Jebbie’s baggage
by digby
Over at Salon this morning I have a piece about the new ad by Brent Bozell’s group attacking Jeb because he’s too close to Hillary. I suspect that’s not the real message.
I preface the piece with a look at Bozell who is a movement conservative’s conservative to whom heed should be paid if you want to know what the far right is up to. And then I talk about his new ad:
… Jeb is “unelectable” because he was nice to Hillary but Hillary was responsible for Benghazi and therefore Jeb is tainted by his friendly association with her at this event. It’s hard to believe that anyone thinks this very thin association of Bush with Benghazi could possibly be used by, well … anyone.
But Bozell is much cleverer than that. He’s making the case that Jeb is unelectable for an entirely different reason. He has taken the exact case against George W. Bush and 9/11 — “ignored evidence,” “refused to act,” “happened on his watch” — and applied it to Hillary and Benghazi. I’m sure many right-wingers have internalized the idea that this event is an act of terrorist aggression that Hillary failed to stop, but when you put it in the context of Jeb Bush it takes on another dimension, doesn’t it?
What are they really saying with this ad that immediately evokes the comparison of Benghazi with 9/11? They are really saying that Jeb Bush is unelectable because of his brother, not because of any award he gave to Hillary. Bozell isn’t aiming this ad at the rank and file. He’s aiming it at the Big Money Boys whom he obviously feels need to be reminded of the serious baggage Jeb brings with him.
The movement conservatives don’t want Jeb and not because he’s a moderate but because he’s an establishment conservative over whom they have little leverage.
And, by the way, they are right about why Jeb is unelectable. It’s only been six years since his own brother left office with a 28% approval rating. We’re still dealing with the mess that he left both economically and in the Middle East. It’s possible that a different Republican win but it hasn’t been long enough to forget about all that and elect another Bush.
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