Earlier today, Jeb Bush’s presidential campaign stopped in Bristol, VA to help the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus maintain its leadership following this November’s elections. Despite his busy schedule, Jeb lent his presence to this fundraiser, packing the room and delivering much-needed campaign funds to assist Republican campaigns in key battleground Senate districts as the close race for control of Virginia’s Senate nears its final full month.
Following a short reception, the crowd reconvened for the main event: an unscripted Q&A session with Jeb on his presidential campaign platform. Senators Bill Carrico, Ben Chafin, and Ryan McDougle, along with Senate candidate Nancy Dye, took turns presenting a host of policy questions collected from the audience.
The crowd in attendance was dazzled by Jeb’s command of policy, as well as his ability to recall key facts and figures during this wholly unscripted session. Despite the impromptu format, Jeb delivered an impressive performance with a clarity most candidates couldn’t achieve with the full assistance of a teleprompter, weaving together a cognizant understanding of high-level policy challenges with specific remedies for each challenge in keeping with his philosophy of conservative reform.
While the questions encompassed the full political spectrum from transportation to foreign policy, Jeb connected each answer with the two central themes of his campaign: the need for the nation to achieve and maintain sustained 4% GDP growth, and his vision of empowering state-level decision making by reducing Washington’s control over state and local issues.
Jeb’s vision for transportation was well-received by legislators and audience members alike. Southwest Virginia has struggled to address key transportation challenges while facing a host of bureaucratic difficulties at the hand of President Obama’s EPA. To thunderous applause, Jeb vowed to rein in EPA overreach while articulating a federal transportation policy focused on the block-granting of funds as a means of empowering state and local decision makers to address local needs with greater clarity than Washington bureaucrats. Jeb made his criticism of business-as-usual quite clear, calling for deep structural reform of the Washington bureaucracy and Congressional earmarking practices which have misdirected transportation funds for too long.
On foreign policy, Jeb communicated his vision for peace and prosperity through strength, preferring to negotiate from a position of advantage conferred by the military strength of ready-and-able armed forces alongside the economic strength delivered from sustained economic growth.
Among all issues covered, Jeb’s command of policy shone brightest when the conversation shifted to the economic and energy challenges faced by the nation.
Throughout the course of his campaign, Jeb has been unequivocal in his belief that America’s long-term challenges are best solved through economic growth – and he’s right, for only economic growth can solve the structural fiscal challenges threatening to bankrupt the nation and leave America’s next generation with greater economic opportunity than enjoyed by generations past.
During the session, Jeb reiterated his bold, pro-growth platform by focusing on the four pillars of his plan: reforming the broken federal tax code, reining in Washington’s runaway culture of regulatory overreach, improving education while adding a career-ready focus, and – critically for this point in American history – dramatically expanding American energy production.
Jeb’s policy-heavy answers left no doubts that increasing energy production would occupy a central position in his administration’s policymaking. Among 2016’s presidential field, Jeb’s command of energy policy issues is second to none.
Jeb’s vision for pro-energy policies was crystal clear, as he called for an American energy renaissance to dramatically expand the production of energy in America towards his ultimate goal of North American energy independence within five years, which, according to his estimates, would create millions of jobs in energy production as well as millions more in manufacturing industries reliant on affordable energy prices.
To heavy applause, Jeb declared his belief in America’s manufacturing sector, envisioning an economy in which more and more goods were proudly made in America, made possible by low energy costs and a greatly reduced regulatory burden in line with his vision for conservative reform.
The crowd in attendance listened intently as Jeb outlined a detailed national energy policy covering both production as well as distribution, calling for the expansion of market-rate energy such as coal, oil, and natural gas, as well as the infrastructure required to bring that energy to market, along with the repeal of regulatory barriers to the export of crude oil and liquefied natural gas.
Jeb’s criticism of Hillary Clinton’s opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline was clear and emphatic. Despite strong public support, Clinton recently announced her opposition to the project in a desperate bid to buoy her sagging poll numbers, much to the delight of the extreme anti-energy Democrats whose opposition to energy production now represents the prevailing view of that party.
Jeb’s call for an American energy renaissance could not come in a better location than Virginia’s coal country. According to EIA statistics, from 2011 to 2013, the number of active coal mines and gross tonnage produced in Virginia have both decreased by 26%, while mine employment has fallen 14%, leaving many towns deeply fearful for their future as President Obama’s war on coal continues to drain the very livelihood of the region, with devastating economic impacts felt far beyond the gates of the now-shuttered mines. As mine production sags so too do the economies of entire towns, as the loss of primary production is multiplied severalfold as it ripples throughout the community’s service sector.
Though full details have yet to be released, Jeb’s pro-energy platform is sure to find many friends not just in Southwest Virginia, but all across the Commonwealth as well as the nation.
Make no mistake: Jeb’s expertise on energy policy issues will win him many supporters following the rollout of his detailed plan, as Americans weary of the past six years of poor economic growth and foreign policy challenges demand bold, pro-energy leadership which increases American prosperity and bolsters national security through North American energy independence.
While an American energy renaissance remains more than a year away – and will only occur if Republicans retake the White House – Virginia’s Republicans are certainly grateful to Jeb for his willingness to support Virginia’s Senate Republican Caucus in the critical and closely-contested November elections.
Despite a roomful of energetic supporters, Jeb’s opponents managed to muster only one lone protester, while he remained positive and busy channeling Ronald Reagan in calling for optimistic campaigns which inspire and expand the Republican electorate by laying out a vision of opportunity and prosperity for all Americans.
