Below The Beltway

The former Governor of Florida has some advice for the Republican Party:

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush pushed for the Republican Party to transform itself into a party of “21st century reformers” in a speech to students last night at George Washington University.

Bush criticized Republicans for giving the impression that the GOP is the “party of no.” He told the group that Republicans are often “too nostalgic” and that the party needs to be more “forward looking” in order to regain national success. Bush reminded the audience that voter demographics are changing and called for the party to become more “youthful” and to abandon their image as “the old white guy party.” “Tone matters,” Bush said, “in twenty or so years our country will have a minority majority.”

But this doesn’t necessarily mean that the party must move towards the center. When asked by a student if the party platform needed to become more moderate on social issues, Bush replied, “no.” Rather, he stressed that Republicans “need to apply conservative principles to 21st century problems.” Emphasizing “economic prosperity” is an issue which he believes can both unite conservatives from all wings of the party and attract new voters. Bush told the crowd that President Obama was turning the country into a European socialist state and killing innovation.

The former governor went on to say that the GOP must be the “limited but effective government party,” and stressed, there is no such thing as “big government conservatism.” Bush pointed to Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels as an accomplished fiscally responsible politician, and urged Republicans to follow his example.

When asked for actual policies Republicans should be pushing, Bush called for “simpler and lower taxes,” and suggested a committee similar to Reagan’s Grace Commission to investigate and reduce government waste.

As I’ve said before, we elected the wrong Bush brother.