 at 15:54:38 PM UTC

the most entitled man in America? (0.00 / 0)

I know Jeb personally from the time I had a scholarship job at Andover, checking the 9th graders into breakfast. He was always one of the last ones to check in--just another sign of his indeliable sense of entitlement. Without his name and family fortune he'd be a nameless third rate real estate agent. The notion that he's capable of mature rational leadership, especially in the international arena, is bizarre. The fact is he speaks in run-on sentences, which is a good measure of how he thinks, not.

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by: Shenandoah Democrat @ Fri Feb 24, 2012 at 16:22:12 PM UTC

And yet, as limited as Jeb Bush is, he towers above (0.00 / 0)

the current crop of mental midgets and freaks running for the Republican presidential nomination. What does that say about today's GOP?

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by: lowkell @ Fri Feb 24, 2012 at 16:56:00 PM UTC

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Erasmus Rules (0.00 / 0)

What does that say about today's GOP? It says, "in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king".

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by: Peter Rousselot @ Fri Feb 24, 2012 at 19:37:42 PM UTC

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Can't claim to know him (0.00 / 0)

But I personally would hate to be seen only through the lens of who I was as a high school freshman.  

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by: GretchenLaskas @ Fri Feb 24, 2012 at 19:41:13 PM UTC

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Pushes Internet "Schools" (0.00 / 0)

Jeb is deep into the virtual schools industry, in many cases a scam if not carefully regulated. George H.W. Bush supposedly thought Jeb was the one who would become president some day, but George W beat him to it. 2016 may not be long enough for people to forget the Bush legacy his older brother left him.

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by: Elaine in Roanoke @ Fri Feb 24, 2012 at 21:07:20 PM UTC

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So We Hope (0.00 / 0)

If he is in the running it is up to us normal folks to remind the electorate of the Bush legacy just as we remind folks now about Gingrich's previous lunacy.  

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by: glennbear @ Sun Feb 26, 2012 at 17:26:14 PM UTC

[ Parent ]