Reuters Photojournalism
Our day's top images, in-depth photo essays and offbeat slices of life. See the best of Reuters photography. See more | Photo caption
Sponsored Links
Jeb Bush clarifies criticism of Republican Party
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, president of Jeb Bush and Associates, testifies before a House Budget Committee hearing on ''Removing the Barriers to Free Enterprise and Economic Growth'' on Capitol Hill in Washington June 1, 2012.
Credit: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque
WASHINGTON |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - After providing ammunition to President Barack Obama's re-election campaign by criticizing his fellow Republicans, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush clarified his comments on Tuesday and blamed Democrats for failing to compromise during Obama's term.
"The point I was making yesterday is this: The political system is hyperpartisan. Both sides are at fault," Bush wrote on his Twitter page.
Bush, brother to one Republican president and son of another, took issue with his own party on Monday, saying Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush might have not have been praised by Republicans today.
Reagan "would be criticized for doing things that he did," Bush told journalists at Bloomberg News in New York.
On Tuesday, Bush blamed Democrats for political gridlock.
"Past 4 years, Democrats have held leadership roles w/opportunities to each across the political aisle," Bush tweeted. "For sake of politics, they haven't."
"My dad & Reagan sacrificed political points for good public policy," he added.
Supporters of Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney have been eager to pounce on members of the opposing political party who appear to speak against their candidate's messages.
(Editing by Christopher Wilson)
- Tweet this
- Link this
- Share this
- Digg this
- Reprints
And to clarify myself, yes the left does do this, but not NEARLY to the extreme of the right, IMO. So anyone declaring ‘they all do it’ is using a false equivalency. Kind of like the Super PAC thing, the left is using them because they need to compete with the right that pioneered these type of tactics. It would be stupid to try and fight them on an un-level playing field.
Instead of open debate on policy, we’ve got “messages”, where our elected prophets stand atop their soapboxes repeating the same old mantras, over and over, solidifying them into ideology instead of trying to determine what would actually be good policy. We’re turning into a theocracy, where two dominant religions compete for power and heretics are burnt at the stake, or forced to issue confessions and accept baptism.
Whatever happened to dialogue? And I don’t mean between the parties, because we’re a long way from that, but within parties? Shouldn’t there be debate between Republicans about whether taxes might be a part of balancing the budget? Shouldn’t Democrats consider whether or not abortion is really murder? Shouldn’t issues be discussed, debated, turned over and eventually accepted or rejected as part of the party line?
But no, we’ve got our traditions, handed down to us from our fathers who received them from on high, and thou shalt not question them.
Follow Reuters