Jeb Bush says he wants 'conversations with citizens.' Does he mean it?
| Washington
Potential political candidates want to make it appear as if they鈥檙e being recruited to run, rather than doing so out of their own ambition. That has given rise to expressions seeking to stress that they鈥檙e seeking voters鈥� input before they enter the fray, including the 鈥渃onversations with citizens鈥� that Jeb Bush used this week.
The former Florida governor 鈥� brother and son to ex-presidents 鈥� on Facebook and Twitter that he鈥檚 decided 鈥渢o actively explore the possibility of running for President of the United States.鈥� He wrote that he intends 鈥渢o establish a Leadership PAC that will help me facilitate conversations with citizens across America to discuss the most critical challenges facing our exceptional nation. The PAC鈥檚 purpose will be to support leaders, ideas and policies that will expand opportunity and prosperity for all Americans.鈥�
Presidential candidates don鈥檛 usually establish these fundraising vehicles just for the chance to converse with the electorate. Mr. Bush likely has already made up his mind he鈥檚 running. But the 鈥渃onversation鈥� aspect of his note provides a veneer of doubt about his intentions 鈥� which, of course, only has among political insiders.
He鈥檚 not the first possible White House aspirant to talk like this. Back in 1999, Republican Elizabeth Dole to announce her presidential exploratory committee, but declined to provide many of her specific policy stands. 鈥淚 want to hear from people 鈥� I want to listen,鈥� she explained. Ms. Dole 鈥� whose husband, Bob, unsuccessfully ran in 1996 鈥� eventually pulled out of the race before the primaries.
Such expressions are a linguistic cousin of the oft-employed 鈥渓istening tour鈥� among all-but-certain presidential candidates. Most recently, Hillary Rodham Clinton has taken that route as she considers jumping into the 2016 scrum.
that just after Democrats鈥� 2014 midterm election drubbing, 鈥淚n the coming weeks, Hillary Rodham Clinton will stop delivering paid speeches. She will embark on an unofficial listening tour to gather ideas from the business community, union leaders and others. And she will seek advice from such far-flung advisers as an ad man in Austin, Tex., behind the iconic 鈥楧on鈥檛 Mess With Texas鈥� campaign and a leading strategist at a Boston-based public affairs consulting firm with ties to the Kennedys.鈥�
In these situations, the term 鈥渆xplore鈥� is never far away. It refers to the early stages of a campaign in which a candidate who has already decided to run doesn鈥檛 yet go all the way. It鈥檚 usually a rhetorical fig leaf to allow for better fundraising.
An exploratory committee technically creates a legal shell for a candidate who expects to spend more than $5,000 while contemplating an actual run. Under campaign finance rules, exploratory money may be raised without the full disclosure of sources required of true candidates. Those donors must only be revealed when the candidate drops the exploratory phase and jumps fully into the race.
Chuck McCutcheon and David Mark write their "Speaking Politics" blog exclusively for Decoder Voices.
