He had his 2016 Presidential-hopeful father at his side, but for this day, all eyes were focused on George P. Bush, the new Texas Land Commissioner, as he was sworn in
The scene inside the senate chambers of the State Capitol represented a Who’s Who of Texas Republicans, all there with one goal — to see the latest addition to the Bush dynasty take office as land commissioner and hear his vision for the office.
And it was a vision they heard, and a very interesting perspective that might well provide a different dynamic to Texas Republicans’ in Generation Next.
Here was what George Prescott Bush, or Prescott, as he’s called, had to say on two very important Texas topics, education, and veteran benefits. “So to provide a better education for our children, let’s innovate the way the permanent school fund provides resources to our public schools, [and] let’s continue to extend better services to our veterans by streamlining our programs and our benefits, so that they are delivered effectively and efficiently.”
The issues that veterans face is something Prescott Bush knows all too well, in 2010, he spent eight months fighting in Afghanistan, as part of the Naval Reserves. And like his father, former Florida Governor Jeb, Bush, the younger Bush’s vision for political office also includes reaching across the aisle to Democrats willing to work together on issues, mending the divide between Reagan Republicans and the Tea Party, and inspiring Hispanics to find a place within the GOP, especially in Texas.
Bush — as much the son of his mother, Mexico-born Columba, as father Jeb — identifies with Latinos, and spoke out against some of the anti-immigrant rhetoric that came from Republican colleagues during the 2014 Lt. Governor’s race in Texas.
He made a subtle statement, with this: “As Texans, we all drink from a well that we didn’t dig with our own two hands. It was a well dug deep by the founders of the state, founders with names that are familiar to each and everyone of us, like Houston, but also names not as familiar, but just as important, like De Se Valla and Navarro,” Bush continued, in a speech that will likely resonate with Texas’ richly diverse populace.
Jeb Bush, a likely candidate for President, stood proudly by, watching his 38-year old son take office. He then left through a rear entrance without commenting on his own plans for a the 2016 presidential election.
