A conservative group is launching an ad against former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, tying him to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and branding him "unelectable."
According to
The Hill, ForAmerica will launch the one-minute Web ad Wednesday in early voting states, where the group says it has a "massive digital and social media network." The five-figure ad will appear in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada as well as Florida, Maine, Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri.
"Almost all Republicans understand Hillary Clinton would make a terrible president," text from the ad reads. "All except one."
The ad then cuts to Bush presenting an award to Clinton in 2013 and thanking her for her public service.
"Mr. Bush is unelectable and there are several better options for conservatives and Republicans if they want to win in 2016. Period," said ForAmerica chairman Brent Bozell in a statement, according to The Hill. "By heaping praise on Hillary Clinton, Mr. Bush has handed her the ammo to bury him ... and she will. No other potential GOP nominee has that fatal disadvantage."
Bush has been under fire this week after telling Fox News' Megyn Kelly that he would have authorized the war in Iraq even knowing what we know now.
On Tuesday, speaking on the Sean Hannity radio show, he sought to dampen the controversy, saying that he had misinterpreted the question.
"I don't know what that decision would have been. That's a hypothetical,"
Bush said when asked whether he would have ordered an invasion.
"The simple fact is mistakes were made and we need to learn from mistakes of the past to make sure we're strong and secure going forward," Bush told Hannity.
Politico said that the incident raises questions about whether his brother's legacy with the Iraq War will become a liability for Jeb as well.
Even after clarifying his comments to Hannity, Jeb appeared to continue to align himself with his brother's foreign policy approach. He went on to praise the 2007 troop surge for effectively bringing "security and stability to Iraq," and blasted the Obama administration's withdrawal from Iraq for "totally obliterating" the gains that had been made and for giving rise to the Islamic State.
"Regardless of Bush's efforts to clarify his comments Tuesday afternoon, the foreign policy vision he continues to articulate is much closer to that of the post-9/11 muscular interventionism of the 43rd president than the more consensus-oriented diplomatic stance of the 41st, his father," Politico said.
Indeed, last week,
Bush surprised a group of financial backers when he admitted that his top policy adviser on matters related to the Middle East is his brother.
"If you want to know who I listen to for advice, it's him," Bush said.