Jeb Bush amused by ‘irony’ of Florida Democratic delegate dilemma

[seafan]

This is from an exclusive interview of former governor Jeb Bush by Florida Baptist Witness.





Jeb Bush amused by ‘irony’ of Florida Democrat delegate dilemma


By JAMES A. SMITH SR.
Executive Editor

March 17, 2008

MIAMI (FBW) – Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush could barely contain his amusement at the Democrat Party’s Florida and Michigan delegate dilemma in its tightly contested presidential race, saying it’s “ironic beyond belief” that the party which accused him and other Republicans of suppressing the vote in the 2000 Florida presidential election re-count now “got themselves in a hole” of “their own doing.”
“My thoughts are filled with irony that every vote should count,” Bush said with a broad smile. “I mean this brings back memories of hyperbole and anger, mock anger …. It was a political circus for several years running, people trying to stoke the anger of a group of voters.”

Maybe those accusations against Jeb Bush in 2000, were, shall we say, ACCURATE?

Vanishing Votes, by Greg Palast, April 29, 2004

On October 29, 2002, George W. Bush signed the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). Hidden behind its apple-pie-and-motherhood name lies a nasty civil rights time bomb.

First, the purges. In the months leading up to the November 2000 presidential election, Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, in coordination with Governor Jeb Bush, ordered local election supervisors to purge 57,700 voters from the registries, supposedly ex-cons not allowed to vote in Florida. At least 90.2 percent of those on this "scrub" list, targeted to lose their civil rights, are innocent. Notably, more than half--about 54 percent--are black or Hispanic. You can argue all night about the number ultimately purged, but there's no argument that this electoral racial pogrom ordered by Jeb Bush's operatives gave the White House to his older brother. HAVA not only blesses such purges, it requires all fifty states to implement a similar search-and-destroy mission against vulnerable voters. Specifically, every state must, by the 2004 election, imitate Florida's system of computerizing voter files. The law then empowers fifty secretaries of state--fifty Katherine Harrises--to purge these lists of "suspect" voters.

The purge is back, big time.

....

Back to Jeb's interview with Florida Baptist Witness:

Bush made his comments in an exclusive March 14 interview with Florida Baptist Witness at his modest office in Miami.

Bush confirmed he has not given any other news media interviews – although he has been “asked to do a lot of them” – in order to allow his successor Gov. Charlie Crist to “create his own path.” As former governor it’s “important” for him to “get out of the way,” as well as to “let go,” he said.
While he said “I don’t enjoy being a pundit” and dislikes “punditry,” Bush offered comments about the Democrat Party’s delegate quandary; John McCain’s need to “solidify” the GOP base and his prospects for victory in November; and outlined a “21st century conservative philosophy.”

.....

Concerning Sen. John McCain’s prospects for victory in November, Bush said the presumptive Republican nominee has an “excellent chance,” based on several assumptions – that he “solidify his base,” that he “offer a 21st century version of conservatism,” and that he “compare and contrast” with “civility” his ideological differences with the Democrat nominee.

“He needs to explain to people what it would be like with a President Obama or President Clinton,” Bush said.

.....

Read: McCain needs to kiss up to his suspicious base, beat on his chest over the coming wars on his watch, throw slime on both of his opponents to excite the mouth breathers, but keep his temper under ice so he won't look unfit for the presidency.

Bush said he likes McCain because “he doesn't appear to be timid,” which will allow him to offer conservative solutions to “what appear to be intractable problems.”
A new version of conservatism is necessary, according to Bush, because “we can’t be nostalgic about the good old days. The world is changing. The changes are disruptive. People are anxious and they will default to the bigger government solutions unless the presidential candidate and other Republican leaders advocate a 21st century version of conservative thinking with substantive policies, even if they’re provocative.”

Read: Yes, we know McCain is a firebrand, but he's all we can pretend to have right now, so we'll pump him up in our true conservative image. *We can't have people crying out for their government to help them* because our party has been trying to drown it (government) in the bathtub for decades. What WE want will stand. We will repackage our agenda as *21st century conservative* and it won't be anything BUT provocative to the little people.

Asked to outline the elements of a “21st century conservative” agenda, Bush said it would be a “multi-faceted” philosophy, including an aggressive foreign policy that affirms the “Bush Doctrine,” reforms government institutions, recognizes the global nature of the economy, and cultivates a culture that supports the family.

Bush said he would “defer on these matters to Newt Gingrich, who I consider to be one of the more thoughtful, thinking conservatives in the country now who’s doing a lot of work on these areas.”

Although America cannot be the world’s “policeman,” Bush said the forward-looking conservative agenda must include support for his brother’s foreign policy doctrine that “freedom is in everybody’s heart, irrespective of the political situation of where they live – that there is a desire to be free – and that the world is a safer place if freedom reigned as the organizing principles of countries.”

He said, contrary to “all the criticism” the Bush Doctrine has seen success.

.....

Read: The *repackaged conservative agenda* will continue our push for unending war, because it makes a select few of us obscenely rich; we will continue drowning this useless government into oblivion. I tried to empty out those buildings in Tallahassee, but unfortunately, there wasn't enough time; we will continue to privatize and outsource everything we can steal and get away with; we will continue to enrage progressives with our incendiary Family Rhetoric Code Words aimed at our base, who will help us divide Democrats/progressives even more. In the meantime we will shout "Freedom is in everybody's heart!" USA USA USA!


This rhetoric doesn't surprise Floridians. Jeb has done all of the above, here, for the last eight miserable, back-biting years.

Conservatives “can’t just be against things, we have to be pro-actively advocating, using our principles as the guide for the reforms of basic institutions that are critical for our success.”

.....

That's funny. Your people have accused Democrats since way back when of being nothing but obstructionist. So, it's really YOUR party. HAH.

Bush commented with urgency on a recent Centers for Disease Control report finding that 25 percent of teenage girls have sexually transmitted diseases.

The report, Bush said, is “breathtakingly scary and sad,” underscoring the need for the culture to affirm the family.

“If you look at poverty, the direct leading indicator of poverty is a broken family or a family that didn’t have a dad in the house from the beginning. You look at education outcomes and family structure matters. So, in order for us to maintain who we are as a nation that does not rely on collective action to solve problems, we need to look at our culture that has dealt a body blow to the most important institution in society, which is the American family,” he said.

.....

He and his wife, Columba, are “really happy to be back in Miami. We love this town. Life is good.”

So with the eight years you sat in the Governor's mansion in Tallahassee, what did you accomplish to alleviate poverty by addressing education for our kids? While on Jeb's watch we were surely amazed when our ranking hit last place in the nation in its standing of high school graduation rates. Even more shocking is that Florida graduates under 25% of students with special needs.

Jeb touts himself as *The Education Governor*, even today. Makes you just question your own sanity.



And since when did the government's taking "collective action to solve problems" become such a hated concept in conservative circles so that they go out of their way to prevent it? This is good question to ask Katrina victims.



So, "life is good" for Jeb. Maybe he's busy selling off his interests in Lehman as we speak. Since he's a member of the board, it ought to be easier.



The Bush Family rides again.

[leftofcool]

1. All the rethugs are laughing

[zbdent]

2. wait a minute ... isn't “21st century conservative philosophy”

an oxymoron?

Or is he talking about what will come about in the 22nd century?

[nashville_brook]

3. they aren't admiring our worship of party RULES??

gee, whoda thunk it?

[stellanoir]

4. amused. . .how many americans would be amused

if their family conducted a coup that looted the treasury and killed well over a million people.

". . .cultivates a culture that supports the family. . ." That would be his family and the families of his family's cronies only.

They just keep throwing out this stuff.

Does anyone belief a word of it?

[Supersedeas]

6. amused -- if you are going to steal the election -- do it the Right way??

[flashl]

5. Interesting ...

"People are anxious and they will default to the bigger government solutions"

Read: People want to govern themselves and not be led by a cabal.

[KG]

7. the dem party in FL is a joke.

[HockeyMom]

8. Does it even exist in the state of Florida?

I voted for the first time in this state in January. I was greeted at the polls with, "Look here, we got ourselves a Democratic voter!"

Welcome to Florida. UGH!

[flashl]

9. As hard as it may appear, Dems are the majority registered voters. nt