Bushes Behaving Badly

The Bush family has been a long-time fixture in Texas politics. George H. W. Bush was instrumental in building up the Republican Party in Texas, and George W. Bush helped transition the state from a one-party Democratic state to a one-party Republican state. Even Jeb Bush was considered a very conservative Republican governor of Florida back in the dim mists of the 20th Century.

Sadly, the current crop of Bushes is not adding any luster to the family name.

Example the first: Land Commissioner (and son of Jeb) George P. Bush failed to disclose a grant of stock options by a company the Land Commission does business with:

Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush failed to disclose his ties to at least 11 companies, including a Cayman Islands-based oil and gas firm that did business with a state fund he helps oversee, records obtained by The Texas Tribune show.

Arabella Exploration, which declared bankruptcy in 2017, put Bush on its board in January 2014, paid him $43,000 for his service and granted him stock options that were valued at over $100,000, regulatory filings show. The next year, a few months into his new job as land commissioner — and about a year after he left the Arabella board — the School Land Board, which Bush chairs, approved a lease agreement with Arabella for oil and gas exploration in West Texas, records show.

State politicians must provide details of their personal finances, including business dealings and corporate board service, every year to the Texas Ethics Commissions so voters can judge whether their elected leaders have any conflicts of interest.

Nowhere did Bush’s 2015 state disclosure mention Arabella, however. Nor did he list 10 other companies in which he has a stake on more recent disclosure forms.

And don’t forget him keeping campaign communications director J. R. Hernandez as his chief of staff at 10K a month while he was also working on his campaign.

Next up: Pierce Bush, son of Neil Bush and grandson of George H. W. Bush, is running for the Texas 22nd congressional district, currently held by retiring Republican Pete Olsen. While he claims to be running as a pro-Trump conservative Republican, he hasn’t always acted that way:

  • He marched in an anti-Trump protest back in 2017.
  • He penned a letter likening traditional Catholics to the Taliban because they won’t embrace the ordination of women and “accommodate our progressive world society.”
  • Consider this a reminder that voting for someone based on their last name is a bad idea…

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    One Response to “Bushes Behaving Badly”

    1. Paul A'Barge says:

      I can forgive P. for the funding mistakes. He did save the Alamo and is promoting it and Texas history in a big way.

      Pierce? No. Not now. Not ever. The guy is classic Bush. Complete loser.

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