Subject: MEMO: Jeb Bush: More of the Same Extreme GOP Agenda
From: Adrienne Watson <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 15 Jun 2015 12:56:29 -0400
List-Id: <ctrfriendsfamily.correctrecord.org>

**

*STRATEGIC MEMORANDUM*

*TO:                  Interested Parties*

*FROM:            Brad Woodhouse, President, Correct The Record*

*DATE:            June 15, 2015*

*RE:                  Jeb Bush: More of the Same Extreme GOP Agenda*

Today Jeb Bush will officially announce what we have known for over six
months – he is running for President of the United States. While Jeb is
trying to push himself as a Washington outsider and reformer, his positions
on the issues shows us one thing: he is just like every other Republican
contender.

Jeb may try to distinguish himself from the rest of the Republican
hopefuls, but in reality he is just more of the same: Climate change
denier?  *Check.  *Anti-minimum wage?  *Check.*  Anti-marriage equality?
*Check.*  Anti-affirmative action?  *Check.*  Anti-choice?  *Check.*
Anti-veterans benefits?  *Check.*  Pro-fossil fuels?  *Check.*
Pro-mandatory minimum sentencing?  *Check.*  Pro-Social Security
privatization?  *Check.*  Pro-voting restrictions?  *Check. *Anti-path to
citizenship? *Check.*

We already know what a Bush presidency would look like. We’ve seen it twice
before. Jeb’s agenda looks just like any other Republican agenda –
out-of-touch, out-of-date, and wrong for America.

JEB BUSH: MORE OF THE SAME EXTREME GOP AGENDA

Economic Issues

*Jeb Bush said his father was “wrong” to criticize Reagan’s trickle-down
economics. *“Jeb Bush defended Reaganomics on Tuesday, saying his father
was wrong to criticize lower tax rates on income and capital gains during
the 1980 presidential campaign. ‘There’s another example of Jeb having a
disagreement with a family member I love a lot,’ Bush said, referring to
himself, in an interview on Fox News. ‘He was wrong about that.’”
[Bloomberg, 6/2/15
<http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-06-02/jeb-bush-dad-was-wrong-about-voodoo-economics>
]

*Jeb Bush supported “his brother’s proposal to privatize portions of Social
Security.” *“Under President Bush, for example, oil companies are expected
to have an easier time exploring for new oil reserves. Gov. Bush -- and
most Florida politicians -- oppose any oil drilling off the coast of
Florida. And though Jeb Bush agrees with his brother’s proposal to
privatize portions of Social Security, they may disagree over timing
because such a move could anger seniors, still a powerful voting force in
Florida.” [Orlando Sentinel, 1/21/01]

*Jeb Bush called for an end to the federal minimum wage. *“We need to leave
it to the private sector. I think state minimum wages are fine. The federal
government shouldn’t be doing this. This is one of those poll-driven deals.
It polls well, I’m sure – I haven’t looked at the polling, but I’m sure on
the surface without any conversation, without any digging into it people
say, ‘Yea, everybody’s wages should be up.’ And in the case of Wal-Mart
they have raised wages because of supply and demand and that’s good.”
[MSNBC, 3/18/15
<http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/jeb-bush-makes-the-case-against-the-federal-minimum-wage>
]

*Jeb Bush opposed bailing out the automotive industry.* “Bush said that
until the hearing, he hadn’t been asked his opinion on the automotive
bailout or the bank bailouts. He told the committee he didn’t support the
auto bailout -- what he describes as ‘a form of capitalism where the
government intervenes in a very muscular kind of way.’ The position puts
him in line with Romney.” [Tampa Bay Times, 6/1/12
<http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/content/jeb-bush-cools-vp-chatter-makes-pitch-marco-rubio>
]

Social Issues

*As governor, Jeb Bush engaged in anti-choice activism that “shocked some
state officials who believed he was reaching beyond the powers of his
office.” *“Jeb, meanwhile, declared in 2003 that he was ‘probably the most
pro-life governor in modern times.’ As governor, Bush signed a law to
create ‘Choose Life’ license plates in Florida, the proceeds from which
flow to anti-abortion advocacy organizations. He also aggressively
intervened in two high-profile cases to prevent a mentally disabled rape
victim and a 13-year-old girl from being able to have abortions. In the
former case, involving a 22-year-old rape victim who was both pregnant and
developmentally disabled, Bush asked a court to appoint a guardian to
represent the woman’s fetus. […] In 2005, Bush fought to prevent a pregnant
13-year-old girl, who was a ward of the state, from having an abortion. He
was overruled by a judge, and CNN later reported that Bush’s ‘abortion
activism shocked some state officials who believed he was reaching beyond
the powers of his office.’” [Huffington Post, 3/25/15
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/25/jeb-bush-abortion_n_6940568.html>]

*In the 1994 gubernatorial campaign, Jeb Bush insisted that women should
“find a husband” as an alternative to welfare. *"If people are mentally and
physically able to work, they should be able to do so within a two-year
period. They should be able to get their life together and find a husband,
find a job, find other alternatives in terms of private charity or a
combination of all three," Bush said. [CNN, 6/11/15
<http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/11/politics/jeb-bush-to-women-on-welfare-in-1994-get-a-husband/index.html>
]

*Jeb Bush argued that public humiliation would help prevent unwed mothers
from engaging in irresponsible behavior. *“One of the reasons more young
women are giving birth out of wedlock and more young men are walking away
from their paternal obligations is that there is no longer a stigma
attached to this behavior, no reason to feel shame," Bush wrote. "Many of
these young women and young men look around and see their friends engaged
in the same irresponsible conduct. Their parents and neighbors have become
ineffective at attaching some sense of ridicule to this behavior. There was
a time when neighbors and communities would frown on out-of-wedlock births
and when public condemnation was enough of a stimulus for one to be
careful.” [CNN, 6/11/15
<http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/11/politics/jeb-bush-to-women-on-welfare-in-1994-get-a-husband/index.html>
]

*Jeb Bush: “What’s the Paycheck Fairness Act?”* According to The Hill,
“‘What’s the Paycheck Fairness Act?’ Bush asked, in an exchange captured by
the liberal opposition research outfit American Bridge. Once the man he was
speaking with defined it as a bill that would ensure that women get ‘equal
pay for equal work,’ Bush took issue with his phrasing. ‘Equal pay for the
same work, not for equal work — I think that’s the problem with it. I think
there’s a definition issue,’ he said, before declining to say whether or
not he thought Land should support the legislation.” [The Hill, 10/15/14
<http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/220869-jeb-bush-whats-the-paycheck-fairness-act>
]

*Jeb Bush “rejected” the characterization that he was a “gay-friendly
Republican.” *“If Bush runs for president, some of his closest aides will
be individuals who are strong public supporters of legalizing same-sex
marriage. The hires, reported BuzzFeed, led to some chatter among
Republicans that Bush could position himself as ‘the gay-friendly
Republican in the 2016 field.’ Bush, however, rejected that
characterization Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference
during his conversation with Fox News host Sean Hannity. ‘No. I believe in
traditional marriage,’ said Bush when Hannity asked him whether he’s
changing his position on the issue.” [Huffington Post, 2/27/15
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/27/jeb-bush-gay-marriage-_n_6771442.html>
]

*Jeb Bush supported the Indiana discrimination law, but later changed his
position after facing criticism. *“Anti-discrimination activists and gay
rights groups welcomed a lightning evolution by Jeb Bush, this week on a
controversial law passed in Indiana last week that opponents said would
have made it easier for businesses to discriminate against LGBT employees
and customers. On Monday, Bush praised the law as signed by Indiana’s
governor, Mike Pence. On Wednesday, the former Florida governor and likely
2016 presidential candidate drew back sharply in his approbation, conceding
only that the law would ‘be in the right place’ by the end of the week,
after an anticipated fix by the Indiana legislature.” [Guardian,4/2/15
<http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/apr/02/jeb-bush-flip-flop-indiana-anti-gay-law>
]

Healthcare

*Jeb Bush called the Affordable Care Act “flawed to its core.” *“Former
Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said Monday that President Barack Obama’s health care
law ‘is flawed to its core’ and will be a ‘big problem’ for Democrats
heading into the 2014 elections. ‘I don’t think it will work,’ Bush said of
the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. Bush added, ‘If the objective
is, don’t worry about the budget, we’ll just finance it the same way we’re
financing our deficits right now, build a bigger debt, you could see this
thing surviving,’ he said. ‘But it will have failed what the promises were.
It will have failed the American people. And I don’t think it will bend the
cost curve.’” [Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, 11/4/13
<http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/barack-obamas-healthcare-law-is-flawed-gops-jeb-bush-says-b99135203z1-230581971.html>
]

*Jeb Bush supported transforming veterans’ health care into a voucher
system. *“Mr. Bush, sitting in front of an untouched breakfast at an IHOP
in Colorado Springs, told a group of veterans that he favors transferring
some elements of veterans’ care to private hospitals from government-run
Veterans Affairs facilities. ‘This is where I think empowering people with
the equivalent of a voucher that gives you the same economic benefit of
receiving care inside of a clinic or a hospital,’ Mr. Bush said in a video
of the public event recorded by the Democratic firm American Bridge. ‘If
you had a chance to go to another place where the money followed the
patient, it would give the veterans — you wouldn’t have these kind of
hostile reactions, my job is protected for life, don’t mess with it.’”
[Wall Street Journal, 4/8/15
<http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/04/08/jeb-bush-calls-for-privatizing-veterans-health-care/>
]

Environmental Issues

*Jeb Bush said he was “tired” of the idea that “science has decided” that
climate change is manmade. *“It is not unanimous among scientists that it
is disproportionately manmade. What I get a little tired of on the left is
this idea that somehow science has decided all this so you can’t have a
view.” [Huffington Post, 8/24/11
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/24/jeb-bush-rick-perry-global-warming_n_935168.html>
]

*Jeb Bush criticized the Obama administration for seeking “to lessen the
use of coal.” *“He criticized the Obama administration’s energy strategy
that seeks to lessen the use of coal. ‘For some odd reason, this president
has a problem with the oil and gas sector,’ Bush said. ‘You can’t stop
innovation, by the way, you can stall it, you can make it more
complicated.’” [Bloomberg, 4/7/15
<http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-04-08/jeb-bush-offers-president-obama-a-small-measure-of-praise-on-iran>
]

Civil Rights

*Jeb Bush: “States should be allowed to protect the integrity of the
franchise with voter identification laws.” *In his book, *Immigration Wars:
Forging an American Solution*, Jeb Bush wrote, “Finally, states should be
allowed to protect the integrity of the franchise with voter identification
laws, which are supported by a large majority of Americans, including
Hispanics. So long as states make it simple for citizens to obtain such
forms of identification, they should have the latitude to require such
identification for voting or to secure welfare benefits.” [*Immigration
Wars: Forging an American Solution*, pg. 38-39, 2013]

*Jeb Bush established a Florida statute that expanded mandatory minimum
sentences and included “death” as a guideline for severe drug
offenses. *“Create
mandatory prison sentences for persons convicted of drug trafficking.
Mandatory minimum prison sentences of 3, 7, 15, 25 years, life or death
will be imposed depending on the type and amount of the controlled
substance. A minimum of three years will be mandated for any person
convicted of possession, sale, importation, etc., of at least 25 pounds of
cannabis, 4 grams of flunitrazepam, morphine, opium or heroin, 14 grams of
amphetamine, 28 grams of cocaine and phencyclidine, or 200 grams of
methaqualone. Penalties increase as the type and amount of the drugs
increase or if use of the drug results in someone’s death.”
[MyFlorida.com, accessed
4/9/15
<https://web.archive.org/web/20011106193044/http:/www.myflorida.com/myflorida/government/governorinitiatives/10_20_English.html>
(via archive.org)]

*Jeb Bush dismantled Florida’s affirmative action program for college
admissions, leading to a sharp decline in black enrollment at the state’s
flagship universities. *“As he courts Republicans across the country, Jeb
Bush boasts that an executive order he signed that ended race-based college
admissions in Florida upheld conservative principles while helping
minorities. […] But at Florida’s two premier universities, black enrollment
is shrinking. At the University of Florida in Gainesville and at Florida
State University in Tallahassee, administrators say they worry that the
trend risks diminishing their standing as world-class universities and
hurts the college experience. The black share of the UF freshman class, for
instance, plunged to 6 percent in 2013, the most recent year for which data
is available. That is down from 9 percent in 2011. ‘If we don’t address
this in the next two or three years, I think we’re going to have a
problem,’ said Brandon Bowden, assistant vice president for student affairs
at Florida State, which had a 15 percent drop in the number of black
freshmen enrolled between 2000 and 2009. ‘There will be so few black
students on our campus that prospective students [who are black] will
choose not to come here because they see no one who looks like them.’”
[Washington Post, 4/6/15
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/after-bush-order-florida-universities-cope-with-shrinking-black-enrollment/2015/04/06/82d1e574-bcfe-11e4-bdfa-b8e8f594e6ee_story.html>
]

Immigration

*Jeb Bush opposed a path to citizenship for undocumented workers. *“Former
Florida governor Jeb Bush (R) on Monday backed off his previous support for
a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, saying it would send the
wrong message to people who have tried to immigrate legally. Asked by NBC’s
Matt Lauer why his new book doesn’t advocate a path to citizenship, Bush
said it wouldn’t be fair. ‘Because our proposal is a proposal that looks
forward,’ he said. ‘And if we want to create an immigration policy that’s
going to work, we can’t continue to make illegal immigration an easier path
than legal immigration. And so I think it’s important that there is a
natural friction between our immigrant heritage and the rule of law.’ Bush
added that rewarding illegal immigrants with a path to citizenship would
lead to even more illegal immigration.” [Washington Post, 3/4/13
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/03/04/jeb-bush-no-longer-supports-path-to-citizenship/>
]

*Jeb Bush said Obama’s executive order stopping the deportation of DREAMers
was “way beyond the purview of executive power.” *“Bush also offered a
stern rebuke to Obama on immigration, and accused him of playing politics.
Earlier this summer, the president signed an executive order that stopped
the deportation of certain young illegal immigrants. Bush said he saw
Obama’s action as a way of undercutting Romney and winning good will from
Hispanic voters, not as an effective piece of policy. ‘This is so cynical.
And he – I mean, if you’re, if you, if the law says clearly that you have a
case-by-case right to review cases, and you blanket say 800,000 people
comply, that is way beyond the purview of executive power,’ Bush said.”
[Washington Post, 8/30/12
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2012/08/30/jeb-bush-and-the-politics-of-immigration/>
]

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