Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush issued a GOP-style call for economic fairness in a major campaign kick-off speech at the Detroit Economic Club Wednesday, road-testing his effort to sell Republican primary voters on a softer conservative message than the tea party-tinged ideas coming from Capitol Hill.
Mr. Bush said his vision for the future is anchored in the belief that far too many people have been left behind during the nation’s economic recovery, and he said more ordinary Americans should have the chance to climb up the economic ladder.
“Americans across the country are frustrated. They see only a small portion of the population riding the economy’s ’up’ escalator,” Mr. Bush said. “It’s true enough that we’ve seen some recent and welcome good news on the economy. But it’s very little, and it’s come very late.
With the unemployment rate on the decline and economic growth on the rise, Mr. Bush focused on stagnant wages of workers, and said that the “opportunity gap is the defining issue of our time.”
Mr. Bush, who served as governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007, announced in December that he was exploring a presidential bid.
He has since launched a “Right to Rise” political action committee and super PAC, and on Wednesday he provided a glimpse of the message he could employ on the campaign trail.
SEE ALSO: Jeb Bush: Parents should make sure kids are vaccinated
A number of GOP presidential hopefuls have said 2012 nominee Mitt Romney made a mistake in his infamous caught-on-tape “47 percent” comment, when he seemed to write off nearly half of voters as too dependent on government help and unwilling to vote for a Republican.
GOP leaders have said their party needs to connect with those voters, offering them a conservative vision that can help them economically.
Mr. Bush, whose last election was in 2002, said he is returning to the political stage to speak for those who “don’t want to wait for the government to deliver prosperity” and who want to “earn it themselves.”
He offered little in the way of specifics, but blamed the Obama administration and the rest of Washington for “recklessly degrading the value of work” and building “a spider web that traps people in perpetual dependence.”
Mr. Bush is viewed as one of the biggest beneficiaries of Mr. Romney’s decision to take a pass on another presidential run — unlocking a number of donors who were waiting to see what the former Massachusetts governor did.
But many grass-roots activists say there’s little appetite for yet another member of the Bush family, following his brother, who was president from 2001 to 2009, and his father, who was president from 1989 to 1993.
SEE ALSO: Obama to host illegal immigrant Dreamers at White House
Conservatives have also criticized Mr. Bush’s support of Common Core K-12 education standards and his immigration overhaul plans, which include a path to legalization for illegal immigrants.
During a question and answer session Wednesday, Mr. Bush reiterated his support for immigration reform, calling it “the lowest hanging fruit,” and acknowledged that running in the shadow of his brother and father poses an “interesting challenge.”
“If I was to go beyond the consideration of running, I would have to deal with this and turn this fact into an opportunity to share who I am, to connect on a human level with people, and offer ideas that are important to people,” he said. “So when they think of me, they think that I am on their side, that I care about them and that the issues that I am passionate about will help them rise up.”
A Des Moines Register poll of 402 Republican likely caucus-goers released last week suggested Mr. Bush could have an uphill battle in Iowa, which opens the nomination race.
He is running in fifth place, behind Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and neurosurgeon Ben Carson.
The survey also showed that 37 percent of the respondents said Mr. Bush was “too moderate” for their taste — putting him second to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who was “too moderate” for 46 percent of respondents.
A poll released Wednesday out of New Hampshire, host of the first in the nation primary, showed Mr. Bush running second behind Mr. Walker.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.