Jeb Bush's Poorly Timed Flip-Flop on Immigration

[gator996]

I think Jeb is the #1 choice of the GOP and this is a bad sign that
he's falling in line with the "no path to citizenship" crowd.


http://news.yahoo.com/jeb-bushs-poor...-politics.html


Jeb Bush's Poorly Timed Flip -Flop on Immigration

The stunning reversal by one of the Republican Party’s leading champions of immigration reform and Hispanic outreach, at least in part, comes down to a colossal political miscalculation.

When Bush and coauthor Clint Bolick were writing the book during the 2012 presidential campaign, the GOP was veering far to the right. Republican nominee Mitt Romney had staked out a hard-line position against illegal immigration, blasting his primary rivals as pro-amnesty and promoting “self-deportation” for undocumented workers. Bush sent the book to the printer before Christmas – weeks before a handful of Senate Republicans embraced a sweeping overhaul that, like the proposals backed by Bush’s brother, former President George W. Bush, would allow illegal immigrants to earn citizenship.

In other words, Bush's party moved a lot faster than the book-publishing world.

“Gov. Bush has always wanted to move the party towards a bigger solution that would provide residency and a path to legal citizenship, but he knew it would require getting Republicans to the table,” Republican strategist Sally Bradshaw, Bush’s former chief of staff, said in an e-mail to National Journal. “This book and his recommendations reflect that situation and his attempt to get the GOP talking about a possible solution. The focus of this effort is legal residency and a completely redesigned immigration system.”

In an interview Tuesday morning on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," Bush started backpedaling off his opposition to citizenship in his book. “If you can craft that in law, where you can have a path to citizenship where there isn’t an incentive for people to come illegally, I’m for it," he said. "I don’t have a problem with it. I don’t see you how you do it, but I’m not smart enough to figure out every aspect of a really complex law.”

The bottom line is that in Bush’s zeal to kick-start an immigration reform debate in the GOP, he apparently laid the groundwork for his own flip-flop. While he's arguing against citizenship for illegal immigrants in his book because it would give them a leg up over those who applied legally, last year in an interview with Charlie Rose on CBS, he said, “You have to deal with this issue. You can’t ignore it, and so either a path to citizenship, which I would support--and that does put me probably out of the mainstream of most conservatives--or a path to legalization, a path to residency of some kind.”

[Minister_of_Information]

I'm amazed that you think there's a chance of a Bush being nominated by the GOP ever again.

[gator996]

50-50 proposition IMHO....

I don't think Jeb is anything special as a legislator or executive but he does the best job of appearing to be "centrist"...


Now, whether or not that actually helps him in the primaries is a question unanswered.

[g8trjax]

Woo hoo, another spineless pub politician. Stay out the bushes!

[gatorman_07732]

So we can have a Bush - Clinton choice in the general election...Awesome, now thats change

[gatordowneast]

I for one hope Bush doesn't run (even though he would be 15 times better than what we are currently stuck with) because I don't want to have to read retread Bush Bashing threads again.

[g8orbill]

If the pubs nominate another so called moderate they will have zero chance of winning the White House- but in my opinion they have bigger worries in that they have to hold on to the House or your president will have cart blanche to complete the socialization of America

[wgbgator]

Originally Posted by Minister_of_Information

I'm amazed that you think there's a chance of a Bush being nominated by the GOP ever again.

Seems unlikely to me. If there is a "he got next" establishment candidate, he's it though. That was enough for McCain and Romney to overcome tepid enthusiasm.

[orangeblueorangeblue]

Originally Posted by wgbgator

Seems unlikely to me. If there is a "he got next" establishment candidate, he's it though. That was enough for McCain and Romney to overcome tepid enthusiasm.

I doubt the Republicans are going establishment candidate next time. I don't think Bush will/would be the guy. I think it's a 4-year Rubio grooming.

[Gatorrick22]

Originally Posted by gator996

50-50 proposition IMHO....
I don't think Jeb is anything special as a legislator or executive but he does the best job of appearing to be "centrist"...


Now, whether or not that actually helps him in the primaries is a question unanswered.

Yeah right, you're just stirring up crap that's not even a reality..... Trying to cover all the possibilities for whom might be the Republican nominee, before the Pubs even know who will be their guy/gal.

Where were you when Obama flip-floped on numerous things... like gay marriage? BO does it all the time, but JB has a change of heart...... it's scandalous....

[geauxgator1]

Originally Posted by orangeblueorangeblue

I doubt the Republicans are going establishment candidate next time. I don't think Bush will/would be the guy. I think it's a 4-year Rubio grooming.

I hope you are right, but I don't see the changing of the guard in the RNC anytime soon. Rubio would be a great candidate, however.

[Swampmaster]

hillary will beat bush or rubio easily in 2016---it could be a landslide

[gtr2x]

Originally Posted by orangeblueorangeblue

I doubt the Republicans are going establishment candidate next time. I don't think Bush will/would be the guy. I think it's a 4-year Rubio grooming.

Bush for all practical purposes is rubios mentor. If he doesn't run all his money and influence will swing to Rubio fwiw.

Neither are familiar with the term "moderate" BTW.

[T3goalie]

Originally Posted by Swampmaster

hillary will beat bush or rubio easily in 2016---it could be a landslide

2016 is a long way off...

[RealGatorFan]

Originally Posted by gatordowneast

I for one hope Bush doesn't run (even though he would be 15 times better than what we are currently stuck with) because I don't want to have to read retread Bush Bashing threads again.

1,000 years from now, they still will so why not have him run anyway if he's the best man for the job?

[CHFG8R]

Originally Posted by Minister_of_Information

I'm amazed that you think there's a chance of a Bush being nominated by the GOP ever again.

Plus, I don't think he wants to run. I think he likes being a kingmaker, a string-puller behind the scenes as opposed to out-front politician.

[Matthanuf06]

Originally Posted by orangeblueorangeblue

I doubt the Republicans are going establishment candidate next time. I don't think Bush will/would be the guy. I think it's a 4-year Rubio grooming.

Rubio is about as establishment as it can possibly get.

[T3goalie]

Bush III vs. Clinton II is a puke fest no matter how it ends...

[RayGator]

Originally Posted by T3goalie

Bush III vs. Clinton II is a puke fest no matter how it ends...

I think a Bush III vs Clinton II would be both fun and interesting contest to watch. You know the media would absolutely love it!

This article is about the possibility of Jeb Bush jumping into the race. I don't recall seeing one about Hillary going for it although it wouldn't surprise me if she did. Jeb is now 60 and if doesn't do it in 2016 at age 64, I don't think he may wait for a later time. Same for Hillary, she must be in her 60s also. Maybe near 70. At least she looks that old to me now when you compare what she did look like back in the '90s when she and Bill had their time in the White House.

http://www.theledger.com/article/201...30309409?tc=ar