Related
We discussed on Wednesday’s "The State Of California" the role that progressives are playing in shaping the campaign of former Vice President Joe Biden. Now, we look at the pull from the opposite end of the spectrum.
Recently, hundreds of former George W. Bush administration officials endorsed Biden’s campaign, saying that would work to "engage and mobilize disenchanted GOP voters."
One of the most important things for all of us is to realize there is no comparison between the governing of President George W. Bush and the current president. The reality is that a number of us were quite frankly more than disappointed. It’s realizing that this is somebody who not only doesn’t govern, but is quite dangerous for our country, our party. So, we came together. We realized that there is a lot, many more people that feel exactly like us. It is our desire to bring as many people who served in President Bush’s administration throughout the eight years, who helped him campaign, who helped him get there, who helped him govern and say what is happening to our country right now really goes against everything we stand for.
I would hope so. Right now, the Republican party is not the party that I have worked so hard to bring people into the fold. This is not the Republican party of Ronald Reagan. This is not the Republican party of George W. Bush or (President George) Herbert Walker Bush. This is not the party that I worked so hard for. This is Trump’s party. It has nothing to do with conservative values. It has nothing to do with fiscal responsibility. It has nothing to do with how we believe the country should be run. Should Biden be (elected), I think that’s what we will see with George W. Bush. You might remember, there were Democrats for Bush. We need a healer. Most regrettably, this president has not just divided our party, he’s divided the nation. We need somebody that will play the role that George W. Bush did. There were a significant number of Democrats. His lieutenant governor when he was in Texas was a Democrat. He supported him to run for president. He brought people together. That’s what I believe and we believe that Biden will play that role. He will heal our country. In turn, I believe we will heal our Republican party.
I think the progressives really like the fact there’s quite a few of us supporting Joe Biden. At the end of the day, the goal is the same. Clearly, the Republicans that are supporting Biden, the Republicans that work for President Bush, we realize we’re not going to have our agenda. It’s not the Republican agenda that they’re going to pursue. But, we will have a seat at the table. That’s all we want. Right now, nobody has a seat at the table. It’s only him. It’s only the president. Whatever he wants to do, however he wants to do it. He has no dissent. He allows for absolutely no dissent. We need somebody that knows how to govern. He actually has read the Constitution. You know that little thing that says 'We the people,' not 'Me the king.' We need somebody that will be able to listen and will be able to hear, that will be able to bring parties together and make decisions for our nation. That’s why so many of us, the response from people today, the Republicans. There are many Republicans that say, when we call them, 'Oh my God. Thank you. Thank you for calling me. Of course, I’m going to join.' That is not what happened four years ago. Four years ago, it was far and few between Republicans that said openly 'Yes. I want to join. I don’t want this guy elected.'