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President 2012: Should Jeb Bush Run for President in 2012?
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush
Not if the Republican Party wants to win.
John J. Miller has a cover story in the new issue of National Review that’s a compelling portrait of the accomplishments of Jeb Bush. Four years after leaving the Florida governor’s mansion, he remains one of the most impressive Republican politicians in the country, a formidable policy mind with the political chops to drive conservative reforms even out of office. So why isn’t he running for president? Bush told Miller what he’s said to others, too — he won’t run in 2012, but he’ll consider 2016. This is a mistake. Bush should run now for at least eight reasons…..
Rich Lowry makes the case for a 2012 run in this piece this morning. But, the Bush brand is in the toilet and took the GOP down with it from 2006-2010.
If Jeb wants to run for President, he should run against Florida Democrat Senator Bill Nelson in 2012, serve in the Senate with distinction and then run. Otherwise, forget about it.
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FL-Sen Poll Watch: GOP Favors Jeb Bush to Face Dem Senator Bill Nelson
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush
If Jeb Bush would let them, Florida’s GOP faithful would crown him their Senate nominee in 2012 without a contest. When given an eight-candidate list of potential nominees, they give Bush almost three-quarters of the vote, and no one else gets more than 6%.Unfortunately for the party, he is unlikely to run, and in his absence, almost a third of respondents are undecided. In that case, their primary is likely to be a large and wide-open race, with the top four candidates bunched in the mid- to low teens.
Bush is the preference of 72% of the hardest-core Republican voters in the Sunshine State. The next closest option is outgoing Attorney General and Gubernatorial primary loser Bill McCollum at 6%, with George LeMieux, Connie Mack IV, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, and state Rep. Jennifer Carroll each at 3%, Mike Haridopolos at 1%, and Adam Hasner at less than 1%. 10% are either not sure or prefer someone else.
With Bush eliminated from the field, though, any one of the lesser options could win at this point. A full 31% have no idea who they would support, and of the remaining voters, 15% choose Mack, 14% McCollum, 11% LeMieux, 10% Carroll, 9% Haridopolos, 7% Buchanan, and 3% Hasner. Considering the margin of error, almost all of them are statistically tied for the lead. Tuesday’s release showed that Haridopolos, Hasner, and even LeMieux and Mack are essentially unknowns statewide, and that is still the case with these most dedicated partisans who ought to know them best. So all of these possible nominees have plenty of time to make a name for themselves and fill the Bushless void.
But, alas, unless someone persuades him, it is unlikely Bush will run.
Really a shame since Bush, despite his open-borders mentality would certainly be a better Senator than Democrat Bill Nelson.
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Jeb Bush Says He Doesn’t Agree with Arizona’s Immigration Law Meaning He Will Never Run for President
"Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said if his children walked the streets of Phoenix they might look awfully suspicious to police. His wife, Columba, is from Mexico.
Harvard professor Robert Putnam told the same crowd of city officials from across the country at the Denver Convention Center on Saturday that his grandchildren might likewise draw suspicions. His daughter married a Latino man, he said.
"I think it’s not right that they could be picked up just because of the way they look," Putnam said.
Bush and Putnam spoke and then fielded questions at a National League of Cities convention about immigration issues, including the controversial Arizona immigration law.
The law aims to detain, prosecute and deport illegal immigrants. The federal government has won an injunction blocking parts of the law, including a section requiring police to question the immigration status of those they suspect are in the country illegally. Arizona has appealed.
A group of conservative lawmakers in Colorado is considering introducing an Arizona- style immigration bill in the legislature in January.
Bush, the brother and son of former Republican presidents, quipped that it was obvious he was not running for office, noting that his views differed from those of most of his Republican colleagues.
While he is sympathetic to the plight of Arizona officials forced to deal with all the problems linked to a porous frontier, he believes there are solutions other than a law criminalizing illegal immigrants, he said. "It’s the wrong approach," he said. "The net result is not much has been done.""
Jeb Bush as was his brother President George W. Bush supports open border type of amnesty for illegal aliens. Jeb is out of touch with much of the GOP which wants the Mexican border secure before considering anything more on immigration law.
Jeb is right about not seeking office because he would not gain the GOP nomination for President with this position.
I have met Jeb and he is a nice guy but woefully misguided here..
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Day By Day December 1, 2010 – Spin
Chris, what Americans have to remember is that Karl Rove is a stalking horse for Jeb Bush and the Bush family “Blue Blood” GOP dynasty. President George W. Bush, as his father did, drove the Republican Party off of a cliff and should NEVER be allowed to have any real power within the party again.I don’t think Sarah Palin spends too much time worrying about what Karl Rove and his minions say. Her basis is support are grass roots Republicans who will vote in GOP Primary caucuses and elections.
The voters will decide the next Republican nominee for President – not Karl Rove and the Bushes.
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The Day By Day Archive -
Jeb Bush: Time to Leave Reagan Behind – WTF?
Former Gov. Jeb Bush, Rep. Eric Cantor and former Gov. Mitt Romney (left to right in center) lead a “Conversation for a New America” on Saturday in Arlington as part of a listening tour meant to revitalize the Republican Party
Jeb Bush does not “get it.”Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said Saturday that it’s time for the Republican Party to give up its “nostalgia” for the heyday of the Reagan era and look forward, even if it means stealing the winning strategy deployed by Democrats in the 2008 election.
“You can’t beat something with nothing, and the other side has something. I don’t like it, but they have it, and we have to be respectful and mindful of that,” Mr. Bush said.
The former president’s brother, often mentioned as a potential candidate in 2012, said President Obama’s message of hope and change during the 2008 campaign clearly resonated with Americans.
This is what his father did during his disasterous Presidential term which ended with eight years of Bill Clinton and what his brother did in taking the GOP into minority status in his Presidency.
Reagan offered “hope and change” from the stagflation and weak foreign policy disasters of the decade’s long rule of the Democrats in Congress and Jimmy Carter’s failed Presidency.
Jeb should be saying: “Build on the Reagan Legacy with a new generation of conservative leadership.”
Sadly, he didn’t.
The national GOP needs to go beyond the Bush legacy and Reagan conservatives must retake the party policy machinery.
Technorati Tags: Jeb Bush, Ronald Reagan
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Jeb Bush on the Democrat/Obama Economic Stimulus Bill
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush answers questions at the Excellence in Action conference, a national summit on education reform, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., June 19, 2008
Former Florida GOP Governor, Jeb Bush was in the Capitol today while Governor Charlie Crist was sucking up to President Obama in Southwestern Florida.Why was the former Florida Governor AWOL from the Presidential visit?
Bush does not support the Democrat/Obama Economic Stimulus Bill or PORKULUS.
Former Gov. Jeb Bush is wandering the halls of the state Capitol today, advocating for his Foundation for Florida’s Future education package because Gov. Charlie Crist canceled a lunch with Bush and other former governors so that he could introduce President Barack Obama in Fort Myers. Crist wants the stimulus package. Bush thinks it’s bad news, as evidenced by this brief interview as he hustled away and drove off in a family wagon driven by Foundation chief Pat Levesque along with lobbyist John Thrasher.
Q: Why not go to Fort Myers?
Bush: “It wouldn’t be right. I don’t support the bill. It’s a whole lot of spending and it’s not very stimulative. You know, $800 billion used to mean something.”
Q: What would you do to stimulate the economy?
Bush: “Broad-based tax cuts for individuals and business and spending on truly shovel-ready infrastructure.
Q: What’s wrong with the package in your view.
Bush: “Gigantic amount of money being spent that is not stimulative. There’s enough history to suggest something like that at best won’t have the desired effect. Worse: it could prolong the economic downturn. So I think it’s bad policy. Plus, it will create more inflation down the road you can’t sustain. We’re talking 9-10 percent GDP for the budget deficit. That’s a lot. These guys (Legislature) are struggling to balance the budget because they have a constitutional requirement to do so. To their credit, they’re doing the best they can under extraordinary circumstances. In Washington, they just crank up the printing press.”
Although Jeb has taken himself out of a 2010 race for a Florida open seat in the U.S. Senate, Flap thinks that Jeb will be back – and back soon into the political arena.
Technorati Tags: Jeb Bush, Charlie Crist, Barack Obama, Economic Stimulus Bill
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Jeb Bush Says No to Florida U.S. Senate Run
President Geroge W. and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush
Jeb Bush says no to a run for the U.S. Senate from Florida in 2010.Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush will not run for the open Senate seat of Sen. Mel Martinez, he announced in a statement released moments ago.
“After thoughtful consideration, I have decided not to run for the United States Senate in 2010,” said Bush. “While the opportunity to serve my state and country during these turbulent and dynamic times is compelling, now is not the right time to return to elected office.”
Flap does not blame Jeb. The GOP will not have anywhere close to a majority in the Senate in the next few election cycles and Jeb can keep his powder dry for a possible Presidential run in 2016. Jeb already has the GOP cred and executive experience to run for the Presidency.
This is not the last we have heard from the Bush family.
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Jeb Bush Florida Senate Candidacy – All of Us Will Lay Down For Jeb
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush answers questions at the Excellence in Action conference, a national summit on education reform, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Still popular in Florida, former Gov. Jeb Bush said Wednesday that he’s interested in the seat Sen. Mel Martinez is giving up, and the field of possible candidates could quickly narrow to make way for the president’s younger brother, June 19, 2008.
Jeb’s announcement that he is “interested” in the Mel Martinez U.S. Senate seat FREEZES the field of Democrats and Republicans.The potential Senate candidacy of Jeb Bush is clearing the decks of Democratic and Republican challengers in the Sunshine State — as intended.
Politicians from both sides of the aisle said the former governor of Florida and brother of President Bush is popular enough to scare away Republican and Democratic challengers before many really consider a bid for the seat being vacated by the retiring Sen. Mel Martinez (R).
“It has Jeb’s name on it,†said Bob Butterworth, the state’s former Democratic four-term attorney general and secretary of the Department of Children and Families. “He has the potential to scare away people on both sides of the aisle.â€
“He’s going to take his time to decide this, but it’s his for the taking,†agreed Washington lobbyist Al Cardenas, a two-term chairman of the Republican Party of Florida and one of Bush’s closest friends. “He’s been really disappointed with the party’s performance, and he sees this as a chance to reinvigorate it and help it follow a new path. This is a call to arms for him.â€
If Jeb Bush says he is interested then he is running.
Stay tuned…….
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Jeb Bush for Florida Senate in 2010? YES We Can
President Geroge W. and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush
Flap posted earlier today that Jeb Bush WOULD be interested in the soon to be vacant Mel Martinez Florida United States Senate seat.And, lo and behold Jeb is IN.
Two sources close to Jeb Bush, including one who has spoken to the former Florida governor within the past few hours, say he is seriously considering a run for Senate now that incumbent Republican Mel Martinez has retired.
“He is receiving a lot of encouragement from both in and out of the state,” an longtime Bush adviser said tonight. “He is going to take his time and approach this very methodically.” Bush will weigh, according to this adviser, how a run would impact his family, his business, and whether the Senate would be the best platform for the causes he’d advocate — education, immigration, GOP solutions to health care and energy.
The sounds you hear are from the GOP field clearing and the sighs from the Democrats who thought they could capture the seat. Jeb Bush is very popular in Florida and should have an easy race to replace Mel Martinez.
Then, there is 2012 or 2016.
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Jeb Bush for Florida Senate in 2010?
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush
Now that Mel Martinez has announced he will NOT be seeking re-election in 2010, will Jeb Bush jump into the race?Geraghty says don’t count on it.
Flap is NOT so sure.
Jeb is very popular in Florida and while he may not wish to seek the Presidency at this time a Senate seat would certainly keep his options open.
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