As fans were tailgating on the eve of Tennessee’s victory over Georgia, there was a very different crowd awaiting the arrival of Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush outside the Humanities and Social Science building.
Organized by the UT College Republicans through Mission: NEXT, Bush’s campaign donor program for supporters under 40, the event featured a three minute speech from the former Florida governor, followed by a meet and greet with the crowd.
Introduced by Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, Bush’s short speech focused less on specific issues, and more on a general message of hope aimed at his moderate conservative supporters.
“We have to have a hopeful, optimistic message, not one that’s angry, appealing to people’s angst,” Bush said, seemingly in reference to his chief Republican rival Donald Trump.
Referencing issues ranging from a “broken” tax code to the country’s need to embrace the “energy revolution,” Bush called on his supporters to show up at the primary polls next March to help ensure his place as the next president of the United States.
“I’d rather be 21 than my age, I promise you that, because this will be a time of great purpose, great abundance, but we need a leader that will fix the things that are broken in Washington.”
Bush’s arrival came one day before presidential hopeful Ben Carson’s visit to the city. Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, made an appearance at Books-A-Million Sunday night as a part of his campaign.
For those in attendance, the arrival of Jeb Bush served as an opportunity to discuss the future of the GOP in American politics.
There are currently 15 Republican politicians who have declared their intention to run for president, following Wisconsin governor Scott Walker and former Texas governor Rick Perry both announcing their drop outs within weeks of each other.
With such an array of candidates to choose from, Nicola Shorten, senior in business analytics, felt Bush hit home with her on several issues, but his overall message was not one she could get behind.
“During the primaries, candidates say a lot of super super super conservative things and alienate a lot of voters, and I think he has alienated a lot of women with his talk about defunding Planned Parenthood,” Shorten said, noting Bush would ultimately “need to be more centrist” if he ever hopes to get elected.
Conversely, Andrew Shorten, freshman in finance, described Bush as someone who “has the feel of what a president should be.” Referencing his time as governor and political lineage, Andrew’s confidence in Bush has remained strong throughout the race.
“He’s had the experience of being next to two other presidents, so he definitely understands what the job comes with.”
As hot button issues like immigration and the defunding of Planned Parenthood spill over into Republican debate, Mckenzie Manning, sophomore in journalism, described exactly what was on the mind of the many conservatives there to see Bush.
“I just think he’s the lesser of all the other evils.”
As fans were tailgating on the eve of Tennessee's victory over Georgia, there was a very different crowd awaiting the arrival of Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush outside HSS.
