Jeb continues a Bush tradition: Capitalizing on GOP obstruction

Jeb continues a Bush tradition: Capitalizing on GOP obstruction

By Matthew Rozsa at MSNBC

http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/jeb-continues-bush-tradition-capitalizing-gop-obstruction

"SNIP.....................


While he remains cryptic about his ultimate intentions, Jeb Bush has let America know that if he runs for president in 2016, he will do so by promising an administration that is “much more uplifting, much more positive, much more willing to be practical” – in short, the complete opposite of the status quo in Washington. It’s a pleasingly conciliatory narrative for a potential candidate whose party is anything but.

The problem is not with the message, but with the party of the messenger. Ever since the GOP began moving to the far right more than three decades ago, its leaders have engineered governmental dysfunction whenever a Democrat has held the White House, then reclaimed power by nominating a “moderate” conservative (so far always a Bush) who pledges to heal the wounds inflicted on the body politic by their own party.

A little historical context might help.

...............

During Bill Clinton’s presidency, these conservatives strove not merely to thwart or modify his policy goals, but to delegitimize and destroy him entirely, from forcing a government shutdown to hounding him with allegations of scandal that culminated in America’s first impeachment trial since Reconstruction. They’ve done the same thing to Barack Obama since he took office in 2009, from forcing another government shutdown and threatening a debt default to obstructing his agenda with an unprecedented vehemence that has made the 113th Congress one of the most unproductive in American history.


.......................SNIP"