Jeb Bush: All the Right Needs is Populism

Whoever thinks that making the rich in America pay a few more taxes is the work of socialists, or presidents on Sunset Boulevard — see Obama — is barking up the wrong tree. Even Jeb Bush — in the photo with his son George Prescott — believes this could be the right road to follow and that the fruits of the recovery, which must be consolidated without anyone resting too much on their laurels, must not only benefit the banks but also wage packages. It seems the former governor of Florida has clear ideas with his run for the 2016 presidential elections in view: He does not want to leave any advantage to the Democrats, either regarding the fruits of the economic recovery, or worse, on immigration. On this last point, he is firm about the need to legalize millions of clandestines. With regard to the Keystone pipeline, disputed by environmentalists, Bush stresses that “approving it is a no-brainer.” In other words, it sounds like something coming from Obama, or even a more left-wing Democratic candidate. Instead, we are talking about Bush, son and brother of two former presidents of the United States, a hardline Republican. So, what’s happened? Have we missed some kind of metamorphosis?

Jeb Bush states the key points of his platform one by one, and surprisingly, the main target for his attacks is not Obama or the Democrats, but right-wing America, stuck in a rut and incapable of — as he see things — identifying and implementing innovative proposals. “There needs to be adult conversation about the future of our country, something which is lacking in Washington at the moment.” And then, “We’re not going to win votes as Republicans unless we can lay out a hopeful, optimistic message that’s based in reality, that’s grounded in a set of policies that are real, that people believe can actually happen. Hope and a positive agenda wins out over anger and reaction every day of the week.”

This is really the essence of Bush’s debate. Not always saying no to everything, but managing to say the occasional yes and embrace some of the Democrats’ debates. Jeb Bush wants to get as far as possible away from what Romney did in his electoral campaign. Bush looks toward a new right-wing, far away from the tea party on many topics. Will this right-wing manage to assert itself in the “Elephant’s” primaries?

Meanwhile, in recent days, Romney and Bush have had a meeting. It would appear that it didn’t lead to any agreement. It seems that this face-to-face was initiated by Bush and organized before the two-time candidate for the White House, Romney, expressed his intention to run for a third time. If both of them decide to run, their campaigns risk dividing the Grand Old Party even further, as well as its front line of financiers, both small and large. Bush’s followers have expressed doubts about the Mormon candidate’s possible third candidacy. On the other hand, Romney’s supporters fear that the former governor of Florida does not have all of the prerequisites — starting with the right political passion — to make a good candidate.

There is a very interesting post on Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight blog: “Is Jeb Bush too liberal — too left-wing? — to win the Republican nomination in 2016?” It is certainly a topic of hot debate. The interesting thing to note is this: It’s not enough to win the GOP nomination; what counts is winning the elections and getting into the White House, and this is what should be going through the minds of those who have the Republican Party’s fate — and ideas — close to heart.