[Image from the Orlando-Sentinel]Tucker Carlson recently interviewed 56-year old Jeb Bush at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, Florida. The interview appears in the August 2009 issue of
Esquire magazine.
Jeb is considered brighter than his brother, Georgi. He is considered more "moderate." Some think he did a good job as governor of Florida.
Actually, he may not be as bright as Georgi. He is anything but moderate and is, in fact, way off on the far right wing of the Repugnican party. As a Floridian, I can say that, with a few exceptions, he was a miserable governor.
Here are some highlights from the interview:
Things are not going too well for the Republicans these days, says Jeb. Especially among minorities. And there are more minorities. Plus, the Dems have done a good job of registering voters, using, you know, "Acorn and the like." So "Hispanics have turned toward the Democratic party in the last two election cycles. Big time. ... you can see a trend that's quite disturbing."
Tucker asked how a Republican can come out against illegal immigration and not alienate Hispanics.
It's hard, admitted Jeb. But you have to talk nicer. Can't rant and rage. "...it requires a tone that's different."
Uh, huh! Like Hispanics will run to your side because you talk softly and not notice you're carrying a big stick?
Then Jeb was asked about Rush Limbaugh. I guess Jeb's afraid of Rush, too, like every other Repugnican. He said, "Rush Limbaugh is a hugely importance force for the conservative movement. ... I feel happy for Rush to get all this attention. He's one part of a mosaic of people and thought in the conservative movement. I don't think you can discount his importance."
Heh, heh! Not that Rush Limbaugh is a oxycontin-addicted moron whose rhetoric is dividing the country and creating a culture of hatred and violence toward anyone who is not a brainless twit! Oh, no. Jeb avoided the truth like a rat running from a cat.
Throughout the interview, Jeb's main theme, which he referred to numerous times was this: "Conservatives can win, can draw people toward our cause with the proper language and the proper ideas. I don't think that conservatism has been rejected in the United States. I don't believe it."
The problem is that conservatives have lost their way. Conservatism needs to go back to good ol' Ronnie Reagan. Jeb's a big fan of Ronnie. Ronnie knew what it was all about! Ronnie embodied Republican "timeless principles."
A sub-theme that also repeats through the interview is that the Republicans didn't lose the last presidential election because his brother made a horrible mess of the presidency and/or that Republicans had no original ideas to present to the American people, but because they used the wrong "tactics."
Yup. It boils down to a matter of tactics! "The Democrats won on tactics," says Jeb. In fact, Obama was a great big phony! "Barack Obama would not have gotten elected if he'd let us in on his secret plan prior to the election." That's right. Obama had this secret plan to create a huge deficit as part of his "government-subsidized health care policy," and "a massive cap-and-trade system [based on the idea] that CO2 is [a] pollutant and we need to tax it in a massive way to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions."
Oh, and Obama painted McCain as one who would raise taxes and that was "unfair."
So, it was Obama's and the Dem's dirty tactics that won them the election. In fact, says, Jeb, "We ... have lost the last two elections in terms of the tactics. In terms of the mechanics of politics, the tactics of politics, the Democrats have cleaned our clock. ... "
The problem, says Jeb, is that the Republicans haven't "upgraded" or "updated" their message. The Repugs, says Jeb, have to get creative.
And what is that message? Aha. It has something to do with education and health care, energy and the environment. He doesn't say just what, though. But big government is bad, bad, bad. And taxes for the rich should be reduced.
Oh, there's another part of the message: we can't be sure about global warming. "I'm a skeptic," says Jeb. "I think the science has been politicized." [It sure has, but by his brother and company, not by the Dems!] And to show this guy really isn't one of the sharper knives in the drawer he says, "It [global warming] may be only partially man-made. It may not be warming by the way. The last six years we've actually had mean temperatures that are cooler."
There's always gay marriage and abortion, too. No changes there. The Repugs got it right. No to both! But they didn't lose the presidential election on those issues, anyway. They lost it on economics. Yup. And McCain was much more qualified to be president than Obama. McCain just couldn't connect with the people. He couldn't communicate the Republican's "timeless principles."
Who does Jeb identify with in the Republican Party these days? Well, Newt Gingrich for one. (Maybe 'cause they're both converts to the Roman Catholic church?) But "Newt is fantastic," says Jeb. And there's a mayor in St. Petersburg who's pretty good. And the governor of Indiana. And "I love Bobby Jindal. (Another Catholic convert!) He's the real deal."
What does Jeb think of Obama, whom he's never met? Tucker asks Jeb if he thinks Obama is a socialist. "I don't know. Define socialism for me. It's a word ... I believe he's a collectivist. He believes that through collective action, through government, you can solve more problems."
"I don't know"????? What kind of answer is that? "Collectivist"? Does that not have a Soviet/KGB ring to it????
And what the hell is the government supposed to do if it isn't about solving problems? The government isn't some entity "out there." We are the government; and the government works for us. It has the job of helping us life safe and productive lives! That's what we elect our representatives to do.
Of course, Jeb and the Repugnicans don't see it that way. The government in their opinion should be just big enough to take care of the corporations that bribe the legislators and other members of the government.
That's another "timeless" Repugnican principle!
Whatever else one wants to say about Jeb Bush, one must say he is a corporatist just like his brother Georgi. He believes in unfettered capitalism. He hasn't gotten the message yet that unfettered capitalism damn near destroyed this country and that if his brother had not turned "socialist" we might never have recovered!
Well, he did say Georgi's bailouts were good. Obama's, not so good.
Jeb is also a rightwing christianist who has no problem making common cause with the fundamentalist Protestant groups. He thinks public education is not doing the job, so when governor of Florida he wanted to take funds away from public schools and give the money to private (read religious) schools in the form of vouchers. That didn't work, but he sure gave it the old college try.
He also thinks "Intelligent Design" or "Creationism" should be taught in public school science classes as an alternative to evolution.
In Florida he hired a private outfit to run at least part of the prison system. That has not worked out too well.
He failed utterly in his educational agenda for the state and left Florida in dire financial straits, one reason being his dismantling of certain taxes paid by the well-to-do.
Jeb Bush believes in the God of Abraham and he loves Jesus and he became a Roman Catholic (his wife was Catholic) and has no problem with the state (public money) supporting religious institutions. He also believes that the abortion is wrong and gay marriage is wrong. Those are all part of what he calls the "timeless principles" of the Republican party.
Another timeless principle or "time-tested practice" is to cut taxes and cut spending. You know, like Reagan didn't do, nor did Jeb's father, nor did Georgi, his brother! Big spenders, all. The difference is that the corporatists made out like bandits and the rest of the people got the shaft. Now, there's a timeless Republican principle!
In summary, Jeb Bush's "timeless principles" are the same failed Repugnican policies that have brought out country to its knees. He has no new ideas. He uses the same old language. It's to be expected, of course, but all I can say is: Boo!
[Photo from Digital Economy]
