FLASHBACK: Jeb Bush Said There’s No Place For Reagan In Romney’s Extreme GOP

Former Governor Jeb Bush, who’s about to the address the Republican National Convention, has said that Mitt Romney’s Republican Party is too extreme for Ronald Reagan or George H.W. Bush. And just this week, Bush said the party should “just stop acting stupid” on immigration and embrace a broader, inclusive message. 

Jeb Bush: Today’s GOP Wouldn’t Have Room For Reagan

JEB BUSH: REAGAN AND BUSH WOULD HAVE NO PLACE IN TODAY’S REPUBLICAN PARTY

Los Angeles Times Headline: “Jeb Bush Questions If Reagan Could Succeed In Today's GOP.”  [Los Angeles Times, 6/11/12]

Headline: “Jeb Bush: No Place For Father, Reagan In Today's GOP.” [BuzzFeed, 6/11/12]

Jeb Bush: Ronald Reagan And George H.W. Bush “Would Have A Hard Time” In Current Republican Party.  “The political environment in Washington has veered so far from any spirit of compromise, [Jeb] Bush said, that figures such as his father -- and even Ronald Reagan -- would find it more difficult campaigning for their party’s nomination today.  ‘They got a lot of things done with bipartisan support, but right now it’s just difficult to imagine,’ Bush said.  ‘Context changes; history changes,’ he said. ‘Ronald Reagan would have, based on his record of finding accommodation, finding some degree of common ground, similar to my dad, they would have a hard time if you define the Republican Party -- and I don’t -- as having an orthodoxy that doesn’t allow for disagreement,’ he said. ‘We’re in a political system in general that is in a very different place right now.’”  [Bloomberg, 6/11/12]

JEB BUSH: THE REPUBLICAN PARTY SHOULD “JUST STOP ACTING STUPID” ABOUT IMMIGRATION

Jeb Bush Said The GOP Should “Just Stop Acting Stupid” In Its Hardline Immigration Position. “Speaking at a panel discussion at the Republican National Convention, Bush repeated his frequent warning that the party must change its tone, an admonition he has frequently raised about the party’s hardline position on immigration. ‘The future of our party is to reach out consistently to have a tone that is open and hospitable to people who share values,’ he said, adding ‘the conservative cause would be the governing philosophy as far as the eye could see … and that’s doable if we just stop acting stupid.’” [Miami Herald, 8/28/12]

Jeb Bush: Romney “Needs To Broaden The Message Out When Talking About Immigration.”  “Republican Mitt Romney will need a ‘broader’ message on immigration to appeal to Hispanic voters who have turned toward Democrats in presidential and other elections, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush said today.  ‘He needs to broaden the message out when talking about immigration, to make it an economic issue as much as it is a question of the rule of law,’ Bush said at a breakfast with Bloomberg View in New York. ‘Have a broader message and have a more intense message.’”  [Bloomberg, 6/11/12]