Jeb! takes to the
op-ed pages of the
Des Moines Register to do a little pandering to Iowa, leaving the general impression that he doesn't have a lot of respect for the intelligence of actual Iowans.
In a rambling message that he must have penned (or crayoned) himself, he suggests that to the rubes in the heartland, Washington, DC, is like some sort of Oz, a "remote and gleaming city of marble and glass I like to call Mount Washington." But even though Iowans are so far removed from Mount Washington, they have a lesson for it because "Iowans are managing to save for the future, invest in their local communities and live within their means." Ah, down home heartland values. Which are just like the values he had in . . . Florida?
When I got to Tallahassee as governor in January 1999, I called the city "Mount Tallahassee" because it was so remote from the people. But I took it on, and we ended the status quo. […]
It’s that record I plan to repeat when I take on Washington D.C.
Somehow I don't think Iowa is going to be swayed by the idea that Jeb!'s vision for the country is to make it more like Florida. Setting that aside, what was Jeb!'s point? Oh, that's right. It's his "new approach." Which actually consists of some very dusty, old ideas that have been floating around since the days of Reagan: a balanced budget amendment; a line-item veto; and a federal budget just like the budget Americans make around their kitchen table every year that ends "the assumption among government agencies that they are owed an increase just because the population and inflation went up."
How's that for an economically sound idea? Freeze the budget and just pretend like the federal government doesn't need to respond to the economic pressures on it. Brilliant! That, Jeb! argues, will result in a "new culture" in Washington and ultimately a remaking of America. "Bring the deficit down. Reform our tax code. Fix our broken immigration system. Double the pace of economic growth. Create 19 million new jobs."
Just like magic! Who knew a balanced budget would finally lead to comprehensive immigration reform? Jeb! Because, remember, he's the smart one.