2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forum5 Reasons Why Republicans Should Say No to Jeb 2016
The newest savior of the party is more likely to split it than unite it.With Chris Christie in deep trouble, Republican poobahs are reportedly looking to Jeb Bush to save their party in 2016. The former two-term governor of Florida speaks fluent Spanish, is a convert to Catholicism, and has high name recognition. Jeb could raise millions of dollars over night by just saying yes to running.
Despite all this, there are strong reasons Republicans should say no to him.
1. His last name is poison.
Lets face it, if Jeb Bush had the last name of Something Else he would have already run for president in 2008 or 2012. According to a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll registered voters were asked if they would definitely NOT vote for Jeb Bush and 50 percent said they would not. Among Independents the results were 49 percent and even 18 percent of Republicans said the same.
These poll results prove that the legacy of George W. Bush continues to have a negative effect on his brothers political future.
2. Jeb would split the party
Conservative activists/Tea Party Republicans who are the majority of GOP primary voters are not lining up for Jeb 2016 due to his support for Common Core academic standards and his support for amnesty immigration legislation. Jeb, although he considers himself a practicing conservative is also viewed as a moderate establishment Republican in the mold of Mitt Romney.
more
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/04/01/5-reasons-why-republicans-should-say-no-to-jeb-2016.html
hollysmom
(5,946 posts)yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)Lol. We will win 2016 for sure!
davidpdx
(22,000 posts)I don't think the party split would be that bad. Yes the teabaggers would be pissed, but they wouldn't have much of a choice. One good point she has is that Jeb hasn't ran for office since 2002 and hasn't held office since the beginning of 2007. Political campaigns have changed a great deal in that time (though you could argue that a campaign structure can be put together and run by the professionals). He would be awful rusty. His mother's blessing is probably something he'd want, so unless he can change that stubborn old mule's mind we are probably ok.
He'd be 64 in 2016 and 68 in 2020. While 68 isn't out of the question, he will have been out of politics for over a dozen years by then.
I think they are waiting for George Pee Bush (yes, I misspelled it on purpose).
On edit: George Pee Bush is a naturalized citizen and couldn't be president.
yellowcanine
(35,701 posts)Opposition researchers would have a field day with unanswered questions regarding Jeb Bush and Katherine Harris, scrubbing of voter lists, butterfly ballots, curious official vote count reports on election night and the first couple of days - the official vote count stayed static for at least 24 hours - did Al Gore actually pull ahead during that time and did Jeb Bush order Katherine Harris to freeze the count with his brother showing a lead? And what role did Jeb Bush play in the so-called "Brooks Brother's Riot," a prettified term for thuggery by paid Republican operatives, some actually Congressional staffers on the public payroll, which successfully shut down a legal recount in Miami which might have put Gore ahead at that point in the recount - and in fact might have won the election for him, given that many of those votes were not recounted because of the shutdown ordered by the SCOTUS. What part did Jeb Bush play in this? Maybe nothing, and if you believe that, there is that proverbial bridge for sale. And some of the folks involved the recount may have tales to tell, the statute of limitations long since having expired on any illegal activities. But there is no statute of limitations on political payback for someone who might be nursing a political grudge against Jeb Bush. Katherine Harris, for example.
flamingdem
(39,328 posts)This is a worry
Rozlee
(2,529 posts)We won't fall for it. We know a malinchista when we see one. Sarah Palin didn't steal away female Hillary Clinton supporters from Democrats in 2008. In fact, she repelled women. Like Dian Malouf said of GW Bush, "Wearing boots doesn't make you a cowboy." His brother speaking to us in Spanish about tax cuts for the rich won't impress us much either.
yellowcanine
(35,701 posts)And even if he did, it would likely be seen as pandering.
LongTomH
(8,636 posts)"George's smarter brother!"
"All the evil and twice the smarts!"
Jamaal510
(10,893 posts)Maeve
(42,288 posts)"Because the first two didn't QUITE destroy the nation!"
"Hey, after George, it can only get better!"
I'd come up with others, but I'm...bushed
Proud Liberal Dem
(24,438 posts)We would, after 24 years, get to choose again between a Bush and a Clinton.
Proud Liberal Dem
(24,438 posts)However, given how weak the current prospects are, I'm sure that they are desperate for a win by now and, sad to say, Jeb is probably their *strongest* possible contender. Remember, just because it seems like a bad idea to us doesn't mean that the Republicans won't try it. In fact, the more the MSM says it's a bad idea, the MORE LIKELY it is to actually happen.