Jeb Bush Isn’t a Moderate, He’s a Neo-Con Extremist
By Thom Hartmann A...
I would have invaded Iraq, and you would have to. That is literally what Jeb Bush told Megyn Kelly in an interview set to air tonight on Fox So-Called News.
Amazing, right?
Up until this point, Jeb has done everything he can to separate himself from his brother George W. Bush’s disastrous 8 years as president.
Just a few months ago, for example, he went out of his way to say during a speech at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs that he was his “own man” and that his family’s track record didn’t say anything about what he would do as president.
The irony, of course, is that Jeb owes everything to his last name.
His connections, his money, the very fact that he’s taken seriously as a candidate -- they’re all because his last name is “Bush.”
If his last name were anything other than “Bush,” he wouldn’t get anywhere near the amount of attention he’s getting.
But even so, being the brother of the guy who got us into the Iraq mess is something voters actually do care about, which is why Jeb has tried really hard to distance himself from W. and his policies.
That’s what makes what he said to Megyn Kelly about invading Iraq so surprising.
It’s a big break with his campaign strategy so far, which has been to sell himself as a “moderate” conservative who’s learned from the mistakes of the past. But here’s the thing: if it is a break with campaign strategy, it’s an honest break with campaign strategy.
That’s because Jeb Bush isn’t really a moderate.Like his brother and dad before him, he’s a neo-con extremist.
The mainstream media has apparently forgotten this, but back in the late 90s, Jeb helped found the Project for a New American Century or PNAC, a neo-con think tank that called for the overthrow Saddam Hussein and well, pretty much every other government that the U.S. didn’t like.
According to PNAC, the end result of this massive regime change campaign, would be a “Pax Americana” in which the U.S. would dominate the world, its natural resources, and it’s economy.
It sounds like something out of a James Bond movie, but PNAC was very influential. Many of its founding members like Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, and Zalmay Khalilzad, for example, went on to serve in the George W. Bush administration where they helped plan the Iraq debacle.
If history’s any guide, these very same PNAC neo-con extremists would also play a big role in a Jeb Bush administration.
The Washington Post has put together a great graphic comparing Jeb’s foreign policy advisers with the foreign policy advisers of the two Bush administrations and the Reagan administration, and that graphic makes one thing really, really clear: the same people who advised Ronald Reagan and both George Bushes on foreign policy are advising Jeb Bush on foreign policy.
This group includes people like Paul Wolfowitz -- yes, that Paul Wolfowitz -- who are so tied to both PNAC and the nightmare of the Bush II years that just mentioning their names makes it feel like 2003 again. So while he can say whatever he wants about being a moderate, Jeb Bush is ultimately as extremist as they come, and if elected president, he’ll run this country just like his dad and brother did.
Which means more wars, and more neo-con insanity.
Comments
#2
The FEC is supposed to police elections, but it's structured to prevent action. The rule shouldn't be that a majority of the 3 Democrats and 3 Republicans is necessary to prosecute; it should be changed to require only 3 members' consent.
#3
With the poisonous effects of chemicals in nail salons, how about women just stop getting their nails done? I prefer the look of unpainted and fairly short nails on women. They don't need all that stuff, so it's a waste of time, money, materials, and now health.
#4
Over the 4 years since I moved into my apartment (in a Denver suburb), rent has gone up at an average of 5.44% per year, while my hourly wage has gone up at an average of only 3.85% per year. There's no way the working class can survive like this.
My saving graces, for now, are overtime and working closer to home, which is saving me a lot of gas money.
#5
Some would say Hillary Clinton doesn't have the same "extremist" military point of view you characterized Jeb Bush to possess, but what kind of judgment does it show when Hillary also drank the Republican cool-aid. Is she an extremist for hawkishly supporting Israel. You could substitute Hillary's name wherever Jeb's name is written and you would almost have the same candidate - the only difference is that Hillary would allow a little more debate on bombing the Middle East whereas Jeb Bush would prefer to "rush to judgment" as way to show a manly gesture amongst his other reasons.
Have you ever heard Hillary in any public appearance, in written articles, at Congressional hearings say.... I would have urged my daughter Chelsea back then to have also volunteer in the front lines of Iraq, Afghanistan, and anywhere else globally because I believe our nation's security and economy are truly at risk and I wouldn't want to appear like a hypocrite to suggest that serving our country is mostly for the working and middle class poor.
#6
Jeb Bush!...I remember that guy, he was the governor of Florida on election day when Gore was leading Jeb's brother 3 to 1 late afternoon in the highest populated voting centers in Florida, yet Bush still won???? Trillions in spending on illegal wars later, the Jebster wants to be president...yeah right!
"There ought to be limits to freedom" .....George Bush 1999
Election Fraud...that's Merica!
#7
Hillary Clinton is just as pro war as any Bush. She voted in lockstep in favor of the AUMF, The Patriot Act, and anything else the Bush White House asked for. She supports Israel and is completely in bed with Wall Street Banks who just walked off with $$Billions of our tax dollars without any accountability. Perhaps worse of all, unless I'm deaf, she hasn't uttered one word about fixing the free trade mess that her husband left us with. She is nothing more than a corporate whore; and, I wouldn't trust her any farther than I could throw the Washington monument.
If you ask me, the entire purpose of a Jeb Bush candidacy is to force a fear stricken electorate into a knee jerk vote for the "lesser of two evils." Let's face it folks, even good old Beelzebub, Satan, himself, in this case, would qualify as the lesser of two evils when up against any member of the Bush family. If you ask me, Hillary/Shillary is exactly what Wall Street, Corporate America, and the Pentagon want, all wrapped up into one bought and paid for package. Either way, they can't lose. Support Senator Bernie Sanders for president NOW!
#8
Jeb can stick it where the sun doesn't shine. I wouldn't have invaded Afghanistan much less Iraq.
#9
At least Hillary admitted voting for the Iraq war was a mistake.
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If you like the chaos in middle east now. The hell of ISIS and the instability of all the governments then another Bush is what you really want. In fact another Republican should usher in world War III