Why Jeb Bush’s ‘free stuff’ argument about black voters is so off-the-mark

[applegrove]

Why Jeb Bush’s ‘free stuff’ argument about black voters is so off-the-mark

by Philip Bump at the Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/09/25/why-jeb-bushs-free-stuff-argument-about-black-voters-is-so-off-the-mark/

"SNIP...............


Republican presidential candidate and former Florida governor Jeb Bush speaks during a town hall meeting on Aug. 17 in Columbia, S.C. (Rainier Ehrhardt/AP)

Former Florida governor Jeb Bush made a weird comment during a town hall meeting in South Carolina on Thursday night. Responding to a question about how the Republican Party could win black votes, Bush said that "[o]ur message is one of hope and aspiration. It isn't one of division and get in line and we'll take care of you with free stuff."

The comment was odd in part because it echoed remarks made by Mitt Romney in 2012 that prompted a strong backlash. It's similar to Romney's famous "47 percent" remarks, but also, as our Sean Sullivan notes, is precisely the language Romney used at a separate fundraising event that that year. Even if Bush thinks that the Democrats win votes by giving "free stuff" to black voters, it's not a smart thing to say.

But he also shouldn't think that, because there's no evidence that it's true.

1. More whites than blacks receive food stamps:




...............SNIP"

[jaysunb]

1. Pandering to the "base" won't help you Jebbie....

Even normal white people don't like you.

[hollowdweller]

2. Is he trying to lose the very few black people who might vote for him?

He easily could have said something like despite 8 years of Obama blacks are still behind economically and still being killed and jailed disproportionately by the law, and then explained how he had this plan for both of those problems.

Instead he proved that it is probably stupid insulting things like he said rather than any gov't largesse is the reason black people vote democratic.

[Gothmog]

3. This argument did not work for Romney and will not work for Jeb

[pansypoo53219]

4. is not tax cuts FREE STUFF?