Why didn't the GOP run Jeb in 2000?

[raccoon]

At least he seems smarter than his brother.

[soleft]

1. Exactly

[Kikosexy2]

24. Without the Stupid One...

the oil grab ...I mean spreading democracy in Iraq wouldn't jive with the sheeple...so they went with the party-boy for those drunk, brainless,
a-holes who would have a beer with Stupid...now we're paying dearly for this disaster....

[no_hypocrisy]

2. B/c Jeb might have ideas of his own.

* was a guaranteed puppet for the powers that be.

[havocmom]

33. We have a WINNUHA!!!!

They didn't want bright, they wanted malleable with a side of sick & twisted.

[Botany]

3. to sew up Florida

n/t

[displacedtexan]

4. Jeb lost his first gubernatorial race. Gee Dubya didn't.

From Wikipedia:

Bush got his start in Florida politics as the Chairman of the Dade County Republican Party. Dade County played an important role in the 1986 election of Bob Martinez to the Governor's office. In return, Martinez appointed Bush as Florida's Secretary of Commerce. He served in that role in 1987 and 1988, before resigning once again to work on his father's presidential campaign. In 1989 he served as the campaign manager of Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the first Cuban-American to serve in Congress. He launched an unsuccessful bid for the Governor's office in 1994 against incumbent Democratic Governor Lawton Chiles. Bush lost the election by only 63,940 votes out of 4,206,076 that were cast for the major party candidates (2,135,008; 50.8% to 2,071,068; 49.2%).

[raccoon]

7. Looks like he learned something from that.

"Bush lost the election by only 63,940 votes "

[CJCRANE]

12. That's the impression I had too...

it was just a matter of timing. Jeb missed out, so they shoehorned W into the role.

[Kelly Rupert]

5. W was more of a blank slate.

He had few ideas and positions of his own, allowing the Republicans to make him out to be whatever any group of voters wanted him to be.

[Virginia Dare]

6. It think it was supposed to be chimp, then Jeb...

in line of succession. Hopefully the debacle of the last eight years will preclude anybody of the Bush clan from ever holding higher office again.

[raccoon]

8. Gosh, let's hope so! nt

[EFerrari]

9. Imho, because he got too dirty to soon. n/t

[madokie]

10. thats the reason, he's smarter

not the toadie they, pnac cabal, needed as his bro' is

[Tommy_Carcetti]

21. Wrong--Jeb Bush WAS the PNAC cabal

Look to the bottom of this document:

http://www.newamericancentury.org/statementofprinciples.htm

[madokie]

25. You're so right

and shoot fire I knew that but I'm watching the hearings on blackwater and about pissed off so I'm not thinking clearly I guess, sorry ;-)

[Tommy_Carcetti]

28. That's all right

It's common to think "smarter" is "better" when it comes to Bushes.

[zbdent]

11. Most likely,

So that the "phony Dems" can attack Hillary with "Oh, God ... we don't need a dynasty ..."

And when Jeb goes in, that argument will disappear like the argument about "military experience" did when Bush went up against people who actually went to Vietnam ...

[Tommy_Carcetti]

13. Smarter, yes, but also much, much worse

The whole world at least can laugh at Dubya, if only while also cringing that he is also the "leader of the free world" who has caused serious destablization across the globe.

Jeb is much more dangerous because people view him as "smart." Don't forget, Jeb was a signator to PNAC and would have likely sent us to war in Iraq just as quickly.

I lived under the man for 8 years in Florida. He would often say and do some of the most despicable things. And he was corrupt--was he ever corrupt. Just google "Jeb Bush" "Ichetucknee Springs" and "Anderson Columbia" and you'll get a lovely little sordid tale which ended up with a polluting cement plant being built along the state's most pristine river in exchange for $190,000 in donations to Jeb and the Republicans (not-so-conspiciously done two days after Jeb made a sudden about face and approved the plant's construction).

As to why he wasn't the Bush to run in 2000, it was because he was elected in 1998, while Dubya was elected in 1994 and Dubya could play the "experience" card. But you get the sense Jeb was always Papa's favorite one, the one he wanted to carry on the Bush name.

Lawton Chiles--you can thank the late governor of Florida for defeating Jeb in 1994 and saving the world from an even worse Bush, if that can be imagined.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

18. A good link re: Jeb's dealings on the Ichetucknee River

http://www.whoseflorida.com/cement_plant_on_the_ichetucknee_.htm

Paving firm gave $190,000 to Republican Party accounts after N. Florida deal was sealed-- TALLAHASSEE - A year after Gov. Jeb Bush canoed down Florida's beloved Ichetucknee River and vowed to protect it, he shocked environmentalists by allowing construction of a cement plant nearby that they claim could pollute surrounding air.-
Now, a Herald analysis reveals new information about the controversial episode: Executives and lawyers representing Anderson Columbia Inc., the big paving firm that sought approval for the plant, poured nearly $190,000 into state and national Republican Party accounts over the two days after a key part of the deal was concluded.-

[Hell Hath No Fury]

14. Jeb was supposed to be the nominee...

but he had an outbreak of family problems that were being talked about a lot in the media around that time, so Jr. got sent up from from the bush league to step in.

[Totally Committed]

15. Uh... that's the reason. He's smarter.

They needed a brainless puppet, and W was the perfect stooge for the job.

TC

[Tommy_Carcetti]

19. Actually with Jeb, there would have been no need for a Dick Cheney

Jeb would have been perfectly capable of carrying on the whole neo-conservative PNAC mantra without the need for support like Dubya did.

[daninthemoon]

16. I've read somewhere that jeb was the chosen one at some point,

mostly because his cokehead alcoholic brother was deemed un-electable. Then it was decided he cleaned up ok after all. Also, I suspect his salvation being "born again" and all was perfectly suited to the "Christian coalition". Aside from all that, the juxtaposition of the two brothers as governors of the 3rd and 4th largest eletoral college states was absolutely and obviously done to hold sway in a presidential election. The bush-walker string pullers had this planned for years.

[catmandu57]

17. Because his ugly old hag of a mama

always liked * better and said that jebbie's turn was next.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

20. The simple reason: because Jeb lost the GOV race. Same as why George Allen isn't running for prez.

[Freddie Stubbs]

22. He had only been serving as Governor for less than two years while his brother

had been serving as Governor of Texas since 1995. Jeb lost in 1994 but was elected in 1998.

[KitchenWitch]

23. Because Jeb would not have allowed Cheney to be president behind the scenes

[AlGore-08.com]

26. I always thought it was because Smirk had a bigger appeal to the Religious Right

He had very publicly credited his religion and his wife for turning his life around, which was the perfect story line for the Religious Right. He spent a great deal of time building this image and making sure that the Religious Right circulated stories about his being born again and his devotion to Jesus Christ. Smirk is a Methodist, which is not as "good" as being a Southern Baptist, but is acceptable to the more bigoted members of the Religious Right. Smirk also was very, very careful to pander to them while Governor of Texas - - any time he had to act against their wishes, he would force the state legislature to do the dirty work and take the blame.

Jeb!(TM) would have faced a number of problems with the far right base Karl Rove was cultivating for the 2000 election. The biggest problems IMNSHO would have been that Jeb!(TM) converted to Catholicism at the request of his wife, who was born in Mexico. Add to that their family problems which were way too public in 2000... Jeb!(TM) would probably not have excited the base as much.

[Arkansas Granny]

27. They ran with W because he was easier to manipulate.

[Beelzebud]

29. Maybe because Uncle Karl, Uncle Dick, and Uncle Don could control W better?

[Kazak]

30. 'Probably wasn't down with their nefarious plans...

:shrug:

[book_worm]

31. because Jeb lost in FL in '94 and chimp was in his second term in TX

[Vidar]

32. Jeb is too smart to be a compliant puppet, though he is sufficiently

evil for the job.