Chelsea Clinton Likes Jeb Bush In The Republican Primary

Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP
Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP

Hillary Clinton’s daughter Chelsea thinks that Jeb Bush is the best Republican candidate, confirming Americans’ worst fears about the friendly relationships between the political establishment on both sides of the partisan aisle.

Chelsea Clinton spent Wednesday at a fundraiser at a New York city franchise of Soul Cycle, which is an indoor cycling exercise-gym chain frequented by upper-crust urbanites. While there, she commented on the Republican race.

Chelsea “talked about how she thinks that Jeb Bush is … the only voice on the other side that is demonstrating strong American values,” an attendee at the fundraiser told CNN.

“The fundraiser was originally billed as a $2,700-a-head event, but with about 60 seats to fill, some attendees were able to snag tickets at the last minute for $50,” CNN reported.

Since rolling out his campaign, replete with a weird exclamation mark on his logo (“Jeb!”), Bush raked in huge donations from Goldman Sachs and relied on many bundlers from his brother’s administration. Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta fretted that he was being “outgunned” by Bush’s donors. But the thing is: that money didn’t do anything for Jeb!

Bush has pumped tens of millions of dollars into running TV ads in early states Iowa and New Hampshire, but the effort has failed to lift him above low single-digits in most polls. His campaign is like an anti-Citizens United populist’s dream come true. It’s one thing to hope for an insurgent small-dollar campaign to succeed. It’s another, much more hilarious and inspiring thing, to watch a big-money campaign completely tank.

In the debates, Bush has seemed indecisive, alternatively self-infatuated and frustrated at his inability to just float to the nomination on the strength of his wallet and connections. At the first CNN debate in September, Bush actually stole his anti-Trump attack from the television show “House of Cards,” asking Trump to apologize to Bush’s wife for criticizing her.

Bush wasn’t even decisive enough to say on the stump that he’d repeal President Obama’s Iran nuclear deal. Neoconservative donors including Sheldon Adelson expressed deep disappointment with the eldest Bush son. Neoconservative mega-donor Paul Singer shifted his loyalties to Marco Rubio, and other establishment power-players have done the same.

“What Jeb Bush has done to the Bush family is very sad,” said Donald Trump, a onetime ally of Jeb’s father George H.W. Bush. “I think he’s disgraced himself, to be honest with you.”

 

 

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