It looks like Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush, who announced Monday he is restarting his struggling campaign, may find difficulty in securing a website to match his new slogan.
A Texas man named Jimmy Flannigan registered the domain name “JebCanFixIt.com” on Thursday after he got word that Bush intended to use the slogan “Jeb Can Fix It.” The slogan is similar to one Flannigan used for a 2014 campaign for Austin City Council, “Flannigan Can Fix It.”
“Since it was so close to my own city council slogan, I couldn’t pass up the chance to poke fun at the Gov. and show off my epic campaign video again,” Flannigan said in an email to the Washington Examiner. “When I decided to use ‘Flannigan Can Fix It’ in my race last year, I didn’t leak the line to the media before buying the domain name.”
The website currently sports a logo on the top banner that reads “Jeb? 2016”, a play off of Bush’s actual campaign logo “Jeb! 2016.” It sits beside another logo in the shape of a hammer with the words: “Flannigan Can Fix It!”
“Jeb Bush is trying to steal my slogan!” Flannigan says on the homepage. “But can Jeb Bush really fix anything as President if he can’t beat my epic campaign video?”
Though he snagged the website before the campaign had a chance to, Flannigan says he’s willing to sell it to Bush.
“There are never enough resources to do the hard grassroots organizing required for the good governance I fight for at the local level,” he said.
Flannigan lost the city council election, after a December runoff, to Don Zimmerman by 189 votes. But, he added, “I exceeded all expectations for an LGBT candidate in a conservative district.”
He has not made any formal announcement for another run for the council, but he said “it hasn’t stopped me from continuing to work hard in my district and organize folks to fix local problems.”
When asked if he was supporting any particular presidential candidate in 2016, Flannigan said he does not currently endorse anyone. However, he said, “I’m definitely not supporting any candidate in the Republican field.”
If Bush does intend on securing a website that features his new slogan, he will also find a roadblock with “JebCanFixIt.org,” which features three videos decrying Bush’s past remarks on gun violence, women’s health and racial inequality.
The Bush campaign did not return a request for comment.
