The Cowboy Republicans Can’t Quit

[DonViejo]

Jamelle Bouie

He left us with two wars and an economic crisis, but Republicans still hold George W. Bush in high esteem.

We take for granted that, for all their ideological rigidity, Republicans have made a break with the recent past. Say what you will about the Tea Party zealotry of the last four years, it has been a break with the lazy incompetence of the George W. Bush years.

But is this true? Are Republicans as down on the Bush presidency as the rest of the world, or is this a tactical shift, a (so-far-successful) attempt to rebrand the party in the age of Obama? Will the next Republican absorb the lessons of the Bush administration, or should we expect a repeat performance?

I don’t have an answer. But if there’s a clue, it lies in the ongoing esteem of Republicans for their former leader. To wit, during a talk with the Economic Club of Chicago, Chris Christie—the embattled New Jersey governor—offered unqualified praise for the administration of George W. Bush:

In his most expansive, engaging and combative remarks since scandal enveloped him, Mr. Christie mocked President Obama for entering office without “a respect for the other party,” complained that George W. Bush was “grossly underappreciated” in the White House and seemed to make a novel case for his own, now-blemished candidacy for president in 2016.

Now, the idea that Obama entered office without respect for Republicans is ludicrous—he kept one in his cabinet and bent over backwards to win GOP support for his stimulus package—but we’re not here for Christie’s mendacity. What’s interesting about this is his clear admiration for Bush. And while it’s hard to know how much of this is self-interest—this group includes GOP donors, after all—it is true that Bush retains his standing with Republican voters.

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http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/02/12/the-cowboy-republicans-can-t-quit.html

[DetlefK]

1. Ask Christie if he wants to bring back "free-speech-zones".

[bemildred]

2. They never give up.

They always double down. They got too much at stake.

[nightscanner59]

3. Unqualified, unquantified and misplacedrRebranding. Tactic of the election year

To whitewash all their cronyism "compassionate". *cough* and keep up the ludicrous "we're the ones reaching across the isle" meme.

[santamargarita]

4. Bush is a shitstain on the World that will take decades to remove!

[SmittynMo]

5. There is just no fix for stupid. n/t