Our permanent ruling elite.
Posted on 01/09/2015 3:52:10 AM PST by HomerBohn
Jeb Bush, more than any other potential Republican presidential candidate, brings to the table a government-in-waiting of executive branch veterans experienced in domestic and national security policy.
The Bush family network of political operatives is thousands deep and scattered across Washington and the nation, throughout politics and the private sector. The group was formed over three White House administrations, not to mention Jeb Bush’s two terms as Florida governor, during a period spanning 30 years. The Bush alumni are rich in the critical experience needed to run the federal government day to day.
“It’s a multifaceted network,” said a Washington operative who worked for President George W. Bush, Jeb’s brother. “These people went into government and didn’t necessarily know their way around Washington when they started. But they have figured the place out at this point. They know how the levers of power work.”
“I think there’s an advantage on policy advice because people are happy to jump in and help [Jeb Bush] because of the relationship with his dad or his brother,” added a second ex-Bush administration official who also requested anonymity. “He’s got obviously his own gubernatorial advisers. But on the national issues, these other governors won’t have access to that same level of expertise.”
Possibly only Hillary Clinton, the likely Democratic nominee, might have access to a similar reservoir of talent, courtesy of husband Bill's two terms as president and her own tenure as a New York senator and then secretary of state under President Obama.
In any presidential campaign, the major task for a non-incumbent nominee is to assemble a government — a vast team prepared to run a mammoth executive branch that consists of hundreds of agencies and programs. Typically, it takes a new president several months after inauguration to fill high-profile Cabinet positions, let alone thousands of other important posts. Then the new officials have to overcome a learning curve.
Whoever wins the Republican nomination is sure to recruit former Bush administration officials, since they have the most recent governing experience and policy expertise. But that could prove more seamless for Jeb Bush than other potential candidates, because of the loyalty to his family in Republican circles, not least of which includes the cadre whom he cultivated in Tallahassee.
Spanning two administrations that served from 2001 to 2009, plus the run-up to the 2000 presidential campaign, the network associated with George W. Bush is vibrant, politically and professionally connected. They also are exceptionally collegial, cohesive and regimented. They socialize regularly, usually mingling in groups based on which agency or department they worked for.
Brian McCormick, now vice president for an energy industry association in Washington, is a former Bush administration official who maintains a list of nearly 3,000 alumni, keeping them in touch with each other for professional and political purposes.
One Bush alumnus calls McCormick “the keeper of the list.” The list has been used to organize fundraisers and social gatherings, including a holiday party in Washington about every other year. Alumni fundraisers have drawn hundreds of attendees and raised thousands of dollars for Republicans candidates and causes. One recent event, held at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington to honor George W. Bush, who attended, drew an overflow crowd of about 500 alumni.
The Bush network includes up-and-coming Republicans, among them Cliff Rosenberger, 33, the newly installed speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives who once served in the White House political shop and the Department of the Interior. Alumni also include more established Republicans, such as Ohio Sen. Rob Portman and Missouri Rep. Ann Wagner, both of whom served under Bush and his father, one-term President George H.W. Bush.
“Team Bush has been a part of my life — and I consider them family — or decades now,” Wagner said. “We’ve known [Jeb] and grew up with him, politically — the entire family — and I will tell you, of all three of the Bush men that I’ve had the pleasure to know and work with, he is probably the best communicator… We’ll wait and see what he decides to do, but there’s an incredible network of people that are — as I said, we’re a family.”
Wagner was a top official in the Missouri campaign operation for the elder Bush’s 1992 re-election bid. Bush the younger appointed her ambassador to Luxembourg, a post she held from 2005 to 2009. Although the congresswoman didn’t directly endorse Jeb Bush for 2016, she made it clear that her loyalty to the family extend to him, an advantage over his rivals that he could have in assembling a campaign and putting together a government.
“He’s family, I’m loyal to family,” said Wagner, who also is a prolific fundraiser. “I’m very close to them and I’m excited about the opportunity for him to officially throw his hat in the ring.”
Portman, during a brief interview with the Washington Examiner on Wednesday, described Jeb Bush as a great candidate but said he has not made any endorsements.
Despite the advantages that come with his family's political network, Jeb Bush runs the risk of being painted as the consummate political insider at a time when being an outsider holds certain advantages. His rivals, most of whom will be forced to build a team from the ground up, will be able to present the image of a fresh face and new approach at a time when political experience is not universally held in high regard.
Ari Fleischer, who served as George W. Bush’s first press secretary, cautioned that the “Bush universe is not monolithic.” Fleischer, now a communications consultant and political analyst, said he expects “Bushies” to end up supporting a variety of Republican presidential candidates in the upcoming campaign. Fleischer said he is neutral in the 2016 GOP primary and expects to remain so.
“Having said that, there will be an affinity toward Jeb,” Fleischer said. “There is also a group of Bush donors who are hoping he runs and will actively work for him.”
It's either Clinton or Bush as their organizations are too big to fail and the American electorate is, according to the author of Obozocare, stupid.
Jeb has a wealth of cronyism and collusion experience at his table for sure. However, he doesn’t or won’t have something he cannot buy or coerce - my vote, EVER.
Nauseating, quite literally.
As for the stupid part, he maybe on to something.
Let's see, The Federal Government - bloated, inefficient, unresponsive, controlled by special interest, one small step above useless....
yea, I guess I agree with that statement.
You mean those very same people who helped screw the country up in the first place?
Our permanent ruling elite.
Yeah, those are the guys.
There's nothing like experience...
Bush is rotten to the Common Core
RNC is selling “I miss ‘W’” coffee mugs. I guess we know who they are supporting.
Remember, Bush is the new darling of the liberals and the media is pushing him as hard as they can. They know that Hitlary or perhaps even Elizabeth Warren could bet “Jebbie”. Why would the keep his name in front all the time? Certainly there are many other pending republican candidates equal to or much better than he is.
Remember, Bush is the new darling of the liberals and the media is pushing him as hard as they can. They know that Hitlary or perhaps even Elizabeth Warren could bet “Jebbie”. Why would the keep his name in front all the time? Certainly there are many other pending republican candidates equal to or much better than he is.
Those in this “deep and scattered . . . multifaceted network” who are worth having should be brought in with the Cruz administration. Those who would perpetuate Big Government need to stay scattered far away from the levers of power where they could waste even more of our children’s and grandchildren’s money.
It’s set, and sadly there’s absolutely nothing conservatives can do about it. Either Clinton or Bush will be the next president.
Time for a States Convention and a no confidence vote on the ENTIRE GOVT!
All hail the Dauphin Bush.
Adored by the Left, no matter what wing of the Uniparty.
unfortunately.
Well then that’s it. No need for an election when the choice is so obvious.
See 19.
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