Crowley Political Report

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush issued the following statement about today's 6-3 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court upholding federal exchanges as part of the Affordable Care Act. Bush makes it clear that the issue will be part of the 2016 presidential campaign.

"I am disappointed by today’s Supreme Court ruling in the King v. Burwell case. But this decision is not the end of the fight against Obamacare.

"This fatally-flawed law imposes job-killing mandates, causes spending in Washington to skyrocket by $1.7 trillion, raises taxes by $1 trillion and drives up health care costs. Instead of fixing our health care system, it made the problems worse.

"As President of the United States, I would make fixing our broken health care system one of my top priorities. I will work with Congress to repeal and replace this flawed law with conservative reforms that empower consumers with more choices and control over their health care decisions.

"Here is what I believe: We need to put patients in charge of their own decisions and health care reform should actually lower costs. Entrepreneurs should be freed to lower costs and improve access to care – just like American ingenuity does in other sectors of the economy.

"Americans deserve leadership that can actually fix our broken health care system, and they are certainly not getting it now from Washington, DC.”

There are a lot of misconceptions about former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. In this report in Sunday's Washington Post, five myths about the 2016 Republican presidential candidate are explored.

Note: the above caricature by Crowley Political Report artist Patrick Crowley did not appear in the Washington Post. 

Now to the WaPo story.

Washington Post

By Brian E. Crowley

Brian E. Crowley is a Florida political analyst and the author of Crowley Political Report. He covered all three of Jeb Bush’s races for governor.

The nation has the chance to vote for another Bush now that Jeb has declared his candidacy for president. Though his last name is one of the most famous in the country, much of the conventional wisdom about Bush is wrong, starting with his first name. (It’s actually John, not Jeb.) Here are five other myths about the third child of George and Barbara.

1. Jeb Bush is a moderate.

“Republican vanilla” was how Henry Olsen put it in National Review. Others have described Bush’s “ ‘very conservative’ problem” (National Journal), the right’s “wary” response to his candidacy (the Boston Globe), and similarities between him and Hillary Clinton (Laura Ingraham, who said they could “run on the same ticket”). At the heart of Bush’s supposedly moderate ideology: his support for Common Core and immigration reform.

While some conservatives disagree over those two issues, almost nothing inBush’s record as governor suggests he’s a moderate. The notion puzzles Floridians who watched him govern for eight years, during which he pushed to disrupt public schools by establishing vouchers, grading schools and student performance, and creating charter schools. He reduced the size of state government, promoted tax cuts for the wealthy, passed tough-on-crime bills and bragged about helping Florida have more concealed-weapon permits than other states.

Jeb Bush is doing a series of videos that his 2016 presidential campaign is calling JebNoFilter. Here's what he said today about his worst Father's Day gift.

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush told a folks gathered at the Faith and Freedom Coalition in Washington D. C. this morning that he opposes the notion that when there is a conflict of ideas that "people of faith must yield."

"We can create a government that is the servant not the master of our destiny," said Bush.

On Monday, Bush formally entered the 2016 presidential campaign. Many evangelical conservatives in the GOP believe that Bush is too moderate to be the party's standard bearer. Bush appeared to be once again trying to assure these voters that he will fight for their interests.

"Faith is really the moral foundation of our country," Bush told the gathering. He then went on to talk about Terri Schiavo, traditional marriage, abortion, and his conversion to Catholicism.

"I stood on the side of Terri Schiavo and her parents," said Bush, who used extraordinary although ultimately unsuccessful measures to prevent her husband from allowing her feeding tube to be removed. Doctors said she was in a permanent vegetative state. 

On same sex marriage, an issue now before the U.S. Supreme Court, Bush  said , "We should not put aside those who believe in traditional marriage."

BuzzFeed listened in on a conference call with Republican media strategist Mike Murphy and super donors to Jeb Bush's super PAC, Right to Rise.

According to BuzzFeed, which admits "crashing" the call, Murphy pushed donors to keep raising money before the close of the current campaign finance period on June 30. He predicted dire consequences for Bush's rivals in the 2016 presidential campaign when they see the Bush financial report in July.

"We (will) give some heart attacks to people in July," said Murphy. "It’ll effect some of their decisions, it’ll bum out their donors, and it’ll hurt their money, which cuts off their oxygen, and frankly we want to choke ‘em all out. So, um, you’re killers — I’m gonna turn you guys loose to that mission."

Murphy tell them the PAC wants to "hit the biggest possible number" because, "we want to maximize our crushing advantage there as a sign of strength." 

The BuzzFeed story is a must read for anyone who wants a glimpse of the Bush strategy.

Take all of these early polls with a grain of salt including this one from Quinnipiac that shows Hillary Clinton ahead of Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio in Florida. 

Clinton gets 47 percent to Rubio's 44 percent. She gets 46 percent to Bush's 42 percent. Essentially tied. What the poll really means is that Florida will continue to be a state that will help determine who will be the next president.

The poll also finds:

Being honest and trustworthy is the most important quality in deciding their vote, 39 percent of Florida voters say, while 28 percent most want strong leadership qualities and 32 percent most want a candidate who cares about their needs and problems.

Voters say 50 - 34 percent that Rubio is honest and trustworthy; 52 - 33 percent that he has strong leadership qualities and 53 - 37 percent that he cares about their needs and problems.

Bush scores 52 - 36 percent on being honest, 62 - 29 percent on strong leadership and 48 - 43 percent for caring for voters' needs and problems.

Clinton is not honest, voters say 51 - 43 percent, but she is a strong leader, voters say 61 - 37 percent. She gets a divided 48 - 46 percent on caring for voters' needs and problems.

Read more poll details here.

Jeb Bush looked very much like a 62-year old white guy giving it his best to play with the cool kids  - and in an odd way he pulls it off during his appearance on Jimmy Fallon.

A number of interesting double entendres here. Plus Bush gets a chance to break into Spanish.

Nicolle Wallace, a member of The View cast, and a frequent guest on Morning Joe, started fanning herself as she described Jeb Bush as "hot" when he speaks Spanish.

Wallace worked for Jeb before moving to his brother's White House press shop. She later was a key figure on the McCain/Palin presidential campaign. In fact, she was portrayed in the HBO movie Game Change for her frequently clashes with the ill-prepared, tough-to-train Palin.

Nicolle, a friend of Crowley Political Report, is also a best selling author.

Here's what she said about Jeb Bush's hotness:

We will be posting text of Jeb's speech shortly.

Update6: Jeb kisses his mother and takes the stage.

Update5: State Sen. Don Gaetz, in a chamber  still in special session because Legislature could not complete state budget on time, is talking about leadership. 

"The education system he created is one of the best....he faced down the unions and lifted up the children."

Now another campaign video.

Update4:  Jeb's son, George P, the Texas Land Commissioner is now speaking. "My dad taught us about faith in God....after awhile he decided to convert and become a member of the Catholic Church."

"My Dad knows who he is. He knows what he believes."

 "No matter where I go, no matter what I do, he loves me no questions asked."

Update3: Bush's former LG, Toni Jennings, speaking. She talks about Bush's BHAGs, (Big Hairy Audacious Goals), changing education and taking on the bureaucracy. "I saw that his commitment was constant and he worked hard at it every day."

"He never backs away from an issue."

 Update2: Berthy De La Rosa-Aponte gives a passionate speech about how Jeb Bush helped her family. "With Jeb Bush in the White House we are going to have a leader who will serve all Americans"

Update 1: We've had the music. We've had the singing of the national anthem. We've had the prayer. We've had the first speech.  We are now having a Bush campaign video featuring people who been helped by Jeb Bush policies.

Hundreds of Jeb Bush supporters cheered when the 2016 presidential candidates mother, former First Lady Barbara Bush, entered the gymnasium at Miami Dade College. Mrs. Bush famously said last year that the nation has had enough of the Bush family and someone else should run for president.

She has since changed her mind.

Others attending are former Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, current Attorney General Pam Bondi, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, former U.S. Senator Mel Martinez., and former United Nations Ambassador Mark Wallace.

More from Miami Dade College as it happens. You can also follow us on Twitter @crowleyreport. 

In a few hours, Jeb Bush will be giving his first speech as an official candidate for the 2016 presidential campaign. Not surprising, fellow Florida candidate Marco Rubio already has a statement about Bush's announcement.

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush quickly gets on the road after the formal announcement of his 2016 presidential campaign on Monday.  

Here is your first look at tomorrow's announcement of Jeb Bush's 2016 presidential campaign. Crowley Political Report tried to get a closer look....but a Jeb! volunteer had a ! reaction to our attempt to enter the Miami Dade College gym to peek at the preparations.

 A few moments ago, the Jeb Bush 2016 presidential campaign released a new video and a new, but familiar logo for the campaign.  The "Make a Difference" release and video is the firing of the starting gun for Bush's bid to become the third member of his family to occupy the White House. Bush makes his formal announcement tomorrow in Miami. Crowley Political Report with be there.

PRE-ANNOUNCEMENT VIDEO “MAKING A DIFFERENCE” INTRODUCES JEB BUSH TO THE NATION

Miami, FL - Today, Governor Bush released a new web video, “Making a Difference,” introducing himself to the nation ahead of his announcement on Monday. The video highlights the impact Jeb Bush had on the lives of countless Floridians as Governor of Florida.  

 Drawing on first person accounts, the video tells the story of someone who cares deeply about helping people and getting results that allow everyone the opportunity to achieve their dreams.

 “Making A Difference” shows that Jeb Bush knows how to fix the problems facing Americans, because he’s done it. 

 “He really cares about us. He really cares about people with developmental disabilities, and with all disabilities. There are people today that are getting services because of what Jeb did,” said Berthy De La Rosa-Aponte.

 Kim Donatelle echoed Aponte’s sentiment, “I think Governor Bush changed a lot of lives in Florida. I am very grateful that he was our Governor.”

 "I said I was going to do these things and I did them, and the result was Florida is a lot better off," says Governor Bush in the video. Leadership is not about "yapping about things…what we need is new leadership that takes conservative principles and applies them so that people can rise up.”

Transcript: 

Denisha Merriweather (Jacksonville, FL): My mom, my brother, and my uncle all dropped out of school, by the time I was in the third grade I had failed twice.

Miguel Manrara (Miramar, FL): My first job was picking up garbage and cardboard so I could have some money to feed, to help feed my family, my mother, my father.

One thing you have to credit Marco Rubio campaign team is for its speed. Shortly after Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton spoke today, the Republican candidate had this video in response. 

Let's note that while it is a direct shot at Clinton, you could argue that Republican Jeb Bush gets hit by the ricochet.

 We get a hint of what the start of Jeb Bush's presidential campaign will look like from this video the former Florida governor launched today.

Note that the ad is dubbed Today and Tomorrow. It certainly suggests that Bush is not about to cede any ground to fellow Florida Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio. 

Rubio has sharply divided the race between old-hands, who he is portraying as out-of-touch with the 21st Century, and the younger generation of politicians who Rubio claims are better prepared to deal with life's new realities.

In Bush's campaign video, coming just ahead of his formal campaign announcement on Monday, he is shown campaigning in Iowa and New Hampshire. Oops, not campaigning - exploring. He quickly shifts to a wedding photo of Bush and his wife Columba.

He than brags about his achievements as Florida's governor before switching to a brief look at the future.

No we're talking about the Oak Ridge Boys who often serenaded Jeb Bush supporters with "Elvira." It would not be surprising to find them on stage Monday as the former Florida governor launches his 2016 presidential campaign.

The real question is - will the Bush campaign bring back !

Yup, the exclamation point. It was a staple of Bush's earlier campaigns.

Jeb!

So Crowley Political Report reached out to a well-placed Bush source with perhaps the most important question of the campaign - is the ! back?

These are not the kinds of things that a campaign takes lightly. We're already seen a misstep with the reaching hand of Bush's Right to Rise PAC. Odd looking, easily made fun of, and not very presidential the image has been dismissed as a hand groping for dollars.

So one can only imagine the discussions over the !

Keep it? Drop it? Add more? Jeb!!!!!!

Is it back?

Yes. Jeb is not Jeb with !

If you looks at the photo below, you might conclude that after the 1994 appearance of Jeb!, Lamar Alexander swiped it for his 1996 race for president. 

Let's just note that Mike Murphy is a top consultant for both Bush and Alexander.

We're fairly confident that Bush will not make plaid a signature of his campaign.

Of course, we still don't know if Bush will use this as his campaign theme song.

Jeb Bush, who will formally announce his campaign for president on June 15, has named Danny Diaz to be his campaign manager, according to the Wall Street Journal.

From WSJ reporter Beth ReinHard:

Danny Diaz, a 39-year-old Washington, D.C., native who has worked for the past three Republican presidential nominees, will serve as campaign manager of Jeb Bush's anticipated presidential campaign.

Mr. Diaz is a founding partner of FP1 Strategies, a public affairs and advertising firm, and has been advising the Bush effort. The son of Spanish immigrants most recently worked for newly elected Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez two states with large Hispanic populations that will be key to the GOP winning the White House. Mr. Diaz was a senior adviser to Mr. Romney’s campaign, deputy communications director for 2008 nominee John McCain and southwest regional press secretary for former President George W. Bush’s 2004 re-election.

Read more of Reinhard's report here.

From Diaz's bio on his company's website:

Danny Diaz is a founding partner at FP1 Strategies LLC, a public affairs, media relations, digital communications and advertising firm specializing in project management, strategic planning, message development and advertising for political and issue-based campaigns.

Diaz has worked at the highest levels in national political campaigns helping Republican candidates win congressional, senatorial, gubernatorial and presidential races.  He also serves as a strategist and consultant on various public affairs initiatives addressing a host of issues, including transportation, health care, retail and education.

Diaz most recently served as the general consultant in Arizona Governor Doug Ducey’s general election campaign, as well as once again serving as a senior advisor to New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez.  Previously, he was a senior consultant to Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli in his campaign for Virginia governor.  During the most recent presidential cycle, Diaz served as a senior advisor to Governor Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign.

In 2010, Diaz worked as a lead consultant on two of the most closely watched races in the country, Mark Kirk for U.S. Senate and Susana Martinez for Governor.  Martinez became the first Hispanic woman elected governor in both New Mexico and American history.

In 2008, Diaz was the communications director of the Republican National Committee (RNC).  As such, he managed the national party’s press, research and e-campaign operations, including specialty, regional, broadcast and online media.

Prior to that, Diaz served as deputy communications director for John McCain 2008 and deputy communications director at the RNC.  He played a key role in developing and implementing the strategic media plan to advance the nominations of John Roberts and Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court, in addition to managing the committee’s independent expenditure program and anti-vote fraud efforts.

In 2004, Diaz served as southwest regional press secretary for Bush-Cheney ’04 and was a member of the campaign’s National Hispanic Working Group.

A native of Washington, D.C., Diaz graduated from George Mason University and resides in Vienna, Virginia with his wife, three daughters and son.

 With a thanks to SaintPetersBlog which first reported this....Jeb Bush will launch his bid for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination with a rapid series of fundraisers. That is in addition to campaign trips to key primary states.

His fundraising push continues to be impressive. See below.

Volunteer Fundraiser Information Packet

Let's start with the premise that the fact that Florida Senator Marco Rubio got a handful of traffic tickets over nearly 20 years is not a big deal. And the fact that his wife got quite a few more, well, who cares? 

Still, that is one of the big stories in today's New York Times.

Perhaps more interesting, however, is the media squabble that is unfolding with the Washington Free Beacon reporting that the New York Times got its traffic ticket story from Democratic research firm American Bridge.

The Beacon reports: Records show that each of the citations mentioned by the New York Times were pulled in person by American Bridge operatives on May 26, 2015. . . .Neither of the reporters, Alan Rappeport and Steve Eder, appeared on the docket records for any of the traffic citations for Rubio and his wife. An additional researcher credited in the New York Times, Kitty Bennett, also does not appear on any of the court records.

Note the word "operatives." Makes it all sound very shady. 

Frankly, it is more surprising that the Times needed two reporters and a researcher to work on a simple traffic ticket story.

Here's a snippet from the Times story:

According to a search of the Miami-Dade and Duval County court dockets, the Rubios have been cited for numerous infractions over the years for incidents that included speeding, driving through red lights and careless driving. A review of records dating back to 1997 shows that the couple had a combined 17 citations: Mr. Rubio with four and his wife with 13. On four separate occasions they agreed to attend remedial driving school after a violation.

Now there is nothing at all unusual about reporters being fed information from outside groups. Happens every day. What the Beacon is doing is trying to make the Times appear to be working with Democrats. Of course this ignores the fact that when Republican leaning groups give the Times similar information against a Democrat it would also be published. 

What really seems odd is that the traffic ticket story seems silly and may actually help Rubio's presidential campaign. This just helps him with his "I'm just one of you" image that he is cultivating. 

Read the Times story and the Beacon story here and tell readers what you think.