RINO Jeb Bush Thinks Poverty Might Be Part Of Baltimore's Problem, As If

As this emotionally fraught week draws to a close in Baltimore, we must come together as a nation, as Americans, to honor the true victims of the unrest that has rattled the city. Along with the National Guardsmen who could have gotten tennis elbow from carrying all their free food and the politicians who were briefly alarmed while passing through on the train, we should bow our heads to honor the memory of Jeb Bush's dearly departed Republicanism .

He might continue saying he's a member of the GOP, but King RINO's inexcusable display of Baltimore-inspired nanny statism will get him booted from the conservative clubhouse for sure. Beltway public-service journal THE POLITICO presents Jeb's Follies, Maryland Edition:

"A young man died and that's a tragedy for his family," Bush said about 25-year-old Freddie Gray, who died last week after suffering severe injuries while in police custody. "This is not just a statistic; this is a person who died."

Good start! Excellent use of the word "family," since single orphans are less sympathetic, and smart to say he "died" without mentioning the police who probably deaded him by spine-snapping . But then Jeb starts to go off the rails by implying some of the problems facing residents of Baltimore might not be of their own making.

He also addressed the underlying roots of anger in some dominantly black communities by pivoting to a conservative platform – welfare and education reform, mainly – that might start to change "the pathologies being built around people who are poor, that they're going to stay poor."

Wait. Is he expressing doubt that people "stay poor" just because the government grudgingly deigns to save them from starvation? Sensing the ledge crumbling under the weight of his human empathy, the former governor tried to scramble back to firmer ground.

"How do you create a system of support that doesn’t create dependency? That’s got to be where the federal government plays a role," Bush said during a conversation with [Sarah Palin Starburst Syndrome survivor] Rich Lowry.

Oh Jeb. The place to break out your compassionate conservatism spiel is in the general election, that idyllic land in which "moderate" and "independent" voters dwell. None of those mythical creatures are to be found in the fetid GOP primary swamp you must first cross, where only barnacled toads can survive.

As long as he'd already double-flushed his chances of clamoring onto the 2016 ticket, Jeb decided to go for broke and bring up the thing the conservative base hates the most about him.

Bush on Thursday touted the education reforms he oversaw as Florida’s governor, arguing that expanding school choice is one way to improve opportunities for at-risk children.

"Baltimore is not a model for public education," Bush said. "You want to see that, go to Florida."

Yes, be sure to remind them that you did not join their bloody battle against Common Core standards , since they might have forgotten your plan to frog-march America's schoolchildren into government math camps. Even a mile-high pile of discount coupons for private schools cannot wipe the stink of Common Core's federal effluvia off your shoe.

Jeb, you've had a good time traveling around and playing candidate, but the Republican party of today has no room for squishes. Time to get a job straightening copies of My Pet Goat in the gift shop of your brother's presidential library , where they won't even mind if you watch the primary debates wistfully on your phone.

[ POLITICO ]

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