June 15, 2015

Jeb Bush Is Officially Running for President. Here’s What You Need to Know About Him.

Manatees and a weird Nigerian deal—learn more about the latest GOPer to announce.

Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP

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Well, today’s the day. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is expected to finally announce that he is running for president. After months of mounting a not-very-shadow campaign and raising money (almost $100 million since January for his super-PAC Right to Rise), his official leap into the crowded Republican field is no surprise. As the third Bush to run for president in 35 years, he is already considered the top choice for the GOP establishment.

But the GOP establishment no longer rules the party as it once did, so the road to the nomination, much less to the White House, is filled with land mines for Bush. Tea partiers and the Christian right are powerful Bush antagonists. Before he made his candidacy official, a tea party-aligned group called Constitutional Rights PAC started promoting the website EndJeb2016.com, which accuses Bush of being “anything but a ‘conservative.'”

And there is the baggage that comes with being a Bush. His campaign hardly presents the forward-looking image that some of the other Republican candidates claim they can offer. “If Republicans are going to win the election in the fall of 2016, we need a new fresh face, big bold ideas from outside of Washington, and someone who’s got the proven track record,” GOP presidential candidate Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker told the Tampa Bay Times.

After decades as a public figure, Bush has earned much media attention. Here’s a roundup of Mother Jones’ recent coverage, some of which examines scandals and controversies of decades past:

Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2015/03/31/3718085/dynastic-drag-hurts-jeb-bush-more.html#storylink=cp

 

 

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We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

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