Kansas has become the state to which much of the media has turned its attention when it comes to this year’s misdirection-election season. And not only the media. Look, down on the ground, among the cornfield and manure, it’s a Bush!
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is the latest Republican heavy-hitter to come to the aid of Sen. Pat Roberts’ struggling campaign for re-election.
The potential 2016 GOP presidential candidate was in Wichita on Monday for a fundraising event where he told supporters that Roberts would not let them down if re-elected.
Yep, I bolded that potential clause above. We could have a re-run of the first Clinton – Bush war of 1992 if Jeb can wash all the George off his hands. The son Daddy Bush always wanted to succeed him is now knee deep in the sins of his brother. But this is a crazy country. Maybe the voters will forgive him. And he does have all Dad’s connections and Big Bro’s base to draw upon. I don’t think Jeb will do much to save Pat Robert’s bacon (for that he has to hope for a flood of Koch cash), but it sounds like Jeb is doing his best to lay the groundwork for a third Bush Presidency.
Then again, sounds like he has a lot of boot-licking to do before the ‘real conservatives’ are ready to consider his candidacy, if this non-invite is any indication.
Conservatives delivered a major diss to Chris Christie and Jeb Bush, opting not to invite the likely presidential frontrunners to the Values Voter Summit this weekend.
“They were not invited this year ‘cause they just weren’t on the top of the list in terms of what they’re doing right now and whether or not it was relevant to the value voters and who they want to hear from,” said Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council – the organizers of the event.
The only thing bizarre in that story is the description of Christie and Jeb as ‘frontrunners’ for the 2016 GOP nomination. Christie is toast. And no one has been talking up Jeb much, but then presidential campaigns now start the very second the last ball for the Inauguration festivities ends. Maybe it will be Jeb and Mitt duking it out down the stretch. They both know where to find the money needed to seriously contend. As does Hillary Clinton on the Democratic side.
Which is too bad when you think that a bunch of wealthy donors and Super Pacs decide our “choices” for the highest office in the land. Aren’t the protests in Hong Kong right now about that very same principle? Having a real choice, and not a rigged one?
The current demonstrations are the most widespread since the 1997 handover, with protesters calling for a free choice of candidates in Hong Kong’s leadership elections in 2017. China insists that only candidates it has approved will be allowed to stand.
When you think about it, how much difference is there between our elections and the ones in Hong Kong? Not a whole heck of a lot, in my opinion, other than the fact that the ‘deciders’ in China are much more open and transparent about who is rigging the game.
They would not have that power if people could see through the cheesy ads.
If people could see through the cheesy ads, they wouldn’t consume cheesy products. But then they wouldn’t be Americans. Before Edward Bernays began subjecting Americans to sophisticated advertising from birth to death, we were already gullible — there’s a sucker born every minute.
When I went to High School, our Economics class (half semester senior year) warned us about these things “glittering generalities” “bandwagon effect” “slippery statistics”. They don’t any more, being too concerned with the ISAT. But still, the American voter is ultimately responsible for what he/she does except for concealed lies. They don’t have to stare at the screen like Pavlov’s dogs. They will analyze and debate the merits of various football teams. Quite well too, IMHO, rattling off statistics and discussing Jay Cutler’s throwing arm and groin injuries and contract. But they repeat advertised platitudes like a robot when discussing politics and 90% of them cannot even name their state rep. That’s not an exaggeration. If anything, it’s being generous.
Reminds me a line from an old song (Diamond Girl?), “Your like a diamond, but he treats you like glass.”
In another corner of engines revving, Ryan Lizza profiled Rand Paul. Per digby, and interesting quote:
That’s exactly the same sense of out to win that Mittens has vis-a-vis his dad’s failure in the 1960s. The problem was that George Romney/Ron Paul told the truth as they saw it. And politicians who tell the truth cannot be elected. If both Paul and Romney enter the race, I’m expecting the bobbing-and-weaving contest to be pretty interesting.
Mblockquote>…the truth as they saw it. And politicians who tell the truth cannot be elected. </blockquote.<p>
Maybe it wasn’t the truth that was the problem but the truth as they saw it which mostly wasn’t the truth at all.
In George Romney’s case, it was likely more true than he realized.
I like this:
If the following is one of his truths, he was even more cognitively challenged than he exhibited on the campaign trail:
His son hasn’t fallen far from the tree.
I never blamed him for the brainwashing quote. I felt it was accurate and a condemnation of the Pentagon/State department. Maybe it was cl7umsy, but I thought it an apt allusion to Stalin’s Russia.
Is the country ready for another Bush v. Clinton POTUS general election? Half the electorate probably can’t recall the first one (and some weren’t even born).
wrt “Occupy Hong Kong” Looks may be deceiving. Too much NED money involved not to consider that it’s another western backed “color revolution.” Money never sleeps and always knows how to co-opt or appropriate energy and slogans from authentic voices of social democracy. Even Nixon went on “Laugh-in.” IMHO b seems to get his one right.
Half the country can’t remember who they are married to after four beers.
Jeb has some serious family problems to overcome. And none of them are named Dubya.
Any one of a several more reasons (brothers [not just Dubya]), previous scandals that got little play in FL, the FACT that Hillary, O’Malley, Mickey Mouse STARTS with nearly 240 electoral votes (places like MA, NY, CA, HA, IL, …) is very daunting. Running for Pres is no fun.