It is truly amazing how two names–Nixon and Bush—have so dominated the Republican Party over the past two thirds of a century from 1952-2016.
If one had to bet right now on who the GOP Presidential nominee will be in 2016, it clearly would be Jeb Bush, the former Governor of Florida, who is raking up large amounts of money to win the funding race for the Republican Party.
Were that to happen, it would mark the SEVENTH time that a Bush family member was on the national ballot for the Republican Party since 1980—seven out of ten potential times—four times for George H. W. Bush, twice as Vice Presidential nominee, and twice as Presidential nominee—two times for his son George W. Bush, as Presidential nominee—and now Jeb as potential Presidential nominee in 2016.
Additionally, Richard Nixon was on the national ballot five times—twice as Vice Presidential nominee, and three times as Presidential nominee.
Only one other person, Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt managed to be on the national ballot five times–as Vice Presidential nominee in 1920 and losing, and as Presidential nominee four times and winning in 1932, 1936, 1940, and 1944.
Remember that the Bush name has been triumphant each time till now, except 1992, and the Nixon name was triumphant also each time, except 1960. And one could argue that many observers think Nixon actually won in 1960, and that the John F. Kennedy victory was accomplished through fraud in Chicago by Mayor Richard J. Daley. And one could argue that George H. W. Bush would have won in 1992, had Ross Perot not been on the ballot as a strong third alternative to Bush and Bill Clinton.
So if Jeb Bush ends up as the GOP Presidential nominee in 2016, it would mean that a total of TWELVE times out of seventeen national elections had a Bush or Nixon on the national ballot. And imagine if he were to become President, and win two terms, as that would mean by the end of 2024, we would have EIGHT times that a Bush was on the national ballot, and a total of 32 years out of the last 44–talking about dominance! And behind Jeb is his son, George P. Bush of Texas, who was just elected Land Commissioner, and would be 48 by election time in 2024, and carries a famous name!
And the other five times—Barry Goldwater in 1964, Gerald Ford in 1976, Bob Dole in 1996, John McCain in 2008, and Mitt Romney in 2012—–the Republicans lost the Presidency!
How depressing!
It’s been noted that, since 1952, every winning Republican presidential/vice-presidential campaign has had a Nixon or a Bush on the ticket.
This says, reading between the lines, that the Republican Party cannot win without a Nixon or a Bush.
This also tells me that, from those politicians with brains (regardless whether one agrees with them), that the Republican Party doesn’t believe they have too many viable candidates who are outside the Bush family.
For those wanting to engage in false equivalencies aimed at the Democratic Party, by offering a joke here and there about Hillary Clinton: the 2008 winning ticket was triumphant without a Clinton on it. (And the Clinton family didn’t come to light until the 42nd president first won the Arkansas governorship back in 1978. And it took more years for people to pay attention.) So, this Republican Party’s dependency problem—in effect for the six consecutive decades of the 1950s to 2000s—says more about the state of that party than most everything else. (Electoral analyses, of course.) To run another Bush means, “We don’t have confidence with anyone else from our Grand Old Party!”
It’s no wonder the “Citizens United” hidden figures are reportedly getting behind Jeb Bush.