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Jeb Finally Takes on Trump
In case you’ve forgotten, Jeb Bush is still in the presidential race. When he wasn’t raising millions, the former governor has spent most of 2015 alienating the base and shoving size-12 cordovans into his piehole. Now that he finds himself in single digits far behind a former reality show star and a retired neurosurgeon, Jeb is fighting back.
This ad presents the obvious, but seemingly devastating case that Donald Trump is no conservative. He’s for higher taxes, he’s a close friend of Hillary, he’s been aggressively pro-choice, and spent much of his life as a Democrat. The ad doesn’t even get into Trump’s support of the assault weapons ban, expansive use of eminent domain, crony socialism, and myriad other red cards that would boot any other Republican from the playing field.
The tone of the ad is perfect until about 1:12 when the silly Jeb! logo appears. The Bush team should have put that in fine print since Jeb represents everything the GOP base is revolting against. For many, the anti-Trump message will be forgotten as soon as viewers think, Ugh, Jeb! I hate that guy!
Nice try by the Bush campaign, but I’m afraid the notorious RINO traitor cucksultant Rick Wilson is right on the money:
Published in General.@TheRickWilson: Trump supporters are post-rational. He can eat a baby and they’ll think it’s the greatest thing. http://t.co/V62AIGlQSA
— OutFrontCNN (@OutFrontCNN) September 1, 2015
And don’t forget his support for Common Core.
And to third grade students …? What is third grade? Age 9, 10? Why?
TheRickWilson: Trump supporters are post-rational. He can eat a baby and they’ll think it’s the greatest thing.
Chamber of Commerce Republicans are post-rational. They will sell you the rope to strangle the country with more Democrat Party voters, and the Republican establishment will cheer.
(No baby-eating needed, Rick. Just future destruction of a once great country for the non-elites.)
Yes, that is the kind guy we want handling ISIS. The guy that bad mouths his opponent on the elementary school playground.
I understand folk’s frustation with Trump’s lack of conservative bonafides and inconsistent policy positions or lack of specifics, but if they best counter punch the republican left (sorry, redundant) has is Jeb! then they deserve to be blown out of the primary.
Well, actually not true, demonstrably. For one thing, he took a good deal of political heat for fighting for a woman’s life.
But I grant the overall self-inflicted perception that he’s not particularly tough , and he’ll also fight for a few well-known things I oppose, which is why I won’t vote for him in spite of it. Kind of like Trump’s “fight” would impress me more if he weren’t the kind of fighter who praised socialized medicine and spent most of his fire attacking other Republicans too.
If everything in the ad is true (it is) and relevant (mostly), combined with a few other things we know, then pretty much everyone in the field except maybe Kasich is to Trump’s right.
That may be true with one exception – Immigration.
I think to understand Trump’s poll standing we have to understand that before we address any other policy or position we have to address national sovereignty.
Being to the right of Donald Trump doesn’t count for much when you aren’t willing to ardently defend the borders and culture of the nation.
Before we have national policies we have to have a nation and it is becoming more clear whether it is Jeb! giving speeches in Spanish or the Pope conducting mass in Spanish that we are not America any more if we aren’t willing to fight for our borders and sovereignty.
And inserted himself and the force of state in a deeply personal and painful decision for her family.
We need less government intervention, not more.
This is Fiorina’s opportunity to pull some Trump supporters if she can convince them that anything they like about Trump she can offer without what they don’t like.
The controversy arose because the husband made the decision against the wishes of her parents.
If I were to have to choose between life-long Republican Jeb and ideologically ambiguous ex-Democrat Trump, I would have to go with the real-estate mogul and hope for the best.
I know what I’ll get with Jeb! Whatever his ideology and conservative bona fides, I’ll get a compromiser, a naive do-gooder, someone who doesn’t understand the internal threats (other than terrorism) someone who will be a scapegoat, a martyr, someone trying to emulate Christ-like tolerance and patience while giving away the store that is America. The left will use Jeb and the Bush dynasty as a cudgel against the GOP and America itself and we WILL get a Bernie Sanders style socialist in 2020.
That’s if he wins.
But he won’t win. He will lose to any Democrat.
The GOP has nominated a man who wanted Democrat and socialist Joe Lieberman as his Vice President, fer god sakes!
Then they nominated a lukewarm nice-guy who was elected Governor of perhaps the most liberal State in the Union.
Excessive immigration and our porous border is a crucial issue. If it doesn’t stop it will be the death of America anyway.
It’s now overriding party lines. Calling Trump a Democrat doesn’t have the effect Jeb and others would like it to have, mainly because “Republican” has no real definition anymore.
If the law gives precedent to him or she has a living will doing so then it was appropriate for her husband to make that call.
While I am enjoying the heartburn Trump is giving the GOP leadership class, and I am sympathetic to many of the concerns underlying his support, I do not support him as the Republican nominee. I have three primary domestic issues: Abolish Obamacare and free the health care market, remove the many steel bands from the economy, and Rule of Law for all (of which enforcement against illegal aliens is a part). I don’t trust Trump on the first. On the second he’s probably no better or worse than any other candidate on our side. And on the third he has a ways to go to convince me he’s sincere on addressing illegals and he shows little RoL inclinations.
Having said all that, there is not a single candidate that I can realistically see the Democrats putting forth who would be better than any of the GOP prospects. So if it is Trump for the elephants I will vote for him in the general. Sitting out an election is never an option. You always have to choose, even the absence of voting, or protest voting, is a choice (and a self-defeating one). Sometimes the choice is between bad and worse, but you have to live with the consequences regardless. At least you tried to provide some kind of improvement.
For a second I thought you were referring to Trump as a retired neurosurgeon. Could’ve been sarcastic, but would be weird to qualify it as “retired”. I need read more carefully.
Jeb just cleaned up in the Hamptons fundraising from hedge-fund managers….
Yep. The twin pillars of how to enrage the base.
I don’t like Trump’s odds if he tries to treat Fiorina like he did Megyn Kelly.
Quick question: Has anyone here met an enthusiastic Jeb Bush supporter who is not on his payroll (directly or indirectly). I don’t ask this sarcastically; I have never met one, not in real life, not on social media — nowhere.
I live in NH and I have not met a one. I know “establishment” types who think he is a fine man and a “safe” pick. But I have yet to meet anyone for whom he is in the top 3-5 choices. However, until recently he was always in the top 5 “most likely” to win, an important distinction. So, until recently people thought he was likely to win, but not one of their top preferences. Now, he’s falling out of that likely to win group.
The ones I hear getting the love in NH are: Trump, Fiorina, Christie, Carson, Kaisich, and Rubio (in approximate order). Sometimes Cruz too, moreso as time has gone by. Walker is fading and so is Paul. Perry too, but from a lower starting point. Jindal is always liked but rarely in the top 5 (although he is in mine). Pataki, Gilmore, Graham and Santorum are not really on radar. Interestingly, the strong negatives I hear are for: Trump, Bush, and Paul. Cruz used to get more negative responses, less now. My theory is that Trump improves Cruz’s image (along with his impressive responses to gottcha attempts). Fiorina is really building a wave, everyone I have met who has heard her in person in very impressed, including Trump supporters.
But one can be prepared to do those things without fully agreeing with Ann Coulter. And I question Trump’s commitment to do even that, with pretty substantial reason. And being the furthest right on that shouldn’t count for much when you are wrong on almost everything else.
The fact is, it’s simply not true that people flocked to Trump because no one else had properly addressed this issue. The race was barely underway — they’ve hardly put out any plans on anything.
This question is serious, but it may as well be rhetorical.
When you look at the legions of people who are disgusted with the idea of a third Bush, whether it’s the third BUSH or it’s merely the third guy from a given family, saying they absolutely won’t vote for him if he’s the nominee, and he’s still joyfully running, alarm bells ring. No real support, huge pushback on the dynasty issue, “lose the primary to win the general”…
And they want a loyalty oath from Trump? How about Jeb! Lose the primary to win the general, I want to be your second choice (spoken like a real winner!)
Jeb has done us all a service. He and his supporters are smoking gun evidence of a thriving establishment in the GOP. They have self-identified.
Wow! What did Kasich do to earn your antipathy? He fought too aggressively on his union bashing, so lost, but his heart was in the right place. He’s got an A- from the NRA, he’s been strong on budget issues, he’s passed a raft of abortion restrictions, he’s expanded school choice. On the vast bulk of conservative issues, he’s done the same thing as Walker, only gone less far or (in one case) gotten his law repealed. On immigration he’s got the Cruz position. Healthcare is the big exception, and even there he’s not even close to the radical leftism of Trump’s position.
Over on another thread, Larry Koler indicates that Jeb! is Mike Murphy’s numero uno. Jon, these are the rarefied circles in which you run. What say ye? Or is MM on the “indirect” list?
I am a political junkie, but not an encyclopedia! “Maybe” meant quite frankly “I don’t know.” Would’ve assumed he’s also right of Trump, but not up enough on his record to prove it, at least against Trump’s more conservative presentations of himself. Between his arguments on Medicaid and some unnecessarily weak statements on social issues he’s put himself far enough down my list that I haven’t spent unnecessary time researching him at this point in the process, that’s all.
I haven’t heard anything about his position on immigration. At all. Seems like that could be a big deal at some point.
Brilliant!
His actions have been stronger than his words on social issues. There’s no candidate in the Republican primary to Trump’s left. Whether Clinton is is more debateable; she’s not calling for a wealth tax, for instance, but she is more of a feminist.
Build a wall, expand e-verify, amnesty for those already here, but without citizenship.
I don’t know about Leigh, but Kasich earned my disdain when he had his show on Fox News. I thought he displayed about as much charisma as a can of pickled prunes. If Ohio Republicans find him exciting, they must be dying of ennui.
I just finished his book on his bible study group, which made even his book on politics seem interesting, humble, and vibrant. I’m not saying that he’s the guy who should be our nominee. Indeed, I’m pretty sure that he shouldn’t be. He might be better than Bush, he’s certainly better than Cruz, Christie, Carson, or Trump, but he shouldn’t be in the top tier; hopefully he’ll be out by the October debate.
But whether we like someone isn’t the same as talking about their position on the political spectrum. There are awful (boring, cowardly, dishonest, etc. etc.) people at every point of the political spectrum.
You’ve read two books by Kasich???? I’d think one would be more than enough for anyone.
I really don’t care whether Kasich is particularly charismatic — I thought he was fluent enough at the debate, though the hometown crowd helped.
There are one or two things about his spiel I actually like — just not the policy. But at this point, I’m afraid the main thing I’m likely to remember about his presidential run is that his father was a mailman.