Bush backers push 'leadership,' opposition to gun control
Looking to rally their campaign, supporters of Jeb Bush are questioning the leadership abilities of his Republican opponents, while the candidate himself is pushing his opposition to gun control measures backed by leading Democrats.
Right to Rise, the super PAC that backs Bush, has a new television ad saying the former Florida governor is the best bet to lead the nation in a time of terrorism -- not Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, or Marco Rubio, three candidates who lead him in various GOP polls.
The ad superimposes pictures of Bush's three opponents in the Oval Office, and says that "when the attacks come here ... The person behind this desk will have to protect your family."
It adds: "Will he be impulsive and reckless, like Donald Trump? Will he have voted to dramatically weaken counter-terrorism surveillance, like Ted Cruz? Will he have skipped crucial national security hearings and votes just to campaign, like Marco Rubio?"
The Right to Rise ad notes that 27 generals and admirals have endorsed Bush, "because Jeb has the experience and knowledge to protect your family."
Bush himself, meanwhile, has a video promoting his opposition to gun control proposals backed by President Obama and former secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the wake of last week's mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif.
The video features Bush saying that gun control is irrelevant to the battle against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, the terrorist group responsible for the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris. The group also allegedly inspired the California shooters.
"The first impulse of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama is to have gun control," Bush says. "The first impulse in my mind is let's have a strategy to take out ISIS there so we don't have to deal with it here."
Bush is putting a major priority on the Feb. 9 New Hampshire primary. His team is promoting poll results showing that, in the Granite State, Bush is the second most trusted GOP candidate on national security, behind Trump.