Jeb Bush said he doesn’t think Donald Trump is a Christian, ABC News reports.
Said Bush: “No, I don’t know what he is. I don’t think he has the kind of relationship he says he has if he can’t explain it any way that shows he is serious about it.”
Of Jerry Falwell Jr.’s endorsement, he added: “For a guy who has stated he has never sought forgiveness, it’s hard to imagine how someone who is a strong believer would embrace that idea. There may be other reasons that Mr Falwell is supporting him.”
Barbara Bush takes a swipe at Donald Trump in a new ad for Jeb Bush.
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“The reason why he attacks me is he’s scared of me. He’s insecure. He doesn’t believe that he can take me on.”
— Jeb Bush, quoted by Politico, on Donald Trump.
“The big-money supporters fueling Jeb Bush’s super PAC have found their boogey man: Mike Murphy, a sharp-witted, Twitter-obsessed veteran GOP ad man who runs Right to Rise,” according to Politico.
“If Bush’s campaign ends with anything other than the GOP nomination, blame is certain to be widespread. But that donors and GOP operatives are already sniping at Murphy before the first votes are cast demonstrates the depth of frustration and displeasure with the Bush-world loyalist.”
“The mega-donors who helped Right to Rise, the super PAC supporting Jeb Bush, raise over $100 million aren’t exactly the typical crowdfounding type,” the New York Times reports.
“But in an email to donors on Friday, Mike Murphy, the head of Right to Rise, urged them to do just that — contribute online to air an ad in the New England area supporting Mr. Bush during the Super Bowl, two days before New Hampshire holds its primary on Feb. 9.”
Rick Hasen: “It is easy to dismiss as overblown the concern about the outsize role of ultra-rich donors in the American political scene. Exhibit 1: Jeb Bush. Bush’s $100 million in super PAC fundraising was supposed to be part of a shock-and-awe campaign that would scare away competitors and give him a smooth path to the Republican presidential nomination. Well, it hasn’t worked out that way.”
“But this overly simplistic analysis misses the key role of money in contemporary American politics. In spite of the rhetoric of some campaign reformers, money doesn’t buy elections. Instead, it increases the odds of electoral victory and of getting one’s way on policies, tax breaks and government contracts. And the presidential race is the place we are least likely to see money’s effects. Looking to Congress and the states, though, we can see that the era of big money unleashed by the Supreme Court is hurtling us toward a plutocracy in which the people with the greatest economic power can wield great political power through campaign donations and lobbying.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is expected to endorse Jeb Bush for president this morning, Politico reports.
Politico: “Now, seven months later and just 17 days before the first ballots are cast, Bush’s donors are no longer high-fiving or strategizing how to keep funds flowing. Instead, the money spigot is shutting off as the donor class believes it is just a matter of time before the candidate they threw so much money behind drops out of the race.”
It might be too late for Jeb Bush, but he’s still got enough money to make ads against his rivals.
Politico reports that establishment Republicans worry that Jeb Bush’s presidential campaign is now “little more than an ego trip.”
“With the former Florida governor now sitting stagnant in the middle of the pack and his super PAC ratcheting up its attacks on Marco Rubio, a growing number of Republican centrists are coming to view Bush’s campaign as a distraction — one that could hurt their ability to keep the nomination away from Donald Trump and Ted Cruz.”
Jeb Bush says he doesn’t really care that his favorability with Republicans has dropped almost 30 points since launching his presidential campaign, BuzzFeed reports.
When asked about the decline, Bush said, “Hell if I know, I don’t really care.”
Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) soon will endorse Gov. John Kasich for president, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
“Top Ohio Republican backs another top Ohio Republican. That’s how it always works, no? In most cases you would be correct. But Portman’s case is somewhat special. Consider that he served in the White House under President George H.W. Bush and later returned for two high-profile posts under President George W. Bush. Family loyalties might have compelled Portman to get behind Jeb Bush’s candidacy.”
Gallup: “Bush’s campaign efforts since July have clearly moved his image in a negative direction. The percentage of Republicans with a favorable opinion of Bush has dropped 10 percentage points, while the percentage with an unfavorable opinion has increased 18 points. On a relative basis, Bush’s current -1 net favorable rating among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents is the worst of any major GOP candidate — lower than John Kasich’s +5, and well below seven other GOP candidates Gallup is tracking.”
“Cruz is at the top of the list in the latest two-week period, from Dec. 18-Jan. 5, with a net favorable rating of +45, followed by Ben Carson at +40, Marco Rubio at +35 and Mike Huckabee at +33. Carly Fiorina, Donald Trump and Chris Christie all have net favorable ratings in the +23 to +25 range. Although Bush is least popular among Republicans, Trump has the lowest net favorable score among all U.S. adults, -26, compared with -13 for Bush.”
Hank Greenberg, “who built AIG into a world-wide financial powerhouse before its controversial government bailout, has donated $10 million to the super PAC backing Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush, making him one of the largest contributors in the 2016 race,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The whole idea that somehow he’s a burden — any mistakes I make, they’re my own. My brother and my family, I’m honored to be part of that family. I love them dearly. And all the psycho babble that goes along with it, I’ve gotten over it. You guys can meditate on your navels about that. I’m not.”
— Jeb Bush, in an interview on Morning Joe, on whether his brother George W. Bush is hurting his campaign.
Jeb Bush actually owned the copyright to his presidential campaign moniker Jeb! — until he let the trademark application lapse in November, so Stephen Colbert tries out different punctuation marks.
Mitt Romney told the Washington Post that he confronted Jeb Bush with his fears about his candidacy a year ago: “Jeb, to be very honest, I think it’s very hard for you to post up against Hillary Clinton and to separate yourself from the difficulty of the W. years and compare them with the Clinton years.”
Bush responded by saying that “he was going to make his campaign about the future, not about the past.”
Recalled Romney: “I didn’t say anything at that point. But as he left, I said to myself, ‘Gosh, in my opinion, it’s not going to be as easy to make that separation as I think he gives the impression it will be.’ One of the few things I predicted that turned out to be true.”
James Hohmann: “Romney’s comments about Bush are damaging because he retains sway and influence with the very donors and voters that Bush needs to revive his campaign.”
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.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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