During its recent years at the top of the American political pyramid, the Bush family has valued loyalty and has generally defended its assorted subordinates. Even when the retainers have weighed the Bushes down politically -- Nicholas Brady, Dick Darman, Alberto Gonzales, Harriet Miers, Alphonso Jackson, we can go on here -- the family has generally been loyal, often overly so.
It’s telling that Gerald Ford -- who had no problem cutting off Nelson Rockefeller to help appease conservatives -- wanted George H.W. Bush to ditch Dan Quayle in 1992 and for George W. Bush to discard Dick Cheney in 2004. It’s even more telling that the Bushes didn’t listen to their old ally. No wonder the Bushes have been boating off of Kennebunkport in various crafts named “Fidelity” over the years.
As he readies to launch his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, Jeb Bush seems to be ignoring the family tradition. Bush’s reassigning of David Kochel, who had been expected to be the campaign manager of the presidential bid, and bringing in Danny Diaz to take his place, should raise eyebrows. It flies against Bush family tradition and shows how underwhelming the 2016 bid has been even if it has a healthy war chest.
Bush scored a victory early this year when Mitt Romney announced he would not run for the presidency for a third time. But even with buzz that Bush could be bringing in record fundraising, few other Republicans stayed out of the presidential race. The size of the field of Republican presidential hopefuls is now the stuff of late night talk-show hosts. Clearly Bush hasn’t intimidated other presidential hopefuls the way his camp thought he would.
Other members of the Bush clan won the Republican presidential nomination with the help of a diluted field. In 1988, George H.W. Bush only had to contend with Bob Dole and, on the outside, Jack Kemp since few thought Pat Robertson, Pete duPont and Alexander Haig had a prayer of winning the White House. Twelve years later, George W. Bush had to contend with John McCain, Steve Forbes to a lesser extent with Gary Bauer, Alan Keyes and late-entry Orrin Hatch way in the rear. The then-Texas governor’s path was cleared considerably as he cleared the decks in 1999 with Quayle, Lamar Alexander, Elizabeth Dole and John Kasich taking early trips to the sidelines.
But 2016 is far different. Conservatives are livid with Jeb Bush over Common Core and immigration while other Republicans don’t want a third member of the family to be their standard bearer.
There are also plenty of other options. Marco Rubio started off far stronger than expected, hurting Bush in Florida. Ted Cruz and Rick Perry are trying to claim the Bush family’s Texas citadel. Scott Walker and Kasich are both plausible nominees. Lindsey Graham is running in South Carolina which helped ensure Bushes won the nomination in 1988 and 2000. Chris Christie and George Pataki are trying to claim Prescott Bush’s old territory in the Northeast. Carly Fiorinia is making a play for the business community. Rand Paul, Rick Santorum, Ben Carson and Mike Huckabee are trying to rally conservatives. Unlike 1988 and 2000, there are plenty of other options if the Bush family stumbles.
That’s why Bush reassigning Kochel is such a big deal. Bush might be discarding family tradition by throwing one of his subordinates overboard but it’s also a sign that the former Florida governor realizes he will face a far tougher fight than either his father or brother did in their pursuits for the Republican nomination.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
