Among the many unpleasant surprises the GOP establishment has had to endure this election cycle, the failure of the Jeb Bush campaign to catch fire is one of the most perplexing.  (For them.  Conservatives expected this all along.)  After all, family connections and big money normally are the gateway to power, and Jeb has both in abundance.  Those wretched ingrates in the party base are unforgiving when it comes meekly accepting establishment dictates on picking the nominee in the wake of the McCain and Romney disasters.  Being a Bush is a huge negative outside the corridors of power, as the specter of a dynastic rematch between a Clinton and a Bush suggests a monarchy, not a republic. Ed O’Keefe and Matea Gold of the Washington Post see the current moment as a “make or break time” for Jeb.  Jeb Bush is entering a critical phase of his Republican presidential campaign, with top donors warning that the former Florida governor...(Read Full Post)