The conservative group, ForAmerica, is launching a video today that declares former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush “unelectable” -- thanks to his participation at a 2013 ceremony honoring former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The minute-long video -- which reflects some of the unease with which conservatives view Bush -- is being distributed to nearly 8 million ForAmerica supporters through the organization’s digital and social media network, it said.
It depicts Bush at the 2013 Liberty Medal Ceremony at which he took the stage to honor Clinton as she was given the National Constitution Center’s Liberty Medal on Sept. 10, 2013.
“It’s bad enough that Hillary Clinton will likely use footage from this event against any Republican nominee, but if Jeb Bush is her opponent she will make him look ridiculous,” said ForAmerica chairman Brent Bozell. “Anytime Jeb calls Hillary 'Obama 2.0,' any criticism he makes of her awful record as Secretary of State, any time he shows how much of an extremist she is on the issues, will be completely dismissed when she reminds everyone that he gave her an award for public service.”
Bozell said the event at which Bush praised Clinton’s public service fell nearly a year to the date after the terrorist attack in Benghazi, which killed four Americans. Clinton was secretary of state at the time of the attack on the diplomatic facilities and Republicans have sought to hold her responsible.
“Jeb has absolutely no credibility to criticize her because he has already anointed her as a great public servant; and he inexplicably did so almost a year to the day of the Benghazi massacre,” Bozell said.
At the time of the event, the Christian Science Monitor reported that Bush, who served as chairman of the Center’s board of trustees, had agreed to honor Clinton.
“Former Secretary Clinton has dedicated her life to serving and engaging people across the world in democracy,” Bush said in a statement at the time. “These efforts as a citizen, an activist, and a leader have earned Secretary Clinton this year’s Liberty Medal.”
The Monitor noted conservative outrage at the time, with Rush Limbaugh suggesting “Bush might have erroneously surmised such a move would woo women and some Democrats to the GOP’s cause.”
The center in Philadelphia bills itself as a “Museum of We the People, America's Town Hall, and a civic education headquarters dedicated to non-partisan constitutional education and debate.” It was established by Congress to “disseminate information about the United States Constitution on a non-partisan basis in order to increase the awareness and understanding of the Constitution among the American people.”
Former presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton serve as chair emeriti.
Bush, who delivered a foreign policy speech on Wednesday that sought to distance himself from his presidential father and brother, included a subtle dig at Clinton, criticizing the Obama administration’s efforts to “reset” relations with foreign countries, presumably including one with Russia that Clinton had championed.
“With grandiosity, they announce resets and then disengage,” Bush said. “Hashtag campaigns replace actual diplomacy and engagement.”