Jeb questions crowning Crist from Washington, but encourages similar treatment for McCollum
by Michael C. Bender | September 21st, 2009
Marco Rubio greets then-Gov. Jeb Bush on his way to being sworn in as House speaker in 2006. (AP Photo)
Former Gov. Jeb Bush weighed in Friday on the Republican primary battle between Gov. Charlie Crist and former House Speaker Marco Rubio, saying national party leaders should let the two hammer it out with voters.
“The idea that the national party would pick a winner a year and a half before an election is the wrong way to go.”
But Bush either really likes Rubio in this race or he doesn’t care about the apparent contraction he made in the same speech by encouraging a similar crowning of Bill McCollum’s gubernatorial campaign. The attorney general became the front-runner for the party’s nomination after a slew of GOP heavies signed on this summer and drove off potential challengers, such as Agricultural Commissioner Charles Bronson.
Bush praised Republican candidate for governor Bill McCollum as a person “who I think is a fantastic guy and is worthy of your support.”
Original reporting of Bush’s speech can be found here from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Tags: Charlie Crist, Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Republicans
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September 21st, 2009 at 8:04 pm
Jeb is and always has been a hypocrite.
September 22nd, 2009 at 9:12 am
Obviously Jeb is the most powerful political voice in the State of Florida. Question is, why didn’t Jeb say this six months ago when it might have made a difference. The horse is out of the barn. Unless JEB comes out with an actual endorsement of Rubio, Marco and his band of upset local party members in each county, are on their own.
September 23rd, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Video: Marco Rubio: 7 Days to Go. http://bit.ly/2Ow59U
September 29th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
It (at least) appeared that, still powerful, Jeb Bush recently showed a bit of favoritism for Marco Rubio over Charley Christ.
Jeb Bush remains a riveting force with both Parties in Florida politics. This seeming ‘King-like’ persona comes about of a personal nature quite basic to Jeb Bush’s character.
He is very sincerely a Man of the People – it radiates to anyone whom he engages in personal conversations. This was not a jewel in the character for the Senior George Bush, but occasional glimpses of this grace did manage to slip through the bent claws of Syndicate-Media stories on his older brother G.W. Bush.
Jeb Bush’s favoritism – ‘conscious’ or unconscious’ – for one over the other of the two candidates reveals to me that Jeb Bush knows something of the deeper characters within these two men. Is Jeb’s question thought to be? Which one will make the ‘better Party politician’? I personally expect that Jeb Bush asked himself – which of these two politicians would I want representing ‘me’, my family, my State, or my Nation.
Personally, I do not know of anything outstanding about former State House Speaker Marco Rubio. (That can be Good or bad
– The Florida County that my family has called home for now forty years does have an outstanding issue with Governor Christ!
Glades County lies at the center of south Florida. One hour from the Palm Beach east coast and one hour from Ft. Myers on the west coast. “Who could decry living in the middle of a regional economy like this”!
Shocking – but true. Glades county has fallen to one of the poorest (3) countywide economies, (among Florida’s (67) counties), for (40) uninterrupted years. The counties decline suffered a landmark economic collapse in nineteen seventy-eight and has never recovered in spite of exhaustive local efforts to revitalize it.
In two thousand six, for the first time in over a generation, a ray of economic hope lit Glades County. Energy giant Florida Power and Light, FPL site selection group picked Glades County as a logistically prime located for a south Florida ‘Regional’ electric energy production facility, (which had been seriously called for, for over a decade).
Local landowner Lykes Bros. Corp. in negotiation with FPL quickly agreed on an optimal 5,000 acre site; our costal neighboring counties were pleased because they did not want this power plant in “their backyard” – the Florida Public Service Commission had given their tacit nod of approval to FPL plans – all seemed ‘good to go’ awaiting only the (new) governors signature of approval – and there the ax of death fell.
Governor Charley Christ; without so much as a visit – no discussion – not even a phone call – killed this small counties hope for resurrecting its economy and gaining the chance to get-off Florida welfare roles; requiring other county taxpayers to continue subsidizing our services and needs.
The inside accounts that followed this appalling rejection; disclosing Governor Christ’s unexplained cold, brutal affront, – if only partially true – is too spitefully noxious to repeat here. Sadly, this was a man lusting for a kingdom, that had NO cloths… and so our economic struggle continues for our rural county.