And To Debate Mr. Bush, Here Is Mr. Bush

Open the dictionary (if you still own one, which probably means you're over 50 years of age) and look up the word "weasel" (mountain weasel, below).  You will find that the picture accompanying the definition bears a striking resemblance to a former governor of Florida, who is raising the use of weasel words to an impressive level.

Reporting on the the appeal of the ex-governor to attendees of the NRA convention in Nashville, Patrick O'Connor and Beth Reinhard of The Wall Street Journal report

During his eight-year stretch as governor, Mr. Bush signed numerous bills extending new rights to gun owners, including those to expand protections for people permitted to carry concealed firearms. As a result, more than a million Floridians have permits to carry concealed weapons. He also approved a measure allowing Florida to extend its protections to residents of other states who visit the Sunshine State.

One of those Floridians with a permit to carry a concealed weapon was one George Zimmerman. Nonetheless, Bush's appeal is enhanced because of

.... the 2005 decision to sign a bill, among the most sweeping of its kind, that expanded protections for Floridians who use deadly force against home intruders or people who attack them in their cars, workplace or even on the street. The law has since become a touchstone in a broader debate about the use of deadly force, following the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager.

Not only is that not embarrassing (nor would you expect it to be) among GOP activists, Bush tried in Nashville to turn the legislation to his own political advantage, contending "liberal, progressive worldview of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and Eric Holder, and all of the other people who want to take the guns out of the hands of the good guys." You know those good guys- felons, the mentally ill, individuals who sell guns to Mexican drug cartels, and the others we should keep armed at all times.

John Ellis Bush did not say whether George Zimmerman, who was acquitted of murdering Trayvon Martin, is one of the "good guys."   However, according to the WSJ

In the aftermath of the Trayvon Martin shooting, Mr. Bush said the law shouldn’t have applied in those circumstances, in which the teen was shot by a self-appointed local neighborhood watchman. Mr. Bush also expressed sympathy for the victim’s family, telling reporters that “anytime an innocent life is taken, it’s a tragedy,” and he questioned the pace of the investigation.

But Mr. Bush didn’t waver in his support for the underlying legislation. “Applied properly, I support the law,” Mr. Bush stated shortly after the incident.

If John Ellis Bush believed a mistake had been made by the jury or by Judge Debra Nelson, he should have said so, for the latter told the jury 

If George Zimmerman was not engaged in an unlawful activity and was attacked in any place where he had a right to be, he had no duty to retreat and had the right to stand his ground and meet force with force, including deadly force if he reasonably believed that it was necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or another or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.

The error was the law, notwithstanding an attempt to weasel out of either admitting it was misguided or at least arguing that the legislation usually results in a fair outcome.  Instead, Bush takes no responsibility for instances in which the law has been counter-productive.  O'Connor & Reinhard quote "vocal critic" Democratic state senator Chris Smith noting Bush "was aware of the possible ramifications. We brought up Trayvon Martin situations in those debates."

This is the way it is with John Ellis Bush.  In South Carolina last month, he said "state minimum wage laws are fine" but also that he merely opposes raising the federal minimum wage. (His aides are noncommittal.) At around the same time, he asserted "there should be protections, and so, as it relates to marriage equality," using the left's code for support of same-sex marriage. Simultaneously, he maintained "I don't know about the law, but religious freedom is a serious issue, and it's increasingly so, and I think people that act on their conscience shouldn't be discriminated against, for sure."

Evidently, Bush is for same-sex marriage except when religious people speak out against it (spinning his web of deceit on the Hugh Hewitt Show in late March, below). And he "doesn't know about the law" because, presumably, the law doesn't matter. In virtually all matters, John Ellis Bush will be whatever his benefactors wish him to be.










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