What makes Jeb Bush run?
Family tradition?
He’s the establishment’s puppet and they won’t let him go, although his heart isn’t in it?
Sibling/father rivalry?
Habit?
Inertia?
Stubbornness?
He’s got the money and the time and nothing better to do?
Seriously, one of Jeb Bush’s many problems is that there is no discernible reason why he’s running in the sense of fire in the belly. And yet he says he’s not going anywhere. However, if he did drop out, some other candidate would almost undoubtedly rise in the polls to challenge Trump, who at the moment appears to be Bush’s arch-enemy.
Bush’s voters (whoever they may be) aren’t likely to turn to Trump next. So who would the Bush voters support if Jeb left the race? The obvious choice would seem to be Rubio, but this is not a very obvious or predictable year. Would that we’d get a chance to find out, though—and soon.
Oh yeah—tonight’s the third Republican debate. I’m planning to watch.
–Family honor.
–Ambition.
–Genuinely thinks he can do right by America.
–Sibling rivalry.
–It’s his turn.
–Contempt for the voting public.
–Contempt for conservatives.
A lot of people would like to move on from Jeb!, but with a $100 million he can fight for his families honor all the way until the end.
If Jeb! drops out I’d like to think his donors and supporters will go for Cruz. It’s just a hope though.
I do not know about Jeb’s fire in the belly. I assume that there is some, because he knew the flak he would take as the third Bush candidate, and chose to run anyway.
Jeb has a proven record as a very good political administrator. I don’t know of anyone who questions that he was an effective governor of a large, very diverse state.
Unfortunately, the American media, and the electorate seemingly, have no interest in quiet competence. This applies to Jeb, as well as to Scott Walker and to John Kasich.. To get attention now, you must be loud, or different.
I don’t agree with all of Jeb’s positions; but, I do hate to see a good man given the back of the hand for reasons that have nothing to do with his competence or potential as President.
Ironic that big mouths, such as Limbaugh, Hannity, O’Reilly to name a few, rail against the establishment: which they seem to define as anyone with actual experience in the field. I wonder how these extremely privileged individuals became anti-establishment spokes persons.
The country went for the exotic outsider in 2008, and showed that it had learned nothing in 2012. Looking at this campaign season I fear that the lessons have still not been learned.
Oldflyer:
There is no question in my mind that Jeb Bush would be a much better president than Hillary Clinton, and if he were to be the nominee (which I’ve never thought would happen) I would of course vote for him.
However, it’s not just loudmouths who hate the experienced who are against Bush. I think a lot of other people—like me—are responding to something much deeper that’s wrong with Bush, and it’s harder to define. It’s not the same thing that was the matter with Walker (who was my favored candidate for a long time, you might recall). Walker was lackluster in the debates but his record was as a staunch conservative who was a fighter. Bush is lackluster, period, and even when he fights it seems forced and phony. People don’t trust him to do the right thing, and his record on immigration has long been very suspect. Plus, people really truly are sick of the Bushes, and are wary of a dynasty.
However, I think the polemics of Levin, Limbaugh, et al are in part responsible for the firing squad that is this Republican primary season. They have taken one of the best Republican fields in ages and played right into the left’s hands, I believe. Not intentionally, but because stoking anger (some of it justified) against the Republicans is fun and gets listeners going.
We don’t want a manager of our decline.
We want our constitution.
We want smaller government.
We want the Rule of Law.
That’s not Jeb.
Establishment Republicans, i.e., Jeb Bush, et al, take for granted most all of the federal government’s spending, regulatory, entitlement, programs and promise to strive to trim the excesses – for no great effect. They/he take for granted the nation’s role of policing the bad precincts in the world and strive to export the American way of life in the form of its deviant culture. There’s no fire in the belly because there are no embers to stoke. To make the government run efficiently is not political philosophy — it’s social engineering and managerial oversight. For the cost of putting a conservative ass into a congressional seat and especially into the oval office, a team of efficiency experts could be had at a bargain and no-one would be enervated by having to listen to a debate, a promise, a platitude, or a Bush.
I blame the donor class …
Oldflyer, I don’t know where you live but here in the San Fernando Valley (not a resident of a gated community) between work and home I have a daily reminder of what the criminal negligence of our immigration laws have wrought. The filth, the squalor, the use of the police force to target citizens that appear able to pay a ticket as opposed the the recklessness and lawbreaking going on in plain sight. Protecting our borders (and way of life) is first and foremost the role of the federal government. I played along with all the establishment republicans that have been on the ticket year-in and year-out. Because he defended the country from the terrorists, I even regularly spoke up for George Bush while he was President, though I would routinely point out to the liberal I was speaking to that I didn’t understand why they didn’t love him, with his domestic policies. Jeb Bush…no way. And my son, finishing his military service, feels the same way. In fact, for him, Jeb, not recognizing that another Bush is not the answer, was proof to him that Jeb doesn’t have the country’s best interests at heart. In this I agree with him 100%
He should’ve listened to his mother and not gone for the nomination! She knows her son, plus she’s got some political savvy.
Anyway, I think he’s in the game because it’s a family tradition. He’d probably have been much happier doing something like development work in Latin America.
As far as i can tell, Jeb Bush is running for much the same reason that Mitt Romney did in 2012, out of a sense of duty, and a belief that he would be the best for the job — of those who could win.
Neither man seems to have wanted to be president since he was 10 or 12, the way Bill Clinton did — and that’s to their credit.
As for watching the debate, I’ll repeat the advice I have been giving for years: If you want to be informed, don’t waste your time watching these “debates”.
(What to do instead? Do some basic research. For instance, go to a library and look through their copies of the Almanac of American Politics for descriptions of what those who have won elections have accomplished. For Jeb Bush you would have to go back to the 2006 edition.)
Fatigue with the gope explains everything we have seen so far. The Bush family are the bluest of blue bloods. I have to question jeb!’s failure to realize that millions of the gop base will treat him the same way Romney was treated. Its as if he wants the nomination in order to lose in the general election.
I can’t argue Neo.
Funny, that the Bush Matriarch thought that Jeb would be President and not GW. She saw something that the country does not see. But, the electorate saw an energy, and an innate goodness in GW. (No matter how the left, as well as the likes of those I mentioned on the right, try to distort him).
By the way, I overlooked Levin in my line up. I like him more than the others; because I think he is a brilliant constitutional thinker, and a patriot. But, his anger drives and distorts his message. I do not listen to him any longer, as I do not listen to Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, or Hannity; and do not watch O’Reilly. Actually, I prefer to read for opinions. The discipline of writing tends to mitigate some of the polemics.
So many people, including some here, seem to think that it is easy to turn back the tide. Not so, and it may not even be possible. I remind folks from time to time that not even Reagan did that; at best he slowed the flood, but, the myth over rides reality.
I am sad to say that I believe that big government is here to stay. I simply ask for someone to govern in accordance with constitutional principles; to govern effectively, and to hold the line against excess. Oh, and appoint Judges and Justices who interpret the law with the same reverence for the constitution. Short of handing dictatorial powers to someone, that seems to be about the limit of realistic expectations for a modern President.
We had George W. Bush the father unfinished Iraq job.
followed by his Son George W. Bush, had revenge for his father, but run in serious faller and problems that made ME regional on Fire.
Now the other Son dream to finish his brother’s problem and Slouching Toward Iraq finishing Iraq war in Style.
4:19pm…Really…? Seriously…?
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The Iraq handed to the pathetic Obama by President Bush was 1.) Stable & At Peace. 2.) A growing Republic. 3.) Far fewer American deaths by violence than Chicago. 4.) Sunnis & Shias at peace with each other. 5.) A Massive Victory.
6.)…And, then…The Infantile Majesty ABANDONED the Victory handed to him. Period.
@ Neo
I think that Jeb is a big reason why we have Trump. The party’s attempted coronation of a man who had no actual voters detonated a revolt that’s been a long time coming. You can say that Jeb would be a better president than Hillary, but I’m inclined to doubt it. Bush The Lesser paved the way for Obama. The upchuck that Bush The Unavoidable would produce would pave the way for something far worse. In any case, the question of who would be better, Bush The Unavoidable or Hillary, will remain forever hypothetical. Bush will never be nominated or elected, and the attempt to foist him on the party will contribute to its coming defeat in 2016.
We will repeat this debate when Bush The Mexican makes his run. As I have been saying to anyone who will listen, this is the Battlestar Galactica moment for the GOP. All of this has happened before. All of this will happen again.
I think the first comment by Harold nails Jeb Bush’s motivations. Jeb Bush’s stance on illegal immigration disqualifies him from consideration. Period. Culturally, no other domestic issue compares.
“I think the polemics of Levin, Limbaugh, et al are in part responsible for the firing squad that is this Republican primary season.” neo
Not so or at least mostly not true. Their polemics are motivated by the accurate perception that time is running out for America, that if not already so, we are close to a tipping point from which America cannot retreat.
Their frustration is due to the ‘fatigue’ with the GOP that parker mentions. The latest example of which Rush Limbaugh explains, “How the Budget Deal Paves the Way for President Hillary Rodham Clinton”
In pointing out why the GOP won’t be able to criticize the democrats on fiscal matters, Rush points to the reason why when America finally blows up the GOP won’t be able to claim that democrat policies, prescriptions and ‘solutions’ are to blame for the fix we’ll be in, for the GOP will be just as culpable as the democrats. And, with the collusion of the MSM, America will vote to double down on democrat solutions, solutions that will end whatever vestiges of liberty remain.
It’s entirely possible that liberty will end with applause from a majority of Americans.
Geoffrey Britain:
I disagree. I feel the same anger, frustration, and sense that time is running out, and I’ve been feeling it for a long, long time.
But I also have observed that Levin, Limbaugh, and a few others have for quite a while (long before this election cycle) been concentrating more on stirring up hatred (yes, hatred) towards Republicans than Democrats. Levin in particular has been very focused on it. The result is a fired-up group of listeners who seem to be more angry with Republicans than Democrats, and more desirous of hurting Republicans this election cycle than hurting Democrats. They should be more concerned with supporting conservative candidates, but they’re not.
It is very destructive, and will result in the perhaps-permanent control of the government by Democrats.
Interesting observation when you’ve mentioned several times before that you have barely ever listened to their shows.
I am crying great big tears for Jeb! and tuning up my tiny violin. Going to watch game 2 of the World Series.
KLSmith:
I previously explained here that I got into the habit of listening to Levin’s show (same is true of Limbaugh’s) for short bits while in the car and have therefore listened to a fair amount of it over time, enough to get the drift:
That was written in August.
It’s true that I don’t like talk radio, and don’t listen habitually, and most definitely not to the entire shows. But over the years, particularly in the car, I’ve heard a LOT of it.
I wrote something similar about my listening habits here:
So, that’s a pretty lengthy discussion of my actual listening habits.
I seldom listen to political radio and do not watch television news at all. In the last 3 months, I have heard Mark Levin a handful of times. I see it exactly as GB does. Levin, Limbaugh and others speaking the truth out loud is not the problem. They are like the prophets of the bible clearly shouting out grim reality. Those prophets were equally maligned because they spoke the hard truths. Time is running out. We are handing off a bag of rocks to our kids. In California we are on the cusp of a pension disaster and there is NO WAY our kids will be able to fund all these public offices and services and pay these exorbitant pensions, which can begin before 55 years old. Record taxes are collected by the state and federal governments with no end in sight. Combine that with the travesty that is the mishandling of our national defense (head in the sand, solidly) and unfortunately with the printing of money and debt explosion, no sanity is in sight. As a devout Catholic I will go through the political motions as usual, but I believe that ALL of our problems (including fiscal) are MORAL problems and until the 10 commandments emerge once again as the plumb line of our culture, nothing will be fixed. These career politicians, the result of an ignorant citizenry, have charted a course for disaster. We will see how God chooses to answer the pleas of those who have been seeking His intervention in prayer, because for the republic to survive, a miracle is needed. It has been dying for some time, but under this present administration, things have sped up enormously. I am “all-in” on the Jubilee Year of Mercy, because mercy may pave the way to a desire to uphold the rule of law upon which our nation was founded.
1.) Is the house on fire and burned down to the foundation? 2.) Is the house still standing but surrounded by arsonists? 3.) Is the house in flames but not beyond salvage? These are the questions my family ponders, and opinions differ. As the old man, I have yet to decide. If/when number one is undenible, we will retreat to the stronghold to make a stand.
Sharon W:
Speaking the truth out loud is not the problem.
The problem is (as I’ve written before) one of emphasis. The rage of the listeners (especially with Levin) is focused on Republicans rather than Democrats, and on destroying rather than building up conservative candidates.
I don’t listen to talk radio of any sort – never have. Their are better things to do even on a winter’s blustery day.
Neo-neocon says:
“The result is a fired-up group of listeners who seem to be more angry with Republicans than Democrats…”
and
“It is very destructive, and will result in the perhaps-permanent control of the government by Democrats.”
What justification, what satisfaction, is there in being angry with Democrats? They are who we thought they are. They are what they say they are. They do as they say they’ll do — dissimulations being understood as just that. The Republicans, however, purport to be other than what they end up being. They end up not who they say they are. They do not do as they say they will do. Their dissimulations are more egregious because they are, in their genesis, believed. Had twenty-four hours passed between Ryan’s ‘no deal’ on the Boehner budget and Ryan’s capitulation?
Command of the government is already in full, perhaps permanent control of the Democrats. If by chance a Republican comes to the bully pulpit or wields the gavel they are, at best, a place-holder for the Democrats, or a co-conspirator whose only defense is that theirs was the more honorable motivation. However more honorable Republicans believe themselves to be, the progressive/statist Leviathan continues to expand. How can one not be angry at so fatuous a thing parading as opposition?
George Pal:
The justification is that the left and their liberal pawns are the ones driving the problem. Take a hint from the fact that they are laughing and very happy at what they see on the Republican side. They see it as empowering them in the long run.
The satisfaction? I’m not in it for emotional satisfaction. That’s juvenile, IMHO. I want to see results, not useless and destructive venting. What I see is that the circular firing squad only helps the Democrats.
What I want to see is strong support for conservative candidates, and marshalling of forces against Democrats, not a lot of anger at all Republicans and all politicians. But I see much more of the latter.
It reminds me very much of people who look at a case where one parent has been sexually abusing a child, and get much more angry at the other parent, the one who may have enabled them or looked the other way. I place the lion’s share of the blame with the first. That doesn’t mean the second isn’t sometimes partly responsible.
It’s a question of emphasis and focus. I see a destructive rather than a constructive emphasis, and I’ve been seeing it for many many years.
Only until the dollar collapses.
Clearly he’s shooting for a listing in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Well said, Neo.
I did listen to Limbaugh fairly routinely over the years; although I sometimes had all I could take and left him early. But, starting with the Romney candidacy he just went over the line.
I listened to Levin faithfully for years. As I said, I believe that he is brilliant. But, he has also lost his focus.
They, and others like them, have contributed to, if not created, such a toxic atmosphere that I am not confident that any electable Republican can win the nomination, and hold the base.
We have ample evidence of the consequences since 2012. They damaged the campaign of a good and very competent man; and I will never forgive it.
neo @ 6:01,
In the past, my primary listening was when driving around too, though I rarely have caught Levin and I too have found his ‘nasal’ rage offputting. In the past few years, I haven’t been listening to talk radio so if Limbaugh has taken a new tack, I’ve missed it. Nevertheless, I find the rage at the GOP entirely understandable, as the traitor is far more offensive than the forthright enemy. When the ‘traitors’ are in control of the only political means of resistance… rage is arguably, entirely appropriate.
There’s validity to your point about the circular firing squad charge but what good is cohesive support for back-stabbing traitors? And Bush, Rubio, Christie, Ryan, etc. ARE traitors on fundamental issues.
“They should be more concerned with supporting conservative candidates, but they’re not.” neo
Indeed. However, other than Cruz, Carson and Fiorina… there are NO actual conservatives, proven to be loyal to fundamental principles running for President. All three of those candidates have substantive political disadvantages that are keeping them from gaining traction. (In Iowa, Carson’s popularity is due to his religious solidity) And some of Carson and Fiorina’s past comments place a bit of doubt upon their actually being conservative.
All of this boils down to there being no substitute for the GOP nominating a conservative, if the Left inroads are to be rolled back. But we know that the GOP is not interested in rolling back the Left. In fact they’re against any such efforts. Which means a slow march to the gallows for America.
rickl,
When the dollar collapses, look for leftist tyranny to fill the vacuum.
Remember Ann Coulter saying she hated Carly Fiorina “with the hot, hot hate of a 1000 suns”?
I’m not sure even the Dem’s Paul Begala would say something like that about a Republican.
Oldflyer: talk radio didn’t damage Romney. He ran a cr@p campaign all by himself. Yes, he’s probably a good man but people knew he was an inauthentic flip-flopper (and I voted for him anyway because Obama). Didn’t you hear him just a couple of days ago bragging that Romneycare gave us Obamacare and oh, isn’t it too bad we have other sources of media today.
Talk radio preaches to the choir and I think it’s sad that our side dumps on them. I have a problem with their Trump boosterism which may come back to bite them. Although it could be a way to take out Bush. Mostly, Rush is rarely funny anymore because times are too dire and Levin scares me that he’s going to have a heart attack on the air. And, if anything, they probably motivated people to go to the polls. Their biggest problem IMO is not realizing this country is not conservative anymore.
Harold Says:
October 28th, 2015 at 2:40 pm
—It’s his turn.
—Contempt for the voting public.
—Contempt for conservatives.
A lot of people would like to move on from Jeb!, but with a $100 million he can fight for his families honor all the way until the end.
$ 100,000,000 isn’t what it used to be.
Jeb has already run through most of his stash — to see his polling figures CRATER.
So Wall Street cut up his credit cards.
Only until the dollar collapses.
When the mark collapsed in Weimar Republic Germany, the “big government” didn’t collapse, exactly. It did transform though.
The rage of the listeners (especially with Levin) is focused on Republicans rather than Democrats, and on destroying rather than building up conservative candidates.
This is a necessary process to purge the system of evil and traitors. Oh, some of them may go too far or not understand what the strategic and logistics of this war is about.
IN order to defeat Islamic Jihad, the traitors called the Leftist alliance must be wiped from the face of existence. In order to wipe the traitors from the face of existence, the other collaborators, the Republican party itself, must be purged.
Tactics < Strategy < Logistics
With the Left attacking our logistics pipeline, Islam cannot be defeated, even by our superior weapons and military. Without a stable base from which to operate as an organization without the IRS wiping us all out using the ATF and FBI and NSA and other alphabet soup Democrat treasonous death squads, oath breaking sub human "obeying order" storm troopers, the Republican Party or some other org must be purified and used as the Base Of Operations.
It's all part of a strict timeline and guideline, even though many people probably couldn't describe exactly what they are doing or what it will lead to.
Last night I was thinking about the perspective of Limbaugh, et al being responsible for hatred within the Republican party, and came to the conclusion that the few conservatives within the ranks that exist are regularly maligned by Republicans. In a recent post, Ace makes this exact point:
“Why the hell is he (Kasich) getting more time than #1 Trump and #2 Carson? For all the obvious reasons: Because he’s the most liberal candidate, and he is willing to trash not just the other Republican candidates but conservatism as a general matter, so the liberal moderators view him as “one of us” and the The Only Sane Man in the Room.
Plus, he’s there to do part of their dirty work for them.”
When Levin airs coverage from an interview with Paul Ryan in 2012 where he lays out exactly how Obamacare can be dismantled, and then points out how it in fact was never carried out, that’s not Levin criticizing and tearing down, it’s holding people accountable to the words and ideas that they promoted that got them elected.
Sharon W:
As I think I wrote before, there’s plenty to criticize, but it’s the emphasis and focus and really venomous tone that’s destructive, and the amount of time spent on criticizing Republicans vs. Democrats. It leads to a sort of nihilism.
I watched Kansas City beat the Mets again(Game-2 of the W. Series)last night. Today, Thursday, I heard significant portions of the debate played on the radio. RUBIO..!! Next: Cruz & Carly. Christy was damn good too.
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Neo: Re-Talk Radio. You would, I promise, really like Dennis Prager. Promise.