The Bush Family Still Haunts Republicans

As Halloween draws nearer, the Republican Party must realize that the Bush family has been haunting the GOP for decades.

The Bush family has wielded political power for more than seventy years. In 1952, Prescott S. Bush was elected as U.S. Senator from Connecticut. After his retirement, his son George H. W. Bush held several powerful positions, including U.S. Congressman, United Nations Ambassador, Chairman of the Republican Party, and U.S. Ambassador to China. In 1980, he was elected Vice President, and, in 1988, he won the presidency because of his predecessor's, Ronald Reagan’s, popularity.

In his GOP presidential nomination acceptance speech, Bush promised to move the country in a new direction, toward a “kinder, gentler nation.” This was a repudiation of Reagan’s conservative policies, which critics labeled “cruel.”

Bush’s clear message to the American people was that he was more moderate, less conservative than Reagan. However, he still needed staunch conservatives to support him, so he infamously vowed, “Read My Lips, No New Taxes,” if elected president.

As president, Bush broke his promise, raised taxes, and lost in 1992 to Bill Clinton. This defeat ended George H. W. Bush’s political career, but just two years later, his son, George W. Bush, was elected Governor of Texas. After six years in that position, the younger Bush was elected President of the United States.

In the 2000 presidential campaign, George W. Bush promised the United States would not engage in “nation-building.” Nonetheless, the 9/11 attacks changed Bush’s mind, and he sent the United States into war in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

The sacrifices inflicted upon the American people of those two wars were staggering, with over 7,000 deaths of U.S. military service members and a cost that exceeded $8 trillion.

The wars did not achieve their objectives. Afghanistan and Iraq didn’t become democracies; in fact, the jihadist organization, the Taliban, which ruled Afghanistan prior to the 2001 invasion, returned to power in 2021.

Understandably, George W. Bush’s policies were extremely unpopular with Americans, and voters changed course, electing Barack Obama as President, a far-left Democrat, in 2008. Sadly, he inflicted eight years of damaging policies on the American people.

By 2016, Americans were disgusted with both liberal Democrats and neocon Republicans, so they decided to forge a new political direction. In the process, GOP voters rebuffed Jeb Bush, another son of George H. W. Bush, and elected Donald Trump as the 2016 GOP presidential nominee.

When American voters elected Trump president, they embraced a new governing philosophy: the Make America Great Again (MAGA) agenda. This was a stunning repudiation of the Bush family’s failed policies. As a candidate, Trump was a critic of the war in Iraq, vowed to strengthen the country’s border, and to “Build a Wall.” He also promised to “Drain the Swamp” and put the United States’ interests first.

The Bush wing of the GOP detests Trump and his agenda. Over the next ten years, they have used every opportunity to thwart the success of MAGA Republicans. The latest example is in Texas.

In the U.S. Senate race, Attorney General Ken Paxton is the Republican nominee and has President Trump’s fervent support. He is a MAGA Republican with a strong conservative record. Paxton is facing a far-left Democrat, James Talarico, who has proudly expressed that “God is non-binary” and that there are “six genders,” which he has tried to disavow.

Talarico seems more in line with voters in a left-wing state like Massachusetts or Vermont than in Texas. Yet that hasn't stopped Bush family members from supporting him. George W. Bush’s daughter, Barbara Bush, donated $2,500 to a political action committee supporting Talarico.

Worse, George W. Bush’s brother, Neil Bush, not only voted for Talarico, but he also expressed his “genuine admiration for the character and principles” of the far-left Democrat. While claiming to be “enormously impressed” by Talarico, Neil Bush blasted Trump for doing “enormous damage to the Republican Party.”

Conversely, Trump is trying to single-handedly save the Republican Party. With his final term nearly at the midpoint, he could relax, play golf, and focus on raising money for his library. Instead, Trump is crisscrossing the nation campaigning for Republican Party candidates.

He is also donating a record $400 million to elect Republicans in the midterms. According to Republican strategist Corry Bliss, “It’s more than any president has ever spent, by far, on the midterms.” Without Trump’s involvement, Republicans would have no hope of retaining control.

Trump’s influence infuriates Bush Republicans who hate his style and candidates who support his MAGA agenda. For example, George W. Bush is headlining a fundraiser to raise money for moderate Republican candidates, such as Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), but not Ken Paxton in his home state of Texas.

After President Trump leaves the political stage, Bush Republicans expect to retake control of the GOP. This must never happen. Republican primary voters must elect another MAGA candidate as the 2028 presidential nominee and reject the failed policies of Bush Republicans, who should be encouraged to leave the GOP and join the Democratic Party, their ideological home.