(Editors warning: There may be moderate to heavy amounts of sarcasm in the following article… Judge for yourself.)
Jeb Bush’s announcement that he’s going to “actively explore” a White House run offers me the incredible opportunity to be considered for the position of his chief political advisor. Just because there is a whole mess of better-qualified individuals doesn’t mean one cannot pursue a job they’ve long wanted.
I absolutely loved that he made his intentions known on Facebook. Since his last election win was 18 months before Facebook was launched, this shows sensitivity to the GOP’s social media weakness, especially when compared to the Democrats.
Obviously, initial support for Bush will be unlikely to come from tea party-types or conservatives. But they’ll jump on board after he wins the primary. I’ll advise him that he should certainly acknowledge their importance, but refrain from keeping their influence from becoming significant. They’ll show up to vote on Election Day, as they always do.
Going for the moderate voter with moderate positions will obviously be the theme of Bush 2016 campaign. The positions for which he is a well-known moderate – enthusiastic support of nationalized education curriculum via Common Core and amnesty for illegals – are fairly controversial, so I’ll advise him to not put them at the tippy top of his speech-topics list.
Understanding the current political appetite of the country and the major issues that are of significant import to Americans, these are the key items I’ll suggest he repeatedly emphasize in an effort to get hired by his team:
Call for an increase in the minimum wage. It’s time to put the “Republicans don’t care about workers” narrative to rest. Look at the political success similar programs have had in Seattle, San Francisco, and elsewhere. In most cases, supporters of raising the minimum wage get elected (or even better yet, reelected!).
Call for an effective fix of the Affordable Care Act. Polls show that people like getting coverage. They also show that reducing the price of healthcare is incredibly popular as well. The ACA is intended to do both, so just focus on those areas that need some adjustment. The GOP members calling for defunding or dismantling it altogether are on the extreme fringes of the country and you’ll want to distance yourself from them.
Call for a reasonable evaluation of federal spending priorities. Politicians that demand budget cuts get put into awful campaign ads. You don’t want to be in an awful campaign ad. And every single voter can agree with on a “reasonable evaluation” because that basically means they’ll understand that the other guy’s favorite program is the one that’ll get whacked.
Call for bi-partisan cooperation. It’s time to end conflict and intra-party squabbling in Washington. We all want the same things and it’s time for all of us to come together. Part of this will be to create a list of blue-ribbon panels that will focus on specific problems. Catchy names are good, think “Gang of 8” or something, but the optics of a handful of leaders, actively working out the details for everyone else in America, are so perfect.
Call for more women and minorities in government and in business. In today’s America, the tally means more than the talent and it’s time the GOP recognized that. ‘Nuff said.
As I put my portfolio together to present to the Bush 2016 team, I’d be interested in a critique of this list, so don’t hesitate to let me know of any needed fine-tuning. There may also be a couple more things to add to the list, as well. Please let me know.