Saying no to invective and scapegoating
No votes will be cast in the 2016 presidential race for another year, and it remains to be seen whether former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush will actually make a bid for the Republican Party’s nomination, though all indications are he will.
Another question is whether Bush will prove to be a formidable contender for the job his father and brother once held, or turn out to be one of those candidates who everyone thinks will loom large, only to be reduced to dwarf-like proportions once actual ballots are cast, like Ohio’s Sen. John Glenn in the 1984 Democratic primary, or former Texas Gov. John Connally four years before that in the Republican battle.
Those are issues that are sure to be chewed over by pundits in the next several months with the sort of gusto usually found among “Star Wars” die-hards when the talk turns to the upcoming movies in that series. But even at this nascent stage of his campaign, Bush already struck the right note in turning down an invitation to a forum later this month being co-sponsored by an immigrant-bashing congressman from Iowa.
The Iowa Freedom Summit is set for Jan. 24 in Des Moines, and several potential 2016 GOP contenders already signed on, such as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson. Bush, however, has said he will not be there because of scheduling issues. But supposing Bush’s agenda that day consists of nothing more than cleaning out his closet, he is wise to stay away, even if Iowa is a pivotal state in the presidential selection process.
That’s because the forum, which is being put together by the advocacy group Citizens United and Rep. Steven King, who represents the western part of the Hawkeye State and has made a national name for himself by making incendiary remarks about immigration, will likely generate lots of heat and precious little illumination when it comes to how we should fix our immigration system. Of the evolving Republican field, Bush has been the only one to come out solidly for comprehensive immigration reform, which is the sole rational avenue to dealing with millions of immigrants who are living and working in this country without proper documentation.
If Bush had turned up, there’s a decent chance many of the participants would have turned their fire on him, which the former governor surely knows. But it’s also hard to see how he would have profited when most of the “solutions” offered at the event will probably revolve around building bigger border fences or fantasies of mass deportation. If Bush does become the nominee and hopes to attract Hispanic support in November 2016, the rhetoric that will almost certainly be served up on that stage could come back to haunt him.
Need further convincing? Consider King previously stated some undocumented immigrants have “calves the size of cantaloupes because they’re hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert.”
He likened them to dogs, and stated their presence constitutes a “slow-motion terrorist attack.” Someone who so clearly seeks to fan the flames of bigotry shouldn’t be taken seriously or treated with deference.
Many Republicans of a more moderate cast hope a presidential bid by Bush will help set their party on a more pragmatic path. Bush’s decision to steer clear of a forum that will likely be rife with scapegoating and invective is a step in the right direction.