Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush said today that both Ronald Reagan and his father George H. W. Bush would have had a difficult time getting nominated by today's ultra-conservative Republican Party.
"Ronald Reagan would have, based on his record of finding accommodation, finding some degree of common ground, as would my dad â they would have a hard time if you define the Republican party â and I donât â as having an orthodoxy that doesnât allow for disagreement, doesnât allow for finding some common ground," Bush said, adding that he views the hyper-partisan moment as "temporary."
"Back to my dadâs time and Ronald Reaganâs time â they got a lot of stuff done with a lot of bipartisan suport," he said. Reagan "would be criticized for doing the things that he did."
Bush cited, in particular, "the budget deal my dad did, with bipartisan support â at least for a while â that created the spending restraint of the â90s," a reference to a move widely viewed now as a political disaster for Bush, breaking a pledge against tax increases and infuriating conservatives. It was, Bush said, "helpful in creating a climate of more sustainted economic growth."
"Politically it clearly didn't work out â he was a one term president," his son said.
Bush called the present partisan climate "disturbing."
http://www.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeedpolitics/jeb-bush-no-place-for-father-reagan-in-today39
"Ronald Reagan would have, based on his record of finding accommodation, finding some degree of common ground, as would my dad â they would have a hard time if you define the Republican party â and I donât â as having an orthodoxy that doesnât allow for disagreement, doesnât allow for finding some common ground," Bush said, adding that he views the hyper-partisan moment as "temporary."
"Back to my dadâs time and Ronald Reaganâs time â they got a lot of stuff done with a lot of bipartisan suport," he said. Reagan "would be criticized for doing the things that he did."
Bush cited, in particular, "the budget deal my dad did, with bipartisan support â at least for a while â that created the spending restraint of the â90s," a reference to a move widely viewed now as a political disaster for Bush, breaking a pledge against tax increases and infuriating conservatives. It was, Bush said, "helpful in creating a climate of more sustainted economic growth."
"Politically it clearly didn't work out â he was a one term president," his son said.
Bush called the present partisan climate "disturbing."
http://www.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeedpolitics/jeb-bush-no-place-for-father-reagan-in-today39