America’s Next Bush
Mark Schmitt looks forward to the end of the dynasties of yesteryear:
And so one of the gratifying effects of tonight’s results is that all of that is over. There are no more Doles. No more Bushes. (Unless Jeb rears his head, or one of the grandchildren, but I think they will have to campaign despite their name rather than because of it.) No more McCains. No more Sununus
Instead, by 2024 a majority of seats in the U.S. Senate will be controlled by the related Smith and Udall families.
But seriously, I wouldn’t count Bush out yet! After all, the last GOP ticket to win the Presidency without a Bush on the ballot was Nixon-Agnew in 1972. Republicans can’t win without Ohio and they can’t win without Bush. Recall that in 1992, Bush père got a McGovernesque 37 percent of the vote while alienating his base and apparently destroying the conservative coalition that had dominated American politics for twelve years. It only took seven years from that defeat for conservative elites around the country to reach the conclusion that what America needed was his dimwitted son. If Obama has a reasonably successful first time and gets re-election, maybe the right will decide that the smarter, more accomplished Bush is the way to go. Meanwhile, consider that if Jeb had won his 1994 race, he would likely have been the 2000 GOP nominee and it’s at least possible he would have been a much better President.
50 Responses to “America’s Next Bush”
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November 5th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
I might be wrong, but I think there is a Jorge Bush with political aspirations lurking about, no? I mean bringing together Latino nationalism under a Republican banner may be compelling. A right-wing Obama.
No me gusta.
-g
November 5th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
If Obama has a reasonably successful first time and gets re-election, maybe the right will decide that the smarter, more accomplished Bush is the way to go. Meanwhile, consider that if Jeb had one his 1994 race, he would likely have been the 2000 GOP nominee
Marvelous.
November 5th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
Oh please…… as a Floridian I’ve lived through 8 years of Jeb as Gov., 8 years of “W” and 4 years of George H.W., though I’ve never voted for a Bush ever (except Chuck Busch in college).
“g” is right; Jeb has a son who is half Hispanic and is said to be a future politician.
How about Chelsea Clinton in ‘16??
November 5th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
I’ll go with Sasha Obama in 2036.
November 5th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
Republicans can’t win without Ohio and they can’t win without Bush.
Ladies and Gentlemen, presenting George P. Bush, the future Governor of Ohio! Also, pwned.
November 5th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
Hmm, let’s not set too high a bar now.
November 5th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
I’m mostly worried about the coming Palin dynasty.
November 5th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
I think the odds are better than even that Jeb will be the Republican nominee in 2012. Why would he wait an extra 4 years? And I think the GOP is just deeply enough in its own cocoon to think that a Bush restoration is just what the country will need after 4 years of Obama.
November 5th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
No more McCains.
Huh? Since when is McCain a political “dynasty”? His father and grandfather were military men, not politicians. Moreover, McCain is still a senator.
November 5th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
Jeb’s got the douche-bag chops, but is he really stupid enough to get the support of the Republican base?
November 5th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Matthew left out the best part– George W staged a comeback for the Bush clan even after brother Neil Bush sodomized the taxpayers to the tune of $1 BILLION for a Savings and Loan called Silverado. (I kid you not)
Somehow the stupidfuck Mainstream news media never got around to mentioning the above. So when the latest shitstorm hit Wall Street, it was all “how could such a thing happen?”
November 5th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
It would be interesting to see how much money Neil has made investing in credit default swaps. I know that he’s made a killing pushing crappy computerized learning tools to school systems. The fact that he sold tons of his shit in Florida while his brother was Governor was pure coincidence.
November 5th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Re Silverado, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Bush#Silverado_Savings_.26_Loan
Got to admit though — a $1.5 Trillion screwing outweighs a mere $1 Billion screwing. George W always was the competitive type.
Note that pere George H Bush didn’t inform the voters about the Savings and Loan crisis until two weeks AFTER he won the election in 2008.
As always, the StupidFuck News Media didn’t have a clue. But while they didn’t warn us that we were about to be sodomized with a telephone pole, the News Media DID do a pretty good job of telling us about Gary Hart playing “hide the salami” with a woman other than his wife. On a boat called ..er.. “monkey Business”
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Hart#1988_presidential_campaign_and_the_Donna_Rice_affair
November 5th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
Re: I think the odds are better than even that Jeb will be the Republican nominee in 2012.
Not only has George W permanently spoiled the Bush brand, but Jeb was not a sucessful governor in Florida (where I lived 2003-2008). I would give him high marks for hurricane preparedness, but otherwise his tenure was a fiasco from which Florida is only now digging out. His worst failure lay in his inability to manage the Florida legislature, despite the fact it was solidly dominated by his own party. Hence an endless succession of special (and costly) sessions because Jeb and the legislature left problems go unaddressed until they became demanding crises. As the Tampa Tribune noted in a scathing analysis in 2003 the legislature was so incompetent it could not even agree on the wording of a memorial tribute to Mr Rogers!
If any Florida Republican is positioned to make national waves in a few years it will be the current governor Charlie Crist. His approval numbers are extraordinary, and if he coasts to easy reelection victory in 2010, he will make the GOP poobahs sit up and take notice. Nothing, after all, succeeds like success.
November 5th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Schmitt’s wrong and you’re wrong.
You’re wrong because it wasn’t ‘conservative elites around the country’ that selected Bush II but Republican primary voters around the country.
Schmitt’s wrong because I fully expect Chelsea Clinton to lead the Democratic party to a historic third term in 2012, Bush I to Obama’s Reagan. You wait.
November 5th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
*2016
November 5th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
um, no more dynasties?
Didn’t two Udalls get elected last night.
Jeb will run in 2012 and he’ll win the Republican nomination. You can take that to the bank.
November 5th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
You’re wrong because it wasn’t ‘conservative elites around the country’ that selected Bush II but Republican primary voters around the country.
Nonsense. Republican primary voters vote for who they’re told to vote for, unless they’re told to vote for a Mormon.
November 5th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
Jeb will run in 2012 and he’ll win the Republican nomination. You can take that to the bank.
Well, you could take that to the bank…Intrade isn’t even running a contract for Bush in 2012. (Huckabee’s the current leader there.) Looks like you could pick up some nice cash if you’re really that sure.
November 5th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Not just Udalls — there’s talk of a Kennedy-heavy administration, and of course the continued upward mobility of the Daley clan. Not to mention one of the leading contenders for Obama’s seat is … Jesse Jackson Jr. (in many respects a much more impressive politician than his dad, btw). And Joe is trying to get his seat filled by Beau.
Just sayin’. I happen to like most of these folks. But this is a country that breeds its share of dynasties.
November 5th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
Just sayin’. I happen to like most of these folks. But this is a country that breeds its share of dynasties.
The amusing thing, particularly if you’ve ever seen Question Time in Commons, or in general the way the British doesn’t glamorize their politicians, is that we’ve switched with the Mother Country.
We’re a Republic that yearns to be a Monarchy, or, at the very least, an Aristocracy.
The British are republicans that happen to have a Queen.
November 5th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Just sayin’. I happen to like most of these folks. But this is a country that breeds its share of dynasties.
As long as they don’t go all Hapsburg on us, and let voters swap ‘em out for a wild card every so often.
November 5th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
We’re a Republic that yearns to be a Monarchy, or, at the very least, an Aristocracy.
Nice spot. You can look past the familiar dynastic lines: NJ has sent six Frelinghuysens to Congress. Frank Murkowski appointed his daughter to the Senate. Ben Stevens was president of the Alaska State Senate. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin is the granddaughter of a governor. You’ve got the Bayhs and the Boggses and the Bidens and the Blounts and the Bushes, and that just B.
November 5th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
Re “As long as they don’t go all Hapsburg on us”
————-
I would say that the delerious genetic effects of excessive inbreeding are already pretty damm evident.
November 5th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
I refuse to trust a man who sports a tie with multi colored rats on it… seems like a bad omen
November 5th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
Word on the Street is that NotJenna is moving to Ohio and planning to run for office in 2010.
Clearly, the game is afoot.
(Just to be clear – I am making this up – I think?)
November 5th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
For the record, Jesse Jackson Jr (JJJ) is an excellent politician.
Not perfect, but one of the best in the Illinois Congressional Delegation.
Politics is now, and has long been, a family business.
Maybe we exorcised a family or two from politics. But there are still a bunch more. And the Bushes are like roaches. They will come crawling back someday.
November 5th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
There are no more Doles. No more Bushes… No more McCains. No more Sununus
and no more Clintons.
I agree we haven’t heard the last from Jeb yet. 2012 is probably a little soon though. There’s time… he’s only 55.
November 5th, 2008 at 7:14 pm
Re JonF
The Rethuglicans are not about to nominate a closeted gay man like Charlie Crist.
Re Jeb Bush
Everybody is forgetting the Terri Schiavo fiasco which Jeb Bush totally screwed up to a fairthewell.
November 5th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
The “Jorge” Bush mentioned is George Prescott Bush (named after his Great-Grand father, former Conn. Senator, Prescott Bush). He is half Colombian. He is often mentioned as the future of the family’s political ambitions. Here is what Wikipedia says on the subject:
“When asked in 2003 about whether he planned to run for office himself, Bush replied that his grandmother, Barbara Bush, had advised that anyone thinking about entering politics should distinguish himself in some other field first: “Make a name for yourself, have a family, marry someone great, have some kids, buy a house, pay taxes, and do the things everyone also does instead of just running out and saying, ‘Hey, I’m the nephew of or the son of or the grandson of…’.”[7] Speaking specifically of his father’s White House ambitions, he cites “Bush fatigue” as a discouraging factor.”
And lets not forget that Barbara “Babs” Bush (nee Pierce) is related to former POTUS Franklin Pierce.
Other dynasties include the Rockefellers, 3 Adlai Stevensons, and lets not forget Mitt. His dad was a very popular Governor and was once considered a strong presidential candidate. And whatever happened to Colin Powell’s son? I remember a few years back he was running the FCC or something.
November 5th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
Re: The Rethuglicans are not about to nominate a closeted gay man like Charlie Crist.
As someone else here said a while back the Republicans would nominate Willy Horton if they thought it would win them the election (and somehow spin it to the base as the Right choice).
And while Crist may well be gay, I know of no evidence to that effect. I lived in Florida, and was part of the gay scene in Tampa-St Pete and (gay ground zero) Fort Lauderdale. No one gay I knew ever uttered that rumor. Rather, it was spread about by the Rightwing Noise Machine as Crist was gearing up for his gubernatorial run– where he soundly trounced a self-proclaimed “Jeb Bush conservative” in the GOP primary.
November 5th, 2008 at 11:57 pm
No fat guys. Ugly pig face.
November 6th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
it’s at least possible he would have been a much better President.
The bar is set so low, I’m pretty sure my dog could be a much better president than W.
And my dog eats his own poop.
November 10th, 2008 at 8:19 am
May I as a non-US citizen observe that if you are so keen on the presidency been within competing “Royal” familes i.e Bush Kennedy/Clinton, you revoke the 1776 declaration of Independence and ask Elizabeth Windsor to take over where her great grandfather(5th level)one King George III left off
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