Why Jeb Bush should run for the U.S. Senate
04/26/2012
We are approaching Jeb Bush’s tenth anniversary. When the ballots are completed this summer, Bush’s name will not be on them. The last time Bush was on the ballot was 2002, when he won his second term as governor.
Ten years.
While some folks still believe there is a Bush Florida political machine -they are mistaken. A political machine requires candidates and campaigns to thrive. Bush's folks have long moved on to other candidates and campaigns.
Florida's former governor certainly has not disappeared. He travels the country preaching his gospel of education reform which can be reduced to - public education does not work, let's give private enterprise (charter schools) a crack at it.
Bush also campaigns for other candidates and offers his endorsement - sometimes belatedly such as giving Mitt Romney the nod after the nomination was all but wrapped up. Candidates like adding his name to their list but the value of his endorsement is diminishing.
That's what happens when you have stayed off the ballot for 10 years.
And there was this hint - a wistful moment perhaps - when Bush said he might just take a call from Romney if he was offered the Veep job. Bush quickly pulled back - but it left some folks wondering if he is not as content traveling the country for speaking fees as he would be if his name were back on the ballot.
Bush has never been interested in running for president. He will not run for president in the future. No one who knows him well has ever believed he wants the job.
No one has ever believed he would be interested in the U.S. Senate. He should be.
It has been more than five years since Bush has held office. His influence on Florida politics is, at best, negligible. His impact on the national scene is limited largely to education issues but his voice is one of many.
As a U.S. Senator, Bush would again be able to reclaim the mantle of Florida's political leader. He would quickly grab the national stage. Talk of him as a future candidate for president would escalate (although he still will not run).
If Bush cares about the Republican Party, he owes it to the GOP to run. The party needs Florida's seat to help it take control of the Senate. Many Florida Republicans are pessimistic that either Connie Mack or George LeMieux will be able to defeat incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson.
The two GOP candidates are confronted with a dismal reality - Nelson has more than $9.5 million in the bank - nearly eight times what Mack and LeMieux each have in the bank - and they have to spend their money running against each other.
So the GOP nominee will enter the fall campaign broke. And Nelson is still raising money. The only Floridian who can change that equation is Bush.
If Bush chooses to sit out this election, one could mark 2012 as the end of the Bush era in Florida. There are lots of former governors and senators traveling the nation vying for attention. Most are politely received but politics is a brutal sport - once you are gone, you are gone.
Preaching from the sidelines quickly loses its impact.
Of course there's always television. Presidential nominee Bob Dole wound up pitching Viagra. Former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson (and short-lived presidential candidate) pitches reverse mortgages. Newt Gingrich could be next.
Many thanks. Of course I benefited from having you as my editor...
Posted by: Brian E. Crowley | 05/07/2012 at 03:19 PM
Insightful, as always. Will never forget your story about drinking scotch (I think that was the choice) in the hotel hallway with Jeb after he lost to Lawton.
Posted by: Price Patton | 04/26/2012 at 09:39 PM