 The fat hobbit ... er ... Jeb Bush ... is seriously considering a run for the U.S. Senate, now that Sideshow Mel has bowed out. Sure, his big brother torched the country (and can't even take responsibility for it) and probably ruined any chance of Jeb fulfilling his lifelong dream of being president (a dream George did not share, by most accounts) but Jeb must figure he can still have a national future, despite the family name. Could he win? Sure. Jeb was a not incompetent governor, if a really evil one. And he probably retains enough popularity in northern Florida, and even in his stomping ground, Miami-Dade, to pull it off. Says Politico:
Martinez announced Tuesday that he will not seek reelection in 2010. Asked whether he was interested in running for the seat then, Bush told Politico by email Tuesday night: “I am considering it.” A source close to Bush said he'll be thoughtful and methodical about the decision-making process. He will consider the impact a race would have on his family and his business and whether or not the U.S. Senate is the best forum from which to continue his advocacy for the issues on which he’s focused, such as education, immigration, and GOP solutions to health care reform.
Translation: private school vouchers, privatization and doing whatever it takes to buy the Hispanic vote (a bit of trivia: Jeb's wife, Columba, is Mexican.)
Unlike his brother, Jeb, who formed a think tank after losing his first gubernatorial race to Lawton Chiles in 1994, and then signed on to the Project for a New American Century, is a policy wonk, and unlike his brothers, is not a dummy. His smarts, and frankly, his deviousness, are pretty well known in and out of GOP circles. He even has some allies in the black community, including Urban League of Greater Miami president T. Willard Fair, although his allies don't have broad Af-Am support themselves. Still, Jeb is not without ideas:
In an interview with Politico immediately after November’s election, the former governor said the Republican Party should take four primary steps to regain favor with voters: show no tolerance for corruption, practice what it preaches about limiting the scope of government (“There should not be such a thing as a big-government Republican”), stand for working families and small business, and embrace reform.
Bush said conservatives should “do the math of the new demographics of the United States,” explaining that the Republican Party “can’t be anti-Hispanic, anti-young person, anti many things and be surprised when we don’t win elections.” And more importantly, the Florida GOP probably really wants him to run. The only other "star" they've got down here is Marco Rubio, the young, handsome, Cuban-American out-going House speaker, who is also considering a run. But if Jebbie gets in, he and most of the other wannabes, perhaps even Florida's own Don Quixote, Bill McCollum, would likely step aside.
UPDATE: If Jeb isn't running, why is he talking to so many reporters? Translation: he's running.
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Labels: Florida, Jeb Bush, U.S. Senate |
