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Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Jeb Bush Fades in N.H., Despite Ad Blitz

By Rick Pearcey • November 3, 2015, 10:44 AM

Mike Flynn writes at Breitbart:

A new poll of New Hampshire Republicans by Monmouth University confirms the fading fortunes of the Jeb Bush campaign.

Despite spending more on TV than all other candidates combined, Jeb has dropped to sixth place in nation’s first primary state, a must-win for his Presidential ambitions. In July, Jeb Bush was second in New Hampshire.

Related
Jeb's Tough Guy Persona Falls Flat



Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Jeb's Tough Guy Persona Falls Flat

By Rick Pearcey • October 28, 2015, 03:04 PM

Or as Kathleen Parker writes, "When all else is failing, reinvent yourself." Well, maybe that works for some people.

In any case, Jeb Bush does seem to be a nice guy. But his personality is not at issue.

His problem is not just that he's a Bush. His problem is that he seems clueless regarding the purpose of being president of the United States.

My only advice is that he read and think through the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution. If he doesn't understand there's a vision for freedom within the liberating circle of constitutional norms and "enumerated powers," then he really ought to seek a different line of work.

Something among the "really cool things" that he "could do," to borrow his phraseology.

Look: Every job -- from dog-catcher to parent to ice-cream truck driver to governor to actor to pastor to president is about "getting things done," etc., etc.

The real question is: What is it, Mr. Bush, that is specific to the elected office of president of the United States?

There's a very specifiic job description relative to being president. Unfortunately, Jeb and about 200% of the Republican establishment do not appear know what that description is.

Or if they know it, they reject it. Neither option encourages confidence.

If you don't know the job by now, Mr. Bush, why should we hire you?

Meanwhile, read the rest of Kathleen Parker's column here.



Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Report: 9-11 Hijackers Obtained Florida I.D. Cards Under Jeb Bush's Watch

By Rick Pearcey • October 20, 2015, 12:19 PM

Alex Swoyer reports at Breitbart:

GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush is defending his brother, former President George W. Bush, against GOP frontrunner Donald Trump’s reminder that 9-11 occurred under George W. Bush's watch.

But the International Business Times (IBT) reports a number of the hijackers on 9-11 actually obtained Florida drivers licenses -- or I.D. cards -- while Jeb Bush was governor, which allowed them to blend into society.

"Breitbart News' Julia Hahn reported that Jeb Bush’s own writings -- reveal that even the Bushes admit that 'leaky' immigration enforcement was a major driving factor in leading to the terrorist attacks," Breitbart reports.



Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Dick Morris: Jeb Bush Can't Win

By Rick Pearcey • October 6, 2015, 07:18 AM

Dick Morris writes:

Say what you will about Trump, Carson, Carly, Rubio, Cruz, Huckabee, Kasich, Christie or even Rand, they are stand-out personalities with compelling positions and features. 
 
By comparison, Jeb just blends into the background, looking like a less-interesting hybrid of his father and brother.

"Jeb deserves his current 4 percent vote share in the latest Pew Research poll," Morris concludes. "He is not a winner."

Read the entire column here.



Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Cruz Defends Huckabee Against Barack Obama and Jeb Bush on Iran Nuke Deal

By Rick Pearcey • July 28, 2015, 11:45 AM

Todd Starnes reports at FoxNews.com:

President Obama and Jeb Bush have drawn the ire of Sen. Ted Cruz after they attacked Gov. Mike Huckabee for his comments about the Iran nuclear deal. 

Huckabee said the president's Iran policy would "take the Israelis and march them to the door of the oven."

"The president bristled at what he called a 'ridiculous' comment," Starnes writes. "The particular comments of Mr. Huckabee are just part of a general pattern we've seen that would be considered ridiculous if it weren't so sad," Obama said, according to Starnes.

Obama also expressed his displeasure with Sen. Ted Cruz. "We've had a sitting senator call John Kerry Pontius Pilate. We've had a sitting senator, who also happens to be running for president, suggest that I'm the leading state sponsor of terrorism. These are leaders in the Republican Party."

Cruz stood his ground and "rebuffed the president's slap," saying it was "particularly sad today that President Obama chose to engage in gutter politics -- attacking Mike Huckabee by name, attacking me -- both of us for standing up against this catastrophic deal -- rather than defending [his position on] the merits," Starnes reports.

"Cruz told me he 'emphatically' stands by Huckabee and his comments," Starnes writes.

Huckabee "is exactly right to highlight the threat that the Obama nuclear deal poses to the nation of Israel. It is a sad day when the president of the United States cannot or will not see this truth," Cruz said, according to Starnes.

In addition to Obama, Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush also "lashed out at Huckabee's assessment of the Obama Administration's deal with Iran -- calling it 'just wrong'," Starnes writes.

"'I think we need to tone down the rhetoric, for sure,' Bush said at a campaign stop in Florida," according to Starnes. "The use of that kind of language is just wrong," Bush is quoted as saying.

Bush said, "This is not the way we're going to win elections, and that's not how we're going to solve problems," Starnes reports.

"Cruz took exception to Bush's attack on the former Arkansas governor," Starnes reports. This is "not a question of rhetoric," Cruz countered, according to Starnes. "It's a question of speaking the truth."

Far better, in Cruz's estimation, to "direct your fire to the real threats facing America -- including the threat of an Iran-led by radical theocratic zealots who chant 'Death to America' and 'Death to Israel'," Cruz advised Bush, according to Starnes.

In a related development, Cruz has invited Obama to "debate the substance of the Iran deal . . . at any time and any place" of Obama's choosing. Perhaps Jeb Bush could help Obama prepare for such a debate.

"Let's do it in front of the American people any time in the next 60 days," Cruz said (see video).

Related
War Is Here: Jihad in Chattanooga
New York Times Caves, Places Ted Cruz's Book A Time for Truth on Bestseller List 



Thursday, June 11, 2015

Jeb Bush Campaign in Lot More Trouble Than They're Letting On

By Rick Pearcey • June 11, 2015, 07:37 AM

Christopher Bedford writes at the Daily Caller:

Former Gov. Jeb Bush’s campaign is in trouble.

This week alone, it has sustained a top-level campaign shake-up and reports have circulated that it may fall short of its fundraising goal.

But a review of the public record shows it already fell way short of its fundraising goal, and has been behind predictions for months. Not by a few million dollars, either, but by as much as $400 million -- or 80 percent as the most optimistic predictions Bush loyalists have circulated.

"All of this -- campaign shuffles and fundraising shortfalls -- before Mr. Bush has even declared his candidacy," Bedford writes. "What happened?"



Wednesday, May 13, 2015

ForAmerica Targets "Unelectable" Jeb Bush in New Ad . . . Update: Watch the Video

By Rick Pearcey • May 13, 2015, 01:38 PM

Melanie Batley reports at Newsmax:

A conservative group is launching an ad against former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, tying him to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and branding him "unelectable."

According to The Hill, ForAmerica will launch the one-minute Web ad Wednesday in early voting states, where the group says it has a "massive digital and social media network."

The five-figure ad will appear in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada as well as Florida, Maine, Colorado, Minnesota, and Missouri.

"Almost all Republicans understand Hillary Clinton would make a terrible president," the text from the ad states, "All except one," according to Newsmax.

"The ad then cuts to Bush presenting an award to Clinton in 2013 and thanking her for her public service," Newsmax reports.

"Mr. Bush is unelectable, and there are several better options for conservatives and Republicans if they want to win in 2016. Period," The Hill quotes ForAmerica chairman Brent Bozell as stating.

"By heaping praise on Hillary Clinton, Mr. Bush has handed her the ammo to bury him . . . and she will," Bozell said, according to The Hill. "No other potential GOP nominee has that fatal disadvantage."

5/14/2015 update: You can view the ad here.

Related   
First Hillary's Finances, Next Jeb Bush's
Jeb Bush 2016 Fail: Let 11 Million Illegals "Receive Earned Legal Status"
Brad Thor: "If Jeb Bush Is the Nominee, I Will Never Vote Republican Again"



Thursday, April 30, 2015

Jeb Bush 2016 Fail: Let 11 Million Illegals "Receive Earned Legal Status"

By Rick Pearcey • April 30, 2015, 01:28 PM

Susan Jones reports at CNSNews.com:

"Immigration is a key element of our country's success," Jeb Bush, a possible contender for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, told the National Christian Hispanic Leadership Conference in Houston on Wednesday.

An advocate of immigration reform, Bush said the 11 million people who are in the country illegally "should come out from the shadows and receive earned legal status."

He said the United States is the only country that "has the chance to become young and dynamic again," all because of immigration. "This is not the time to abandon something that makes us special and unique," he added.

Memo to Mr. Bush: Immigration is not "something that makes us special and unique."

Rather American specialness and uniqueness is due to everyday citizens -- whether immigrant citizens or not -- who embrace the constitutional and Declaration principles that constitute the enduring mainstream and defining ethos of American governance and civil society.

The Bushes, including Jeb, appear to be nice people. But for all their suits and ties and friendly public manner, they embrace real-world politics that is a not-nice form of governance. Rather than unity and diversity with unalienable rights sourced in the Creator (see the Declaration), they see the United States as a country run by elites who hold power and occupy Washington, D.C.

This is the opposite of what America is really all about. For this is an America of centralized government, a real-world monopoly of power that wars at every level against the freedom, dignity, security, and safety of the man or woman on the street.

Many people understand that monopolies are anathema in the area of business. Well, the monopoly of power centralized into Washington, D.C., is a million times worse.

A business cannot fine you, jail you, or kill you if you decide to take your patronage elsewhere. But governments can and do.

If you doubt this, read the history of the 20th century, with special attention to inhumanities of National Socialist Germany, the Soviet Union, and Communist China. And don't forget the millions of dead via the delegated authority by which a cruel U.S. government via "choice" even now allows the slaughter of preborn human beings. So much for the choices of the "least of these."

The Constitution and Declatration, by contrast, understand that legitimate power and authority in America is rooted in the people, spread across a diversity of forms of self-governance -- from the indvidual, to family, to community, to town, city, state, and so on.

The federal government has a role, and a proper one, but it is a carefully circumscribed role. That role is not defined as that of finding the smartest people and then trying to solve problems.

That understanding of one's role is common to any person in any job or walk of life who wants to do the right thing. Every parent, school board member, mayor, governor, or president ought to operate by that principle.

But do you understand what this means? It means that the principle of "solving problems" is not what defines a specific calling. It is a good and general rule that applies to all callings; but it tells you nothing about what specifically is my legitimate role in a particular job, office, or societal sphere.

The relevant question is: What is my particular job description as parent, as pastor, as professor, as judge, as president, and so on?

The U.S. president's job is not to "run America." No, a thousand times no. That is an expression of authoritarianism, no matter how nicely it is conveyed.

The U.S. president's job is to protect and defend the U.S Constitution, which was ratified to incarnate the principles of the Declaration of Independence. The point is to undercut would-be messiahs from Washington-on-high. These saviors -- whether Republican or Democrat -- do far too much damage.

To operate outside of this constitutional circle of understanding is to violate your presidential oath and, unavoidably, to court tyranny. Even if you are a nice guy, violating the presidential job description is an open door to tyranny.

In the liberating American ethos, there is no concept of a federal government with a blank check able to write for itself its own purchase on power.

In addition, to the degree that a political figure or arm of government operates outside of this mainstream of human liberty, to that degree one is an extremist against the freedom and the dignity of each man and woman. Clearly, this is not good, no matter how much you smile or even if you are married to a minority.

In contrast to Mr. Bush, the Declaration of Independence understands that what makes America "special and unique" is not that nice and smart people win elections, move to Washington, and then run the country.

Rather, the Declaration proclaims that all of us run the country, each in our own sphere of authority, upon the basis that every human being is "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights" and "that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

Truly, this diversity is our strength.

Here are a couple of suggestions. Let millions who want to immigrate to American first understand and embrace the rules of human freedom and dignity that make America "special and unique." At a minimum, this requires a repudiation of the cheap patriotism of illegal immigration.

And to avoid the blind leading the blind into the ditch of authoritarianism and its attendant inhumanity, those who seek office in America should respect and apply the enduring rules of freedom. Tyrants at home and abroad should fear whoever is elected president of the United States. 



Monday, April 27, 2015

First Hillary Clinton's Finances, Next Jeb Bush's

By Rick Pearcey • April 27, 2015, 08:57 AM

Breitbart reprints the following from a story first appearing in Politico:

The author raising questions about whether Hillary Clinton gave special treatment to foreign donors to the Clinton Foundation while she was secretary of state is looking into the finances of another 2016 presidential hopeful: Republican Jeb Bush.

Peter Schweizer said Sunday on ABC’s This Week that over the past four months he’s also been looking into the former Florida governor’s dealings in what could serve as a follow up to Clinton Cash, which has caused headaches for the democratic hopeful.

Specifically, Schweizer said he was investigating Bush’s land and airport dealings along with certain financial transactions with hedge funds in what he said would be a "similar mode" to his look into Clinton.



Friday, April 10, 2015

Krauthammer: Clinton "Fatigue" Would be "Negated" by Jeb

By Rick Pearcey • April 10, 2015, 08:58 AM

Ian Hanchett reports at Breitbart:

Columnist Charles Krauthammer argued that "Clinton fatigue" would be "one of the great advantages" for the GOP against Hillary, but would be "negated" if the party nominates Jeb Bush in an interview on Thursday’s Kelly File on the Fox News Channel.

Related  
Group: Jeb Bush "Unelectable" After Giving Medal to Hillary Clinton

No More Bushes!



Friday, February 20, 2015

Group: Jeb Bush "Unelectable" After Giving Medal to Hillary Clinton

By Rick Pearcey • February 20, 2015, 08:58 AM

Ken McIntyre writes at the Daily Signal:

A conservative group’s new online ad portrays Jeb Bush as "unelectable" to the presidency because the Republican presented a public service award to the Democratic favorite, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Clinton received the award, the video emphasizes, on Sept. 10, 2013 -- one day short of the first anniversary of the terrorist attacks on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, that left four Americans dead and stained her legacy as secretary of state.

"The group ForAmerica released the one-minute video this morning. ForAmerica is one of several Virginia-based educational nonprofits run by L. Brent Bozell III, perhaps best known for heading the Media Research Center," according to the Daily Signal.

"It’s bad enough that Hillary Clinton will likely use footage from this event against any Republican nominee," Bozell reportedly said to the Daily Signal. "But if Jeb Bush is her opponent, she will make him look ridiculous."

"The Daily Signal has sought comment from a Bush spokeswoman, but she has not responded," McIntyre reports.