I Still Like Marco

Funny, we were talking about this at dinner the other night:  who looks good in 2016 for the GOP?  My first response was "No More Bushes."  And now, Byron York:

The Tea Party surely has had its bad moments (the shutdown is one of them), but it has also developed a sizable group that works and plays well with others, and it is to these that the party should look. They are young, and make Hillary Clinton look tired. 

They come from humble sometimes immigrant, backgrounds, and make her look overly rich and entitled. Their diversity makes her look whiter than ever. None has a relative who has ever been president, but one has a mentor who is the son and the brother of presidents, and a Cuban last name: Marco Rubio. 

Rubio looks like a Bush, likes the Bush issues, has an eloquence equaled by none in his party, and has been called both a Tea Party and an Establishment figure, sometimes on the same day. 

The last three Democrats to be president won as outsiders, running against older, long-time insiders, who themselves came from rich and establishment families. Jeb Bush should call it a day, and become the godfather of the first Hispanic president, who, with Kelly Ayotte on his ticket, will fight Hillary to a race/gender draw.

I'm good with Marco Rubio.  He's made some missteps, but I'm just fine with him.  I've been in his camp since 2009.

Maybe if Marco runs we'll even rev up Not One Red Cent again!

And if you've forgotten how eloquent Marco can be, watch this one more time:



Honestly, I think it's too early for Ted Cruz, Romney says no more, Jeb Bush loves Common Core so he's not for me (though I'm really not a single issue kind of girl), Rick Perry has shot his wad, and as much as I'd love someone like Allen West, I don't think, at this point, he would garner the votes, although I'd love to see him in a primary.  Rand Paul?  Primary.  Get a good strong primary crew and duke it out.

But I like Marco.

On the record.

April 17, 2014.

Just Say No

I dislike the implications in this post via The Corner:

North Texas will host what could be the first showdown of the 2016 presidential campaign. 

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are scheduled to speak at separate events in the Dallas area on April 24, the day before the potential presidential contenders are expected to attend the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Center.

No more Bushes.

Jeb Bush on the Future of the Republican Party

Jeb Bush examines the future of the Republican party in an interview with Tucker Carlson. Carlson's presence rather overshadows the interview at times as he can't resist editorializing at every turn. That said, Jeb has some interesting things to say.

When asked about the current state of the GOP, Bush points out that the demographics "are going against us." He points to the fact that out of 53 districts in California, Democratic registration outnumbers Republicans in every single one. He says, "The swing voters are Hispanic voters in most of the swing states. And Republicans have done a poor job, sending signals that Hispanics aren't wanted in our party. Which is bizarre." He's got a point there, at least in Florida. The early dismissal of Marco Rubio by the NRSC is evidence of that. Rubio is a solid conservative candidate with wide appeal yet he was overthrown almost immediately in favor of the centrist Charlie Crist.

When asked if Republicans have alienated Hispanics, Bush replies, "The people that are on television are the loudest on the immigration issue. The emotion, the anger, is a signal. Put aside the substance, but just in terms of the language. It makes it sound like them and us." He suggests that Republicans moderate their language and change the tone in order to draw more Hispanic voters. I'm not sure that's the whole answer, but I think he has a point. One thing Republicans have not done well is find a way to effectively get their message across.

Bush says that conservatives have "lost their way." This much I agree with. Republicans have drifted too far center to the point where you can't tell many of them from the Democrats and this led to critical defeats in the past couple of elections. When voters can't tell one party from the other, what difference does it make who you vote for?

Bush contends that "we haven't upgraded our message. We haven't updated it" which he says makes Republicans "not relevant to the world we live in." What does this mean exactly? Become more centrist? Become more conservative? He suggests finding more "creative ways of expressing the principles."

Bush goes on to talk a bit about the 2008 campaign and why he thinks McCain lost, even though "he was far more qualified to be president than President Obama," and he talks about future contenders for the leadership of the Republican party (Newt, Rick Baker, Mitch Daniels, to name a few.)

If you can get through Tucker Carlson's smarmy editorializing, it's an interesting read.