Nope, not an April Fool’s Day joke. I double checked.
This is who the corporatists want: another Bush, a “center-rightest” who has drawn praise from his potential opponent, Hillary Clinton, for his support of nationalizing education through Common Core — and who shares many of the beliefs of the left, be it his constant pandering to identity politics groups, his push for amnesty, and his belief that we need a bigger (albeit more efficient government) to solve our problems.
— Most of which are caused by a bigger and ubiquitously unwieldy, inefficient, and corrupt government. WaPo:
Many of the Republican Party’s most powerful insiders and financiers have begun a behind-the-scenes campaign to draft former Florida governor Jeb Bush into the 2016 presidential race, courting him and his intimates and starting talks on fundraising strategy.
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.
Allow me to interject here. There isn’t a single actual conservative leader who would back Bush. What we have instead is this attempt by Rove, et al., to rebrand “center-rightism” as “conservative,” and to marginalize conservatism and constitutionalism as fringe movements. Not gonna happen.
Bush’s advisers insist that he is not actively exploring a candidacy and will not make a decision until at least the end of this year. But over the past few weeks, Bush has traveled the country delivering policy speeches, campaigning for Republicans ahead of the fall midterm elections, honing messages on income inequality and foreign policy, and cultivating ties with wealthy benefactors — all signals that he is considering a run.
Many if not most of 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney’s major donors are reaching out to Bush and his confidants with phone calls, e-mails and invitations to meet, according to interviews with 30 senior Republicans. One bundler estimated that the “vast majority” of Romney’s top 100 donors would back Bush in a competitive nomination fight.
“He’s the most desired candidate out there,” said another bundler, Brian Ballard, who sat on the national finance committees for Romney in 2012 and John McCain in 2008. “Everybody that I know is excited about it.”
And with that glaringly absurd bit of irony, I’ll spare you the rest of the article — although I’m certain that Presidents McCain and Romney would want you to read on.
So. Are you ready for another Bush v Clinton election? I mean, what can be more nostalgic?
Here’s the deal, though. If it happens — and it very well might, although I’d never support either one of these career politicians and ruling class insiders — we should insist that, as part of the bargain, we hit the “reset” button Hillary was always so big on and return spending and debt back to levels identical to the last Bush v Clinton election.
Then I’d be willing to consider it.
Man. Is this country screwed or what?
(h/t serr8d)
Here’s a thing about ol Jeb. I was here in Florida when he lorded over the Sunshine State.
He truly *can* cut the size of government. He did a great job at reducing the sheer number of gov’t employees while he was in charge.
He didn’t do a damn thing about getting the gov’t out of our lives. No, they kept getting more & more intrusive, but with a smaller staff.
So he has that going for him.
Honestly, if Jeb or Christie became the nominee, I’d vote for Hillary. At least she’s honest about what party she represents.
Fuck it, if we’re going off the cliff, might as well help mash the gas pedal down so we can get it over with,
I called this months ago when Chris Chrispie was getting crucified over “bridge-gate” and taking the shine off himself as the heir apparent to lose for the GOP. It took longer than I thought for Jeb to start making the rounds as Mr. Inevitable.
Long enough that Rand Paul has managed to get his operation running in all 50 states, meet with the commies at Berkeley and win the CPAC strawpoll.
I can only hope the GOP comes to its senses (doubtful) and actually tries to fucking win for once. Jeb isn’t the horse to back.
I just threw up a little bit in my mouth.
The mere possibility that Jeb Bush regards himself as an answer to what ails America is alone enough to indicate his inadequacy to the task before the nation. But then making terrible mistakes seems to be what the nation is all about any more, so, perhaps he is fitting in that odd sense of the thing.
“Many of the Republican Party’s most powerful insiders and financiers have begun a behind-the-scenes campaign to draft former Florida governor Jeb Bush into the 2016 presidential race”….to finally prove how completely out of touch with their base they actually are.
The political advisers have learned to make money without having to get their guy elected. As long as idiots like Obama get elected, desperate folks will fork over cash in hope of getting anyone elected with a R next to their name.
There are majority operatives and minority operatives. Labels like “conservative” and “liberal” have no meaning inside the Beltway.
I’ve just contributed to Scott Walker’s gubernatorial re-election campaign, in hopes that yet another election victory (a third!) under his belt will attract support for a presidential run.
I suspect that Jeb’s dalliance here may not be so much for Jeb, but rather for his son, who has higher political ambitions. Think of it as a RINO Establican version of Bill Richardson.
That said, can someone put Karl “we can actually Hispander our way to victory” Rove into a home for the senile and deluded, please?
You mean the Senate?
On the bright side, we can see more “Bush” puns on feminists’ protests signs again. So funny.
I thought Jeb at least attempts to do the right thing. Hillary will perniciously and persistently fuck with us.
I would unenthusiastically vote for Jeb. Frankly, he’d make a better Chief Executive than his brother did.
It is nice that Obama has set such a low bar.
If it’s either or between Hills and Jeb, I’m staying home.
I’m not voting for him, and I voted for the last two losers. Death the GOP and its appalling coprophiliac dsplays.
My guess is the corporatists really want the Hildebeast, because the regulatory regime is already captured and thus manipulable with
bribescampaign contributions and quid pro quos to and between the right people.But in a pinch, should he accidently failed to lose, Jeb would do.
Both of you are right, palaeo and Ernst.
Death to the GOP and yes, I believe the corporatists do want the Hilda.
So, are these “powerful insiders and financiers” major Romney donors and bundlers, and McCain donors and bundlers before that? If so, they sure know how to pick a winner.
Mistah Jeb. He dead.
Yep.
OK, here is a question: Will there be another round of GOP infighting between the true believers / patriots and the “Eastern Establishment” / establicans / sellouts, and who will prevail? Or will there be compromise?
A little history: (True GOP vs. Establican)
1940s-early 1950’s: Taft vs. Dewey. Result: Stalemate, sort of. Ike Eisenhower is the compromise candidate.
1960’s: Goldwater vs. Rockefeller. Result: Goldwater wins, but Rockefeller Establicans sabotage him. Goldwater ideas are later co-opted by Nixon cynically, Reagan more faithfully.
1976: Reagan vs. Ford. Result: Ford wins, but is Establican pathetic. Carter elected, giving us the worst president until Obama.
1980: Reagan vs. others. Reagan establishes early lead, co-opts Establicans, represented by Bush the Elder, and takes advantage of Seniority Principle (“It’s MY turn” rule–Republicans seem to always pick most senior statesman). This works for next 8 years.
1988: Bush the Elder Establican takes advantage of Veep legacy and Seniority Principle, and wins. he then proceeds to muck it up and cave in, from “read my lips” to Affirmative Racism.
1990’s: Establicans seem to triumph, drive paleocon faction, represented by Pat Buchanan, away.
2000: Bush the Younger is Establican in Godbotherer clothing, this fools some true believers. McLame is even more Establican than Bush the Younger.
2008: Establican McLame relies on “It’s MY turn” principle, loses. Mitt, although an Establican too, actually seems the much better alternative to McLame in 2008.
2012: GOP Primary has a series of “better and more truer than Mitt” contenders, but none have clout.
So, are these “powerful insiders and financiers” major Romney donors and bundlers, and McCain donors and bundlers before that?
I’m not so sure it is that simple. After all, McLame was the liberal media darling back in 2000, when liberal media was scared of Godbotherer Bush.
And Mitt was, at least to many of us, the better alternative to McLame in the 2008 primaries.
Is the fix already in? I thought it suspicious that this trial balloon gets floated at exactly the same time the Establican house organ starts lecturing the hobbits about their tiresome devotion to “principles”:
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/374528/which-side-are-you-kevin-d-williamson
What this Kevin D. Williamson at NR doesn’t seem to get, or perhaps won’t admit, is that most of us are team players, if our favorite doesn’t win the primary, we will suck it up and vote the Establican, or the RINO, over the Commiecrat.
But when *their* favorite doesn’t win the primary? No such reciprocity! And we even get hacks like Mitch McConnell and John Boehner trying to sabotage Tea Party candidates.
So Kevin, which side are YOU GUYS on? Because it sure as hell doesn’t seem to be ours.
He’s on the side of the benevolent elite, who really want what’s best for you, instead of just wanting to lord it over you like those malevolent elitists on the other side of the aisle. You should be grateful, you stupid mouth breathing, knuckle dragging, bible thumping gun toting sister humping teabagger.
See, the difference between the right sort of elitist and the wrong sort is that the right sort doesn’t care if you mouth breathing knuckle draggers do two out the remaining three. The wrong sort will only let you do one.
Why can’t you learn to vote your own interests?
Sadly, Ernst, that seems to be it. So we are caught between a party of traitors and a party of sellouts and a 3rd party illusion.
Sorry, the history of 3rd parties is just that, an illusion. We would be better off getting our 21st century Tea Party versions of Taft or Goldwater and taking back the GOP. Even if we go down in flames like Goldwater did.
Chris Christie says, “Hey, hey, look at me.” “I can be just like Obama.” ” I’ve got a phone and a pen too.” “No really, I’m not fooling.”
Yes indeed, that Republican Party was quite the illusion.
Yes indeed, that Republican Party was quite the illusion.
The Whigs had to utterly implode first. The GOP was the #2 party from the moment it started. Try again.
Meanwhile, we have seen Reformers, Independents, American Independents, Dixiecrats, Progressives, and Populists come and go. And most of those 3rd parties were tools of the Demunists to divide the GOP at that.
And what are the Republicans doing right now? Oh, not utterly imploding, surely. That’s why we’re all in their camp, without a care in the world for a party which will represent our political aims.
2016 will tell. If the Establicans don’t listen to the Tea Party elements, then we will see a 1964-esque fight.
Just as IWonPenPhoneCare is here to stay, so also the grand old party.
If we don’t want the Stabs to three-peat their Pyrrhic nomination successes of 2008 and 2012, we need to start at least as early as they are.
here’s walker’s vp
Guardian of the Republic: An American Ronin’s Journey to Faith, Family and Freedom
by Allen West
“…Seniority Principle (“It’s MY turn” rule–Republicans seem to always pick most senior statesman)”
Well, if seniority matters, how bout this guy:
fascism news
“Ladies, ladies. I just want to tell you about Venezuela’s progress in the war on women”