Russ Baker — Trump and the Bushes — the New Guy and the Old Guard Dance

And now, notwithstanding the tremendous enmity between the Old Money clan and the semi-new money guy, the Bushes and their allies and fellow travelers are finding ways back inside the White House.

One example is Rex Tillerson, Trump’s choice for Secretary of State. The only reason he was even considered was because Robert Gates and Condoleezza Rice suggested him to Trump.

Gates, of course, comes out of the Bush machine, having served as CIA director under George H.W. Bush and as defense secretary under George W. Bush. Ditto Rice, who also served under Bush father and son....

In fact, it now turns out that none less than George W. Bush himself, along with — wait for it — Donald Rumsfeld, worked their influence on behalf of Tillerson, albeit indirectly.…

Trump had been considering, as Deputy Secretary of State, Richard Haass, president of the old guard’s Council on Foreign Relations, and former member of both Bush administrations. But apparently [Roger] Stone has convinced Trump to not appoint him.

Stone considers Haass “New World Order…Globalist…Neocon” — anathema to Stone, with his paleoconservative/libertarian inclinations. Much of Trump’s rhetoric against elites has come from Stone....

WhoWhatWhy
Trump and the Bushes — the New Guy and the Old Guard Dance
Russ Baker

The idiots, er...I mean, donors, who lost the most on Jeb Bush

Not nearly enough, but good to see them get smacked.

Arturo Garcia — Jeb Bush ends presidential campaign after failing to win South Carolina primary

Not his time.

The Raw Story
Jeb Bush ends presidential campaign after failing to win South Carolina primary
Arturo Garcia

Jon Perr — Jeb's Friends Claim Dubya "Inherited" 9/11 and Recession

Count on Donald Trump having some more fun with this.

PERRspectives 

Jeb's Friends Claim Dubya "Inherited" 9/11 and Recession
Jon Perr

Matthew Yglesias — Jeb Bush says we should "phase out" Medicare

Glad we got that cleared up. Gotta get rid of that "socialized medicine".

Vox
Jeb Bush says we should "phase out" Medicare
Matthew Yglesias

Sandwichman — Jeb Bush: "People need to work longer hours."

Dubya's dumber brother.

Who are his economic advisors?

Econospeak
Jeb Bush: "People need to work longer hours."
Sandwichman

David Lightman — Jeb Bush: Republicans spent too much when my brother was president

And we can assume that HRC would try to run a larger surplus than Bill.

Our best hope is Bernie Sanders with Stephanie Kelton as his chief economic advisor.

McClatchy
Jeb Bush: Republicans spent too much when my brother was president
David Lightman, McClatchy Washington Bureau

Jeb Bush's Entourage Filled with Neocons — Jessica Desvarieux interviews Lawrence Wilkerson

Video and transcript

WILKERSON: I think you'll recall that I was recently in New Hampshire and looking over the 19 candidates that had paid their $1000 in that state to commence the primary process. Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Jeb Bush and so forth. As I looked over that cast of characters, I thought the only viable one really was Jeb Bush. Well just recently, as you probably are aware, he's made some statements that make me question my own judgment in that regard.

Those statements were something like, if he had the Iraq war to do over again, that is the 2003 war, the one his brother did, he would do it exactly the way his brother did it. And furthermore, his brother was his principal advisor on the Middle East. I attribute these kind of statements, though perhaps not quite as egregious, to the same kind of actions John McCain perpetrated when he picked Sarah Palin to be his vice president. After that, no one really took John McCain that seriously, certainly enough Americans to put him in the White House didn't take him seriously. Or, for that matter, Mitt Romney's overheard comment, and thus publicized comment about the percentage of Americans who basically were worthless.

These kinds of things ruin a person's potential even before they get started. I attribute Jeb's statements to the neoconservatives he has arrayed around him. They are as prolific around him now as they were around his brother, George W. Bush, and they are just as contaminative. They're just as dangerous. They're just as Luddite and stupid, in my views. Because their interests are not the interests of this country.

So whereas a week ago I would have said Jeb Bush gives me some hope for my political party, and I might even vote for him, I'm thinking now after statements like he just made, I wouldn't vote for him if he were the last candidate on earth.

The Real News Network
Jeb Bush's Entourage Filled with Neocons

Jessica Desvarieux interviews Lawrence Wilkerson

Also

AlterNet
Jeb Bush Isn't a Moderate -- He's a Neocon Extremist

Tom Hartmann

Mark Hensch — Jeb Bush: Our enemies must 'fear' US again

“The basic policy should be our friends know we have their back over the long haul, and our enemies need to fear us again,” Bush said at the South Carolina GOP convention in Columbia, according to the Associated Press....

Should he run, he would embark on the same path that brought his brother, George W. Bush, and his father, George H.W. Bush, to the Oval Office before him.

The Hill — Briefing Room

Jeb Bush: Our enemies must 'fear' US again

Mark Hensch

Leslie Clark — Jeb Bush: Best part of Obama administration is NSA

Everything you need to know about Jeb in one title. Neocon through and through.

McClatchy DC
Jeb Bush: Best part of Obama administration is NSA

Leslie Clark

Heather Digby Parton — Jeb’s quiet wingnutty past: Why he has to distance himself from… himself

[Jeb] happens to be the only Bush who was a card-carrying member of the PNAC [Project for a New American Century]. He was a neocon long before neocons were cool. In fact, one must suspect that his early defiance of his father and brother in this regard signals the act of a True Believer. He didn’t need to do it. He was Governor of Florida, not head of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He must have really thought the cause was righteous.…

Why Jeb is likely to the nominee. His wingnutty past is a feature rather than a bug in the GOP.

Ready for another Bush/Cheney administration?

Salon
Jeb’s quiet wingnutty past: Why he has to distance himself from… himself
Heather Digby Parton | Hulaballoo

Andrew Prokop — Jeb Bush, to donors: Stop giving me so much money so quickly

Money certainly won't be sufficient to hand Bush the nomination — questions about his appeal to the conservative base and actual voters remain — but this fundraising will certainly allow Bush to get his message out, and seems to position him as the man to beat.

Vox
Jeb Bush, to donors: Stop giving me so much money so quickly
Andrew Prokop

Colin Campbell — Jeb Bush Is Reportedly Making 'Secret Visits' To Wall Street To Prepare For A 2016 Campaign

Looking like Jeb's in if he wants to be.

If he runs, Bush, the son of former President George H.W. Bush and the brother of former President George W. Bush, is expected to heavily court the Republican establishment and business community.

"He will get the backing," SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci told Business Insider last month. "People will be stepping over themselves."

Business Insider
Jeb Bush Is Reportedly Making 'Secret Visits' To Wall Street To Prepare For A 2016 Campaign
Colin Campbell

David Edwards — Former George W. Bush aide rips Jeb Bush for ‘kissing the ring’ of billionaires (via Raw Story )

Former George W. Bush aide rips Jeb Bush for ‘kissing the ring’ of billionaires (via Raw Story )

Matthew Dowd, who was chief strategist for George W. Bush’s 2004 campaign, on Sunday ripped Republican presidential hopefuls for lowering themselves to “kiss the ring” of billionaires like Las Vegas casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson. During a Sunday…

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Andrew Kaczynski — Jeb Bush, Son Divided Over Ted Cruz And Obamacare

Former Republican Governor of Florida Jeb Bush and his son are at odds over Ted Cruz and Obamacare. The younger Bush, George P. Bush, who is a candidate for Texas land commissioner, had supported efforts by Ted Cruz to defund Obamacare in the fight to fund the government. The elder Bush has criticized Cruz’s tactics.

“I agree with this effort to defund it, or keep Texas out of the program unless we can modify it to a Texas-specific solution,” George P. Bush said, according to the Dallas Morning News.

On ABC’s This Week Jeb Bush attacked the efforts and tactics by Cruz and Tea Party Republicans to defund the law.

BuzzFeed
Jeb Bush, Son Divided Over Ted Cruz And Obamacare
Andrew Kaczynski

The Republican divide runs deep over political tactics.

Zach Carter — [Jeb Bush] Slams Ted Cruz: 'Show A Little Self-Restraint'

[ABC's John] Karl asked Bush if he had a message for Cruz.

"Have a little bit of self-restraint," Bush replied. "It might actually be a politically better approach to see the massive dysfunction, but we don't even hear about that because we've stepped on that message ... show a little self-restraint and let this happen a little more organically."

Bush said the shutdown had damaged America's reputation abroad.

"When we have these political conversations that are not grounded in reality, the rest of the world looks at us as untrustworthy," Bush said.

The Huffington Post
Top Republican [Jeb Bush] Slams Ted Cruz: 'Show A Little Self-Restraint'
Zach Carter | Senior Political Economy Reporter

Gentle smackdown, but a smackdown nevertheless.

No less a GOP political figure than Richard Viguerie has called this a GOP "civil war."

Jeb Bush: Republican Party Needs 'To Reach Out To A Much Broader Audience'

Doh. Look at the demographics. The GOP is way on the wrong side of the future. History has a liberal bias.

I suspect that Jeb is also talking his own book. If Obama wins in '12, Jeb will definitely run in '16. He doesn't want to be on the losing side out of the gate due to demographics.

The Huffington Post
Jeb Bush: Republican Party Needs 'To Reach Out To A Much Broader Audience'
Elise Foley