Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Lessons from 1880

The Weekly Standard gives Jeb Bush some bad news from 1880.
Being the establishment guy doesn't mean you'll be the ultimate guy.
The 1880 campaign has been mostly forgotten, but the nomination that year was really a watershed in the young GOP’s history. Ulysses S. Grant had been out of the White House for four years by that point, and the ensuing time had been hard for the professional political class. Nowadays, when we think of the GOP “professional class” we imagine the mega-donors, strategists, consultants, and lobbyists -- all of whom draw a living off Republican politics in some manner or another. Back then, the professional class hailed from the political machines in states like Pennsylvania and New York. These were the bosses, lieutenants, and various campaign workers who depended on federal patronage, mostly through government jobs like the post offices and customs houses.
Bush offers the professional class a chance to make cash.
What does he offer the rest of the party?

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