Jeb Bush has officially announced he is exploring a run for - TopicsExpress



          

Jeb Bush has officially announced he is exploring a run for President. The news comes after Mitt Romneys camp questioned his prospects as he considers a third run of his own. Having grown up while Bush was Governor of Florida, I can speak to his effectiveness despite my distaste for his politics. It would be foolish to think that he is disqualified simply for being a Bush. The nation is about to learn what Floridians already know; he is twice a better politician than his brother and his father combined. A little background: He used Floridas public schools as a guinea pig for national plans of excessive testing, teacher shaming, and defunding of the arts now known as No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top. When voters decided that class sizes should be limited, he spoke of devious plans to thwart us and remains the biggest national advocate for vouchers that send public money to private and religious schools. He killed high-speed rail in the crib and cut funding to libraries, while Florida dropped in teacher pay rankings and per-pupil spending. He cut a deal to rehabilitate the Everglades, which got great press, but did nothing to implement it while talking out both sides of his mouth on oil drilling off the Florida coasts. He made Florida a centerpiece in the right to die debate by personally intervening all the way to the US Supreme Court in the Terry Schiavo case. Despite ultimately losing that fight, he facilitated the rallying of Floridas social conservatives in a fashion unprecedented since Anita Bryants campaigns against gays in the 1970s. For now, Im assuming Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic nominee. It used to be that the Republican base hated no one more than Hillary Clinton. President Obama has changed that forever and I dont think she will be the target of the same level of obstruction and abuse that President Obama has faced. We learned in 2012 that despite the Tea Partys destabilizing force, the national Republican Party still has the power to ensure stability. They nominated the architect of Obamacare for heavens sake! The effect on the Republican base of President Obama no longer being on the ticket remains to be seen. Will national electability still triumph be able to triumph over animating the base? Im willing to wager yes but I see two other candidates with potential in both areas: Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and Ohio Governor John Kasich. Both lack the national reach and discipline of Bush. Its still very early in the race, but Jeb Bush is an effective and conservative-enough voice who makes policy arguments better than any of his peers. At this point, I am reasonably confident that a spirited race with a crowded field will ultimately find him as the Republican nominee for President in 2016.
Posted on: Tue, 16 Dec 2014 17:09:00 +0000

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