Free Republic

"All bets are off" as to who might lead the Republican ticket if a brokered convention becomes a reality, Sarah Palin told Eric Bolling, host of Follow the Money, on Wednesday. That's the closest Palin would come to stating her own intentions. Here's what some of the analysts and pundits say about the prospects for Sarah Palin emerging from a brokered convention as the Republican nominee: * "Notice that part of her message was that a brokered convention wouldn't be so bad and guess who could emerge out of a brokered convention, with all of this enthusiasm and energy and...

Santorum’s contraception boom — “We’re all Catholics now,” said Mike Huckabee — won’t hold up. Because we’re not. This race could well go to a brokered convention. If Jeb Bush is proposed, so Sarah Palin should be minutes later. She is now and always has been the singular Jacksonian voice in the original Tea Party phenomenon; the only one who can bring it to the mainstream. Her absence from the primary race has left a vacuum and no substitute has been found. Every other possible or potential leadership hopeful has risen and receded in this long Republican primary season. [....]...

Jeb Bush Could Emerge As GOP Nominee At A Brokered Convention, Says Top Republican By TOBY HARNDEN 11th February 2012 Al Cardenas, head of the American Conservative Union, has said that Republican turmoil might lead to a brokered convention in which Jeb Bush, former Florida governor, would emerge as a 'possible alternative' party nominee. Mr Cardenas, who is running this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), a gathering in Washington of some 10,000 conservatives, told MailOnline that it was not certain that one of the four current Republican candidates would emerge victorious. His comments came as Republicans fretted publicly about...

Al Cardenas, head of the American Conservative Union, has said that Republican turmoil might lead to a brokered convention in which Jeb Bush, former Florida governor, would emerge as a “possible alternative” party nominee. Mr Cardenas, who is running this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), a gathering in Washington of some 10,000 conservatives, told MailOnline that it was not certain that one of the four current Republican candidates would emerge victorious. His comments came as Republicans fretted publicly about the perceived weaknesses of Mitt Romney, the establishment choice and frontrunner, Rick Santorum, surprise winner in three states on Tuesday,...

Via Politico: . . . Another illustration of presidential hubris involved the Bush family. The White House put out a picture of a private meeting in the Oval Office on Jan. 27 that included former President George H.W. Bush and his son, Jeb, the former governor of Florida. The Bushes were in town for the annual black tie dinner the next night at the Alfalfa Club, a gathering of business and political elites. The two featured speakers, both intended to be brief and humorous, were Obama and Jeb Bush. The president spoke to good reviews. He left before Bush spoke....

MIAMI – When the empire strikes back, it hits hard. The Republican establishment is deploying every weapon and every soldier – even Bob Dole – in an increasingly desperate attempt to pulverize the Newt Gingrich rebellion. Eventually, the shock-and-awe campaign may work. But then what? In the establishment’s best-case scenario, the party is left with Mitt Romney, a candidate whose core message, as far as I can tell, seems to be: “Yes, I made a ton of money. You got a problem with that?” It is remarkable that the well-orchestrated blitzkrieg to save Florida for Romney was designed solely to...

MIAMI — A steady stream of endorsements has been flowing to Mitt Romney, with his campaign promoting Republicans who are giving their blessing to his presidential candidacy. On the eve of the Florida primary, he has been unable to land the biggest catch of all: Jeb Bush. An unspoken question hovering over the Republican presidential race here is why Mr. Bush, the state’s popular former governor and heir to the nation’s aging political dynasty, has not added his voice to the party establishment’s support for Mr. Romney in his increasingly bitter duel with Newt Gingrich. It has not been for...

President Barack Obama met with former President George H.W. Bush and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in the Oval Office on Friday--a visit not put on his public schedule later described as "personal" by the White House.

Unbeknownst to the press, President Obama met this evening with former president George H.W. Bush and his son, former Florida governor Jeb Bush in the Oval Office. White House officials did not list the meeting on the president's schedule but released a photo through Flickr and Twitter. According to the date and time stamp on the photo, it was taken shortly after 5 p.m. That's about the time Obama returned to the White House from a fundraiser at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. White House officials did not immediately respond to questions about the subject of the meeting and its exclusion...

Jacksonville, Fla. — Former Florida governor Jeb Bush tells National Review Online that Newt Gingrich should stop insinuating that Mitt Romney aides, due to their past work for Charlie Crist, are part of a moderate GOP conspiracy. Earlier this week, for example, Gingrich told supporters that Romney hired Crist staffers, and emphasized the significance of this fact. “We discovered last night that Mitt Romney has picked up Charlie Crist’s campaign manager,” Gingrich said. “I thought that told you everything you need to know about this primary.” “That’s not a serious accusation,” Bush says. “Candidates win elections. I’m not a big Charlie...

The TEA Party of Florida endorsed Newt Gingrich in the Florida presidential primary, saying the former House speaker has "articulated direct and serious steps designed to reduce spending, cut our deficits, pay down our national debt, and return liberty to our citizens in doing so." Reconstituted from the party whose candidates garnered 310,000 votes in 20 races in 2010, TEA is pursuing a broader outreach strategy this year. Chairman John Long said that in addition to fielding its own slate of candidates, the party plans to endorse like-minded candidates from the major parties in other selected races. "People ask us,...

In the 15 states that are likely to decide who controls the White House and the Senate in 2013, Hispanic voters will represent the margin of victory. For the Republican Party, the stakes could not be greater. Just eight years after the party’s successful effort to woo Hispanic voters in 2004, this community — the fastest-growing group in the United States, according to census data — has drifted away. .Although Democrats hold the edge, Republicans have an opportunity. We also have a record of winning Hispanic voters in certain statewide and national elections. Here are four suggestions on how Republican...

Courtesy of one friend, an old pro, three perhaps overlooked points in the sea of analysis of South Carolina and beyond: “I notice that everyone’s citing all kinds of reasons for S.C.: Romney overconfident, Perry's endorsement, Romney doesn't connect, Barnes’s argument that Romney needs a ‘big idea.’ Lost in all this it seems is one name: Sarah Palin. First time she has expressed herself in the race and her candidate wins by 12. If she really comes out for Newt, look out. “Second thought: Paul has potential to give Romney lots of trouble in caucus states. “Final point: Some argue...

Newt Gingrich won the South Carolina primary, 40 percent to 28 percent, over Mitt Romney. He also won every Congressional district and, in doing so, won all of South Carolina’s 25 delegates. Now the battle heads to Florida, which holds its primary on Jan. 31. Here are five things to look for as the race heads to Florida. 1. Momentum versus organization Newt Gingrich will come into Florida with momentum, gained from winning South Carolina’s primary, which every Republican presidential nominee has won since 1980. But Romney has a head start in Florida. He has hundreds of thousands of absentee...

Update: Chris Cillizza of WaPo tweets that “Close Jeb Bush ally tells me that no Romney endorsement is in the works.” Jeb’s camp being coy, or is he getting cold feet about throwing in with Romney after tonight’s drubbing?

he endorsement from Bush, who despite prodding from members of his famous family and prominent Republicans decided to sit out the 2012 contest, is the latest sign that the Republican establishment is coalescing around Romney after months publicly griping about finding another candidate. Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2012/01/jeb_bush_to_endorse_romney_before_florida_primary.html#ixzz1jLlczld4

This won't guarantee a Mitt victory in Florida. But it sure doesn't hurt his chances.Buzz Feed: Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush plans to endorse former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney before the Jan. 31 Florida primary, a Florida GOP source close to Bush told BuzzFeed Thursday.The endorsement from Bush, who despite prodding from members of his famous family and prominent Republicans decided to sit out the 2012 contest, is the latest sign that the Republican establishment is coalescing around Romney after months publicly griping about finding another candidate.Bush is the brother of President George W. Bush, who has not endorsed...

Surprising. The odds of this happening, given the Bush family’s antipathy to Gingrich and Perry, couldn’t have been much higher than 98 or 99 percent. Second look at political dynasties backing establishment candidates? Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush plans to endorse former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney before the Jan. 31 Florida primary, a Florida GOP source close to Bush told BuzzFeed Thursday. The endorsement from Bush, who despite prodding from members of his famous family and prominent Republicans decided to sit out the 2012 contest, is the latest sign that the Republican establishment is coalescing around Romney after months publicly...

Former first lady Laura Bush wishes there were one more candidate in the Republican presidential primary: Jeb Bush. Speaking to a sold-out Sarasota audience on Wednesday, Bush said she had hoped that her brother-in-law and former Florida governor would have jumped into the race this year.

Jeb Bush has penned a minifesto concerning economic opportunity that is worth giving a good think. He argues that while freedom entails the risk of failure, statism ensures the certainty of stagnation. In his opinion, the opportunity to succeed, even with the attendant downside of possible failure, is preferable to the certitude of gradual but inevitable demise. Noman adds that earthly hope lies in freedom and the growth--personal, moral and economic--that derives from its exercise. Hope cannot lie in a certitude destined to elude temporal, contingent beings in a world marked by limitation, or in false promises that no society...

Could a candidate with excellent name recognition and the ability to raise millions almost immediately still have a shot if they entered the race today? Sarah Palin thinks so. And Jeb Bush is going to be visited by some very powerful party insiders and asked - again - to reconsider his decision not to run for president. In an interview with Fox Business News, Palin refused to shut the door while saying that it wasn't too late to jump in: Any chance we can see you making a play, even after Iowa or New Hampshire?" Bolling asked. "There's still plenty...

There's no doubt some Republicans remain unhappy with the GOP presidential field. They wish other candidates -- Mitch Daniels, Chris Christie, Paul Ryan, Jeb Bush -- had entered a long time ago. But the Iowa caucuses are in two weeks. Is there any chance, at this late date, that something could change? All the alternative candidates have repeatedly said they won't run. But there is new speculation focusing on Bush after the former Florida governor turned heads Monday morning when he wrote, in the Wall Street Journal, a campaign-like economic manifesto headlined "Capitalism and the Right to Rise."

With a little more than two weeks to go before Republicans begin voting in presidential caucuses and primaries, the GOP faces the possibility of a muddled result in Iowa; a primary race that may take months of bitter campaigning to resolve; and a large number of Republican voters who remain unhappy with the current presidential field.  Some of those voters are still hoping another candidate might enter the race. That is why a new article from former Florida governor Jeb Bush is likely to attract attention from voters and political analysts alike.  In the Wall Street Journal, Bush has written...

Just heard a snippit about 15 minutes ago, they were discussing certain internet posts by some minor public offcials saying Jeb Bush may enter the race.

Mike Pence, Mitch Daniels, Paul Ryan, Bobby Jindal, Marco Rubio, Chris Christie, Jeb Bush — conservatives all year long have been wishing, yearning, even begging people who aren’t in the presidential race to enter the fray and save them from what seems like a frighteningly uninspiring field of candidates. Yet could it be that the sharpest, most accomplished, most campaign-savvy, and most full-spectrum conservative in a quarter-century of presidential contests has been in the contest all along, working harder than anybody, making at least as much intellectual sense as anybody, never blowing a debate, and never failing to stand on...

Several of Florida’s most prominent Republican political pros have jumped on board Herman Cain’s presidential campaign as he tries to ramp up the operation to catch up with his surging popularity. “Mitt Romney might have the establishment, but Cain has the hearts of the people that vote. We’ll see what happens on Jan. 31,” Kathleen Shanahan, a Tampa businesswoman and former Jeb Bush chief of staff, said Tuesday referring to Florida’s fourth-in-the-nation primary contest. “I think Mr. Cain is going to support an effort to win Florida, and he will win Florida. He’s raising the money now that he needs,...

Former Florida Republican governor Jeb Bush has said he won’t endorse anyone in the presidential primary. [Snip]... In a rare intervention into electoral politics since his departure from the Florida governorship, he decided that Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s venture into birtherism has gone on long enough. In an exclusive statement to Right Turn, he e-mailed me: “Republican candidates should categorically reject the notion that President Obama was not born in the United States. It is a complete distraction from the failed economic policies of the President.” And that was it. [Snip] At this point, few responsible Republican office-holders dare defend...

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush warned the Republican presidential hopefuls against ideological intransigence and knee-jerk opposition to President Barack Obama on Tuesday, saying they risk turning off middle-of-the-road voters. Asked by Fox News host Neil Cavuto if some Republicans go too far in their criticism of Obama, Bush said flatly, “I do. I think when you start ascribing bad motives to the guy, that’s wrong. It turns off people who want solutions.

Republican fiscal conservatives are coalescing around a candidate for president — and he currently isn't in the race. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Speaker of the House John Boehner, House Republican Study Committee Chairman Jim Jordan have all encouraged House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan to run against Obama, The Weekly Standard reports. The policy wonk, known for "the Ryan plan" to eliminate the federal debt through dramatic spending cuts and reforms, has to date shown little interest in running. But the conservative magazine says his wife is "on board" if he decides to enter...

Is Sean Hannity pushing a Jeb Bush Candidacy for President? Tonight, the entire hour was dedicated to praising Jeb Bush for all of his accomplishments as Governor of Florida? It was a re-run from January 8, 2011. Whassup wit dat?

Jeb Bush, who has made clear he isn't running for president this cycle, raised some eyebrows on Sean Hannity's Fox News show Friday night with this comment about a potential campaign: "I don’t anticipate that. You never say never. This is a standard answer that I’ve kind of learned how to give which is — you never say never, but I never rule out being on Dancing with the Stars either … there are a lot of ways you can make a difference." He went on, with respect to whether any of the current field can win, "If you recall,...

It is a truism of political dynasties that there is a chosen heir - the one who should or would or could have been next. It is certainly apt of the Bush family. Jeb Bush is the son who was groomed for the presidency. He was the one most Republicans expected to succeed his father into the Oval Office. And today, looking at their, let's be frank, lacklustre field, many Republicans still wish he would do just that. "It's very flattering to be asked that regularly," Jeb tells me in his office at the Coral Gables Biltmore Hotel. "I don't...

Here we go again, Rudy Giuliani edition. A new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation national poll shows the former New York City mayor atop the slow-forming Republican primary field. The survey shows Giuliani getting 16 percent of independents and Republicans, with nominal frontrunner Mitt Romney a point behind at 15 percent. Sarah Palin gets 13 percent.

Back in early May, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said he “can probably be talked into” running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012. A new poll has done some “talking.” The CNN/(Opinion Research Corporation) survey released on Friday found Giuliani leading the pack of potential GOP candidates with 16 percent of the vote among Republicans and independents who lean toward the GOP. Mitt Romney is second with 15 percent, followed by Sarah Palin (13 percent), Ron Paul (12 percent), and Herman Cain (10 percent). The other potential candidates had single-digit percentages. “Call it a sign of how...

Former Florida governor Jeb Bush said Friday that a great champion would emerge from the Republican field of White House contenders to beat President Barack Obama in 2012. Bush acknowledged that the current crop of candidates had not wowed the American public. But he said as the process unfolded, one or two serious contenders would be ready to challenge Obama's re-election bid. "The president has some serious headwinds," Bush said after giving the keynote address at a fund-raising luncheon for the Phoenix House. "Eighty percent of Americans think we're on the wrong track. There's a deep cloud of pessimism that...

Mike Huckabee's expected departure from the Republican race for president opens the door for Sarah Palin again. Palin has gone quiet after the media sizzle around her died and transferred to Donald Trump. But with Trump fading faster than a losing 'Apprentice' competitor and Huckabee now looking like he will drop out, Palin is suddenly back in this race if she wants. Huckabee, with his strong evangelical roots, was a natural to win Iowa and Palin enjoys a comparable level of support among those voters. Contrast that with Mitt Romney who is held in deep suspicion in the first caucus...

...At the core of the Jeb Bush agenda are ideas drawn from his Florida playbook: Give every public school a grade from A to F. Offer students vouchers to help pay for private school. Don’t let them move into fourth grade unless they know how to read. Through two foundations he leads in Florida and his vast political connections, Jeb Bush is advancing such policies in states where Republicans have sought his advice on improving schools. His stature in the party and widening role in state-level legislation make him one of the foremost GOP voices on education. “He is the...

There is probably a very good reason why, in the goo-goo eyes of so many in the Greek chorus of Republicans chanting and panting for his return to the hustings, Jeb Bush stands as an electoral colossus of the Club for Growth, the Rambo of the Cato Institute, the beefcake boy of the National Review. Consider the current crop of GOP presidential pretenders positioning themselves for a run against President Barack Obama next year. For nonstarters there's Newt Gingrich, the bumptious gasbag bloviating at the end of the bar; Mike Huckabee, the Gomer Pyle with a pulpit; Mitt Romney, who...

Dana Pierino, a Bushie and Establishment person for sure, once again was promoting Jeb Bush as being a good candidate to run for President tonight on Bill O'Reilly (TED BAXTER), that she heard his brother GW Bush thinks he should run and so does Bush 41 and she made the case that actually Jeb doesn't have "Bush Baggage" and being a Bush right now might not be a such a bad thing. Bill and Dana were lamenting that there were no one out there who were "serious" to run. I knew what they were trying to get at. Bill said...

Florida Senator Bill Nelson appears to be in some trouble should he decide to run for re-election. The second term Democrat is up next year. This comes as a wave of retirements have hit both parties, including Jim Webb of Virginia and John Kyl of Arizona. As of now, it's unclear if Nelson, who will be 70 next year, will run for another term. However, Mason-Dixon has put out a poll that should make the picture a bit clearer. Nelson won over 60% of the vote in 2006, a politically advantageous year for Democrats running against former State Attorney General...

Please, Jeb. Pretty please? To hear a growing number of conservative activists tell it, the person best equipped to excite Republicans and beat Barack Obama in 2012 is a man who has no intent to run. The Jeb Bush chatter says as much about the seemingly anemic Republican presidential field slowly taking shape for 2012 as it does about the former Florida governor's stature in the GOP.

Even as the pressure intensifies on him to consider a 2012 bid, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush indicated that he's not reconsidering his decision to not run for president. "Yes," Bush wrote in an email when asked if the door remained firmly shut on a White House campaign next year. Unhappy with the presidential field as it appears now and increasingly nervous about finding a candidate who can unite the party and beat Pres. Obama, high-profile conservatives have begun going public with their pleas for the Floridian to run.

While Jeb Bush continues to insist that he will not be a candidate for president in 2012, several National Review writers seem to be encouraging the former Florida Governor to take the plunge. John J. Miller, Kathryn Jean Lopez, and Rich Lowry have all come forward in recent days to sing Jeb’s praises and speculate on another Bush candidacy.

Sen. Jim DeMint, the conservative star from South Carolina, is keeping a close eye on the emerging 2012 presidential field. New names, he observes, keep popping up. One of those, of course, is former Florida governor Jeb Bush. Rich, Kathryn, and John have all written about Bush’s appeal in recent days. DeMint, in an interview with National Review Online, calls Bush “one of the best” possible presidential contenders. “Maybe the person we are looking for has not stepped out yet; it could be a Rick Perry or a Jeb Bush.” “[Bush] would be a really good president and a good...

DeMint Surveys the Field, Praises Jeb February 7, 2011 8:15 P.M. By Robert Costa Sen. Jim DeMint, the conservative star from South Carolina, is keeping a close eye on the emerging 2012 presidential field. New names, he observes, keep popping up. One of those, of course, is former Florida governor Jeb Bush. Rich, Kathryn, and John have all written about Bush’s appeal in recent days. DeMint, in an interview with National Review Online, calls Bush “one of the best” possible presidential contenders. “Maybe the person we are looking for has not stepped out yet; it could be a Rick Perry...

The internet is alight with some buzz surrounding former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. There is now a small group that is pushing for the son and brother of the 41st and 43rd Presidents to consider running next year. This would enter Bush into the Republican primary and could play a large role in shaping that year's race. The speculation has made it to the National Review and HotAir. So we'll ask you here-- what do you think?

John J. Miller has a cover story in the new issue of National Review that’s a compelling portrait of the accomplishments of Jeb Bush. Four years after leaving the Florida governor’s mansion, he remains one of the most impressive Republican politicians in the country, a formidable policy mind with the political chops to drive conservative reforms even out of office. So why isn’t he running for president? Bush told Miller what he’s said to others, too — he won’t run in 2012, but he’ll consider 2016. This is a mistake. Bush should run now for at least eight reasons: 1)...

When Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana decided to announce recently that he isn't going to run for the Republican nomination for president -- and instead is likely to run for governor of his state -- you would have thought, from the reaction in some quarters, that he had committed the ultimate act of betrayal. At least one senior longtime Republican political aide thought that Pence had somehow let down his principles and his country by not taking a chance on the presidential race. Folks on the Pence for president bandwagon were in a deep funk. "Seriously, who else do we...

2012 U.S. SENATE RACE: GOP hopefuls lining up to battle Nelson Republicans are bracing for a tough 2012 U.S. Senate primary pitting such political heavyweights as a former U.S. senator, a sitting Florida Senate president and the congressman son of a Republican icon. But to hear a growing number of Republican activists tell it, the candidate to watch is a fellow few Floridians have heard of. “Absolutely -- it’s Adam Hasner,” said Nancy McGowan, a prominent conservative activist and fundraiser from Jacksonville. “A primary for the most part is determined by the grass roots who look for the leadership they...

My Gloom By Daniel Pipes FrontPageMagazine.com | December 20, 2005 Unlike most Americans, 9/11 made me feel more secure. Finally, the country was focused on issues that had long worried me. “The FBI is engaged in the largest operation in its history,” I wrote in late 2001, “armed marshals will again be flying on US aircraft, and the immigration service has placed foreign students under increased scrutiny. I feel safer when Islamist organizations are exposed, illicit money channels closed down, and immigration regulations reviewed. The amassing of American forces near Iraq and Afghanistan cheers me. The newfound alarm is healthy,...