POLITICO talked to nearly two dozen major donors, and most say they are waiting for what one veteran Republican and former Bush 43 administration appointee described as the “family hall pass” to jump to another campaign after the New Hampshire primary.
“I’m resigned to it being over, frankly. It’s really disappointing,” said one top Bush Wall Street donor. “I’d urge him to get out after New Hampshire if he doesn’t do well, but he probably won’t.”
The deterioration of the Bush campaign has been a humbling experience for his fundraisers. A year ago, even before he was a candidate, Bush’s team was locking down donors across the country and getting commitments for six- and seven-figure checks with little trouble. Donors were pitted against each other to see who could raise more and be in the good graces of the man who, at the time, was described by many in Bush World as the inevitable nominee.
Politico also reports on a Bush fundraiser who told donors, “Hey, I need you to throw away money on Jeb — out of loyalty.”
Ouch.
Politicians would have you believe they’ve got to do something to get the money out of politics, despite abundant evidence like this report that money, to coin a phrase, can’t buy you love.
Jeb is arguably a better chief executive than W, and he’s an amazing fundraiser — but when it comes to campaigning, he’s a ’90s politician in Trump’s postmodern world.
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