Bill Maher is going for the jugular on Jeb Bush these days—first mocking his hypocrisy on marijuana, and now questioning whether he converted to Catholicism purely for political gain.
In a column bluntly titled “Jeb Bush: Convenient Catholic?” Maher writes, “Did you know Jeb Bush is Catholic? Neither did I.”
“He certainly doesn’t let it get in the way,” he continues, “like when he used the Church’s belief in the sanctity of life as cover for dicking around with Terri Schiavo, but didn’t let it prevent him from executing 21 guys.”
Maher goes on to suggest that both Jeb and George W. Bush adopted their religions of choice based on the poll numbers in their respective states:
Jeb noticed his wife was Catholic after 22 years, and ran for Governor of Florida, where the voters are 26% Catholic / 25% Evangelical Protestant.
“I’m just saying the Bush boys tend to believe in whatever juju the locals do,” Maher concludes.
Bush converted to Catholicism in 1996, after losing his 1994 campaign for Florida governor. Bush has since described it as a difficult time for his family—his marriage with his Catholic wife, Columba, was in dire straits. According to Bush, he went through a “personal transformation” after that election, leading to his conversion.
