“The truth is I don’t care. There’s nothing lower in my book than second-guessing. There are a lot of people in the cheap seats with a lot of opinions. What have they done?”
— GOP strategist Mike Murphy, quoted by the Los Angeles Times, remaining unapologetic after spending more than $100 million on Jeb Bush’s candidacy.
A former Jeb Bush campaign official who asked not to be identified to speak more freely believes it’s a “possibility” Bush will endorse Marco Rubio, especially if Bush thinks it can “make a big difference and slow Trump down,” CNN reports.
Jeb Bush told donors that he had seen a path to victory “from the very beginning” of his campaign but was unexpectedly stymied by “outsiders making a compelling case to people who are deeply disaffected and angry,” MSNBC reports.
Said Bush: “I’m sorry that it didn’t turn out the way that I intended. When I launched the campaign in front of 3-4,000 people in Miami, I anticipated a different result.”
Bush added that the reality of the race was that “we’ve had a year of disruption, a year of outsiders making a compelling case to people who are deeply disaffected and angry.”
A former bundler for Jeb Bush tells CNN that GOP strategist Mike Murphy “made minimum of $14 million” running the Bush super PAC Right to Rise.
Murphy responded to the figure by calling it, “Absolute bullshit. That mystery donor should have the guts to call me and get straightened out.”
Bloomberg: “An influx of cash would be particularly welcome to Rubio, who lagged in early fundraising despite the support of some high-profile donors such as the hedge-fund manager Paul Singer. That’s partly because of a crowded GOP field, and the fact that Bush dominated support in their mutual home state of Florida. Bush’s super-PAC, Right to Rise, raised about a quarter of its record $118 million haul from the Sunshine State, helped by relationships forged during his two terms as Florida governor.”
Mike Murphy, the chief strategist for Jeb Bush’s super PAC, told the Washington Post where the campaign went wrong.
Said Murphy: “Our theory was to dominate the establishment lane into the actual voting primaries. That was the strategy, and it did not work.”
“Three other problems led to Bush’s downfall. First, the candidate and his team misjudged the degree of Bush fatigue among Republicans… Second, Bush and his team miscalculated the role and power of money and traditional television commercials in the 2016 race… Third, Bush ran a campaign that, whether deliberate or not, was rooted in the past.”
“It is not yet clear which Republican presidential candidate will emerge from Saturday’s South Carolina primary with the biggest boost. But it is becoming increasingly apparent which two would suffer most from a disappointing performance,” the New York Times reports.
“South Carolina will render a brutal and perhaps final verdict on Jeb Bush’s campaign if he does not at least finish close to Sen. Marco Rubio… Among the hard-line conservatives in the race, Sen. Ted Cruz will face new questions about the potential of his campaign if he is unable to broaden his appeal and continues to allow Donald Trump, the heavy favorite here, to cut into his support from evangelical Christians.”
“I’m not seeing a lot of movement there. He’s got Lindsey down there helping him, and his brother came in to help him, and he’s still at about what, 10 percent? Which is way behind top three.”
— Former Sen. Bob Dole (R-KS), quoted by National Review, expressing disappointment in Jeb Bush’s presidential campaign.
Jeb Bush “Was barraged by conflicting advice from supporters increasingly distressed by the rise of GOP front-runner Donald Trump and that the former Florida governor’s campaign has stalled,” the Washington Post reports.
“One guy urged him to talk more about his compassion. Another told him to take Trump’s attacks on the chin and stay substantive. A third man urged him to work harder to spread the word nationally. Never before had Bush faced supporters so annoyed and worried about his fate. They quickly turned a campaign rally on a country club gazebo here into an open campaign strategy session — with dozens of reporters watching.”
Politico: Bush struggles to mask mounting frustration
Rick Klein: “There may be no bigger question in the Republican race after the two GOP contests that will fill the next week. Unless Jeb Bush turns expectations on their head, he’s in for a rough South Carolina: a new CNN/ORC poll there has him in a distant fourth place – as close as he is to catching Marco Rubio as Ben Carson is to catching Bush. That’s despite perhaps his strongest debate performance, in a state where he’s leaned as heavily as possible on his family legacy to turn things around. Then comes Nevada, where the new CNN numbers have him in sixth place in the caucuses – out of six remaining candidates.”
“If that’s how Bush limps into Super Tuesday, the question will be asked sooner rather than later by the donor and pundit classes: Will remaining in the race do more harm to the other candidates than good to Bush’s own chances? Bush has earned the right to stay in the race as long as he wants, and even diminished fundraising capabilities leave him with the ability to stretch through the March 1 and March 15 elections. But he’s awkwardly positioned to reach a point where some hard questions will need to be asked, particularly if Donald Trump romps through the balance of February.”
“It’s because he fears me, because I’m the only guy standing up to him.”
— Jeb Bush, quoted by Politico, on why Donald Trump constantly attacks him.
New York Times: “The brother who was never expected to become president — but did — will be trotted out Monday as a lifeline to the brother who was always expected to become president, but now may not.”
“But the appearance by the brothers — one the 43rd president, the other fighting to become the 45th — also offers a glimpse into the complicated dynamics of a family dynasty, as well as striking parallels with George Bush’s 2000 campaign here. It was when South Carolina was similarly emerging as a critical state for him, and where the race took a darkly negative turn.”
Donald Trump is mocking rival Jeb Bush for bringing his brother, former President George W. Bush, to help campaign, The Hill reports.
Said Trump: “Don’t fall asleep when I mention the name.”
He added: “I see he’s bringing his brother in now. He tried the mother, who’s a very nice lady, I’m sure, but he tried the mother. That didn’t work out so good. Now he’s bringing in his brother.”
Former President George W. Bush will make his 2016 presidential campaign debut to stump for his brother Jeb Bush on Monday in South Carolina, The State reports.
Dana Millbank: “Only in the bizarre world of politics would Bush’s fourth-place finish in New Hampshire be considered good news: His millions of dollars got him only 31,160 votes, or 11 percent of the total. But considering that Bush was ready for embalming before Tuesday night, the notion that Jeb is not dead is noteworthy. At the very least, he lives to be awkward another day.”
“This turnabout may say less about Bush than about the tragic state of the Republican mainstream as it tries to find an alternative to Trump and Ted Cruz. Chris Christie and Carly Fiorina are out of the race. Marco Rubio’s debate debacle left him with a Rick Perry problem of looking like a lightweight. John Kasich scored well in New Hampshire but will have trouble convincing Republicans elsewhere that he’s conservative enough. That leaves – could it be? – Jeb.”
Jeb Bush said that Donald Trump would be a worse president than Barack Obama, Poliitco reports.
Said Bush: “We will be worse off than we are now. And we are pretty bad off right now.”
“The super PAC backing Jeb Bush’s Republican presidential campaign is planning to increase its ad buy in South Carolina ahead of the Feb. 20 primary,” the Washington Post reports.
“Right to Rise USA is pouring another $1.7 million into the Palmetto State in the next 10 days on top of the more than $10 million the group has already spent in the state, according to people familiar with the plans. The money will be spent primarily on television, radio and digital advertising.”
“Jeb Bush is already laying the groundwork for a brutal South Carolina campaign against establishment rivals John Kasich and Marco Rubio,” Politico reports.
“In an internal memo circulated late Tuesday evening, the campaign distributed talking points to top campaign aides and surrogates, highlighting lines of attack they plan to take against both candidates.”
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Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
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