Salon: How Jeb Bush cheated America & helped deliver the presidency to W

[seafan]

17. Hi, Laura. Yes, I remember that too.

Last edited Tue Nov 3, 2015, 10:01 PM - Edit history (1)

Laura PourMeADrink, your question about 2004 reminded me of what Karl Rove bragged about:

By STEVE BOUSQUET, Times Staff Writer
June 2, 2006

Rove, who is under investigation in the leak of a CIA operative’s identity, thrilled the partisan audience with behind-the-scenes anecdotes in the West Wing or on Air Force One. He recalled his sophisticated computer program to track returns on election night 2004 that contradicted exit polls showing Bush losing in Florida.

“I’ll never forget. The first county I clicked was Hernando. Then Pasco. And about that time, Jeb called in,” Rove recalled. “I started working my way down the east coast and he said, 'Start with Broward.’ … It was clear, we were running well ahead of where we needed to run, and Jeb said, 'We’re going to win, and we’re going to win big.’ ”
--snip

And here they all were, grinning from ear to ear.


November 2, 2004, Bush Family


One thing to remember about Jeb Bush. He is a micromanager in everything he does.

He was acting as a direct liaison between Rove, cousin John Ellis at the FOX election desk in 2000 and all the various operatives, attorneys and judges in both 2000 and 2004.

Here are two more valuable links:

Jeb Bush's Recount Role Examined, July 14, 2001, LA Times

WASHINGTON — When it became clear that the disputed Florida election could deliver the White House to his brother, Gov. Jeb Bush immediately recused himself from any official role in the recount, promising to avoid even the "slightest appearance of a conflict of interest."

He directed his staff to spend their time on government business and pledged to do the same. Vowing that no political work would be done on the taxpayers' dime, six staffers took unpaid leaves to volunteer on the recount.

Despite that hands-off policy, the Florida governor's office in Tallahassee made 95 telephone calls to the George W. Bush presidential campaign, its advisors, lawyers and staffers during the 36-day recount period, records show. At least 10 calls came from an office number used primarily by Jeb Bush, including one call to a private line in George W. Bush's gubernatorial office in Austin.

Another call from Jeb Bush's number went to Karl Rove, his brother's campaign strategist. One went to the Texas governor's chief of staff, Clay Johnson. Another went to Michigan Gov. John Engler, who soon flew to Florida to monitor the ballot recount in Broward County. Additional calls were logged to cell phones assigned to Bush campaign staffers.

In an e-mail this week to The Times, Jeb Bush said he could not recall the purpose of the calls. "I have no clue what these calls were about," he wrote.

"They most likely were return phone calls," Bush added. "In the alternative, they could have been my assistant passing on a request for an invitation to speak or an autographed picture. They might have been answering a request on where to eat in Tallahassee for the hoards [sic] of Austin folks that made their way here. They could have been for many reasons. I don't remember."

.....

Jeb Bush's elephant in the room: Role in Bush v. Gore recount, April 16, 2015, Des Moines Register

Little noticed among Jeb Bush's recently released emails, published on jebemails.com, is this one (Dec. 6, 2000) offering thanks to his brother's future Supreme Court Chief Justice Appointee, John Roberts, for legal advice during the election. "Thank you for your time today. I really appreciate your input on my role in this unique and historic situation," he wrote.

If Bush wants to run for the presidency in 2016, he should answer questions about his involvement, and the media should fact-check and obtain the truth.

Jeb Bush may have a problem in the primaries with his family name because of his father and brother's legacies of the Iraq war and the 2008 recession —issues that may have been handled very differently in a Gore presidency — and now attempts to distance himself from them with the widely covered statement, "I'm my own man." The media has not, however, even mentioned what may be his biggest problem: his level of responsibility in Florida for taking the 2000 election from Gore and the national repercussions.

Bush's communications director in July 2001, Katie Baur, said, "While he recused himself from any involvement in what happened after Nov. 7, he did not recuse himself from his role as a brother." What's not known is that the level of direct involvement was, frankly, enormous. The Los Angeles Times reported on July 14, 2001, "The Florida governor's office in Tallahassee made 95 telephone calls to the George W. Bush presidential campaign, its advisors, lawyers and staffers during the 36-day recount period, records show. At least 10 calls came from an office number used primarily by Jeb Bush."

At least one call from Jeb Bush's number "went to Karl Rove, his brother's campaign strategist. ... One went to the Texas governor's chief of staff, Clay Johnson. Additional calls were logged to cell phones assigned to Bush campaign staffers."

Bush emailed in July 2001: "I have no clue what these calls were about." He had "no clue" of what his own calls were about while his brother was on the cusp of winning or losing the presidency?

.....


Hope this doesn't raise your blood pressure too much, Laura PourMeADrink.....