Jeb Bush wants to re-write history – his own
Jeb Bush wants to be president. In his mind he was going to be the Republican nominee in 2016. He had the nomination sewn up even before jumping in – he thought.
His name, ability to raise money and his (own and his family’s) sense of empowerment had him running a tough campaign against Hillary Clinton next year. He was convinced of that. Fourteen months before the election, things are not necessarily lining up like Jeb dreamed they would.
First, there’s a guy named Donald Trump in the way. The Donald seems to get under Jeb’s thin skin, and Trump does not pass up a chance to prick him every chance he gets. And as outlandish and out of left field the many Trump statements may seem, his poll numbers continue to rise while Bush’s head south.
Jeb seems desperate – in his own un-charismatic way. It’s gotten to the point that the younger Bush has started to re-write history. His own.
There’s a hitch to his revised history, though; the media’s not letting him get away with it.
On Wednesday, for example, The Washington Post “Fact Checker” column took on Jeb and his claim that while governor “Florida led the nation in job creation.” They labeled his assertion “bogus.”
Fact Checker looked deeply into the Bush campaign commercials where Jeb makes his claim and credits a Washington Post article written in January 2007 as the source.
Getting off the subject for a second… when Bush makes such a claim, while running for president, knowing his assertion is a lie, or at the very least a very questionable half-truth, it makes me wonder how smart Jebby really is. Does he think he is still in Florida (where he’s popular and often gets a pass)? Does he expect to get away with it – with just a wink and a nod?
Jeb was supposed to be the smart brother – the one that should have been president. But at every step of the campaign he has shown himself not prepared, and the dumber of the brothers – which is a lot to say.
But back to the Post and their Fact Checker. In their own words: “It turns out it was not a Washington Post report but actually a long article that originally appeared in the Florida Sun-Sentinel, which The Post republished. Buried near the end of the article is this line: ‘But while Florida led the nation in job creation, much of that was in low-paid service industry jobs that left many Floridians without health insurance and scrambling for affordable housing amid a real estate boom that helped fuel business-friendly tax breaks.’”
The Washington Post points out: “Oops, that’s not so positive. For some reason, Bush did not mention those caveats in his campaign ad.”
And the fact is that, even with poor jobs being created, from 1999 to 2007 (years when Bush was governor) Florida was fifth (NOT first) in job creation, behind Nevada, Arizona, Wyoming and Idaho.
There’s also the recent assertion by Bush that he’s the one to fix the dysfunctional mess that is Washington, D.C. Claiming to be the kumbaya candidate is another lie, says Adam Smith, political editor of the Tampa Bay Times, who wrote about a Bush statement that “I don’t assume it’s my way or the highway.”
As we reported in our Conexion Miami column, not even members of Jeb’s Party believe that one. Smith reminds us of former Florida House Speaker Johnnie Byrd, a Republican, who disagreed and had this to say: Bush’s “style is my way or the highway. The whole time I worked with him, he never listened to me or anybody else in the process. If Mitch McConnell and John Boehner think they’re going to have a great relationship with President Jeb Bush, they better watch out.” Ouch Jebby! You’ve been called out – again!
Examples of Bush lies abound and the press is after all of them. So if Jeb hopes to turn around a campaign that seems to be going nowhere, he better come up with something more clever than lies. He may have gotten away with this chicanery in Florida, where for some reason they like him, but it’s not working in the other 49 states.
In the meantime sitting back and smiling is another renowned double-speaker from Florida who is showing to be a better campaigner than Jeb. The water-chugging Senator from West Miami is letting Bush take the brunt of the Trump stampede while he hides, ready to pounce when the Donald train loses steam.
The question to ask: When will the crazy American public lose interest in the Trump shenanigans?
I call those who would vote for Trump crazy. If not I would have to refer to them as modern-day fascists. Remember it was the guy with a funny moustache who blamed the Jews for all of Germany’s woes once. Our guy with the funny hair is trying to do the same, this time with immigrants.
Maybe Jeb should put on his big boy pants and take on the Donald. Rebut his claims against immigrants. That might convince some in this country he has presidential potential. Anyway, it would be the right thing to do. He’d be defending his family. He IS married to a Mexican.
