Leadership Assessment of Jeb Bush

By Dale Weckbacher

Josh 1:7-8

7 Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.

NKJV

Joshua is about to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land.  The above verse is Gods pep talk to him before crossing the Jordan into the Promised Land.  However, God does not tell Joshua to be courageous in battle but to be courageous in his observation of God’s laws.  God is emphasizing the importance of leaders courageously holding onto their values when leading and as Joshua would find out, if he remained obedient, God would bring about victory.  We see this played out in the conquest of Jericho where their obedience caused the walls of defense for the city to fall under the power of God enabling the soldiers to simply walk in and conquer the land (Joshua 6:1-27). 

In today’s world, Joshua would not be considered a moderate for, even though he made mistakes, he ultimately learned the importance of obedience to God’s law.  Under Joshua’s courageous and principled leadership, the Israelites were able to occupy the Promised Land.  We need a leader like Joshua to lead our nation today but is Jeb Bush such a courageous principled leader? 

The Bush family is hardly an unknown in the world of politics so Jeb Bush has little to do in order to have name recognition should he decide to run for President.  However, having name recognition can be a double-edged sword bringing both positive and negative baggage.  This is why just having a certain last name or a relationship to someone of power does not guarantee one success.  True and lasting success comes as one learns to stand upon their own God given abilities. 

Most everyone is aware that Jeb Bush is the son of the 41^st President and brother of the 43^rd President of the United States.  Jeb Bush was raised around politics and demonstrated an early interest in public service by choosing to go to Mexico to teach English while on an exchange program in high school.  After high school, he went on to the University of Texas and earned a degree in Latin American affairs.  (1) 

Perhaps it is his degree and interest in Latin American affairs that explains his recent obsession with granting some form of amnesty to those in our country illegally from Mexico and other Latin American countries.  Granted, Latin American affairs may be something of interest to Jeb Bush but in order to win election to the Presidency of the United States, he must appeal to a majority of voters.  Granted, it is possible to win election to the Presidency without a majority as Jeb Bush’s brother did in 2000 but we know that haunted George W. Bush for his entire presidency. 

Jeb Bush’s first government post was serving as Secretary of Commerce in Florida.  He first ran for elected office in 1994 when he ran for governor of Florida but lost by a slim margin.  However, he ran for governor again in 1998, and won.  He then won reelection in 2002.  As governor, worked to improve the state’s education system, protection of the environment, and improving the state’s economy.  (1)

However, Jeb Bush’s tenure as governor will mostly be remembered not by his accomplishments but by the fact that his state was the deciding state in the Electoral College, which propelled his brother to victory in the 2000 presidential election.  Jeb Bush did recuse himself from any participation in decisions surrounding the election in order to avoid any appearance of impropriety.  (1)

Now let us assess Jeb Bush using the matrix of Vision, Courage, Integrity, and a Servants Heart. 

Vision – As governor of Florida, Jeb Bush envisioned a six-pillar education plan based on

1)      Grading schools on a simple A through F scale based on student standardized test scores.

2)      High-stakes testing.

3)      Requiring students to meet grade standards before promotion to a higher grade.

4)      Paying teachers based on student performance.

5)      New methods to credential teachers.

6)      Adding charter schools, private school vouchers (since struck down by a court) and online schools to offer parents more choices.  (2)

His environmental vision for Florida included consistent opposition to off-shore drilling off the coast of Florida, something which may place him at odds with others in his party that favor drilling for domestic oil as a means of lessoning our nation’s dependence on foreign sources of petroleum, especially from countries in the Middle East hating our country.  However, his economic vision for Florida included the belief that tax cuts act as a catalyst for economic growth.  (3)  With our nation currently enjoying anemic growth of only .1% in the last quarter, a catalyst is definitely needed.  (4)

Courage - Jeb Bush like many moderates tends to compromise on issues, which demonstrates a lack of courage.  For example, in an op-ed published in August 2012, Jeb Bush avoided extremism on women’s issues.  Even though he talks about reducing budget deficits significantly in December 2012, as Governor the budget of Florida grew by 27%.  (5)  However, his actions to champion enterprise zones and business deregulation at a time when politicians make it a point to vilify corporations, like Harry Reid’s continual vilification of the Koch brothers (6) does demonstrate courage.  This is no doubt something he developed when serving as Secretary of Commerce in Florida.  However, his favoring of amnesty for illegals, which will lower wages for American workers according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), (7) is in direct opposition to a statement he made in 2013 to stop rewarding portfolio Americans over paycheck Americans.  (5)  I guess people with portfolios in companies that would benefit from cheap labor through the hiring of recently amnestied illegals have precedence over paycheck Americans presently in our nation legally.

Integrity – Jeb Bush did exhibit integrity when he recused himself during the hotly contested presidential election of 2000 where his brother was one of the candidates.  (1) However, he moderates on issues where conservatives would like a candidate to take a strong stance.  For example, his avoidance of extremism on women’s issues, (5) including the right to life of an unborn fetus shows a lack of integrity.  His support of amnesty when the CBO states it will lower paychecks for American workers (7) when he promised in October 2013 to give paycheck Americans preference (5) also demonstrates a lack of integrity. 

Servants Heart – In a speech in Fort Meyers Florida in 2003, to a faith-based group, Jeb bush said, "When you see a need, you don't just sit there, you act." (8) Jeb Bush, raised a Christian by his parents, believes the best means of helping the poor is through faith based charities and not government redistribution.  It takes a servants heart to have faith to believe in the American people assisting the poor through faith based charitable giving.  It does not take a servants heart to confiscate peoples wealth through taxation and redistribute it to them as liberals and progressives do today. 

I give Jeb Bush a C in his assessment because of his lack of courage when it comes to supporting hard working American citizens over those who came to our nation illegally and represent cheap labor.  Mr. Bush, if you aspire to be our next President you need to garner the support of the citizens of this country.  Backing a policy that threatens to lower the wages of hard working American citizens that could vote for you in favor of corporate contributors seeking cheap labor from newly amnestied illegals is hardly the way to gain their support.  Remember Mr. Bush, it is votes, not money that wins elections, as you are all too familiar with having witnessed the closeness by which your brother won election to the Presidency in 2000. 

Our nation needs a strong leader willing to defend working Americans and stand against crony corporatists supporting amnesty because it means cheap labor.  We also need a strong leader that will support policies, such as drilling for oil, which will grow our stagnant economy.  The economic boom presently occurring in North Dakota (9) and Texas (10) does not have to be limited to those two states and can become a nationwide boom with the right leader. 

1. Biography.com. Jeb Bush. www.biography.com. [Online] Biography.com. [Cited: May 16, 2014.] http://www.biography.com/people/jeb-bush-201294#awesm=~oEtZl3nKxPRzaK.

2. StateImpact. stateimpact.npr.org. Jeb Bush: The Once and Future Reformer. [Online] NPR. [Cited: May 16, 2014.] http://stateimpact.npr.org/florida/tag/jeb-bush/.

3. Our Campaigns. Bush, Jeb. www.ourcampaigns.com. [Online] Our Campaigns. [Cited: May 16, 2014.] http://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=468.

4. Fox News. www.foxnews.com. Obamanomics under fire from GOP as economy slows to 0.1 percent growth rate. [Online] Fox News, April 30, 2014. [Cited: May 16, 2014.] http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/04/30/us-economy-slowed-to-01-percent-growth-rate-in-q1-weakest-in-year/.

5. On The Issues. Jeb Bush. www.ontheissues.org. [Online] On The Issues. [Cited: May 16, 2014.] http://www.ontheissues.org/Jeb_Bush.htm.

6. McAuliff, Michael. Harry Reid Proposes Changing Constitution To Block The Koch Brothers. www.huffingtonpost.com. [Online] The Huffington Post, May 15, 2014. [Cited: May 16, 2014.] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/15/harry-reid-campaign-finance_n_5329917.html.

7. Lee, Tony. JEB BUSH: OPPOSING AMNESTY 'MAKES NO SENSE TO ME'. www.breitbart.com. [Online] Breitbart News, May 14, 2014. [Cited: May 16, 2014.] http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/05/13/Jeb-Bush-Opposing-Amnesty-Makes-No-Sense-to-Me.

8. Hicks, Regina. Faith-based giving partnerships lauded by Fla. Gov. Jeb Bush. www.bpnews.net. [Online] Baptist Press, July 30, 2003. [Cited: May 16, 2014.] http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=16397.

9. Rider, Richard. ECONOMIC LESSONS FOR CALIFORNIA FROM NORTH AND SOUTH DAKOTA. sdrostra.com. [Online] San Diego Rostra, December 21, 2011. [Cited: May 17, 2014.] http://sdrostra.com/?p=23268.

10. Sager, Ryan. Tyler Cowen’s 10 Reasons Texas Is Our Future. ideas.time.com. [Online] Time, October 17, 2013. [Cited: May 17, 2014.] http://ideas.time.com/2013/10/17/10-reasons-texas-is-our-future/.