With the Clinton legacy back in the race for President, it only seems fitting that the
US’s other dynastic political family, the Bushes, are given a chance to take back the
title.
As such, Jeb Bush is the latest candidate to enter the ring.
And despite being the brother of a president with one of the lowest approval rates in history,
Jeb Bush is still a strong Republican candidate.
So, who exactly is Jeb Bush?
Jeb, or “John Ellis Bush” Bush first entered the public’s attention when both he and
his brother George W. became state governors: Jeb of Florida; George of Texas.
During his time as governor, Jeb stressed improving education standards, although some
of those policies have been criticized as ineffective.
He also eliminated affirmative action in Florida’s state jobs and colleges, while removing job
protections on civil service positions.
As a fiscal conservative, Jeb lowered taxes and cut government jobs while increasing state
reserves.
This led Florida to achieve its first triple A bond rating.
He is also very pro-gun.
Jeb introduced the country’s first stand-your-ground law.
This removed a person’s “duty to retreat” in response to a serious threat, and allowed
for the use of deadly force.
During his term, 21 death row inmates were executed, more than under any previous governor.
Jeb is also squarely against LGBT rights.
In recent comments, he has supported using religious freedom to refuse service to gay
customers.
And in 1994 he said that “Sodomy [should not] be elevated to the same constitutional
status as race and religion.”
He has since distanced himself from those remarks.
Jeb opposes abortion, and has pushed for a law requiring teens to notify their parents
before undergoing the procedure.
Perhaps most famously, Jeb Bush became embroiled in the case of Terri, a severely brain damaged
woman in a persistent vegetative state.
The national debate centered on whether to remove her feeding tube and allow her to die.
After her husband and legal guardian decided to authorize its removal, Jeb Bush called
an emergency session of the Florida legislature, specifically to pass a bill ordering Schiavo’s
feeding tube to be reinstated.
This move was called a gross overstepping of the executive and legislative branches,
and extremely unconstitutional..
Jeb has already gotten into hot water for stating that his top foreign policy advisor
is his brother, George W. And that even with the information known today, he would still
have launched the massively unpopular Iraq War, although he has since backtracked.
Pundits have criticized Jeb’s attempts at following in his brother’s footsteps, despite
the widespread failure of many of the ex-president’s policies.
But considering that George W. ended up serving two terms, perhaps piggybacking off of that
success may actually work for Jeb.
So America might just have another Bush in the white house in a couple years… but it
might instead have another Clinton.
To learn more about one of the biggest contenders in the democratic party, check out our video
here.
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