Jeb Bush Supporters: He’s Considering 2016 Presidential Bid

Politics   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Nov 23, 2012   |   4:28PM   |   Washington, DC

New reports today indicates supporters of pro-life former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush say he is reportedly considering a run for the Republican nomination for president in 2016.

Following a second term for pro-abortion President Barack Obama, both political parties will have open nominations for their nominee. More than a dozen potential GOP contenders have been named in the weeks following Mitt Romney’s loss to Obama in this November’s presidential race, including the brother of the pro-life former President George W. Bush.

The New York Times reports today about Bush’s potential campaign:

Now that the Obama and Romney campaigns have closed their headquarters in Chicago and Boston, the attention of the political world is shifting to an office suite tucked behind the colonnades of the Biltmore Hotel complex here.

The suite is where former Gov. Jeb Bush manages his consulting business, his education foundation and, now, the (very) early decision-making process for a possible presidential run in 2016.

When Senator Marco Rubio of Florida held a strategy session here to discuss his own political future last week, the question of Mr. Bush, a mentor, hung over the room; a decision by Mr. Bush, 59, to seek the Republican nomination would almost certainly halt any plans by Mr. Rubio, 41, to do so or abruptly set off a new intraparty feud.

Mr. Bush is said by friends to be weighing financial and family considerations — between so many years in office and the recession his wealth took a dip, they said, and he has been working hard to restore it — as well as the complicated place within the Republican Party of the Bush brand. Asked this week about whether his father would run, Jeb Bush Jr. told CNN, “I certainly hope so.”

For now, however, “It’s neither a ‘no’ nor a ‘yes’ — it’s a ‘wait and see,’ ” said Al Cardenas, the chairman of the American Conservative Union and a longtime friend and adviser to Mr. Bush. “It continues to intrigue him, given how much he has to share with the country.”

Supporters say Jeb Bush is more conservative than his brother and note that his wife, Columba, was born and raised in Mexico. He speaks Spanish and outreach to Hispanic voters is seen as one of the main ways Republicans can win the next presidential election after falling to Obama a second time.

During his time as the governor of Florida, Bush pleased pro-life advocates by signing bills to help Terri Schiavo and to limit abortions.

“This not only ensures the safety of our children, but also strengthens the family unit by maintaining open dialogue between parent and child,” Bush said about the bill.

In May 2005, he signed a measure requiring abortion practitioners to tell the parents of a teenager girl when their daughter is considering an abortion. The measure was authorized by Florida voters who overwhelmingly approved a parental notification ballot initiative. Bush signed a similar law in 1999, but the Florida Supreme Court used the privacy clause in the state constitution to declare it unconstitutional. The amendment Florida voters backed 65-35 changed the privacy clause to allow for parental notification.

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Just days after he signed legislation requiring abortion businesses to notify parents when their teenage girls are considering an abortion, Bush signed a measure regulating abortion facilities. Saying he did so “gladly, with pride and conviction” Bush said he signed the bill “to create a culture of life in our state.”

Bush indicated the legislation was necessary because abortion facilities are exempt from regulations that cover physician offices, hospitals and other surgical centers.

“This is a simple bill that says women are deserving of the same quality care when they go to a doctor’s office or a hospital or, sadly, to an abortion clinic,” Bush said.