Poor John Ellis (Jeb) Bush. No matter what you think of him as a politician, you have to like him as a man. The comparatively moderate Republican, who many have labeled a good son and family man, was unfortunately cast into the bind of his life by the vagaries of fate.

Pressed to run for the presidency by a Republican establishment fearful of the rising power of the Party’s radical right but advised not to do so by a wise mother who thought the American people had had enough Bushes in the White house, the former Florida governor reluctantly chose party loyalty over wise maternal counseling. (What’s Wrong With Jeb?).

From day one, Jeb’s family name was both his biggest liability and his biggest asset. Many Americans associate the Bush name with the disastrous presidency of big brother George W. But, at the same time, a large group of conservative Republicans, mostly Evangelicals, still have a favorable view of the former president.

Very early into Jeb’s presidential run, it became clear he was not ready for prime time. It was one gaffe after another. Jeb had been out of politics for over 8 years and the rust showed.

The biggest dilemma facing Jeb was how to handle his older brother and the legacy of his miserable presidency. Did he throw W under the bus or embrace W’s policies?

It appears Jeb’s handlers thought distancing him from the brother sharing the same last name was best. Hence, the “Jeb!” campaign logo. While it was ridiculed at the time, leaving out the family name was a wise move.

Jeb Bush began his campaign by telling the world he was “his own man.” He even hinted that his brother’s decision to invade Iraq was a blunder. In February, he made it clear “there were mistakes in Iraq for sure.” But the closest he has ever gotten to a direct criticism of W is when he jokingly says that he’s “younger” and “better looking” than W

The war issue came to a head when Megyn Kelly of Fox News asked Jeb the very predictable question about the wisdom of going to war with Iraq. Proving that blood is thicker than water, Jeb told Kelly he would have done the same… even knowing what we know now! Of course he tried to walk back that statement. But it was too late.

So much for distancing himself from W! Now, in response to heavy criticism from Donald Trump about W’s responsibility for 9-11, Jeb has doubled down on his absurd statement that his brother “kept us safe.”

It appears the circle has been closed. Jeb is now incredibly defending his brother at ever turn.

While other candidates move up in the polls, the depth of Jeb Bush’s campaign incompetence just keeps marching on. But to be fair, Jeb was put in an untenable situation by the Party establishment that convinced him he could be the Party’s savior. (R.I.P GOP – The Slow Death Of The Grand Old Party.)

John Ellis (Jeb) Bush … a decent man but not presidential material for the rabid base of today’s GOP.

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Photo | AP/file 2006

Occasionally this page features guest posts. Here is one from Earl Anthony Scruggs, Sioux, Iowa:

My name is Earl Anthony Scruggs and I is a pig farmer here in Sioux, Iowa. For some reason, all kinds a folk want to tell me how to vote. Hell, I mighten not be the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, but I knows how to vote.

You see, I been a life long Republican and am damn proud of it. I ain’t never voted for no pinko liberal … never! My Pappy taught me right. He said, “Son don’t be fooled by those weak-bellied liberal commies. All they wants is to take away your guns, your Bible and your money.”

I work hard here on the farm and is proud of it. I earns an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work. I don’t want some stinkin Demacrat to take my money and give it to a lazy bum like my cousin Billy Bob. The man don’t work a lick! He’s got his welfare, his Medicaid, his disability, his food stamps. Why should he work when he gets all that free stuff?

I don’t believes in taxing the rich too much because one day I is gonna be rich. I keep hearin if ya work hard, there ain’t no stoppin ya. I sure as heck don’t want my taxes going to all those sponges like Billy Bob. I wants to keep money I works hard for. It’s mines, not the gubment’s.

Some people say I is dumb because I vote against my economicky interest. Truth is, I don’t know what the heck they mean by that. But I can tell ya I vote for peoples I is interested in, like I voted for Dubya twice.

In a few months I is givin my vote to the one man that cares about a little guy like me. A man who gives a hoot about his country: Donald Trump. The man ain’t like those others beholdin to big money. The man has his own money and can’t be bought. He tells it like it is. Trump understands what its like to own a business like mines.

Trump says he wants to make America great agin. And after eight years of that Kenyan Muslim doing everything he can to destroy the good old U.S. of A., I believes him. Now if Trump picks that true patriot Sarah Palin to runs with him, like McCain does, they can’t lose.

Photo | plus.google.com

Of the four men sharing the stage with Hillary Clinton at last night’s debate, many pundits are labeling Lincoln Chafee the biggest loser. When asked about a vote he had taken against Wall Street regulation while in the Senate, the Republican-turned-independent-turned-Democrat gave the incredible answer, “I had just arrived in the Senate,” basically admitting he didn’t know what he was voting on!

But an even bigger loser than Chafee was the man not on the debate stage: Joe Biden.

The rationale for a Joe Biden candidacy has always been to step into the fray to save the Party if Hillary were to stumble. In last night’s first Democratic presidential debate, not only did Hillary maintain her balance, she was at the top of her game. The former First Lady–Senator–Secretary of State was confident, relaxed, and unflappable as she took over the room. She was almost universally declared the debate winner.

If Biden had  participated in last night’s debate, quite possibly, the result might have been different. But he didn’t. And now Biden has to grapple with the reality of Hillary’s commanding performance, an outcome that has all but extinguished his raison d’etre.

Clinton turned one of her biggest liabilities, the email “scandal,” into a non-issue. However, she was aided in her efforts when Bernie Sanders came to her defense. “Let me say something that may not be great politics, but I think the secretary is right,” said Sanders. “I think the American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn emails!”

Many Democrats are beginning to wonder whether Biden’s coyness in announcing his decision is just plain old political leverage. The longer he waits to announce his intention, the thinking goes, the better prospect of a cabinet position, say Secretary of State, in a Clinton administration. If that is part of Biden’s thinking, he lost quite a bit of leverage last night.

Whether Biden is that calculating or has not truly made up his mind, a Biden candidacy against two top-notch, bona fide contenders, Clinton and Sanders, would just be a case of three is a crowd.

Photo | biography.com

Today’s Grand Old Party appears to be on a kamikaze mission. Chaos and open warfare has erupted among its ranks. But unlike those World War II Japanese pilots who intentionally flew their planes into U.S. battleships, today’s Republican Party is racing towards its own demise voluntarily out of sheer stupidity.

One could say Piyush Jindal’s “party of stupid” will never learn its lesson. (The Party Of Stupid Just Can’t Help Itself) They are facing the real possibility of a death otherwise preventable.

With a few candidates already having fallen by the wayside (Walker, Perry), the serious talk has turned to whether any of the three “non-politicians” leading in the polls have any chance of securing the Republican presidential nomination. The consensus among the chattering class is “no.” That leaves many to wonder who will be the Republican standard bearer for 2016?

The early establishment favorite, Jeb!, is going nowhere fast. It’s been one gaffe after another. Even with all that establishment backing and those deep-pocketed donors, he has proven himself to be anything but presidential (I know, that didn’t prevent his brother from being elected).

Marco Rubio has been getting a good second look by many Republican elites. But the Cuban-American is a little too wet behind the ears. And, most importantly, he does not fire up the base a/k/a the mob of radicals in no mood for business as usual. The new thinking is that the other first term senator, Ted Cruz, could actually become the Republican nominee.

Yes, the man born in Canada to a Cuban father could, with a little luck, become the Republican Party’s hope of winning back the White House. The reasoning goes like this: with Trump and Carson out of the race, Cruz would be the natural beneficiary of all those angry, no-compromise-no-more-business-as-usual-fundamentalist-Evangelical voters.

Yes, he is a sitting U.S. Senator which normally would make one an insider, but the firebrand has been a thorn in the side of the Republican establishment since entering the Senate in 2012. Ted Cruz is given much kudos by rabid Republicans for sticking to his guns (excuse the pun) and not compromising… with anyone! Many view his engineering of the government shutdown in 2013 as a demonstration of strength; proof positive of his true conservative bona fides.

If Cruz were to become the Republican presidential nominee, the Republican Party, as we know it, is cooked. It won’t matter if the Democratic nominee is Clinton, Sanders, Biden or SpongeBob SquarePants. The defeat would be crushing and fatal. The GOP could very well go the way of the Whigs and the dodo bird. While the adults in the GOP will try to shore up a Bush or Christie, it will be to no avail. You cannot change the minds of those who’ve completely lost heads.

Photo | forwardprogressives.com

On June 16, 1858, at the Republican State Convention in Springfield, Illinois, a lanky, rather homely politician was chosen as the party’s senatorial candidate. When it was time to address his Republican colleagues, the nominee uttered these famous words, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” Of course the politician, Abe Lincoln, would lose that particular election but go on to bigger and better things.

To say the Republican house (both literally and figuratively) is in disarray is beyond an understatement. It is what happens when a national party sells its soul to the Devil for short-term political gain.

By embracing the Tea Party fanatics only a few years ago, the GOP is reaping what it sowed. The lunatics have taken over the asylum. The welcomed guest is about to devour its host.

By voting in radicals whose mantra was Reagan’s  “government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem;” and who believed the Federal government should be shrunk in size so it could be “drowned in a bathtub,” Republican voters are now seeing that those “fresh, new, anti-establishment” Tea Baggers they liked so much actually meant what they preached.

The United States House of Representatives, divided against itself, needs a new Speaker… but no one wants the job! It’s a dead-end; a career-ender for any ambitious politician. That is why Paul Ryan, the one person with the most support, keeps saying ‘no’ to what was once seen as a dream job. What Speaker wants to be the adult in the room with a group of spoiled children who refuse to share or compromise? Who would want to preside over such a dysfunctional mess? No thanks!

Rep. Tom Reed (R. N.Y.), a big Paul Ryan supporter and fellow member of the House Ways and Means Committee, is just one of many House members begging Ryan to become the next Speaker.

“Obviously, being a vice presidential candidate, there’s a calling to serve,” Reed said. “I think what he’s going through is making the analysis of how best can he serve the country, how best can he serve the American people. And that’s why this is a tough decision for him.”

No, Rep. Reed. Paul Ryan is not thinking of how best to serve his country or the interests of his party. He is looking out for what’s best for a young politician who has aspirations much greater than House Speaker. Even though Speaker of the House is only second in line to the presidency, his sights are set on something much higher: the Oval office.

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The Republican presidential candidate once most feared by Democrats has just about thrown in the towel. Ohio Gov. John Kasich has told his party’s fanatical religious base to go shove it. Well, he did not do so in so many words.

Speaking at a Q&A session hosted by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce earlier this week, the candidate who likes to call himself a “compassionate conservative” (now where have I heard that before?), talked about his willingness to do what he feels is right even if that puts him at odds with members of his own party.

Kasich, realizing that his chances for the nomination are slimmer than Chris Christie running a marathon up the Great Wall of China, called out his party’s base for being hypocrites. In defending his decision to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, he suggested his detractors do one simple thing: read the Bible.

It seems with a remark like that, the man just doesn’t care any more about his poll numbers, which have been on a steady decline. The NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll, out this week, shows Kasich has fallen from second place in New Hampshire (after the first presidential debate) to a tie for seventh.

You have to give the old-fashioned conservative credit. He is not afraid to antagonize his party’s conservative activists as he lectures them on the moral obligation to help the poor. In fact, be boasts about his heresies, “We also believe in early childhood education. . . . We’ve invested a ton of money in K-through-12 education. . . . I’m somebody that’s not at war with organized labor.”

Much like Jon Huntsman in his 2012 run for the Republican presidential nomination, Kasich is seen as a RINO (Republican In Name Only) by today’s rabid Republican base… just another well-spoken, experienced moderate conservative favored by the Republican intelligentsia but going nowhere fast.

When asked about his struggling campaign, Kasich said, with more than a hint of sarcasm, “some people just don’t get me.”

No, John, many people do get you. It is just your party that doesn’t. Perhaps after the inevitable comes, it may be time to switch teams. Just saying.

Photo  | johnkasich.com

“Bless me Father for I have sinned. It has been 48 years since my last confession. Oh Holy Father, I foolishly believed you secretly met with that four-time divorcee and Evangelical martyr, Kim Davis while on your visit to Washington D.C. I did believe you supported her in her efforts to deny marriage licenses to same sex couples. I thought you were cool with her disobeying the law and refusing to do the job she was elected to do. I will never doubt you again.”

The plot to undermine Pope Francis is slowly being reported by some news outlets. But it will never make the headlines or have the legs as the original bombshell of the pontiff’s “secret audience” with Mrs. Davis. To many progressives, the news came as a major disappointment and undermined all the good will generated by the pontiff during his first visit to the United States. When Kim Davis bragged about how the Pope supported her position and how that “kind of validates everything,” it was almost too much for many of the Pope’s admirers to bear.

But now we learn, through the Vatican press office, that the only one-on-one meeting the Pope had during his time in Washington, D.C. was with Yayo Grassi, an openly gay man and former student of the Pope’s. Kim Davis was just one of a group of admirers with whom the Pope exchanged kind pleasantries. The brief meeting should not be interpreted as an endorsement of her views, the press office emphasized.

Did the meeting with Davis come about because of the Pope’s request? No, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, who scheduled all of the Pope’s D.C. meetings, arranged it. The Archbishop is well known for not being a fan of the current pope but a big supporter of his more conservative predecessor, Pope Benedict.

During his U.S. visit, Pope Francis made a deliberate attempt to stay away from hot-button issues, such as abortion and same sex marriage. In fact, he did not refer to those issues in any of his speeches.. That’s what made the news of the private meeting with Davis seem so incongruous.

Was the meeting a mistake or a deliberate act by the Archbishop to embarrass the Pope?

In an effort to make it clear that the Holy See in no way endorses Kim Davis’ bigotry, the New York Times is reporting that Vigano is “likely to be removed at the first respectable opportunity” if blowback from the meeting with Davis continues to build.

“What was that, Holy Father, three “Hail Marys” and two “Our Fathers” … or the other way around?”

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Photo | gazattereview.com

The man who hates quitters, may himself be a quitter. Donald Trump told Chuck Todd, host of NBC’s “Meet The Press,” that if his poll numbers started going south, he would leave the GOP race and go back to his business.

“Number one — I’m not a masochist,” said Trump. “And if I was dropping in the polls where I thought I wasn’t gonna win, why would I continue? I’d go back to my business. I have no problem with that.”

Finally, the long awaited Trump exit strategy!

As anyone who has been following the polling will tell you, Trump’s national poll numbers are all headed in one direction: down. This was inevitable; as predictable as your Aunt Ruthie flying south to Florida every winter. The old line of “I’ll tell you what I’ll do once I’m in office … trust me, I’ll make this country great” is wearing thin for a number of Trump supporters. They are starting to see through the con. They are gravitating to candidates with real policy chops.

You can only defy political gravity for so long. Yes, there will always be a group of hardcore  Trumpites who will stick with the showman no matter what. But at perhaps 20% of Republican voters, they just aren’t enough to seal the deal for Trump. I’m going to go out on a limb here, but I believe this scenario was always his plan.

Will he run as a third party candidate? Fuggedaboutit! With all his early bluster of not ruling out a third party run, the man was doing what any good businessman would do. The guy who wrote “The Art Of The Deal” was simply using his leverage. He has not intention, nor did he ever, of making good on what was always a bargaining chip.

If Trump’s goal was to market his brand to the largest possible audience, he succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. If his goal was to bring down the early Republican frontrunner, Jeb Bush, he did so fabulously. If his goal was to entertain people normally not involved with politics and create a ratings bonanza for the media, he is a superstar!

There is no doubt Trump will milk this for all it’s worth. Only Trump will know the right time to retreat. But once the table turns against him, like any smart gambler, he will pick up his chips and cash out big time, all the while thinking, “All went according to Hoyle! Those losers!”

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Photo | nbcnews.com

For all those who believe Donald Trump is seeking the Republican presidential nomination as a joke, as I once did, we now have clear evidence to the contrary. For all those skeptical Trump watchers who think the Donald’s quest for the Republican presidential nomination is fake, I suggest you think again. For all those naysayers who believe the man is doing all this to set-up his new reality show or to promote a forthcoming book, I would like for you to consider this … Donald Trump had hands laid on him by a group of crazy Evangelicals.

Donald Trump is a self-described germaphobe. He hates handshakes. He doesn’t like being touched. He has even admitted he doesn’t like to push a ground floor elevator button because it’s been tapped by so many people!

In what can be only be described as his weirdest political stunt so far, the GOP presidential frontrunner met and prayed with about 40 “religious leaders” in his Trump Tower office last week. And he allowed the crazies to press some flesh!

If you haven’t seen the video, you owe it to yourself to watch (YouTube). The highlight comes towards the end of the performance when a Jews For Jesus rabbi (hum, I thought that’s the definition of a Christian?), lays his hand on Trumps forehead. Trump reflexively reaches to repel the fake rabbi’s hand as it is about to touch him, but pulls back at the last second. That had to be so hard.

Only a true candidate would go through such a trying and painful experience. Only someone who is in it to win would put up with what must have seemed like an eternity just to pander to what I’m sure Trump secretly believes are right-wing, religious headcases. As I watch Trump’s unease and pained facial expression, he looks to me like a man who hasn’t had a good bowel movement in quite some time.

I had to laugh at the delicious irony of listening to the “religious leaders” offer up prayers for a man who most likely has never read a biblical passage in his life! As Trump stood there, clutching a Bible, I couldn’t help but think, “This man is as much a man of God as I am the illegitimate son of the Dalai Lama.”

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