Jeb Bush publicly debuted his rhetorical attacks on Florida Sen. Marco Rubio during Wednesday’s debate, but the governor has privately stockpiled ammo against his protege for quite some time.
According to a leaked memo provided to Bush donors last weekend — later obtained by U.S. News — the governor’s campaign wants to label Rubio as a perilous choice in the minds of GOP primary voters.
“No accomplishments, negating hit against Hillary Clinton,” reads a page of the memo titled “Marco Is a Risky Bet.” “Marco’s ‘tomorrow versus yesterday’ argument will be widely ridiculed by media while running against ‘first woman president.'”
The Bush team also highlighted that Rubio has “never been in charge of anything larger than two dozen people,” has “no credible experience beyond government” and “those who have looked into Marco’s background in the past have been concerned with what they have found.”
The document specifically points to Rubio’s “closeness” with billionaire Norman Braman and the senator’s ties to “scandal-tarred former Congressman David Rivera” as causes for concern. The New York Times has alleged that Rubio has “steered taxpayer funds for Mr. Braman’s favored causes,” and the Washington Post named Rivera as Rubio’s “biggest impediment to being chosen vice president” in 2012.
But Mitt Romney’s team in charge of vetting Rubio for a possible Romney-Rubio ticket in 2012 pushed back against the Bush memo’s claim.
“Nothing we found would have disqualified him from serving as VP,” Beth Myers, a Romney advisor who oversaw Rubio’s vetting in 2012, told the The Blaze. Romney’s decision to embark upon another presidential campaign may have been blunted by Bush’s early momentum.
The memo also took issue with Rubio’s record in the Senate. It notes that Rubio has not received an endorsement from any fellow senator while Bush has received the support of three senators and 20 House members. The Bush team sought to paint Rubio as a “GOP Obama.”
“We need to offer a contrast to the current president. Hillary will pitch competence and experience. Marco is a GOP Obama,” the memo reads. “Rubio and President Obama have strikingly similar profiles: first-term senators, lawyers and university lecturers, served in part-time state legislatures for eight years, had few legislative accomplishments, and haven’t shown much interest in the process of advancing legislation and getting results.”
Amid the leak of his campaign’s strategy, Bush has not backed away from his rhetorical attacks on Rubio. After criticizing Rubio during the debate, the governor appeared on CNN and Fox News to pile on the senator.
“I just think that people when they get elected, they ought to serve, they ought to do their jobs,” Bush told Fox News. “Look Marco is a gifted politician. He is incredibly gifted and he needs to be able to do his job. He’s going to be a great candidate for sure, but I think he’s a United States senator. He ought to show up.”
Bush, who fell to seventh in the Washington Examiner‘s most recent power rankings, returned to New Hampshire after Wednesday’s debate. The governor’s team expressed its intention to place additional emphasis on the Granite State prior to the debate, and the memo shows how. The memo explains that Bush has more paid staffers and has made more visits to New Hampshire than any other early nominating state. The Bush team also claims to have stolen Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s support in the “Live Free or Die” state.
After spending much of the week in New Hampshire, Bush will stump through Florida and Iowa later this weekend.
