Jeb Bush on Wednesday introduced the core principles of an economic platform that could become the central tenant of an eventual presidential campaign.
In a speech to the Detroit Economic Club, the former Florida governor tapped into the struggles of “too many Americans (who) live on the edge of economic ruin,” debuting what Bush dubbed a “new vision” to create more economic opportunity in the U.S. and give Americans “the right to rise.”
“The recovery has been everywhere but in American paychecks. The American Dream has become a mirage for far too many. So the central question we face here in Detroit and across America is this: Can we restore that dream — that moral promise — that each generation can do better?” Bush said Wednesday in the financially faltering city of Detroit. “We believe that every American and in every community has a right to pursue happiness. They have a right to rise.”
Bush played off those words throughout the speech — he said “right to rise” at least four times on Wednesday — as he harped on a theme he unveiled when he announced his potential candidacy in December and established a PAC by the same name: The Right to Rise PAC.
Bush opened up his remarks by recognizing and embracing his family name, which could burden an eventual candidacy.
Bush said he loved both presidents “41 and 43,” his father and brother, even if “that’s pretty hard for the political world to accept.”
I’s no coincidence that Bush delivered his maiden 2016 policy speech not in the first caucus state of Iowa or in the first primary state of New Hampshire, but here in one of the most notoriously economically troubled cities in the nation.
The deliberate move is telling of the emerging Bush campaign strategy, and Bush sources tell CNN that the location will send as much of a message as the words he will utter: that he wants to try to be a different kind of GOP presidential candidate.
But Bush also used Detroit to highlight the failure of Democratic policies, calling it an example of “decades: of big government politics and “chronic mismanagement.”
“The troubles of Detroit are echoes of the troubles facing Washington, D.C.,” Bush said.
The theme also offers a stark contrast with the picture of economic recovery Democrats have painted, just weeks after President Barack Obama told Americans in his State of the Union Address touted the country’s economic resurgence during his time in office.
Instead, Bush focused on the shortfalls of the recovery, pointing to lagging median incomes, the record number of Americans living on food stamps and the struggles of ordinary Americans who are “living paycheck to paycheck.”
The solution for Bush is to break from the “Washington, D.C. solution” and embrace conservative reforms.
“Let’s embrace reform everywhere, especially in our government. Let’s start with the simple principle of who holds the power. I say give Washington less and give states and local governments more,” Bush said.
“There is income inequality in this country and with conservative ideas people can start to do better,” said one source familiar with Bush’s speech. “There can be growth for everyone, not just those already doing great.”
When George W. Bush ran for president in 2000, he ran as a “compassionate conservative.”
Jeb Bush is trying to test the idea of “reform conservatism,” according to aides.
And that new type of conservatism and its link to his brother’s “compassionate conservatism” was clear when Bush defended the millions of Americans struggling financially.
Bush said those Americans are not held back by a “lack of ambition” or “hope” and “not because they’re lazy or see themselves as victims.”
That remark draws a quick contrast between Bush and the former Republican nominee Mitt Romney, whose candidacy took a hit after a video of him surfaced in which he called out 47% of Americans “who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims.”
Indeed, Bush affirmed that the economic proposals he will unveil in the coming months are “rooted in conservative principles” and he issued a rallying call in his speech to “deliver real conservative success.”
“And you know what will happen? We’ll create a whole lot of new conservatives,” Bush will say according to excerpts.
Bush hoped to use the speech to introduce a key element of any campaign — that the party must be as clear on what they are for as what they are against.
Aides cautioned Bush would not be unveiling a specific policy platform. They said it would be more general, that he wants to begin to lay out a “positive” and “hopeful” vision for the country, especially the middle class.
Detroit was an appealing place to begin the discussion, aides say, because it is was so left behind even in any recent national economic booms. He will talk about entrepreneurship going on there now and the lessons of Detroit’s troubles and some of its turnaround.
Detroit’s dire straits became a flashpoint in the 2008 campaign when GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney wrote a New York Times op-ed arguing against bailing out car companies here, warning it would be so destructive, “You can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye.”
Democrats pounced, slamming Romney for wanting to let Detroit go bankrupt, which was the headline of his op-ed, despite the fact that he never called for that in his piece. In fact, Romney argued for what effectively was a managed bankruptcy, which in practical terms was exactly what the government did — with much success.
The political fallout from the flap followed him through his 2012 campaign and helped feed the narrative of Romney as a callous businessman and helped sink his bid.
Bush’s event was the first in a series of speeches he will give over the next several months as he introduces his ideas to a national audience.
Aides say he is in an unusual position because people know who he is but, outside of his home state of Florida, not so much what he is about.
Over the past two months or so he has been expressing his ideas to the GOP donor class in private meetings around the country as he began to court people who would help fund a presidential run.
Now he is beginning to test his message on the public.