Jeb, The Smarter Bush?

I have always given Jeb the benefit of the doubt. My take on George W’s younger brother has always been that he is a decent, intelligent man; just a bad politician. I bought into the myth of “George the bumbler, Jeb the thinker.” After watching Jeb self-destruct over the course of his presidential campaign, I’ve now come to believe he is no smarter than his dim-witted older brother; just another Forest Gump, you know, “I’m not a smart man.” (Yes, I’ll admit, he may know what love is.)

After one of the worst governmental actions ever taken by a state governor, Jeb has come out in praise of Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder. This is the man who, through his appointed “emergency manager” for the city of Flint, is ultimately responsible for poisoning the city of nearly 100,000.

As governor, Snyder named an “emergency manager” to run the city of Flint. This non-elected czar is granted powers to disband unions, corporatize city services, abolish school districts, and dissolve local elected governments.

In a cost-cutting move, Snyder’s appointee decided the clean and safe drinking water Flint was getting from nearby Lake Huron did not fit the corporate financial model. Snyder approved the manager’s decision to switch Flint’s water source to the well-documented and historically toxic waters of the Flint River. For nearly two years, this “man-made catastrophe” forced residents, including small children, to ingest filthy, corrosive and lead-poisoned water.

“I admire Rick Snyder for stepping up right now,” Bush said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “He’s going to the challenge. He’s fired people and accepted responsibility to fix this.”

Jed’s ludicrous and insensitive statement shows he “is not a smart man.” Many are calling for Snyder to resign as governor; some are calling for his arrest. Jed’s defense of Snyder is like praising your kid for the way he picks up shattered pieces of glass from the vase he just broke.

For me, this latest head-scratching, head-shaking statement is the straw that broke the camel’s back. Yes, there is no doubt Jed is surrounded by the most incompetent campaign advisors money can buy. But even a candidate with half a brain would know not to play loyal partisan politics with such a serious man-made fiasco. An entire generation of kids is now suffering from IQ-reducing, permanent lead poisoning.

Snyder’s decision to approve the switch of Flint’s drinking water source to the polluted Flint River was aimed at saving $5 million but now, almost two years later, the cost to treat the water supply carries a tag of $45 million and climbing. And that is only the financial toll; the human toll will not be known for years.

My advice to you, John Ellis Bush, is to save whatever honor and credibility you still have left and exit the race. You have proven yourself totally unqualified for any public office. All that donor money being spent on useless ads (Mama Bush To The Rescue … Sort Of) could be used for better purposes … like helping the people of Flint recover from Snyder’s Katrina.

Photo | freedom works.org