Jeb: Is the GOP ready for another Bush?

last updated 8 January 2015

All of a sudden, the eyes of the Republican Party are on Jeb Bush, said Peter Baker in The New York Times. The former Florida governor and brother of President George W. Bush announced last week he’ll decide whether to run for president by the end of this year. If Bush runs, he said he will do so with a “hopeful” message, reiterating his support for “Common Core” educational standards and urging compassion for workers entering the country illegally—saying “it’s not a felony; it’s an act of love.” In staking out these positions, Bush is clearly “challenging party orthodoxy.” Given the “serious stature gap” among possible Republican candidates, said Jennifer Rubin in WashingtonPost.com, Bush has a real shot at the nomination. The George Washington Bridge traffic scandal is still hovering over Chris Christie, and many of the other likely Republican challengers—including Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, and Rick Perry—appear to lack “sufficient gravitas” to mount a credible presidential campaign.

Bush appeals only to the GOP’s big money establishment, said Daniel Larison in TheAmericanConservative.com. His brother’s presidency “was a disaster for the country from which we are still recovering,” and since Jeb has done little to demonstrate that he disagrees with his older brother’s policies, his bid to become the third Bush to occupy the White House is doomed. Face it—the Bush brand is tarnished by both previous Bush presidencies’ record on taxes and spending, said Jonah Goldberg in the Los Angeles Times.“The rank and file of the GOP,” especially Tea Partiers, simply don’t want to see “another Bush on the ballot.”

Even so, Bush deserves a fair hearing, said George Will in The Washington Post. He’s fluent in Spanish and won 61 percent of Florida’s Hispanic vote in 1998, giving Republicans a chance to win some purple states. But Bush’s centrist candidacy could cause “intraparty carnage” if his supporters argue that when it comes to winning national elections, “the party’s base is the party’s problem.” This is the same dilemma Republicans have wrestled with since the New Deal, said John Dickerson in Slate.com. Should they nominate “a candidate with the best perceived chance of victory, or the one who best reflects the philosophy of the conservative movement”? If Bush does decide to run as a moderate, establishment candidate, “a battle is coming.”