Bush Enters the Lion’s Den

Jeb Bush “made certain that he has no plan to pander to his party’s conservative base in pursuit of the Republican nomination when he declared, ‘I’m not backing down from something that is a core belief. Are we all supposed to cower because at the moment people are upset about something? No way, no how,'” the Washington Post reports.

“Bush’s pledge will be tested, though, as he wades into the proverbial lion’s den Friday when he speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference, an annual speechmaking festival that draws thousands of conservative activists to National Harbor outside of Washington.”

“After two bustling months spent shoring up his natural areas of strength — raising a mountain of cash from the GOP’s monied class, recruiting seasoned policy experts and political operatives, and charming old-guard opinion-makers — Bush is stepping into a new and potentially more perilous phase of his expected candidacy.”