| Jeb Bush followed a time-honored tradition Monday morning, one set forth by past generations of sensible politicians contemplating a run for the Republican presidential nomination: He ditched his sane policy views to appeal to the far right. During a Today Show interview previewing his upcoming book, Immigration Wars: Forging an American Solution, Bush—the esteemed former Florida governor and older brother to the country's most disastrous president—said immigration reform should not include a path for citizenship. |
That's a sharp break from his past views, a full Mitt Romney-style pivot to right-wing ideology. Much like baby bro George W, Jeb has spent years shouting a clarion call that the GOP is on a path toward electoral doom unless they stop alienating Hispanic voters. He penned Wall Street Journal op-eds as recently as January advocating for citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Yet in his new book he writes, "It is absolutely vital to the integrity of our immigration system that actions have consequences—in this case, that those who violated the law can remain but cannot obtain the cherished fruits of citizenship." Anyone searching for the motivation behind this change of heart need only watch the segment of the Today Show interview when Bush hemmed and hawed about his intentions for 2016.
Bush's abrupt shift poses a problem for the GOP writ large. While his brother remains despised by the public, Jeb has maintained the image of likeable, moderate party elder. His independent agitation for citizenship could have helped offer cover for nervous Republicans in Congress.
But one man in particular won't be sleeping easy after Bush's change of heart. Fellow Floridian Marco Rubio has made immigration reform his marque task in the months after the 2012 election. Rubio has gallivanted across the conservative mediasphere selling the base on the need for "rational" reform, even winning plaudits from the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Lou Dobbs. While Rubio's desire for a more logical immigration system appears sincere, it is also clearly a calculated strategy to propel Rubio into the leading spot for the party's 2016 nomination. However, the young senator is an acolyte of his former governor. Bush anointed Rubio as his ideological successor when he left the governor's mansion, symbolized in ceremony when Bush bestowed Rubio with the "Sword of Chang." (No kidding; it's a whole 'nother story.)
The working assumption has been that Rubio will sit out 2016 if Jeb decides to make a go at the nomination. But if Bush continues his new anti-immigrant chest thumping, Rubio will be posed with quite the dilemma: Abandon his his current policies and any hope for a presidential run or betray his political mentor?
Bush's abrupt shift poses a problem for the GOP writ large. While his brother remains despised by the public, Jeb has maintained the image of likeable, moderate party elder. His independent agitation for citizenship could have helped offer cover for nervous Republicans in Congress.
But one man in particular won't be sleeping easy after Bush's change of heart. Fellow Floridian Marco Rubio has made immigration reform his marque task in the months after the 2012 election. Rubio has gallivanted across the conservative mediasphere selling the base on the need for "rational" reform, even winning plaudits from the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Lou Dobbs. While Rubio's desire for a more logical immigration system appears sincere, it is also clearly a calculated strategy to propel Rubio into the leading spot for the party's 2016 nomination. However, the young senator is an acolyte of his former governor. Bush anointed Rubio as his ideological successor when he left the governor's mansion, symbolized in ceremony when Bush bestowed Rubio with the "Sword of Chang." (No kidding; it's a whole 'nother story.)
The working assumption has been that Rubio will sit out 2016 if Jeb decides to make a go at the nomination. But if Bush continues his new anti-immigrant chest thumping, Rubio will be posed with quite the dilemma: Abandon his his current policies and any hope for a presidential run or betray his political mentor?
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