With the acknowledged benefit of hindsight, the rise of Trump does indeed appear fueled by a rejection of political dynasty and elitism. Jeb never stood a chance.
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Back a year ago, before Donald Trump became the presumptive Republican nominee, before any votes had actually been cast, the “frontrunner” of the GOP’s presidential nomination was none other than Jeb Bush.
This had little to do with his political skills. Rather, the assessment from pundits came from the simple observation that Jeb(!) had money. Lots of money.
Many millions more than anyone else. This was imagined as a formidable obstacle for lesser-known names to compete against.
Turns out? Not at all.
Donald Trump singled Jeb out early for criticism, and within three states’ voting, the younger Bush son to aspire towards White House residence had suspended his campaign. The closest he came to “winning” a state was in New Hampshire, where he barely broke into double digit percentages, and had to spin a fourth place finish into the epic rally of “we’re not dead yet.”
This unfolding of events raises interesting questions about the claim that money in politics, or at least money donated to political campaigns, is really all that pernicious. After all, since Trump managed to secure the nomination – as of now – with very little spending on his part, several regular mega donors have decided to sit out this year altogether. Some never jumped in whatsoever.
But that is an article for another time. For today, I’d like to take a trip down memory lane and look at the ways Jeb Bush may have in fact enabled Donald Trump’s rise.
There is the obvious fact that Jeb is the brother of the previous Republican president, George W. Bush. And while many may hold a personal respect for him, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan – the first essentially lost, the latter still ongoing – have left W’s legacy as a question mark at best, a dark stain of mistakes from which we continue to suffer at worst.
Isn’t Jeb his own man, one might ask?
Well, of course.
However, that plea of Jeb’s ignores the other family fact, that his father is the current penultimate Republican president.
What Jeb was asking of Republicans amounted to dynasty endorsement.
The GOP had four years of George H.W. Bush, then eight years of Bill Clinton.
Then the GOP would get eight years of George W. Bush, followed by eight years of Barack Obama.
And then the GOP could look forward to a new Republican term, courtesy of…. Another Bush?
This Bush Family trajectory of power encapsulated my entire lifetime, by the way. Jeb was asking people in their early thirties and younger to accept the reality of naught but Bushes as Republican presidential victors.
How the inevitable ire and revolt this kind of arrogance would provoke was somehow lost on Jeb, and his family, remains a mystery. Sure, McCain and Romney had their shots, but they both had to run against an exorbitantly popular president, and one with claim to historic value beyond a normal incumbent.
What’s more, there was plenty of warning that the appetite for “compassionate” conservatism had died out. Any survey of prominent voices of the right-wing could have told you that Bush would face enormous criticism from most, including the influential Rush Limbaugh and his talk radio kin.
These “True Conservatives” were vying for an anti-Establishment, Washington outsider. The proverbial cowboy, who would ride a mighty steed of grassroots rage into power.
Jeb Bush is the antithesis of this vision. Jeb is the polite son of a former president, born and bred in elite circles of power and influence, and he behaved accordingly.
Unlike his older brother, Jeb never came close to seeming like a man of the people. His constant befuddlement at the public reaction to his mediocrity only furthered the perception that he was someone who expected this to just be handed over.
To such an attitude, the people said no.
Initially, I agreed with them. And out of the seventeen original Republican candidates, Bush would have been my 15th or 16th choice.
Sadly, the very least qualified, least suited one among them has now become the presumptive nominee.
That Jeb Bush and the dynastic reign of power his family represents do not deserve another go ‘round is a premise I emphatically agree with. Even if Jeb were epically gifted as a politician, the symbolic message sent would still be disastrous.
We are America. We don’t have monarchies here.
But that does not mean nominating a policy know-nothing, with the temperament of an undisciplined toddler, was the right choice.
“The People” were given fifteen other possibilities.
Perhaps it is heresy to say this, but my take?
“The People” were right to reject Jeb.
But “The People” were enormously wrong to nominate Donald Trump.
Photo: Flickr/Gage Skidmore