Jeb Bush in Speech at 2013 CPAC conference

On Principles & Values: GOP must stop being the party of 'anti' everything

Jeb Bush beseeched a gathering of conservatives in remarkably frank terms to change the course of the Republican Party and to become a more diverse, welcoming and understanding party to minorities and low-income Americans. Bush made the heart of his speech a call to the GOP to "learn from past mistakes." He made his case in some of the bluntest language he has used.

"All too often we're associated with being 'anti' everything," Bush said. "Way too many people believe Republicans are anti-immigrant, anti-woman, anti-science, anti-gay, anti-worker, and the list goes on and on and on. Many voters are simply unwilling to choose our candidates even though they share our core beliefs, because those voters feel unloved, unwanted and unwelcome in our party."

Source: 2013 Conservative Political Action Conf. in Huffington Post Mar 15, 2013

On Principles & Values: We need to be the party of inclusion and acceptance

Bush faulted the GOP for not caring about large swaths of the country, and said if that attitude remains, the right will forfeit its ability to influence the nation. "The face of the Republican Party needs to be the face of every American, and we need to be the party of inclusion and acceptance. It's our heritage and it's our future and we need to couch our efforts in those terms," he said.

The only way to attract these new faces to the party, Bush said, is through building real, ongoing relationships with others over a long period of time. "As Republicans, we need to get re-acquainted with the notion that the relationships that really matter are not made through Twitter and social media. Real relationships take time to grow, and they begin with a genuine interest in the stories, dreams and challenges harbored within each of us," he said.

Source: 2013 Conservative Political Action Conf. in Huffington Post Mar 15, 2013

On Welfare & Poverty: If you're born poor, the odds are stacked against you

Bush threw cold water in the face of conservatives who espouse a strict up-by-the-bootstraps doctrine of individual responsibility, and who ascribe failure only to personal failure. Life, he said, is increasingly more difficult for those who aren't born with built-in advantages. "It is not a validation of our conservative principles if we can only point to the increasingly rare individual who overcomes adversity and succeeds in America," Bush said. "Here's reality: if you're fortunate enough to count yourself among the privileged, much of the rest of the nation is drowning.

"In our country today, if you're born poor, if your parents didn't go to college, if you don't know your father, if English isn't spoken at home, then the odds are stacked against you. You are more likely to stay poor today than at any other time since World War II," he said.

Source: 2013 Conservative Political Action Conf. in Huffington Post Mar 15, 2013

The above quotations are from Speeches to Conservative Political Action 2013 Conference. Click here for other excerpts from Speeches to Conservative Political Action 2013 Conference. Click here for other excerpts by Jeb Bush. Click here for a profile of Jeb Bush.
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Page last updated: Dec 05, 2018