RUSH: Back to the audio sound bites. I want to start here with number 13. I’m gonna get to this Jeb Bush stuff. This is a point that needs to be remade. This US News & World story that Jeb Bush campaign blueprint has been leaked to them, of all places. Nothing against US News, but if you’re gonna leak something — I mean, the Republicans generally leak to Politico. That’s my experience. Usually you find out what the establishment Republicans are thinking or doing because there’s gonna be a story about it in The Politico. So they leak there.
Somebody in the Bush campaign, well, maybe one of the donors, I don’t know. There are probably a lot of upset people in the Bush campaign right now. I mean, if you’ve given a lot of money, it’s an investment. Campaign donation is an investment. If you’ve invested a ton of money in Jeb, you have to be a little nervous right now. And you have to be desirous that they either get serious or get out. ‘Cause you can’t go on this way. You can’t go on with the guy you’re giving money to at 5%, and you can’t have any more of these debate performances like the other night ’cause it’s not gonna move the needle. So somebody’s leaking this stuff. And what this leaked document demonstrates is that my instincts yesterday were right on the money.
This is an antique playbook. And what gave it away for me, this was the third debate, and in each of the debates Jeb’s number one self-spoken asset, the thing he thinks that is his best qualification, is his political resume as governor of Florida. And I watched the debate on Wednesday night, and every time he started talking about that resume, however he described it, “I’ve cut taxes every year I was governor, we reduced spending,” he started going through the resume and I looked at Kathryn and I said, “This is crazy, we live in an era right now where people hate politicians, and every time he brings up that resume, he’s distancing himself further from people.”
This is the exact opposite of what people want now. Trump does not have one of these political resumes. Ben Carson does not have one. Ted Cruz does not have much of one. The leaders in the Republican primary do not talk that way. They do not have a political resume where they can recite all the great things they did as governor, the great things they did as Senator. It doesn’t impress anybody anymore because those are the people perceived to be the architects of the problems that we have. That is what “inside the Beltway” means. “Inside the Beltway” means many things, but among the things it means is professional politicians are there, and they have screwed up it up royally, and professional politicians are not listening to us anyway.
So who wants to hear a political politician resume? And yet that’s what they’re sending Jeb out to hype. So my conclusion was that whoever’s running this campaign is about two or three election cycles too far back in the past. This might have worked in 1996, it might have worked in 1992, might have worked in 2000. But it’s not the way you’re gonna win a debate or stand out, and they haven’t figured this out. This is three debates, static in the polls or plummeting and they keep reciting the resume as governor.
It made me start questioning. The Bush campaign, understand this, the donors and the Republican Party powers that be, they put their eggs in the Bush basket. See, I’ve thought — this is a key element here, too, just by observing. I know nothing. And look, I need to stress again here that discussing these things is somewhat difficult for me. The Bush family’s been nothing but great to me, from Bush 41 to Bush 43. I’ve met Jeb a couple times. I have no animus for this family in any way, shape, manner, or form. They are some of the best people that you would ever meet. They’re just fine people. But politically they’re not as conservative as I would like and prefer. But I have absolutely no personal dislike or anything of the sort for them.
But I do know… I think I know. In watching Jeb, I’ve never gotten the impression he’s really into this. It just is never struck me that he really wants it. You know if you go back to 2000, Jeb was the guy that everybody thought was gonna be the next Bush president. He was governor of Florida. Back then, his resume was big, and it was powerful, and it was impressive. And George W. Bush, governor of Texas, came out of nowhere and started raising money like crazy and was up crazy in the polls, and Jeb just kind of faded.
I don’t think there’s any serious family rivalry over this, but Jeb was the guy, okay. But it became W. But they want back. The whole apparatus. See, I think Jeb’s a placeholder for the people who really want to be back in power in Washington, whoever they are. I don’t know who they are. I mean, I’d love to name names but I don’t know. I just know there’s an apparatus that loves being in power in Washington.
And none of them can be elected, don’t want to be elected.
They need somebody to be elected, and Jeb’s the guy. And they’re trying to program him to be a good candidate, and they’re trying to coach him. I think he’s over-coached. I think on the debate stage, they’ve got him going after Rubio in certain ways — in ways he wouldn’t do on his own. And they’ve got him memorizing responses to things that might be said. I think you’re looking at somebody that’s basically not being themselves, and instead is trying to remember what he’s been told to say and how to say it if a certain moment arises.
And that just leads to paralysis. And when the paralysis happens is when Jeb goes back to what’s comfortable and that’s the political resume. “I cut taxes every year. I was one of the most conservative governors in the state of Florida’s history and I had the greatest conservative governor rating and record.” All of this stuff, that’s what’s comfortable to him and that’s what got him elected back in the day. But it’s not an asset today. So now this blueprint’s been leaked. It’s a 112-page internal document, and it’s basically an oppo-research document.
It’s all kinds of dirt on Marco Rubio.
It’s got the goals and objectives for winning Iowa.
It has the advertising plan for January, and it also contains a tidbit that they focus group tested the phrase: “My brother kept us safe.” He kept us safe, meaning W, after 9/11. They actually went out and focus grouped that, before not this debate; the one before that. The second debate, they focus grouped it, and it scored off the charts. So they came out of the focus group thinking, “All Jeb’s gotta do if anybody attacks W is say, ‘He kept us safe,’ and he’s gonna just score a big home run,” and it was just the opposite.
You remember what Trump did with it.
So they’ve been bamboozled throughout this whole thing.
I gotta take a break now, but a couple sound bites coming up after this to support all this.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: No, no, no. Look, my only point is the creme de la creme is running this Bush campaign, and if that’s the best the Republican Party (by reputation) has, I mean, they’re behind the times. That’s my only point. I don’t know who they are, so it’s not a personal attack. I’m just observing. A couple of Jeb sound bites. Portsmouth, New Hampshire, yesterday. “What do you make of the headlines saying your campaign is on life support?”
JEB: It’s not on life support. We have the most money. We have the greatest organization. Uh, we’re doing fine. Look, there’s the eight more debates. There’s ample time to do exactly what candidates do. End is not near!
RUSH: And last night on NBC, their website interview, reporter said, “You told donors today in a conference call that you said that you’re gonna get better at this. What are gonna do to get better?”
JEB: Look, we have… We got eight more debates. I’m gonna have to do whatever candidates do, which is rudely interrupt, not answer the questions that are asked, and hopefully the debate moderators will actually ask more substantive questions as well. It’s goin’ fine.
REPORTER: Are you having any fun?
JEB: Oh, yeah! You saw it. Having lots of fun.
RUSH: Now, I’m sorry, but this sounds like somebody that resents this whole process. Look, what are you gonna do to get better? “Well, I’m gonna have to do what other candidates do, which is rudely interrupt and not answer the questions that are asked.” It sounds like Jeb kind of resents that it’s not serious enough or not substantive enough. “I’m gonna have to learn to be rude and I’m gonna have to learn to not be forthright with the news media and so forth. I can do it! If I have to sink to the level these other people, that’s what I’ll do.”
It just sounds like somebody resents what he has to do here to break out. Just my personal opinion. That’s all it is.