During the GOP "Democrat-Lite" Listening Tour, Jeb Bush Says "Leave Reagan Behind"

I kid you not, people. The liberal and moderate Republicans have been trying to destroy Reagan's legacy for decades behind the scenes...now they've come out in the open in their desire to become progressive like the Democrats:

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said Saturday that it's time for the Republican Party to give up its "nostalgia" for the heyday of the Reagan era and look forward, even if it means stealing the winning strategy deployed by Democrats in the 2008 election.

"You can't beat something with nothing, and the other side has something. I don't like it, but they have it, and we have to be respectful and mindful of that," Mr. Bush said.

The former president's brother, often mentioned as a potential candidate in 2012, said President Obama's message of hope and change during the 2008 campaign clearly resonated with Americans.

"So our ideas need to be forward looking and relevant. I felt like there was a lot of nostalgia and the good old days in the [Republican] messaging. I mean, it's great, but it doesn't draw people toward your cause," Mr. Bush said.

"From the conservative side, it's time for us to listen first, to learn a little bit, to upgrade our message a little bit, to not be nostalgic about the past because, you know, things do ebb and flow."

Source: Washington Times

Hat Tip: Drudge Report

Commentary

Listening Tour? This was a bad idea dreamed up by people who spend too much time listening to focus groups and trying to be in touch with their inner child.

If there are still large numbers of conservatives in the GOP...this type of pronouncement, if not taken out of context by the lefty media covering the event, should seal the end of the career of Jeb Bush. It is too bad we probably won't be able to hear his comments in context....like a full-length video of the event. I despair of my fellow republicans ever getting it that we have to go around the Legacy Media and present our case directly to the people instead of having these events that only a fraction of people will ever attend, and only a slightly larger fraction of people read about, or watch...in any meaningful way.

I'll leave you more of the reporting of Jeb Bush's words from the article for you to consider. To me, it sounds like he is trying to talk out both sides of his mouth at once in an effort to be all things to all people. That is exactly how the Republicans lost in 2006, 2008 and why we will lose in 2010 if these numbskulls keep it up:

Mr. Bush was the most forthright of the panel, repeatedly returning to the notion of looking forward, of the need to first and foremost "create a consensus around 21st-century ideas that truly matter for American families."

"We have principles, we have values. They are the values that are shared by the majority of Americans, there's no question about it. But we have to now take those principles and values and apply them to the challenges that our country faces today and in the future. ...

"And then, hopefully - God willing - [we] embrace our conservative principles and take these new ideas and present them to the American people," he said.

The message resonated with many of those who turned out at the Pie-Tanza restaurant, right in the heart of a firmly liberal community.