Bush faces skeptics at CPAC

Jeb Bush didn’t back down Friday as he faced skeptical conservatives, staunchly defending his stands on immigration and education policy while pointing to his record as a tax-slashing governor as proof of his conservative bona fides.

The former Florida governor’s appearance before the Conservative Political Action Conference served as a reminder of his overall challenge and strategy: working to keep conservatives from rebelling and rallying behind a strong alternative for the Republican presidential nomination but not giving up the positions that could help him in a general election battle with likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

Bush started down that path with his 26-minute appearance at the conservative meeting, aided by a boisterous crowd of supporters who drowned out the occasional jeer. Electing to take questions from Fox News’ Sean Hannity rather than deliver prepared remarks, Bush didn’t retreat from any of the stances that have made many conservatives wary of his possible candidacy.

Instead, he urged his critics to consider him as a “second choice” and called on Republicans to broaden their tent.

There are a lot of conservatives who “don’t know that they’re conservative,” he said. “If we share our enthusiasm, love for our country and believe in our philosophy, we will be able to get Latinos and young people and other people that we need to win.”

Bush’s appearance at the meeting was more chaotic than the others. A Georgia man dressed as one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence staged a walkout to protest Bush’s appearance, countered by dozens of supporters sporting red “Jeb! ‘16” stickers who filed into the ballroom.

“That was raucous and wild and I loved it,” Bush later told a gathering of supporters. He promised an optimistic campaign if he runs, and said the party needs to “not just unite a conservative party, we also need to reach out to people that haven’t been asked in a while. Young people, Hispanics, African-Americans. We should be taking this case everywhere we can.”

Though Bush has proved a formidable fundraiser, secured a raft of weighty advisers and landed impressive hires in key primary states, conservatives – who play an outsized role in many states – remain wary of his support for the Common Core educational standards and for a path to legal status for immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.

Critics view Common Core as a federal intrusion into what they regard as a local function. But Bush defended the standards while criticizing the Obama administration as meddling unnecessarily.

He touted his education record in Tallahassee, saying the state has more school choice – public and private – than any other state.

“It’s a record of accomplishment, of getting things done,” Bush said of his tenure as Florida’s governor from 1999 to 2007. He boasted of slashing spending and leaving his successor with $9.5 billion in reserves.

“They called me Veto Corleone,” he said, a reference to the nickname he acquired after slashing lawmakers’ pet projects from the state budget.

Bush also wouldn’t relent on immigration. He supports a path to legal status for immigrants in the U.S. illegally, a position unpopular with conference attendees, who consider it amnesty.

“The simple fact is there is not a plan to deport 11 million people,” Bush said. “We should give them a path to legal status where they work, they don’t get government benefits, they learn English and make a contribution to our society.”

This story was originally published February 28, 2015 at 11:24 AM with the headline "Bush faces skeptics at CPAC."