ATLANTA — Jeb Bush, who has fought the perception of conservatives that he is not one of them, journeyed into the lion’s den Saturday. While he may not have converted every skeptic at the RedState Gathering, a conclave of anti-establishment Republicans, he persuaded more than a few to give him a second look.
After Bush’s solid but largely unmemorable outing Thursday in the first Republican debate — where he was overshadowed by the pyrotechnics around him — he came across in Atlanta as having tamed his wonkiness and as being confident in defending positions he knew were unpopular with many in the crowd.
“I for one believe that, and I’m going to stand on that,” Bush said in detailing his immigration views, which are crosswise to those of many conservatives. The former Florida governor earned applause for that line, as he did throughout a 33-minute speech and question period in front of activists whose tastes run to more avowed conservatives like Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana.
Bush’s advisers said beforehand that they had accepted the invitation without high expectations. But afterward, many in the audience seemed ready to give him the Most Improved Candidate award for better articulating his positions and displaying more verve.
“He impressed me more than I had anticipated,” said Timothy Cowles of Alabama, a retiree with libertarian leanings who favors Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky. “He did a much better job of explaining what he did in Florida than what I’ve previously heard.”
“I very much admire him for defending the things that are not so understood or popular with far-right conservatives,” said Leanne Owens, of Cartersville, Georgia. “Though the grass-roots people here didn’t give him the crazy welcome as some of the others, I think they were very receptive to what he had to say.”
Pressed by a questioner on immigration, Bush laid out plans for policing the border and reforming the immigration system.
Then he ventured into territory few other Republican candidates dare to enter — what to do about 11 million undocumented people in the country — other than to denounce “amnesty.”
“Might as well bring that up,” Bush said. He laid out his proposal for granting legal status — although not citizenship — to people who had paid fines and taxes, and had learned English.
Deporting these 11 million people, as suggested by Donald Trump, whose anti-immigration stance fueled his rise, would cost $400 billion to $600 billion over 20 years, Bush said, citing a conservative think tank as his source.
“I for one think the plan I just laid out is a better plan than a 400-to-600-billion cost plan,” he added.
He received a round of applause for that, as well as for a jab at Trump, who had been disinvited from the forum after his remarks about Megyn Kelly, the Fox News anchor who grilled Trump during the debate Thursday.
“You think that’s tough,” Bush said of the questioning, “how about dealing with Putin?”
And after other candidates had promised to rescind every executive order of President Barack Obama’s — the kind of sweeping vow that led to foot stomping — Bush gave a more nuanced explanation that some orders could not be reversed easily without violating the Constitution. The mention of the Constitution in a crowd with roots in the Tea Party drew applause so loud Bush was drowned out.
“A gal behind me was annoying my hearing aids with all her applause,” Cowles said.
Some others were less impressed with Bush, 62. They said that they had no appetite for another candidate named Bush and that Republicans needed a fresher, younger nominee in 2016.
“He’s a nice guy,” said Joseph Campbell, a lawyer from Albany, Georgia. “But I mean, this is RedState. There are going to be other preferences.”
John Beisner, who works for a payment processing company in northern Georgia, praised Bush for his willingness to speak to a crowd not predisposed to support him. But he said Bush’s lack of ideological purity may displease many grass-roots activists.
“People need to be a lot more articulate about our conservative ideals,” Beisner said. “I don’t think it’s his strength.”
