Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush will bash Washington, saying a “progressive and liberal mindset” has failed the country as he promises to offer a “new vision” in his first major speech today since declaring a possible run for the Republican presidential nomination.
Bush, according to excerpts of his speech released by his political action committee, will say that in the coming weeks he’ll address how to mend the nation’s continuing economic woes, noting that six years after the recession ended, “median incomes are down, households are, on average, poorer … and millions of people have given up looking for a job altogether.”
Advisers say the speech before the Detroit Economic Club is the first in a series as Bush, the son and brother of former presidents, mulls a potential run for the presidency. Bush last month filed the official paperwork to launch his political committee, “Right to Rise,” saying it was a political action committee to “support candidates that believe in conservative principles to allow all Americans to rise up.” The bilingual former governor posted another video on his Facebook account, making the same statement in Spanish.
Bush, who has garnered tepid reviews from some party conservatives, will say his ideas are “rooted in conservative principles and tethered to our shared belief in opportunity and the unknown possibilities of a nation given the freedom to act, to create, to dream and to rise.”
And according to the excerpts, he’ll take a swipe at the “progressive and liberal mindset,” which he says believes that to every problem “there is a Washington D.C. solution.
“But that instinct doesn’t solve any problem, other than the problem of how to keep Washington’s regional economy well-lubricated,” he will say.
Washington, he says, is a “company town” where the company is government.
“It’s all they know,” he is to say. “For several years now, they have been recklessly degrading the value of work, the incentive to work, and the rewards of work.”
Democrats are already panning the visit, with Michigan Democratic Party chair Lon Johnson writing that Bush’s position on the auto bailout is “unforgivable.
“Just a couple years ago Jeb Bush was asked by Charlie Rose if he supported the President's decision to rescue General Motors. Without hesitation, he responded: ‘I don't. I don't,” “ Johnson wrote.
Bush in his speech at Detroit’s Cobo Center will say that in the coming months, he will detail how to improve the economy, with what he says are a “mix of smart policies and reforms to tap our resources and capacity to innovate, whether in energy, manufacturing, health care or technology.”
And the former two-term governor of one of the largest states will call for devolving power, saying “give Washington less and give states and local governments more.”
And he will challenge what he says is a media creation that “conservatives don't care about the cities.
“They are wrong. We believe that every American and in every community has a right to pursue happiness. They have a right to rise,” he will say.
Bush’s speech comes less than a week after former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a Detroit native, said he’d forgo a third run for the Republican nomination, delivering a boost to Bush.
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