What happend to Jeb?

[President Johnson]

Jeb dropped to 8% in the latest GOP primary poll. Did he finally lose his status as the front-runner? I remeber, when the first polls came in that showed a lead for Trump; everybody said he would not win the nomination and Jeb continues to be the GOP's top candidate. Is Jeb imploding now?

[/]

The true essence of the GOP primary vote is finally manifesting itself...

Seriously, though, most moderates (who are more likely to support Bush than Trump or Carson) are politically apathetic, meaning they don't really care enough to vote in the primaries. The fundamentalists, however, are extremely politically active and will do whatever it takes to assure a Trump victory nationwide.

[useful idiot]

He was only a front-runner because of money and name recognition. If this primary season is telling us anything, it isn't telling us that the GOP is clamoring for Trump (25% of the vote with 100% name recognition and wall-to-wall 24/7 coverage isn't that shocking). I believe it is telling us that being a governor doesn't naturally transfer over to the presidency in the way that it used to (look at Jeb, Walker, Jindal, and the late Rick Perry). Gubernatorial electorates now have different concerns from national ones, and Jeb doesn't fit the mold of a presidential candidate anymore. Romney bucked the trend by essentially running for president for 8 years. Jeb has spent his time out of office in board meetings and discussing education and immigration policy (two things he happens to disagree with the right-wing talk-radio hosts on). Add the ball and chain of the Bush last name, and it is hardly surprising he's faring so poorly.

[dudeabides]

Governor Bush is no longer the front-runner, there is no doubt. It's now up to him to make the case that he was a success in both business and as a Governor and that he has the vision to lead while Mr. Trump is unfit to be President based on his radical left-wing views and his lack of judgement.

[Intell]

Governor Bush is no longer the front-runner, there is no doubt. It's now up to him to make the case that he was a success in both business and as a Governor and that he has the vision to lead while Mr. Trump is unfit to be President based on his radical left-wing views and his lack of judgement.

Oh come on, he's definetly not radical left wing views, he's more in line with the populist right in Europe, though he's not far right.

[°Leprechaun]

Maybe people are just tired of the same old same old...
We have had twelve years of Bushes and eight of Clinton.
Do we really want a rematch of 1992?
(minus Perot, of course)
There is a possibility that both Bush and Clinton will fail to even be nominated.
There is still the possibility of a Bush-Clinton election, however, since they are
both the establishment candidates and Bush may be the alternative for people
who don't want Trump, Cruz or Carson.

[dudeabides]

Governor Bush is no longer the front-runner, there is no doubt. It's now up to him to make the case that he was a success in both business and as a Governor and that he has the vision to lead while Mr. Trump is unfit to be President based on his radical left-wing views and his lack of judgement.

Oh come on, he's definetly not radical left wing views, he's more in line with the populist right in Europe, though he's not far right.

Other than on illegal immigration, he is very far left and a radical.

[DrScholl]

He ceased to be the front runner a long time ago, but lots of people dismissed the polls and thought that despite trailing Trump that Bush was still the front runner. Jeb Bush is an amateur.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

In an anti establishment year; in which the GOP congress failed to deliver on its promises of 2014; tax reform and repeal of Obama; Jeb is tied the the DC establishment.z

[Torie]

Governor Bush is no longer the front-runner, there is no doubt. It's now up to him to make the case that he was a success in both business and as a Governor and that he has the vision to lead while Mr. Trump is unfit to be President based on his radical left-wing views and his lack of judgement.

Oh come on, he's definetly not radical left wing views, he's more in line with the populist right in Europe, though he's not far right.

Other than on illegal immigration, he is very far left and a radical.

The truth is, is that Trump has no ideology.  His views at any given point in time, are opportunistic ones, formed with but one thing in mind - what he thinks will benefit himself personally. You should write that down, is my suggestion, for future reference.  JMO, but I find your characterizing Trump as some sort of radical leftist to be just ludicrous. It sort of makes me cringe really.

[Fuzzy Bear]

Governor Bush is no longer the front-runner, there is no doubt. It's now up to him to make the case that he was a success in both business and as a Governor and that he has the vision to lead while Mr. Trump is unfit to be President based on his radical left-wing views and his lack of judgement.

Oh come on, he's definetly not radical left wing views, he's more in line with the populist right in Europe, though he's not far right.

Other than on illegal immigration, he is very far left and a radical.

The truth is, is that Trump has no ideology.  His views at any given point in time, are opportunistic ones, formed with but one thing in mind - what he thinks will benefit himself personally. You should write that down, is my suggestion, for future reference.  JMO, but I find your characterizing Trump as some sort of radical leftist to be just ludicrous. It sort of makes me cringe really.

Very true.  I don't think Trump is a liberal, but he's certainly not a "movement conservative". 

If you want to label Trump, he's close to a "paleoconservative".  That's, at least, the ideology he's running on in this election.  And it's a good move; the Perot and Pat Buchanan voters are natural Republicans, but they've sort of been shoved out of the GOP, probably because they're less organized and don't bring the boots on the ground and money like religious conservatives do.  But these were the voters that delivered the GOP FOUR, count 'em, FOUR landslides between 1972 and 1988.  I really didn't think they had enough extra voters to just run these folks off.

[Blair]

God if Trump is far left what is Corbyn?

[Bigby]

God if Trump is far left what is Corbyn?

Considering what I have been reading about Corbyn, I echo this question.

[Abraham Reagan]

Donald Trump happened, and Jeb obviously didn't know how to handle it.

[Averroës Nix]

Jeb forgot that all of that fundraising is supposed to support a, you know, campaign rather than the other way around. He'd be flailing even if Trump had not stolen the show.

[dudeabides]

Governor Bush is no longer the front-runner, there is no doubt. It's now up to him to make the case that he was a success in both business and as a Governor and that he has the vision to lead while Mr. Trump is unfit to be President based on his radical left-wing views and his lack of judgement.

Oh come on, he's definetly not radical left wing views, he's more in line with the populist right in Europe, though he's not far right.

Other than on illegal immigration, he is very far left and a radical.

The truth is, is that Trump has no ideology.  His views at any given point in time, are opportunistic ones, formed with but one thing in mind - what he thinks will benefit himself personally. You should write that down, is my suggestion, for future reference.  JMO, but I find your characterizing Trump as some sort of radical leftist to be just ludicrous. It sort of makes me cringe really.

Very true.  I don't think Trump is a liberal, but he's certainly not a "movement conservative". 

If you want to label Trump, he's close to a "paleoconservative".  That's, at least, the ideology he's running on in this election.  And it's a good move; the Perot and Pat Buchanan voters are natural Republicans, but they've sort of been shoved out of the GOP, probably because they're less organized and don't bring the boots on the ground and money like religious conservatives do.  But these were the voters that delivered the GOP FOUR, count 'em, FOUR landslides between 1972 and 1988.  I really didn't think they had enough extra voters to just run these folks off.

There is an argument to be made that Trump has no ideology, I can't disagree with that but if I have to say he's something, it's socialist.

Anyone who would describe Donald Trump as anything other than a socialist or progressive has a fundamental misunderstanding of conservatism. Conservatives are right of center; we believe in free markets, a strong national defense, and a majority of us believe in socially conservative principles. What separates conservatives and libertarians is libertarians are generally less willing to support the basic safety net conservatives support (social security, medicare, medicaid etc), are more about getting the government out of social issues, and are less likely to support an aggressive foreign policy. But conservatives and libertarians are both for greater freedom, especially in economic matters. Personally, I am probably 60% conservative and 40% libertarian, I identify as conservative.

Those who supported Pat Buchanan and now Donald Trump consider themselves Republicans because their views on immigration are closer to conservatives - while most conservatives are fine with legal immigration, they are tough against illegal immigration. The fact is, Republicans have traditionally been more supportive of the policies Buchanan/Trump advocate against more than the Democrats. Buchanan/Trump hate free trade, the majority of Republicans support free trade. Now, to be fair to the anti-semite Buchanan, he is very pro-life along with the vast majority of conservatives. Mr. Trump's support for public funding of planned parenthood shows his disconnect with GOP voters. The problem is, Trump's opponents have been ineffective in painting him as liberal; Rand Paul has tried but there should be television ads everyday in early states questioning Trump's conservatism along with his business dealings.

[cwt]

Nothing happened.

Early on, the media picked him as the frontrunner, but no one else did.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

The GOP needs to move past Bushes, as both Pa & Dubya put country in huge financial woes.

There needs to be another standard barrier, Jeb isnt the one.

[Blair]

So Donald Trump supports the nationalization of the means of productions?

I know it's like the said a lot but the GOP need to learn what socialism is

[Statilius the Epicurean]

He's just a bad candidate. No charisma.

[Fuzzy Bear]

Governor Bush is no longer the front-runner, there is no doubt. It's now up to him to make the case that he was a success in both business and as a Governor and that he has the vision to lead while Mr. Trump is unfit to be President based on his radical left-wing views and his lack of judgement straight-up corporate pimping.

Oh come on, he's definetly not radical left wing views, he's more in line with the populist right in Europe, though he's not far right.

Other than on illegal immigration, he is very far left and a radical.

The truth is, is that Trump has no ideology.  His views at any given point in time, are opportunistic ones, formed with but one thing in mind - what he thinks will benefit himself personally. You should write that down, is my suggestion, for future reference.  JMO, but I find your characterizing Trump as some sort of radical leftist to be just ludicrous. It sort of makes me cringe really.

Very true.  I don't think Trump is a liberal, but he's certainly not a "movement conservative".  

If you want to label Trump, he's close to a "paleoconservative".  That's, at least, the ideology he's running on in this election.  And it's a good move; the Perot and Pat Buchanan voters are natural Republicans, but they've sort of been shoved out of the GOP, probably because they're less organized and don't bring the boots on the ground and money like religious conservatives do.  But these were the voters that delivered the GOP FOUR, count 'em, FOUR landslides between 1972 and 1988.  I really didn't think they had enough extra voters to just run these folks off.

There is an argument to be made that Trump has no ideology, I can't disagree with that but if I have to say he's something, it's socialist some negative label designed to make Jeb! look good, whether it's accurate or not.

Anyone who would describe Donald Trump as anything other than a socialist or progressive has a fundamental misunderstanding of conservatism reality. Conservatives are right of center; we believe in free markets, a strong national defense, and a majority of us believe in socially conservative principles. What separates conservatives and libertarians is libertarians are generally less willing to support the basic safety net conservatives support (social security, medicare, medicaid etc), are more about getting the government out of social issues, and are less likely to support an aggressive foreign policy. But conservatives and libertarians are both for greater freedom, especially in economic matters. Personally, I am probably 60% conservative and 40% libertarian, I identify as conservative.

Those who supported Pat Buchanan and now Donald Trump consider themselves ARE, in fact, Republicans because their views on immigration are closer to conservatives - while most conservatives are fine with legal immigration, they are tough against illegal immigration. The fact is, Republicans have traditionally been more supportive of the policies Buchanan/Trump advocate against more than the Democrats. Buchanan/Trump hate free trade unfair trade agreements, the majority of Republicans support free trade the trade agreements that have resulted in the exporting of jobs, because they benefit the corporate types than fill Bush campaign coffers. Now, to be fair to the unfairly attach the anti-Semite label to Pat Buchanan, he is very pro-life along with the vast majority of conservatives. Mr. Trump's support for public funding of planned parenthood shows his should show a disconnect with GOP voters. The problem is, Trump's opponents have been ineffective effective in painting him Jeb! as liberal an anti-middle class scumbag; Rand Paul has tried but there should be television ads everyday in early states questioning Trump's conservatism along with his business dealings the GOP base has been lied to an betrayed so many times by the establishment that even Rand Paul has no credibility with them.

Fixed it for you.

[Lief 🗽]

He's a terrible politician. Very low-energy, half the crowd at his events is asleep. And he goes out of his way to attack conservatives and Republican primary voters.

[Del Tachi]

The true essence of the GOP primary vote is finally manifesting itself...

Seriously, though, most moderates (who are more likely to support Bush than Trump or Carson) are politically apathetic, meaning they don't really care enough to vote in the primaries. The fundamentalists, however, are extremely politically active and will do whatever it takes to assure a Trump victory nationwide.

Stats to back this up?  If anything, the more involved parts of the GOP tend to gravitate towards the Chamber of Commerce side of the ideological spectrum.  Otherwise, how do people like Thad Cochran and Pat Roberts win GOP nominating contests?  Those who vote the most indiscriminately tend to be high-information voters, and high-information voters gravitate towards the political center.

Donald Trump looks good right now compared to Jeb Bush because the polls, as of this moment, are not controlling for the fact that very little of his support will be translated into actual votes unless he has some sort of top-secret, never-conceived-before GOTV plan. 

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

Conservatism is a broad tent, dudeabides. It does little justification to the entire history of conservatism to confine it to the box that is mainstream late 20th century US Republican thought.

[Fuzzy Bear]

The true essence of the GOP primary vote is finally manifesting itself...

Seriously, though, most moderates (who are more likely to support Bush than Trump or Carson) are politically apathetic, meaning they don't really care enough to vote in the primaries. The fundamentalists, however, are extremely politically active and will do whatever it takes to assure a Trump victory nationwide.

Stats to back this up?  If anything, the more involved parts of the GOP tend to gravitate towards the Chamber of Commerce side of the ideological spectrum.  Otherwise, how do people like Thad Cochran and Pat Roberts win GOP nominating contests?  Those who vote the most indiscriminately tend to be high-information voters, and high-information voters gravitate towards the political center.

Donald Trump looks good right now compared to Jeb Bush because the polls, as of this moment, are not controlling for the fact that very little of his support will be translated into actual votes unless he has some sort of top-secret, never-conceived-before GOTV plan. 

Thad Cochran (A) is solidly conservative by national standards, (B) was running in the most conservative state in the South, and (C) was elected with help from black Democrats who were eligible to cross over and vote in Mississippi's runoff.

Pat Roberts (A) is a conservative by national standards, and (B) was in trouble not because of ideology, but because he really doesn't have a home in Kansas anymore.