Former FL Gov. Jeb Bush says Ronald Reagan would have a hard time winning the Republican nomination today, because the party has veered too far to the right, and is “dysfunctional.”
“Ronald Reagan would have, based on his record of finding accommodation, finding some degree of common ground, as would my dad — they would have a hard time if you define the Republican party — and I don’t — as having an orthodoxy that doesn’t allow for disagreement, doesn’t allow for finding some common ground,” Bush said, adding that he views the hyper-partisan moment as “temporary.”
“Back to my dad’s time and Ronald Reagan’s time – they got a lot of stuff done with a lot of bipartisan support,” he said. Reagan “would be criticized for doing the things that he did.”
The GOP has nominated a Bush in 2000, re-nominated him in 2004, and then nominated centrist John McCain in 2008 and centrist Mitt Romney in 2012. During this same period, the Democrats nominated a sitting vice president once seen as a centrist but who had flown hard left on environmental causes, a left of center senator from blue Massachusetts, a left of center senator from blue Illinois, will soon re-nominate him after a left of center term as president. The Democrats made all of these nominations after two successful terms by centrist, DLC alum Bill Clinton, effectively repudiating centrism.
Of the two major parties, the evidence suggests that it is the Democrats who have radicalized to a greater degree than the Republicans have. The Republicans have responded to this Democratic leftward lurch by emphasizing economic issues, chiefly excess government spending and corresponding stress on the private sector in the form of high unemployment. If the Republicans had ignored these issues, it would have failed to stand on its core principles, and would have spawned a third party as fiscal hawks in the Tea Party and the GOP bolted to form a more fiscally serious party.
The fact is, Jeb Bush’s read of the past 30 years or so and of the current state of play between the two parties and their trajectories, is terrible. Jeb Bush’s analysis is incomplete at best if he sees the GOP as more sharply partisan now than it was under Reagan. Reagan spared nothing when criticizing Democrat and socialist policies. He went over the heads of the Democrats and the media to articulate his goals, and used the presidency effectively to achieve them. He occasionally compromised, and was sometimes criticized by many Republicans when he did, but more often than not his compromises brought the Democrats to the right, not the Republicans to the left. Jeb Bush apparently forgets that after Reagan signed one of his arms deals with the Soviets, many in the GOP base accused him of lapsing and becoming a Democrat again; he was criticized when his policies warranted it by his own party. Bush also apparently forgets this his own father coined the phrase “voodoo economics” to describe Reagan’s economic policies. That was before George H. W. Bush accepted the vice presidential nod from Reagan, such is the nature of politics. Bush 41 did find the common ground that Jeb Bush seems to hope current Republicans will find with Democrats, in the form a huge tax increase that sparked a recession and cost him his presidency. Bush 41′s finding common ground with Democrats paved the way for eight years of Bill Clinton. Is that the sort of functional party that Jeb Bush wants? — one that compromises on bad policy and hurts the country and itself at the same time? One that just becomes Democrat-lite rather than pulling Democrats over to support conservative ideas? One that creates “Obamicans” rather than Reagan Democrats? That isn’t how Bush governed Florida, and it’s among the reasons he left office as a very popular man.
There obviously is room for Ronald Reagan and the Bushes in today’s GOP. Romney is obviously to the left, at least if you go by past policy, of Reagan and Bush 43. If Jeb Bush cannot see that, or see how the media will play up his comments to hurt the Republicans, then that’s on him, not the party. He needs some brush-up media training to remind him that whatever he says about Democrats, if he reserves his sharpest criticisms for Republicans, that will feed the headlines.
Keep digging, Jeb. Keep digging.
Because you know who is going to have a really hard time in tomorrow’s GOP?
You, you entitled-mentality, royalist, anti-Tea-Party free grazer.
Of the two major parties, the evidence suggests that it is the Democrats who have radicalized to a greater degree than the Republicans have.
What you said.
But it’s not just that they’ve radicalized, they’ve gone nucking futz. It’s getting to be like the Israelis trying to negotiate with the Palestinians – they won’t agree to anything, and even when they do they violate it instantly, all the while wailing about how unfair life is and blaming in on the other side.
I don’t know wtf it is with the white-shoe, country-club RINO types, they’re worse than the Jews who are still supporting the Democrats and Obambus. I mean, here we’ve been told for twenty years that Jeb is the star of the Bush clan, and this is his contribution? He’s wrong about his own party, and wronger about the rest of the world.
So he puts his dad in the same category as Reagan? Right.
Bush Sr would have no trouble being a stand in for Romney but is in a completely different league from Reagan.
We have had enough of the Bushes – please no more
I hope for an end the Kennedy and Bush dynasties
HW Bush couldn’t undue Reagan’s reforms fast enough. He couldn’t wait to raise taxes and spending. He got his wish when the S&L’s crashed and he decided it was the federal government’s job to bail out the state institutions. Accommodation my ass – he was a sell out.
HW Bush’s reponse to Reagan’s “trickle down” was “Enough of this Sh!t”, which of course turned out to be his own undoing.
So, the Florida GOP has given us Crist, the Zimmerman prosecutor, the man who appointed her, Marco Rubio’s “you don’t have a heart” ideas, and now this.
Something tells me that behind the scenes a whole lot of rent-seeking goes on in Florida.
I love this endless parade of old worn out RINO’s almost a much as I love the clown show of aging toothless pinkos.
Jeb is secretly trying to help keep America from electing another Bush anytime soon.
So now even Jeb Bush is not welcome in your cult, huh? You are quickly running out of ‘patriots’ to allow into your compact little political black hole.
– how come you haven’t banned the troll yet?
” and centrist Mitt Romney in 2012″ is fixed to be ” and left of center Mitt Romney in 2012″
This is pure nonsense Jeb. Ronaldus Magnus would have united all the factions. The Teas, Reagan Dems, Indies , Libertarians would come swarming to him and he would have destroyed the really dysfunctional Party, the radical leftist Dems. Sorry Jeb. You have lived that moderate bubble bath too long to be listened to. The real villains in politics are on the Left Dem side not the Pubs. In fact, the so called lib to moderate Pubs will have to realize that they no longer run the Party. The old Rockefeller wing is simply kaput and moderate conservs are who get elected. I will be too Jeb, that there are still more moderates in the Pub Party than in the DNC types. And the Pubs of all wings will have to unite instead of blaming one another for ills. Turn their fire on the real horrors: the entire Dem infrastructure and MSM allies. Ronnie would have loved that.
Old Mitt Romney would not stand a chance of winning the nomination. Witness his constant and public recanting of every centrist action ever taken or centrist comment ever uttered. Jeb has a very good point. One has to mouth the proper slogans to win the hearts of the conservative faithful. Deviation from the party dogma is intolerable. To the normal people, Romney’s public debasing of himself in order to win the nomination is nauseating. To the party faithful, it inspires wide-eyed awe and admiration–he finally has accepted the Republican Jesus as his saviour! Hallelujah. But Reagan and others put an emphasis on actual accomplishment that is 1) not valued by politicians today and 2) not possible without committing the sin of compromise. Members of my family have voted Republican since 1940. And they are feeling alienated by this rabid conservatism. I don’t think they are alone. But Jeb’s comments are on target. They may offend some. But rather than continuing to shout down the naysayers, the conservatives should figure out how to keep alienated Republicans on their side.
This is merely proof of a full court press by RNC, DNC, MSM and WALL STREET to ostracize and “redline” the Tea Party (yes, “redline” as in years past, bank loan denials in low income neighborhoods).
This is the GOP’s “push back” against anymore Tea Party expansion. These Washington DC Elites are in “panic” mode. A large swath of dissafected Republican ‘tea partiers’ are rebelling against a We The Elite People of culture of corruption in Washington DC selling America down the stream – to ignomy. Ergo, this “large swath of dissafected Contitutional Conservatives” is bolting from GOP’s Progressive progressive’s mealy-mouthed, self-serving, linguini-spined, political/economic hold on everything America. Soon, a sodomite-free political party, encompassing everything good and wholesome in We The People’s USA will arise. Priebus ans Michael Steele will both choke on their donuts.
Why hasn’t the GOP acknowledged Rep. Alan West’s assertion of “82 communists” in the House of Representatives? Just keep quiet and sweep it under the carpet…it’ll go away!, is the GOP’s way of business-as-usual.
Both Jeb Bush and George Bush are a Progressive’s Progressive. Need proof? When the financial collapse of USA’s Housing market was apace, what did Mr. George Bush (and Jeb, in Florida) do? Loosened sub-prime loan requrements for Latino applicants…further exacerbating this market collapse…so much for “compassionate conservativism.”
Now, Mr. McCain’s daughter is on TV circuit and Progressive talk shows lambasting Tea Partiers, Social Conservatives, and Constitutional Conservatives. We The People must take-up Barry Goldwater’s mantle, wear it proudly and fight for what’s Right and Just…Cheap Energy + unfettered manufacturing = American Exceptionalism. God Bless America. Amen.
Stuttering MF Bush Tool. When the TParty finishes off the RINOs let’s deport Jeb to Mexico with the rest of his illegal friends!