GOP presidential candidate former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush launched his “Jeb Can Fix It” tour in Tampa on Monday, taking jabs at President Obama, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), and GOP frontrunner Donald Trump.
Bush is attempting to tout his record as Governor of Florida to relaunch his presidential campaign and show voters that he has a record of solving problems – something he wants to do in Washington, D.C.
“Today, we begin a three-day trip across Florida, South Carolina, and New Hampshire to tell the Florida story,” Bush told the crowd in Tampa.
Bush’s “Florida Story” is about his tenure as Florida’s governor and how he used to have an email address for constituents to contact him with their concerns and stories.
Last year, I decided that I wanted to share my story with people across the country. So, I wrote a book. Well really, I didn’t write it. Not in a traditional sense. I emailed it! They used to call me the e-governor. For eight years, I gave out my jeb@jeb.org email address to anyone who wanted to talk to me. And email they did!
People across the state told me their stories. Sometimes they asked questions. Sometimes they asked for help. One lady asked me to get a raccoon out of her attic, and I got my team right on it! But Floridians always gave me their opinions. And man, they didn’t hold back. So, I listened. I tried to answer every email.
Bush used a collection of emails during his time as governor to create his e-book “Reply All” to show the type of leader he was for Florida and wants to be as President of the United States.
Bush stressed the importance of this upcoming election, calling Obama a “divider-in-chief.”
This election is not about a set of personalities. It’s about a set of principles. It is about leadership. It is about the right vision to lead America through turbulent waters, after two terms of a divider-in-chief who has sliced and diced the electorate by class, income, grievance and creed. So the choice we face is whether to summon the courage to give rise to an era of new possibility or to indulge this new age of cynicism.
For all his promise, perhaps President Obama’s greatest accomplishment is that of creating competing pessimisms. Members of his own party are left explaining how two percent growth, massive debt, and increasing global isolation are really the best we can do.
Bush delivered an optimistic message, saying America’s best days are ahead and that he could lead the nation and solve problems — unlike Trump, at whom he took a swing without calling the billionaire out by name.
“This won’t be solved with more talk. The answer isn’t sending someone from one side of the capital city to the other. The solution won’t be found in someone who has never demonstrated the capacity to implement conservative ideas. And you can’t just tell Congress… “You’re Fired”… and go to a commercial break. You have to bring people together to solve problems,” Bush jabbed.
According to the Guardian’s Sabrina Siddiqui, Bush took a swipe at Rubio too.
Siddiqui reported on Twitter, “Jeb’s shots at Rubio: Cannot “roll the dice on another presidential experiment” or send someone from one side of the capital to the other.”
Bush ended his speech by asking people to join him and “fight” to “fundamentally change the culture of Washington.”
According to CNN’s Ashley Killough, Bush “fired up” the crowd (although the speech was delivered using a teleprompter) and the audience broke “out into chants of “Jeb!” and [gave] loud applause.”