While we’re mocking the Cheney family feud(s), save a little opprobrium for the other baronial clan of the Avignon Presidency. TNR‘s Isaac Chotiner goes dumpster-diving in Double Down and uncovers this gem about the guy who just couldn’t afford to challenge Obama in 2012:
“You don’t understand, [Jeb] Bush would say to the Republican poo-bahs begging him to run. I was in the real-estate development business in my state There was a huge bubble, but I missed out because I was governor for eight years. So I’m starting from scratch. If, God forbid, I’m in an accident tomorrow–I’m in a wheelchair drooling, saliva coming from my mouth–who’s going to take care of me? What are my wife and kids going to do? I’ve got to look after my family. This is my chance to do it…”
Chotiner treats this with due scorn, noting that, apart from the mere reported million or two in Jeb’s bank accounts…
Bush is a member: of…the Bush family. His parents are absurdly wealthy. His brother is absurdly wealthy. Both his father and brother are former presidents. Does Bush not have health insurance? Is his family without health insurance? Would it even matter if they were? The last question is the one to keep your eye on, because unlike the vast majority of Americans, the answer is no. Most Americans do not have multimillionaires spread throughout their family who could pay for any and all treatments in the case of any emergency…
Perhaps Jeb’s self-pity does say something about shared mindset of today’s Republican party, though. If they’re honest in their libertarian conviction that any form of social safety net is creeping tyranny, then the only thing standing between an incapacitated Jeb Bush and starvation is the generosity of his extended family. And from what we know about the Bush Clan, you wouldn’t want to rely on those people for help, either.
***********
Apart from our native criminal class, what’s on the agenda for the evening?
Yatsuno
So…no Jebmentum?
Loaded my time off for next week into the system. That felt kinda good.
KG
I’m guessing the former governor of Florida has a pretty nice retirement package that probably includes some sort of healthcare component.
aimai
When Neil Bush cheated on his wife of twenty some years with Thai prostitutes and she divorced him the Bush family asked for the house she was living in “back” in the divorce settlement and then reconsidered and permitted her to live in it until their youngest child was 18. Those people can really hate and they are not at all interested in sharing. Admittedly they turned on their daughter-in-law because she was not blood, but Kitty Kelley’s book reminds us that the family is filled with self interested, highly competitive, assholes. If I were Jeb I wouldn’t want to put myself or my family at their mercy if I didn’t have to. He can be sure they wouldn’t support his wife and kids.
Just Some Fuckhead, Thought Leader
I’d be surprised if Jebbie ever runs.
aimai
Of course the entire thing should be looked on as a kind of humblebrag and a form of enticement. He’s basically saying “make it worth my while.” After all Bush the junior was given–GIVEN–an ownership stake in a sports team so that he could be independently wealthy before he ran. Jeb is saying “I need to make a profit, whether I win or lose a run for the presidency, figure out a way to make it pay.”
rk
It’s all relative. If Jeb has 5 million and George has 30 and the old man has 100s then Jeb is as poor as a church mouse.
jheartney
Is there no wingnut welfare sinecure available? One speech in front of the right group ought to bring in enough to pay most hospital bills outright, unless he’s talking about a chronic condition.
I think Jebbie realized it’d take more than four years to wash the stink off the Bush political brand.
shelly
Goddamn, that whole family is like the French aristocracy before the Revolution, (Remember Mama Bush’s comments after Katrina, that the displaced New Orleanian’s should somehow be grateful)
? Martin
Oh, FFS. As former governor, he’s got a pension (including health benefits) that anyone not a governor or member of Congress would kill for.
Man, the rich really ought to stop volunteering so many arguments to tax them at 90%.
bemused
Hell, isn’t getting wealthy or a lot more wealthy and trashing the country what any Republican worth his/salt is supposed to be doing? And I can’t picture Jeb very happy being one of “poorer” siblings in the family.
Alison
Okay, I’m gonna use this open thread to make a sort of random pet bleg to any local folks. My city’s animal shelter is awesome about posting pics of adoptable pets on their Facebook page and such, but it makes me sad that some of them seem to linger so long. One in particular is this great cat named Jersey – you can see his info here http://www.petango.com/Adopt/Cat-Domestic-Shorthair-Mix-18752346 He’s been there almost a year! That just breaks my heart, that kittens get scooped up but he keeps getting passed over. They say he is good with other cats and very affectionate. He’s six years old so not a baby but still with lots of life ahead of him. If my own cat were not most definitely an “only cat” type cat, I’d take him in myself. I know it’s a long-shot but if anyone here lives in the north Bay Area or knows someone who does and who might be interested in a new buddy, send them Jersey’s link!
I don’t work at the shelter or anything, I am just an ardent supporter and a big ol’ softie who wants this buddy to get his forever home, finally! If it’s a BJ-er or your friend who takes him in, I’ll even chip in a bit towards his adoption fee if needed. Come on, LOOK AT THOSE WHISKERS :)
Betty Cracker
Years ago, shortly after Jeb! was defeated in his 1st bid for the FL governorship by Lawton Chiles, I was in Miami to attend a fancy wedding. While strolling around a shopping center that sold $700 flip-flops, I paused in front of a store window to contemplate the plutocratic merchandise on display and gradually became aware of a hulking presence on my right. It was Jeb! In the flesh. If I could go back in time, I’d punch him square in the junk.
shelly
Ugh, don’t need the image of Jeb, drooling in a wheelchair.
WereBear
@Alison: He looks so awesome! He just wants a home!
What a sweetheart. G’head, people, this is a real gem!
rikyrah
They begged Jeb?
BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA
hilarious
rikyrah
The Jean Claude Van Damme/Volvo Commercial
this this is pure gold!
http://youtu.be/M7FIvfx5J10
Culture of Truth
If you want to know who is going to be President look at who really wants it. Obama had no money or advantages (arguably disadvantages with the name Barack Hussein) and he didn’t let it stop him. Romney liked the idea but didn’t have the hunger. Does Hillary want it, does Chris Christie? Really want it? I think yes — Rick Perry, Jeb? No.
beltane
Jeb should try raising money by giving speeches to groups that are seeking to convert Jews to Christianity. If his brother could do it, he can do it too.
Yatsuno
@aimai: Babs is the very definition of vindictive. I swear she’s in the dictionary. Remember her post-Katrina comments? That was mild for her.
(At work, can’t Google, don’t really want to anyway.)
WereBear
As I translate this, he missed out on his chance to take advantage of the rigged game and general chicanery because, as Governor, he would be scrutinized too closely.
Oh, yeah. We’re missing out.
PeakVT
Enta erupting at night under a full moon.
Chris
@aimai:
Welcome to the mindset of rich conservatives (not all people like this are rich conservatives, but all rich conservatives are like this).
They’re entitled to obscene amounts of money. Entitled, I tell you. Don’t you know who they are?
lamh36
I read this and my first thought was…WTF…WHY!
WHAT.DA.F****?
‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ Sequel in the Works (EXCLUSIVE)
fka AWS
“I like Barbara Bush. She knows how to hate!” – Nixon
TaMara (BHF)
@WereBear: Hey I saw you asked me a question about my kitteh the other day and I’ve toyed with emailing over the last week of roller coaster, but never got around to it.
He is on an all protein diet right now, he was always on high protein, but it was both dry and wet. Now it’s just wet. He seems to be mending and I’m still wondering if he got hit with a virus or a bacterial infection that just through him into crisis.
His insulin shots have been rough. The original dose sent him into a low BG crisis, so I’m metering him pretty closely and he’s down to 1/2 unit every other day. Which is hardly anything…
My vet is awesome btw.
Gin & Tonic
In more shocking! news, shocking!, I say — Maria Bartiromo is decamping to Fox. Shocking!, I know.
Chris
@lamh36:
The faces just palm themselves.
TaMara (BHF)
@rikyrah: Honda took it as a challenge:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UelJZG_bF98
BillinGlendaleCA
@aimai:
They wouldn’t support “the little brown ones”?, as Babs once called them.
@Just Some Fuckhead, Thought Leader: Me too, the last name is still too toxic.
SiubhanDuinne
@PeakVT:
Very cool photo!
shelly
“WHAT.DA.F****?
‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ Sequel in the Works (EXCLUSIVE)”
***********
As long as it’s not done by the same people who did ‘An American Carol.’
SiubhanDuinne
@Gin & Tonic: Oh good. Another media outlet where I never, ever have to see her.
SiubhanDuinne
@BillinGlendaleCA:
Actually, I think that was George Senior himself, not Babs.
ETA: Yes, yes, it was.
BillinGlendaleCA
@SiubhanDuinne: I think you are correct.
Just Some Fuckhead, Thought Leader
@BillinGlendaleCA: well that and he’s got a bunch of skeletons down there in South FL due to his shady business dealings and he can’t play the Jesus card because he converted to Catholicism.
Jebediah, RBG
On my agenda:
getting rid ofsharing this earworm I have had all day.“Well my name’s John Lee Pettimore
Same as my daddy and his daddy before”
Y’all are welcome.
ruviana
@fka AWS: It’s said that W. is truly his mother’s son. Sounds about right to me.
Roger Moore
@aimai:
That’s not fair. Shrub was given an ownership stake in a sports team so he could be the front man and use his political connections to get a publicly financed stadium. He did, and the team value skyrocketed. The other owners got good value in return for giving him his share of the team, even if it was a corrupt bargain.
mai naem
@Gin & Tonic: She is either a total fool or she got offered way less by CNBC than she wanted/expected. FBN has not done well. I can’t stand most people on CNBC but I can’t believe career wise FBN is better than CNBC. Fox News, maybe but not FBN. Thank god, she’ll never be on MTP again.
drkrick
@BillinGlendaleCA:
That was Grandpa George. It was akward, but he seemed to have said it with affection. Weird family.
serena1313
Without doubt Jeb Bush has several million dollars. If he does not have health insurance he can afford to pay for medical care, but even then, it does not insulate him (or any other multi-millionaire) from going bankrupt given how expensive certain medical treatments are. Billionaires, of course, can afford to spend millions on whatever they want & it will not phase their bank accounts.
But if Jeb fell really ill, he could blow through a million dollars and several more in no time flat. So yeah I suspect Jeb has health insurance. If not he is a bigger fool than I originally thought.
Mike G
@efgoldman:
Fox Business News is not doing well. For some strange reason, even rightwards don’t want to be told blatant self-serving bullshit when it comes to where to invest their money.
As opposed to politics, where they crave to be told comforting lies.
The WSJ is suffering for the same reason. Pre-Murdoch, their editorial page was a reactionary sewer but the news reporting was considered thorough and accurate — now is essentially Fox Newspaper. The plutocrats know they can’t afford to fool themselves with feel-good right-wing fantasies when it comes to their money.
PurpleGirl
@PeakVT: Wow. That’s some video. In Jr. High I was very interested in volcanoes (and earthquakes). My mother’s parents came from a little village on Mt. Etna. My grandfather and his brothers owned an olive orchard — with that rich, volcanic soil.
JustRuss
Funny how a Bush with a few mill in the bank is impoverished, but an auto worker knocking down 20 bucks an hour plus healthcare and a modest pension is an overpaid union thug.
slippy
I’m so not interested in the troubles of a spoiled whiny bitch named Bush. He couldn’t get the Presidency now no matter what. His fuckup brother ruined the already-tarnished family name.