We hear that Jeb Bush’s campaign is in trouble. Donors are not donating, according to Politico:
Three top Jeb Bush fundraisers abruptly parted ways with his presidential campaign on Friday, amid internal personality conflicts and questions about the strength of his candidacy, POLITICO has learned.
There are different versions of what transpired. The Florida-based fundraising consultants — Kris Money, Trey McCarley, and Debbie Aleksander — have said that they voluntarily quit the campaign and were still working with Bush’s super PAC, Right to Rise Super PAC. Others said the three, who worked under the same contract, were let go because they were no longer needed for the current phase of the campaign. None of the three responded to requests for comment. Bush spokesman Tim Miller would only say that “Governor Bush has the widest and deepest fundraising operation of any candidate in the field. Ann Herberger — a longtime aide with more than two decades of experience in state and national politics — will continue to lead the operation in Florida with our team in Miami.
Okay, let’s give Bush the benefit of the doubt and file this under “no chemistry between us.” My guess is that this is more than a personality conflict. Like the inevitable Clinton on the other side, the inevitable Bush is struggling, too.
Jeb Bush should thank God that his campaign has hit a wall and take the time to correct a few things. Otherwise, he may find himself sitting at the convention watching someone else accept the nomination.
Jeb does not have a Bush, or Common Core, or immigration reform problem. I understand that there are pockets in the party that oppose him on those issues, primarily the last two.
At the same time, he can override those concerns by talking about his record as governor, a good performance according to every one of my GOP friends in Florida. I hear criticisms of Bush’s record in Florida, but it comes from people who are not going to vote for him anyway – i.e., liberals.
He has a Jeb problem, such as Jeb is trying to please everybody and trying to win votes from people who aren’t going to vote for the GOP anyway. Jeb is trying to be nice to the media. He should talk to John McCain about that.
Let’s go to the recent Ramos vs. Trump incident. Jeb Bush came out and said that Ramos deserves more respect. Wasn’t Ramos the one who was ranting on the floor, demanding that Mr. Trump answer his question first?
Frankly, it would have been better if Jeb had said nothing. Zip your mouth, and let Ramos and Trump deal with it.
I understand that the media is asking Jeb Bush about the incident. He could have said that Ramos should have waited his turn and that Trump should be more specific on immigration proposals. Next question, please! Why get dragged into this?
In my opinion, Jeb Bush is a very decent man, with a solid conservative record. However, he needs to watch a little bit of Trump and borrow a few Trump-isms.
Jeb does not look as though his heart is in the game. My guess is that some donors are starting to feel the same way.
Thankfully, he’s got time to turn this around, but he’d better get started pronto – a Spanish word that he understands!
