The nightmare started in July of 1980 at the GOP convention in Detroit. After negotiations with former President Gerald Ford for a coequal ticket failed, the party’s nominee, Ronald Reagan, turned to his vanquished competitor to unite the party. He chose George H.W. Bush as his running-mate; the rest is history.
Reagan was a principled conservative, an excellent communicator, and a generation leader. His two terms were highly successful, and he left office with high approval ratings and eight years of impressive accomplishments.
He was so popular that his bland and uninspiring Vice President was elected in 1988 as a third Reagan term. Yet, Bush was nothing like Ronald Reagan. He believed in a “new world order,” military adventurism, and raising taxes.
Bush was also an elitist who cared little for average Americans. His indifference was on perfect display in the 1992 presidential debate when he was caught looking at his watch, wondering when the “insufferable” questioning would end.
It eventually ended with his defeat to Bill Clinton in the presidential election. As he retired, it was time for his eldest son, George W. Bush, to assume the family business and climb the political ladder. Bush was elected Governor of Texas in 1994 and then barely won the presidency in 2000.
Like his father, Bush was a “moderate” Republican who masqueraded as a “compassionate conservative.” He also believed in military adventurism and started two wars, ballooned the government by creating the Department of Homeland Security, and stripped away the rights of Americans with the “Patriot Act.”
He wanted to grant amnesty to millions of illegal aliens but was stopped by an outpouring of opposition from conservative groups. In the 2006 midterm election, his unpopular presidency ushered into power the Democrats in both chambers of Congress. He ended his second term by turning over the White House to Barack Obama, a radical who pretended to believe in “hope and change.”
Americans can thank George W. Bush for the disastrous Obama presidency. Thus, it was amazing that so many pundits thought his “low energy” brother, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, would win the 2016 GOP presidential nomination. In fact, he might have been victorious if not for the most unusual of candidates, businessman and TV star Donald Trump.
Trump ran on an “America First” platform and “building the wall.” He courageously declared his opposition to the war in Iraq and wanted to focus on rebuilding the economy of the United States. He struck a chord with the American people and shocked the political world by winning the presidency in the 2016 election.
The Bush wing of the Republican Party never forgave Trump for winning and embarrassing “low energy” Jeb. Their supporters became part of the disgraceful “Never Trump” movement and worked fervently to support the “Russia collusion” witch hunt and all the other unhinged attempts to stop Trump.
A major supporter of these efforts was U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT), who despises Trump. Romney championed the impeachment hoaxes against Trump and was constantly in the media bashing the President.
Yet, his anti-Trump agenda became increasingly unpopular back home in Utah. After seeing disastrous poll results, Romney declared this week that he would not run for re-election in 2024. He used the retirement announcement as an opportunity to disparage Trump and his supporters. He claimed that he represented the “wise wing” of the Republican Party.
Thankfully, it was a disastrous week for the “wise wing” of the GOP. Not only did they lose Romney, but they also lost in their attempt to impeach a strong Trump supporter, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The entire effort was a sham, much like the impeachments of President Trump.
Behind the scenes, the person leading the Paxton impeachment campaign was George P. Bush, Jeb’s son and the nephew of the former President. He had poorly lost to Paxton in the last election for Attorney General and was trying to oust his opponent through impeachment since he could not do it in the election.
Fortunately, on Saturday, the Texas State Senate acquitted Paxton on all sixteen charges. In his address to Texas State Senators, Paxton’s attorney, Tony Buzbee, declared that Paxton’s opponents “did not have anything.”
He said all the so-called whistleblowers against Paxton hired an attorney who was a “protégé of the Bush regime.” As he concluded his comments, Buzbee announced emphatically, “The Bush-era ends today.”
By acquitting Paxton and returning one of the best Attorney Generals in the country to his position, Texas State Senators finally ended a regime that had a disastrous reign of influence over the Republican Party, the state of Texas, and the country for over four decades.
It was an era marked by failure for the Republican Party and the country. Fortunately, the future for the Republican Party looks much brighter under the leadership of President Trump.
His wing of the GOP, the Make America Great Again (MAGA) supporters, has our country's interests at heart. Romney does not consider them “wise,” but they are undoubtedly smart.
The latest polls show President Trump with an astronomical lead over his competitors for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. In the new Quinnipiac poll, Trump registers 62% support, a lead of 50% over Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who continues to fade.
While the Republican “Never Trumpers,” the mainstream news media, the Department of Justice, and the rest of the Deep State are working overtime to stop a second Trump term, the American people have other ideas. In the latest Reuters poll, Trump leads President Joe Biden 41-35% in the seven crucial swing states.
It took Ronald Reagan years of struggle to take control of the Republican Party. Similarly, it has not been easy for President Trump. However, Americans are beginning to understand the reprehensible ways Trump and his supporters, like Paxton, have been attacked.
It is starting to backfire on these powerful kingmakers, which is beautiful to watch.
Jeff Crouere is a native New Orleanian, and his award-winning program, “Ringside Politics,” airs Saturdays from Noon until 1 p.m. CT nationally on Real America's Voice TV Network & AmericasVoice.News and weekdays from 7-11 a.m. CT on WGSO 990-AM & Wgso.com. He is a political columnist, the author of America's Last Chance, and provides regular commentaries on the Jeff Crouere YouTube channel and on Crouere.net. For more information, email him at jcrouere@gmail.com