Bush tells packed auditorium he has the experience to get the job done

The former Florida governor with family ties to the presidency jogged to the front of a packed Johnson Auditorium on Tuesday night on the Coastal Carolina University campus as the crowd broke out in applause.

Nearly 300 people crowded into the small assembly room to hear Jeb Bush, a 2016 Republican contender for the nation’s highest office, share his plans to restore the United States’ former glory as a super power that strikes fear in the hearts of its enemies and confidence in its allies.

He spoke of turning the nation’s debt and deficit crisis around with a plan to create 4 percent annual economic growth, in part by trimming spending and the federal workforce and cutting taxes. And he said, he was the man with the proven past experience to get the job done.

Bush led the state of Florida as its 43rd governor for eight years and he said that during that time the state saw an annual 4 percent economic growth as he cut taxes, which gave taxpayers on average an extra $1,300 in their pockets.

Under President Barack Obama’s leadership, Bush said families have seen a reduction of about $2,300 in their purses each year as the nation’s debt has continued to climb.

“We need to grow our economy,” he said.

Bush shared plans of eliminating tax loopholes for special interests and certain tax breaks for industries and ceding some of the federal government’s power back to the states.

“We need competency and conservative principles in Washington, D.C.,” he told the crowd. “I know how to fix big complex things and that’s what we need in Washington right now.”

Bush is the son and brother of former U.S. presidents. His father, George H.W. Bush, led the nation from 1989 to 1993. His brother, George W. Bush, served as the nation’s 43rd commander in chief from 2001 to 2009.

In a question and answer session after his speech, Jeb Bush tackled a query of how his leadership would be different from that of his father and brother.

“This has to be about the future,” Bush said, adding that he would prove his own standing as president the way he proved his own experience as governor.

His hardest words were reserved for terrorists as he laid out a plan to crack down on the Islamic State.

His plan involved embedding troops in Iraqi forces, like the French have done, he said, providing consistent air power to support local ground forces and providing more support to allies in the region. In Syria, he said he would seek to help the people fight the threats of ISIS and the Assad regime and expand the efforts to recruit and train Syrian opposition fighters. He said he would create safe zones and no-fly zones in the war-torn country so its people wouldn’t feel forced to flee.

We need to “tell ISIS, ‘we’re coming after you’ and we need to do it in an effective way,” he said. There would be no mercy for terrorists in his playbook, he added, as the crowd exploded in applause.

Bush earned more support from the crowd when he spoke of the woes of Common Core and how many freshmen are coming to college only to learn they need to take high school-level reading and mathematics.

“I agree with a lot of his points,” said Emily Muffley, a freshman at CCU who admitted she found herself having to take high school classes at the university.

Sharon Cockerel, a member of the Horry County Republican Party who lives in the Carolina Forest community, said she too agreed with a “majority of what he said.”

“I would like to see Bush as president,” she said after the town hall.

Before the event, Ben Anderson, an intern for the Bush campaign and Political Science freshman at CCU, was chanting “Who can fix it? Jeb can fix it” outside the Wall building as attendees walked inside.

After the debate, he inched closer to his candidate saying, “I think he did wonderful.”

“I think he speaks well. He’s smart. He knows what he’s talking about,” said Dilan Jones, a junior at Conway High School, referring to Bush’s experience as governor.

Jones and her fellow classmate, J Levermore, also a junior at Conway High, said it was important for them to come and learn about the candidates, especially since they will be eligible to vote next year. And they plan to vote.

This story was originally published November 17, 2015 at 8:57 PM with the headline "Bush tells packed auditorium he has the experience to get the job done."