When a Presidential campaign is reaching the point of desperation, they will seek to do almost anything to gain a foothold in the race. Jeb Bush, who many thought wouldn’t have much of an issue clearing the field of GOP candidates to take on Hillary Clinton in 2016, has now fallen below [mc_name name=’Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL)’ chamber=’senate’ mcid=’R000595′ ] in the RCP Polling Average. Apparently that was enough for Jeb and his team to start taking swipes at Rubio by saying is nothing but a Republican version of Barack Obama:
Despite the current voter fervor for anti-establishment candidates, Bush’s team believes it’s important to focus on Bush’s record as a two-term governor of Florida, arguing that his tenure shows an aptitude of “fixing” things in government.
In a slide titled “Experience Matters,” one bullet point reads:”Marco is a GOP Obama.”
Both ran for president as first-term senators, were lawyers and university lecturers, had served part time in state legislatures for eight years, and had “few legislative accomplishments,” the slide said.
Another slide is entirely dedicated to pointing out the advantage Bush holds in endorsements over Rubio (Bush has 11 endorsements from Florida’s congressional delegation, Rubio has one), while another compares the campaigns’ cash-on-hand numbers, with Bush having slightly more in the bank.
Later Monday, Bush himself took a swipe at Rubio. In an on-stage conversation with his brother, former President George W. Bush, Jeb Bush boasted about how he “vetoed a couple of projects for one of the presidential candidates,” referring to when Rubio was in the Florida House of Representatives when Bush was the governor.
Oh Jeb.
This has become a common line of attack with people that support other candidates (Jeb, Christie and Kasich in particular). Rubio has received the brunt of it with some being reserved for [mc_name name=’Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)’ chamber=’senate’ mcid=’C001098′ ] and [mc_name name=’Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY)’ chamber=’senate’ mcid=’P000603′ ] (when he was still a contender).
It’s a ridiculous criticism for one simple reason: Barack Obama is not a bad President because of his lack of experience. He’s a bad President because he has implemented bad policies. It’s like saying the Yankees never should have taken a chance with a young inexperienced Derek Jeter as their starting shortstop in 1996 because Mario Mendoza was a lousy inexperienced shortstop when he was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
By Obama’s measure and by that of his supporters, Obama has had a tremendously successful Presidency.
He wanted an economic stimulus package. He got it.
He wanted Obamacare. He got it.
He wanted tax increases. He got them.
He wanted increased regulation on banks. He got that.
Are we to believe President Obama wouldn’t have done these things if he only had a few more years under his belt? That’s absurd. Hillary Clinton has a lot of experience. She saw how things work by being First Lady for eight years. She was a Senator for eight years and a Secretary of State for four years. That said, I don’t want her anywhere near the White House. Bernie Sanders has been hanging around, muttering his socialist blather in Congress for the last 24 years. I don’t want his experience in the White House either.
The worse part is, with Jeb and his team using this line of attack, it leaves the door open for Grandma or Crazy Uncle to use them during the general election. If not by the Democrat candidates, then certainly by liberal Super Pac’s.
Jeb’s campaign is flailing. But he’s not doing himself or the GOP any favors by attacking Rubio as a GOP version of Obama. If Jeb wants to tout his own accomplishments as Governor than he should do so, but not at the expense of a fellow Republican.
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