How will Mark Levin handle nominee Jeb Bush?

Self proclaimed "constitutionalist" Mark Levin shows a good game calling Jeb a RINO, and pretty much relentlessly characterizing him as an Establishment enabler of crony capitalists and the like, and he did his famous nasty "hang up" routine to one of Jeb's self proclaimed supporters on his call in radio show Monday. 

But what will Levin really do if Jeb decides to exercise his option on the GOP nomination?  Will Levin tell his flock categorically "no," principal above expediency, when it comes time for a reluctant endorsement, or will Levin do what FOX stooge, and fake "independent conservative" Hannity will do, which is the familiar "he may not be what we really want, but Jeb is a good man, fellow conservatives, and a whole lot better than Hillary" routine?

If the original tea party had to rely on the sincerity and resolve of hacks like Hannity, and probably Levin, as does today's duped tea party, some version of the union jack still would be flying over all of North America from Hudson's Bay down to New Spain.

Pat Buchanan may have said it best

Patrick J. Buchanan, whatever you think of him, was one of the chief architects of the Republican Party's Southern Strategy which helped make it into a quasi-majority national party for a period in the late 20th and early 21st centuries using coded and wedged appeals to racists, religious fundamentalists, and white nativists.  No one knows the GOP ruling class like their former lackey Pat.  And this is how he sums up the neocon plutocrats' appeal for help, and Jeb's potential response:

"This time Sheldon wants to buy himself a winner... anybody running for the Republican nomination would want to have Sheldon at his side.

One such man is Jeb Bush, son and brother to presidents, who was the prize bull at Sheldon's cattle show. Daniel Ruth of the Tampa Bay Times speculates on Jeb's motive in showing up:

'Would you slink into Las Vegas to schmooze gambling mogul Sheldon Adelson who regards GOP presidential nominees as if they were trophy heads mounted in his den, if you had no interest in the White House? Bush is not going to Vegas to catch Meat Loaf's act at Planet Hollywood.'"

Townhall: War Party Oligarch

Jeb openly rattles neocon sabers

In what could be part of establishing the tenor of a nascent presidential campaign, Jeb Bush blamed Obama directly (and Rand Paul indirectly) for what he called "America's passivity," at a private Las Vegas gathering of neocons and plutocrat donors hosted by Macao and Vegas casino operator Sheldon Adelson.  For those who hope for bombs falling on Tehran, Jeb might be the dream candidate.

Donor-Poll disconnect

Just as those who run the Republican Party are quietly going about the task of perhaps installing Jeb Bush as their nominee, a new WPA Opinion Poll shows Rand Paul and Mike Huckabee as the top choices of the irrelevant primary voting base.

DRAFT! According to official media sources, it's on.

Fox News, the official propaganda and media outlet for the Republican Party has announced that party donors are working to draft Jeb Bush for a 2016 presidential run.  Just as the plutocrats and crony capitalists who lean left will undoubtedly support Hillary, the Establishment right is closing ranks around their obvious Crown Prince.  The Washington Post reports that the "vast majority" of the top 100 money bag givers to Mitt Romney in 2012 would back Bush in a nomination fight, and their efforts to goad Jeb into running are characterized as "intense."

The Establishment may be in a two front panic, over Christie's meltdown and prospective lack of electoral viability against candidates like the Clintons going forward, and over the growing insubordination of the testy reactionary and libertarian bases around the likes of Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, respectively.   While Jeb may look good to those donors (at least as someone who can destroy the two pronged base rebellion with their financial help) they may even regale themselves between drinks in oak paneled club rooms about the possibility of a third Bush neocon presidency, war with Iran, government subsidized fracking, etc., yet such fantasies may border on detached delusion.  Polls suggest they would.  If you can say Jeb! 2016, done deal, can you also say Madam President?

New York Daily News: GOP insiders pushing Jeb Bush to run for President in 2016: report

Slate: Republican Insiders See Jeb Bush as the Next Great Hope For the GOP

Florida Times-Union: Readers comment on a potential Jeb Bush presidential run

Comments include: "more incompetence...imagine media attacks...Right. another neo con Bush...Just what we need, another third Bush failure...

Will Jeb run?

Will Jeb run? The headline for an article in something called UK Progressive Magazine says it all:  GOP mega-donor and casino mogul Sheldon Adelson is banking on it.   Is he making a bad investment decision?  Likewise the South China Morning Post posits, Is Jeb Bush about to seek Republican nomination to run for US president in 2016?  And answers with "Jeb Bush may be on the brink of a campaign to become the third member of his family to occupy White House, setting up a clash with Hillary Clinton."  And the Farmington (NM) Daily Times reports: Gov. Susana Martinez and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush to meet Tuesday in Farmington for an event to raise money for Martinez's re-election campaign.

George W. Bush art inspires on-target Arkansas satire.

There are no canvas limited edition giclee prints yet at the Kinkade Gallery in the mall near you, and if you want to view some of George W. Bush's actual original paintings you can, beginning in April, at the George W. Bush Presidential "Library" in Dallas, but according to something called the Rock City times, billed as "Arkansas' 2nd most unreliable news source" (as in the Arkansas version of The Onion, and second behind probably the Democrat-Gazette) you can also view a permanent collection of Bush's most famous works at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas. That museum really does exist, thanks to an endowment by Alice Walton, Walmart heiress, but the rest of the story, well.. 

According to the dubious source, the paintings include several acclaimed portraits of Bush family pets, and many of Bush's renowned bathroom scenes, including "Self Reflection in Hard Water" and "My Ten Toes." The museum's curator summed up Bush as an artist rather definitively, however: "In a few short years, Mr. Bush has single-handedly redefined neo-postmodern contemporary pseudo-realism with his spiritless images of domestic mundaneness.  He deserves to be hung among the Warhol's and Rothko's of the art world."

Not bad for a failed politician.

Gambling plutocrat Adelson to wine and dine Jeb in Vegas at neocon fest

Sheldon Adelson, casino tycoon, both in Vegas and in China's sex trade mecca of Macao, and a neocon sugar daddy donor, will entertain Jeb Bush at a Republican establishment gathering next week in Las Vegas.  Jeb will be the featured speaker at an exclusive VIP dinner on Thursday next week, hosted by Adelson and his wife at his company's private airplane hangar at Las Vegas Macarran International Airport.  This Jeb-centric dinner will kick off a four day "leadership" event that will feature other neocon luminaries such as John Bolton, and Dick Cheney.

Jeb may try to paint himself as "sane" and "moderate" when it comes to immigration and education (just as his brother ran the "compassionate conservative" scam to great effect in times less cynical about Bush political motives), but Jeb's neocon credentials should be seen as solid gold given itineraries and associations such as these.  Lookout Iran!

Adelson, himself, is an interesting figure, and his ideological migration from Democrat to Republican fits a classic neocon pattern, and he considers himself a sort of counterweight to "progressive" plutocratic kingmakers like George Soros

Washington Post: Sheldon Adelson plans VIP dinner for Jeb Bush at GOP gathering in Vegas

Wikipedia: Sheldon Adelson

The Great American Descent into Plutocracy

Candidate or Common Core?

The recent pickup in speaking engagements, and Chamber of Commerce schmoozing by Jeb has led many media outlets to speculate he is gearing up for a presidential run.  This may be the case, but another explanation may be that he is using such venues simply to promote Common Core for personal and family business reasons.  So far, Jeb's strategy, both with Common Core, and immigration, has brought him into direct conflict with the Republican Party's conservative base, not a good conventional wisdom strategy either to win the nomination, or encourage turnout in a general election.  Sure, Jeb could bully his way to the nomination with big donor and establishment support, and without base support, but he would be in no position to win a general election in 2016.

Why would Jeb alienate the right wing base?  One political explanation is that he is positioning the Bush family for future national political activity after the GOP has replaced the diminishing returns Southern Strategy with something else, and after his brother's legacy is perhaps less toxic.  Jeb's recent activities may be the early stages of a Maoist "long march" back to political relevance for the Bushes, culminating in a presidential run in 2024 or 2028 by George P. Bush. Or it may be the beginnings of a 2016 big donor stimulated vanity run by Jeb.  Time will tell.

Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Is Jeb Bush going to run in 2016?

Jeb Bush calls Common Core a ‘truth serum’; Michelle Malkin injects a dose of reality

Nelson Mandela and animal skulls

The "libtard" e-rag Huffington Post reports that George W. Bush has been painting animal skulls lately.  Apparently he and Laura saw fit to reveal this tidbit to NYT columnist Maureen Dowd at the funeral of Nelson Mandela.   Ironically, W.'s soon to be unveiled world premiere art exhibition at his Dallas presidential "library" will feature portraits of world leaders.  Can we expect one of Nelson Mandela holding a skull?

W. joked with Jay Leno recently that he was inspired to take up painting after reading an essay about Winston Churchill.  When he hired an instructor for weekly lessons, he said he told her, "There's a Rembrandt trapped in this body.  Your job is to find it."   No doubt an application to the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts will be forthcoming.

W. has at least one unlikely fan for his art.  Obama White House press secretary Jay Carney. "I'm a layperson, I'm not an art expert, but I'm impressed by the former president's work, and I think it's fascinating."  Carney announced at a recent daily press briefing.

The real irony here is that W., an arguable failure at every public endeavor in his life until now, may actually find success as an artist in our postmodern world. More power to the man who should have been baseball commissioner instead of a politician. Dare we offer him as the new Thomas Kinkade?

Salon: Thomas Kinkade, the George W. Bush of art

From "eat your broccoli governor" to "formidable foe"

Jeb is busy selling himself on the stump, and in friendly press.  He told potential donors in Broward County at a "business breakfast" that he had been an "eat your broccoli" governor (a reference to a long ago negative comment about the vegetable by Poppy), meaning he had (and could) make the "tough" decisions (translation: in favor of elite business interests when they conflict with the general welfare of the nation). According to the Miami Herald, his speech "was received like candy." Meanwhile, the Moonie-owned Washington Times hailed him as a "formidable foe" for the GOP field who "may be" seeking the White House.  According to Brett Doster, a GOP Florida strategist, "Asking whether Jeb Bush reshapes the presidential field [should he enter] is like asking whether LeBron James reshapes a basketball team."

America awaits LeBron vs. Jordan (Hillary).

If they hook and land the Tea Party, can the GOP establishment still fish and cut bait with a Bush?

The National Journal has an interesting article that claims The Tea Party's Over. The point of it is that the GOP Establishment has cornered the "off reservation" movement, and will win the war against it, reasserting control over how the party defines acceptable "conservatism." 

If this occurs, the real question to be answered is how much of the base that now identifies with the Tea Party can be convinced yet again that candidates like Jeb Bush have their best interests in mind?  Can the country clubbers use more wedge bait to get such people to turn out and vote over some future social or cultural panic issue, or has the base seen the plutocracy and crony capitalists for what they are?

If the GOP establishment succeeds in marginalizing and defunding the Tea Party, what it may get is simply fewer people turning out to vote for Republicans, and vote period, as the most culturally conservative members of its base might just opt out as voters.   Whatever new wedge baiting strategy the GOP big boys come up with to replace the Southern one, it will have to be so fear inducing that it trumps the right's hazy realization that its been played for a sucker by them too many times in the past.  The best the GOP can hope for with Hispanics is a marginally higher plurality, so as economic elitists, they will need some reactionary agenda in order to blunt the growing demographic and social class advantage likely to accrue to Democrats in a financial and trade environment that produces widening wealth and income maldistribution on the ends, and a flatter bell curve in the middle.  Expect the GOP to get a short term bump out of Obamacare's woes, but the party still has massive long term problems.

More good news for Jeb

No, not a poll showing Jeb can win an election against Hillary (not yet anyway), but one less likely competitor for Establishment donor support.  Paul Ryan's recent public embrace of transparent social Darwinist, Charles Murray, and his comments about urban males have pretty much self-eliminated him for the 2016 GOP nomination.  Christie eliminated...check.  Ryan eliminated...check.  Rubio (won't run if Jeb does, and toxin to the nativist base)...check.

GOP wedge legacy's "Dorian Gray" has died

The Rev. Fred Phelps, a Dorian Gray portrait epitome of the nastiest aspects of the Republican Party's 40 year reactionary cultural wedge baiting strategy, has died. Like so many current, and aging GOP voters, Phelps started out as a Democrat, and his high profile anti-gay crusades were the logical extension of Rove and W.'s velvet gloved exploitation of anti-gay prejudices used so effectively in the 2004 presidential campaign.  While no GOP official of any note would ever have allowed themselves to be seen, even dead, at Westboro Baptist Church, one should note that closet Dominionist/Reconstructionist Ted Cruz ought to do the right thing, and attend the funeral.
Boston Globe: Westboro Baptist Church founder Fred Phelps dies 
Wikipedia: Fred Phelps

One sure fire way to deny Jeb the White House

The blogosphere is abuzz with chatter about the appeal Rand Paul has among some "liberals" (due to his actual, rather than fake, anti-Big Brother government stances).  Apparently Rand gets a warm welcome when he speaks in "The People's Republic of Berkeley" This stuff will doom him when he competes for votes among Birthers, Bible thumpers, coupon clippers and country clubbers, and militarist neocons in GOP primaries. However he can have the last laugh, and pull a Perot on the next generation Bush pretender. Run as the Libertarian Party nominee after the GOP kneecaps him.  It is the closest he will ever get to the Presidency.

American Thinker: Rand Paul does Berkeley

The New 2016 GOP Frontrunner!

According to Larry J. Sabato and the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics that new front runner is Jeb Bush!  Surprised?  Their basic argument is that Poppy Bush and Rove tried to coax Christie into running in 2012 (perhaps to get rid of him as a potential 2016 threat to Jeb?  They don't say that), and when Christie imploded earlier this year (perhaps they knew that was bound to happen eventually), Jeb steps right up as the "logical" alternative, and last "sane" one standing.

The entire report makes interesting reading for any political junkie, but this kernel is the rub:

"For all the sturm und drang regarding the Tea Party in the Republican nominating process, it’s going to be hard for someone who lacks widespread establishment support — like Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY) or Ted Cruz (R-TX) — to win the nomination. Political science research indicates that endorsements from sitting officeholders and party leaders can be quite predictive of presidential nominees.

And that leads us to another reason to take a potential Bush candidacy seriously: The establishment loves him."

Jeb confronts Tea Party, and shills for Common Core in Nashville

Jeb Bush addressed a by invitation only, non public meeting of business leaders and state Republican officials at an upscale hotel in Nashville, and advocated strongly for Common Core national education standards, and against the "avalanche" of criticism (meaning from the Tea Party mainly) against them.  He claimed the opposition to Common Core was based on "myths" about the standards being part of a federal (i.e. New World Order) takeover of local classrooms. Considering that probably 90 percent of those who harbor misgivings about Common Core probably voted for George W. Bush (twice), and believed W.'s "myths" about Iraq and Saddam Hussein, and believe in the Kenyan birth of Obama, Jeb must be perplexed about how to combat a mythology that does not serve Bush political and business interests.

Common Core discord: Jeb Bush meets with GOP officials in Tennessee

Jeb Bush backs Common Core standards in Nashville forum

Travelin' Man Jeb is not Florida's only problem

On a slow Jeb news day (slow except for Jeb ratcheting up his activity on the speaking circuit around the country), you can't resist a story like this one. According to Rawstory, Jeb is not the only bad thing to come out of Florida lately: Neighbors catch second Florida man raping his dog this month.  

CNN: Jeb Bush picks up political activity
Newsmax: Jeb Bush Stokes 2016 Talks with Major Swings Through South, West 

Putin draws analogy with the Bush Iraq neocon legacy over Crimea

Putin, in his rambling speech before the Russian Duma justifying the annexation of Crimea, ranted at length about what he called American betrayal of Russia's interests after the Cold War, and US violations of international law in Iraq, accusing the US of operating under "the rule of the gun," rather than the rule of law:  "Our Western partners headed by the United States prefer not to be guided by international law in their practical policies, but by the rule of the gun," Putin declared. "They have come to believe in their exceptionalism and their sense of being the chosen ones.  That they can decide the destines of the world, that it is only them who can be right." When national interest and history is on Russia's side, "what's good for the goose, is good for the gander," is Putin's essential point, right or wrong.

One of the most interesting (and surprisingly literate) media sources, from the right, for an exegesis of neoconservatism, and its fallout, is the John Bachelor radio program.  Since the Ukraine crisis began, he has regularly interviewed academics about the historical and geopolitical background for this confrontation. Last night, he interviewed Stephen Cohen, NYU professor (formerly Princeton) about Putin's mindset.  Cohen dropped the hyperbolic rhetorical bomb that this is the most serious international confrontation since the Cuban missile crisis, and stems largely from Russia's ire over what Cohen outlined as Putin's (and Kremlin hardliners) perception of a direct betrayal of Russia (through the NATO operation) by the Obama administration after a private deal was allegedly reached between the US and Russia to remove Gaddafi in Libya without a military operation. Whether you believe Cohen, it makes for compelling listening, and echoes similar allegations regarding efforts, rebuffed by the Bush administration, to reach a deal that might have led to Hussein's voluntary exile during the lead up to the Iraq War.

Putin may be going for the big prize with Ukraine, which would be splitting NATO (over sanctions) and driving a wedge between the EU (with its deep economic ties to Russia) and the US. Ukraine itself, now caught in the middle of a power play between Russia and the Western Alliance, may come to deeply regret the Budapest Memorandum, and the surrender of its nuclear arsenal.

John Batchelor podcast with Stephen Cohen

Reuters: Putin says U.S. guided by "the rule of the gun" in foreign policy  

CNN: UAE official: Hussein was open to exile 

Wall Street Willard: bitter and sore loser

Republicans used to refer to the 2000 Democratic ticket as Sore Loserman after Gore supporters dared question the legitimacy of W. Bush's election by the Supreme Court.  Gore himself grew a beard, dropped out of politics, and proceeded to become as good a predatory speculator crony capitalist as any GOP donor could hope to be.  

Now here comes the Republican version of Sore Loserman, led not by the candidate's supporters, but by the candidate himself.   

Romney knew he had one shot, win in 2012 or face Jeb in 2016. Before Romney announced his 2012 campaign, he met with Poppy and the Dowager, got their royal blessing for his shot, and some great photos, such as this one:

The only things missing were the crowns on the two Bush's heads, and the jester cap on Romney's.   The three court lap dogs were present.

Romney's insecurities as a "one shot" candidate led him to run as something he was not: a "severe conservative," and the public could tell a phony when they saw one in front of them. And he lost. Now he can't stand the fact. The second guessing.  The certain knowledge, in hindsight, he probably could have won the general election running consistently as the pragmatic problem solver from Massachusetts, and just used his money to bludgeon the hapless nobodies running against him in the primaries without the unnecessary fake pandering to the base. Now he gets op-ed ink in Murdoch's WSJ to ramble and rant, embarrassing himself, about how much a failure Obama is, and how much better he would have been.  Sorry, Mitt, you had to make that case before November 2012, and you didn't.  So count yourself the failure.

More signs Jeb is going to run

Press sources as diverse as the Boston Herald and the Oman Daily Observer indicate Jeb is acting more and more like a big time Establishment presidential candidate.   This month, Jeb will visit New Mexico and Nevada to stump for GOP governors running for reelection.  Most importantly, in an effort to get the "family values" vote, Jeb will appear in Las Vegas and address leaders of a Republican group led by major plutocrat donor and Macao casino mogul Sheldon Adelson.   Last month Jeb appeared remotely by video at Donald Trump's Palm Beach estate during an event, and was given a heartier applause line than in person Tea Party shiller, Ted Cruz. 

"Jeb is striking a chord amongst many thoughtful donors [meaning those with the money]", said Fred Malek, finance chairman of the Republican Governors Association.  Then came the boilerplate kicker:  "He's a proven conservative.  But at the same time, he is not viewed as extreme or an ideologue [meaning he can package himself as whatever it takes to win an election] and therefore can appeal to the moderate element of the party as well." 

Getting the game on!

Back to earth: Another VERY bad poll for Jeb

A CNN poll released Sunday found Bush polling at only 9 percent among Republican candidates, trailing behind Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.  Rand Paul topped the list at 16 percent, Paul Ryan was second at 15 percent. Shockingly, Bush family arch-rival, and outgoing Texas Governor Rick Perry outpolled Bush at 11 percent.   Since no one is truly out front, in this or any poll, big money and big muscle can still win the nomination for Jeb.  The real question is can it put him over on Hillary.

More fallout over the "Three Grandmas" Common Core letter

The Blaze has picked up the brewing story about Jeb reportedly insulting and trashing a group of Common Core Tea Party protestors at a recent Florida event where he spoke.  Jeb famously touts the national standards, and it's probably no coincidence that his brother Neil co-founded an educational company, Ignite! Learning, that contracts with public school system to supply educational and curriculum materials.

Jeb hits the Southern donor circuit

Jeb sure is acting more like a candidate as he travels down to Robert Altman territory in Nashville, where his brother famously mangled the "fool me once...can't get fooled again" line 14 years ago on his campaign trail.  He will hobnob with the Republican governor and Senator Lamar Alexander, who faces an underfunded Tea Party challenger this fall, and appear at the Hermitage Hotel for a program labeled, "Tennessee Jobs: Education, Graduation, Career Readiness."  Nothing in the public press release about how Tennesseans can compete with American companies creating Pacific Rim jobs and still make a living wage, or congratulating God's local elect for keeping out the UAW at Volkswagen, but it's a Bush event, so expect these conditions:

1. It's invitation only, 

2. It's organized by the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and

3. It's closed to the public.

WBIR: Jeb Bush to speak in Nashville

Neocons rejoice! Ukrainian government refuses to remove troops from Crimea, prepares for war

According to the KyivPost, despite the outcome of a March 16 referendum where Crimean voters, at gunpoint, voted overwhelmingly to join the Russian Federation, Ukrainian leaders refused to cede any part of the Crimean peninsula, calling on their troop to prepare for war. "Crimea was, is, and will be our territory," said Defense Minister Ihor Tenyukh.  Former heavyweight boxing champion, and now leading Ukrainian politician and presidential prospect, Vitali Klitschko, announced that Ukrainian troops would remain at their bases, even after March 21, the end of a peace treaty signed by the interior ministries of Ukraine and Russia.

If war comes, and drags on without a quick resolution, or destabilizes central Europe, it will only help the neocon element of the political right which strongly supports the idea of another Bush presidency, and harm the prospects of the libertarians and neo-isolationists.

John Batchelor's latest "war" podcast

Bush's Askew comments suggest he may run to the left of the base

It is not inaccurate to say the Bushes are political chameleons.  Poppy was the epitome of an Establishment centrist, and ran as one, letting Atwater do all the dirty work with the Right in 1988. W. was packaged by Rove as a rednecked social conservative who said Jesus was his favorite philosopher, and managed to get reelected by running against gay marriage during a year when the issue was beginning to draw national attention because of the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling legalizing it there, and he and Rove had the luck of drawing an opponent from that state who was nominated at a Democratic convention held in Boston. The movement of anti-marriage referendums on state ballots across the country proliferated in 2004, and it would not be a stretch to say that if not for the gay marriage issue promoting an anti-gay marriage amendment on the ballot in Ohio, spiking turnout of religious conservatives in the deciding swing state, Bush might have lost the state, and the election to the walking cadaver that is John Kerry.

W. was hardly a bigot in private.  The GOP was led by a gay man, Ken Mehlman (though closeted then, now out) during Bush's presidency, and a gay male prostitute had security clearance to the White House, as evidenced by the Jeff Gannon scandal.

So how would Jeb run in 2016?  Not very likely the way Mitt Romney did in 2012, as a "severely conservative" governor.  He would have to bash Common Core, which he will never do, and embrace the nativist politics of the Tea Party, which hurt Romney with Hispanics, which he will never do.

Jeb dropped a possible clue when he recently eulogized former Democratic Florida Governor Rubin Askew.  Askew was a rare liberal in that state, a champion of gender and racial equality whom Jeb characterized as, "as a great Floridian and a committed, accomplished public servant."

Unlike Romney, Jeb realizes he has both the connections and the money behind him to run as anything he wants, bulldoze to the nomination over any conceivable opponent, and position himself as he sees fit for the battle against Hillary.

Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2014/03/jeb-bush-on-reubin-askew.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2014/03/jeb-bush-on-reubin-askew.html#storylink=cpy

W. to showcase paintings of world leaders

When the long anticipated exhibition of George W. Bush's paintings opens this April at the W. Presidential Library in Dallas, it sadly won't feature the self-nudes

and friendly dogs first revealed to the world last year.  It will, if you can believe it, be centered around some as yet unseen Bush paintings/portraits of other world leaders, according to Slate.   Speaking of world leaders, how would W.'s talent be compared to past world leaders who took up art?  You be the judge:

simonbrushfield.com: Winston Churchill and Adolf Hitler paintings: The art of war

More Good News for Jeb and the neocons

As Russian troops mass on the border of Ukraine with what neocons consider Jimmy Carter's soulmate in the White House, Jeb leads all Republicans in the Establishment bellwether primary state of South Carolina, according to a Human Events / Gravis Marketing poll of 735 carefully selected voters praying for the salvation of American exceptionalism. With the exception of 2012, when Newt won there, the cradle of the Confederacy has always accurately predicted the Southern Strategy nominee of the Republican Party since Nixon.

More Good News for neocons:  Uncertain times demand straight talking, lisping neocons, and poster boy Lindsey Graham has a huge 60 point lead against all underfunded Tea Party challengers vainly hoping to knock him off.    And there are a lot of them vainly trying.  

Finally, some hope for those who pine for Bush III vs. Clinton II

Jeb finally gets a break in a poll.  Whether it's indicative of anything (like a return to the Cold War, and a neocon rehab maybe?), or just an outlier, or a cooked result, one poll shows Jeb within striking distance of a stolen election.  Newsmax, that web portal purveyor of quack cures and get-rich-quick affiliate schemes, breaks the news of a Public Policy Polling survey showing Jeb losing to Hillary by only five points, 47 percent to 42 percent, and doing better than any other GOP alternative.  If this trend continues, the big money donor prod will become irresistible, and Jeb will run, despite his mother's misgivings, which still remain active.

Like taking your sister to the Prom

Both Bloomberg and Marketwatch draw a "dating" analogy between Jeb Bush and the recent infatuation Wall Street has with him.  The best way to play that out reads like the typical John Hughes teen movie from the Reagan '80s:  The girl you really wanted (Christie) stands you up, and you don't want to get laughed at for staying home, so you show up "stag" with your sister (Jeb), and maybe wind up spending the night afterward with a "six pack" beauty queen (Paul Ryan, Scott Walker, John Kasich) you pick up when you get there, after spending the evening avoiding other dateless skanks (Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum) who try to dance with you.   

Jeb, despite his inherent unelectability and manifest abysmal poll numbers, is no doubt the favorite of the GOP "Establishment" right now, but it's still in the flirty stage.  "The Establishment is looking for another favorite [to replace Christie], according to Greg Valliere, a wonk at Washington, DC speculator think tank, Potomac Research Group.  "And by Establishment, I mean Wall Street," he admited bluntly.  And the Establishment is afraid.  Not only do they face potential threats from the left, as usual, from the "Warren" wing of the Democrats, but from the movement conservatives on the right who now understand that crony capitalism and cartel economics don't produce the Ayn Rand and Jeffersonian nirvana of maximum freedom and free markets they so idealize.

Could it be the speculator class finally realizes thirty plus years of gutting bucket shop laws, and outsourcing trade that has impoverished the post World War II middle class, and blunted the very economic and social mobility domestically that props up the "American Dream," and all the ideological apologetics that go with it, may have negative consequences?  Probably not, but one John Taft, great-grandson of portly President William Howard Taft, and grandson of "Mr. Conservative" Robert A. Taft, who is CEO of RBC Wealth Management, likened his current fear to "hiding under my desk during the air-raids because of the Cuban missile crisis," when "literally the future of humanity hung in the balance."  The "humanity" he speaks of probably is himself and other portfolio churners like him, but at least he didn't drop a Gowdin's bomb, and go to the Holocaust and Kristallnacht for a parallel to the future of his class like another speculator recently did.

Though they dumped him in 2012 for one of their own "chop shop" operators, Wall Street largely supported Obama in 2008, considering McCain kept comparing himself to trust buster T.R. and picked the unpredictable Palin, parochial darling of the anti-plutocracy Voelkisch element the right wing base that would eventually fold into the Tea Party.  They carp about him now, though he bailed out their butt after the Crash of '08 with Bush's Goldman Sachs written preexisting scheme, and while the middle and working classes still languish, Wall Street bonuses are at record levels, and market indexes at or near them.  If not Jeb as their protector, the eventual "six pack" beauty queen for them may wind up being Hillary.

Another poll, another lopsided result

The latest Rasmussen poll still puts Jeb in blowout loss territory, losing to Hillary by 47 percent to 33 percent.  He is still polling well below the Barry Goldwater / Alf Landon floor for historic Republican losers.  Fully fifty percent of voters polled nationally say that the two previous Bush presidencies make them less likely to vote for him in 2016, should he be the nominee. By contrast, only 16 percent say Hillary, who would be 69 in 2016 and the same age as Reagan when first elected, would be too old for the job.

Likewise, a Quinnipiac poll released March 13 showed Hillary beating Jeb by 14 points in swing state Iowa.

The "core" issue that may decide Jeb's political future

Common Core educational standards, rather than Hillary, George W.'s sorry legacy, or "Bush fatigue" generally ultimately may be what denies Jeb the White House.  

Jeb is, of course, the country's greatest advocate for Common Core, which puts him on a front impact collision course with the movement conservative base of the GOP that sees in Common Core ideas about national standards some "big brother" (meaning liberal and godless) plot to destroy local control over public education. While Fox News will most certainly be in the tank for Jeb should he run for the GOP nomination, even op-ed writers for foxnews.com are allowed by Ailes to point out the problem:  Does Jeb Bush realize Common Core threatens school choice concept?

To its advocates, which could include many self identified "progressives," the core standards represent a rational (meaning modernist) effort to bring uneven results from the fragmented US educational system in line with European and Asian models, set national standards, and improve US student test scores across the board.  

While detractors do attack Common Core from a "reactionary" viewpoint (it's another New World Order conspiracy that will deny communities control over the education of their children), "anti-plutocracy" populists also see it as a mechanism to deliver the public education system nationally into the hand of crony capitalists speculating in "for profit" private education companies selling products and services designed to produce such national standards of instruction under contract with local and state governments.

Now that George P. Bush, after the November election, will control the state educational budget in Texas,  the country may find out exactly how a "crony capital" and "pay to play" Common Core scheme will work in a state as a pilot project.

More on Common Core, what it is, and how the Tea Party and GOP base view it:

Common Core State Standards Initiative (wikipedia)

Common Core State Standards Initiative (corestandards.org)

Big business takes on tea party on Common Core (Politico)

Big Business Targets Common Core’s Band of Mothers (the Federalist)

Tea party groups mobilizing against Common Core (Washington Post)  

Political Rivals Find Common Ground Over Common Core (NPR)

Will a European war "rehabilitate" the neocons (and help Jeb)?

The Ukraine crisis of 2014 is beginning to look like the July crisis of 1914, and the next week or so should reveal whether or not a war in central Europe breaks out.  If one does, can it be contained to the area of the former Soviet Union, and even if so, will the certain chaos and economic upheaval, and perhaps substantial refugee crisis for Poland, and maybe even Germany led to such a sense of unease in the US that the "war" party here is instantly transformed from the Keystone Cop loose cannons of the George W. Bush era back into the steely eyed Reagan era defenders of hearth and home?  And who would benefit politically should that happen? Probably not Rand Paul.

The Coming War for Ukraine

John Batchelor's latest podcast on Ukraine

Germany looks at Russia and Ukraine and sees 1914 

Jeb's "Uncommon" Problem

It would be hard for a world class pulp fiction practitioner to make up this scenario.

If there is anything the Tea Party hates more than Agenda 21, its Common Core. Something Jeb loves all the way to the bank.  Recently, Jeb received an open letter from a woman named Chris Quackenbush (yes, that is her name) who heads something called Stop Common Core Florida. According to Quackenbush (you can't repeat that name too many times), Bush had better look out if he thinks he can buy the White House with crony capitalist money.  Let Quackenbush's letter speak for itself.  It would harder for any MSNBC bloviator to (probably accurately) caricature Jeb's "pay to play" educational cronyism any better:

"Yesterday, March 13, as you entered the Governors Club in Tallahassee, you spoke to me as a small group of us held signs to get your attention to our serious concerns about your federal education program called Common Core...Three grandmas drove 12 hours each to see you, face to face, and you turned and scoured at us as though we were naval lint … pond scum.  As I stated 'Stop Common Core,' your disparaging retort was 'it is a good thing there’s only three of you.' As you turned and disappeared into the exclusive club, $1,000 per plate event to celebrate the Foundation for Florida’s Future, I said, 'There were lots more, but we weren’t invited.'"

"You, Jeb Bush and your corporate cronies, have decided what is good for the children of America and WE -- parents, educators, and concerned taxpayers -- were not invited," she wrote.

Sunshine State News: Jeb Bush Confronted by Anti-Common Core Group:

When you are a Bush, who needs any experience?

Believe it or not. some Republicans, desperate to solve the party's "Hispanic problem," are actually floating the idea of nominating, not Jeb, but his 37 year old son (who would be 40 in November 2016), George P. Bush, as their next nominee. Consider that this man, brown skinned yes, and very blue blooded, has never held any elective office to date.  Ever.  Of course that should not matter when you are a prince of the blood, and grew up from a small child carefully watching and following around your grandfather and uncle as they served as "elective" kings. You can read the Inquistr article, "George P. Bush: 2016 Presidential Election Next After A Win In Texas?" and learn the entire absurd scenario and rationale.  The author is correct in assuming the Texas land commission job is in the bag, so George P. would have two years as Texas Land Commissioner under his belt when he becomes President.

The author closes with the seriously asked question, "Do you think George P. Bush has a chance at the 2016 presidential election?"  It's one question that doesn't deserve a serious answer.

One candidly cloudy crystal ball

Peter Funt, current host of the newest incarnation of Candid Camera and son of legendary Allen Funt, is shooting through a cloudy lens when it comes to Jeb Bush. In an op-ed piece he penned for the Daytona Beach News Journal entitled "Crystal ball suggests Jeb Bush is a safe pick for 2016," Funt proves he better stick to challenging Punk'd for gotcha reality TV rather than make political observations. Funt seems to believe that: "The nation is not likely to elect its first woman president immediately after selecting its first African American president - even if doing so would be a fine idea." He goes on to opine that, "Bush might be the candidate best suited to repair serious splits in GOP ranks."

Americans will likely elect its first female president if another Bush is the other option. Especially if millions of hard core Tea Party folks sit out the election.  It would take only about 10 percent of the hard right GOP base opting out to guarantee Hillary the White House.  And Jeb is not likely to maximize base turnout. The Bush wedge playbook is outdated, and even the hardest core Hillary hater, if you consider the overwhelming anti-Bush tone of online news comment sections, does not want Jeb as the alternative.

The polls just aren't getting any better

Even Fox News shows Jeb in Goldwater and Mondale territory.  The average of all available polls give Hillary a lead of more than 16 points over Bush. 

Does Jeb "make sense" for GOP in 2016?

According to Ira Stoll at Newsmax, he does.  For all the wrong reasons.  Stoll is the editor of something called FutureofCapitalism.com (a blog for financial speculators), and is the author of JFK, Conservative.  Jeb, Conservative is sure to follow.

The American Conservative denounces "delusional" Bush foreign policy legacy

An article in The American Conservative thoroughly trashed neocon David Brooks (the "sane" neocon who manages to get gigs on "liberal" Sunday morning shows like Meet the (De)Press(ed), as hot-mouth Levin likes to call it).  It seems Brooks doesn't understand that the current "war fatigue" in the US (just when we need to start another one with either Pootie Poot or the Ayatollahs) is due in great part to what it's author calls the "delusions" of George W. Bush's Second Inaugural address agenda:  "The U.S. has suffered from an absurd overconfidence in the efficacy of hard power for more than a decade (and really ever since the Gulf War), and Americans have been recoiling from the costs and failures associated with that."

With conservatives viewing the foreign policy of the last two Bush presidents like that, the prospect of selling them on a third chance to get it right seems a difficult task, to say the least.