According to this article, Jeb Bush wants to “eliminate” the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Citizens United v. the FEC lawsuit. While it’s difficult to picture that belief hurting in New Hampshire, it’s impossible to think that his statement won’t hurt him in South Carolina and in the so-called SEC Primary states.
Talking to CNN’s Dana Bash, Gov. Bush said “If I could do it all again I’d eliminate the Supreme Court ruling. This is a ridiculous system we have now where you have campaigns that struggle to raise money directly and they can’t be held accountable for the spending of the super PAC that’s their affiliate.”
The ads virtually write themselves. Gov. Bush’s brother signed the McCain-Feingold bill into law. The Roberts Court essentially gutted McCain-Feingold, with the Citizens United ruling being the heart of repealing the BCRA, which is the official name of the bill. (It stands for the “Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act.)
It’s more than a little ironic that the bill that President Bush signed into law was gutted by justices that President Bush appointed to the court. It’s also telling that President Bush’s brother wants to restrict political free speech by passing a constitutional amendment that would protect incumbents. Clearly, Gov. Bush won’t fight for the Constitution or the Bill of Rights. The Founding Fathers wanted more speech, not less. They wanted political speech to be the most protected of all types of free speech.
It isn’t a stretch to think that Gov. Bush, if he were to become president, would appoint justices like David Souter. Justice Souter didn’t have much of a judicial record when appointed. Once he was appointed, he became a reliable vote for the liberal bloc of Supreme Court justices.
Bush’s Right to Rise super PAC has dominated the fundraising race, pulling in $117.6 million last year, according to the latest FEC filings. But that money has not been enough to stop Bush’s fall from the front of the Republican pack.
Gov. Bush’s Right to Rise PAC spent tens of millions of dollars on negative ads against Sen. Rubio. The fact that Sen. Rubio is still prospering speaks to how ineffective Right to Rise PAC’s advertising has been.
The thing that’s interesting is that Gov. Bush, again, is out of touch with the conservative base of the Republican Party. The thought that a candidate can be that separated from the heart of the party he wants to lead is stunning. To lead any large organization, you have to want to take them where they already want to go. It’s indisputable that the Cruz people will criticize Gov. Bush for taking this stance. Ditto with the people who once supported Rand Paul.
If anything, this should be seen as an attempt to take votes away from Gov. Kasich. Either that or Gov. Bush, despite all of his experience, just made a major unforced mistake.
