Jeb! ....and the demise of the Bush era

"Jeb Bush has finally admitted what's been obvious for months: Republican voters don't want him to be their presidential nominee," quote from VOX Policy and Politics blog.

Jeb! Bush, the favorite to win the 2016 GOP Presidential nomination, is now out of the race completely. Obviously, the exclamation mark in his campaign logo didn't work out. Republicans and the American public are clearly "Bush fatigued". With the Jeb! loss in South Carolina on February 20, the Bush leadership era is now history.

Jeb! should lead a rebirth of compassionate conservatism.

Is it possible for the GOP to find a Phoenix in the political ashes?

Unfortunately, Jeb! missed a rare opportunity to reclaim a fresh momentum during his concession speech when his campaign lost to Donald Trump, Raphael "Ted" Cruz (aka "Cruz to loose") and Senator Marco Rubio (aka Blinkie bottle Rubio).  

Rather than giving a tearful "gosh-darn" speech to supporters in Charleston, SC, Jeb! should have roused his followers and the establishment Republicans with a "new world order" type of speech. In fact, Jeb! should have declared the Grand Old Party to be too old to continue and, instead, announced the formation of a Great Onward Party.  Of course, this moment in the spotlight was wistful rather than rousing and the opportunity for announcing change was missed.

Although Jeb! is a good person, he was a terrible presidential candidate. Politically, Jeb! never overcame the shadow of his family's leadership failures. George Bush 41, pledged "no new taxes", but he raised them because he had to do it for the greater good. Republicans, who sincerely don't seem to care about the greater good, never forgave Bush 41, for raising taxes. George Bush 43, invaded Iraq, when Osama Bin Laden wasn't there and no weapons of mass destruction were ever found. As a result, the entire Middle East has been in tumultuous upheaval, ever since. Moreover, it was George Bush 43, who was president when the disastrous Great Recession of 2007 hit the nation caused primarily because of shabby regulatory oversight of the housing markets.

So, now the establishment Republican party is in decline and a new "Trumponian" movement has replaced moderate conservatism with a mob mentality, whereby the political rules are changed forever. Donald Trump is a bully who has marginalized political reason to such an extreme that the Republican party will never again pretend to be "grand".  

Jeb! still has a chance to recover moderate conservatism by forming a new political party, based on reason and tolerance, but maybe he will have to wait to become the Phoenix from the ashes. Many Republicans would certainly welcome the return of their party's compassionate conservatism.

Not Eloquently Stated

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/romney-conservatism-of-the-heartless/
Romney’s Conservatism Of The Heartless

Rusty Reno is ticked at Romney over the "47 percent thing", mostly because it shows how out of touch Romney is with actual Americans.

" MITT HAS ALL THE COMPASSION OF A CHARGING RHINO.....", says Maine Writer blog follower Joe in Bangor, Maine.

Governor Romney excused his "off the cuff" 47 percent speech at a private Republican Fund Raiser, hosted last May and secretly video taped, as "not eloquently stated". 

This is what Romney told contributors:

http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/18/13943563-full-video-and-transcript-of-leaked-romney-fundraiser-remarks?lite

"Well, there are 47% of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right? There are 47% who are with him. Who are dependent upon government, who believe that-- that they are victims, who believe that government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they're entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it. But that's-- it's an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what."

My question is this. What happened to "Compassionate Conservatism", the Republican social mantra just a few years ago?  Therein is the problem with word creep. "Compassionate Conservatism" morphed to "Compassionate Victimization".....in other words, "Gee, we're sorry you need help...., maybe you deserve your plight; meanwhile, here's temporary help..". Reminiscent, tragically, of Marie Antoinette who said French peasants should eat cake because they were unable to afford bread. She lost her social compass and her lovely head.  

Compassionate Conservatism quickly became an anachronism- a word relic of the past.  Instead,  political "righties"are falling into lock step behind a concept that 47 percent of Americans are "victims"- even though economic pundits say many of these "victims" are Republicans, themselves.  

Romney's "not eloquently stated" comments rip the scab off a  veiled contempt for people who happen to benefit from government assistance, like Social Security, Veterans benefits, Medicare, Medicaid, Food Stamps, Pell Grants, student loans, public health assistance....  Yes, it's true, these programs are subsidized by the government, but every one of them is an investment in people who, in turn, build and protect our nation.

Theoretically, "Compassionate Conservatism" has morphed into creating victims of those who benefit from government subsidized programs. This mutation could morph again, to include public servants, paid by tax money, especially the US military, police, fire, rescue and the National Guard, to name a few.

Perhaps Romney's campaign will get over the latest in a litany of communications management problems, but excuses are quickly wearing thin and time is running out to turn things around.

Romney Tries to Get Back on Track After Video:  

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/romney-conservatism-of-the-heartless/

"Mitt Romney sought to get his campaign back on track Tuesday after the revelation of a video in which he said nearly half of Americans 'believe they are victims', are dependent on the government..."

In my mind, "not eloquently stated" is an excuse worse than the "victim" comments, made off the cuff, because it demonstrates Romney's lack of conviction to improve the human condition. Instead of showing statesmanship, he shows ambition. Rather than compassion, he demeans 47 percent of all Americans who believe we are our brother's keeper.  

Governor Romney should be ashamed of his "not eloquently stated" 47 percent remarks made "off the cuff" to his Republican right wing colleagues.  But, Americans will be very eloquent when we vote for President Barack Obama to lead 100 percent of all Americans for another term.