Will Jeb Bush’s “Tough On Crime” Position Hurt His Chances With The Kochs? SPOILER: No.

September 1, 2015

Jeb Bush is touting his “tough on crime” bonafides in response to an instagram video attack by Donald Trump. The attack against the real estate mogul is straight forward enough, but it could come with some unintended consequences.

Jeb has an extensive resume in sucking up to the Kochs, but only recently did the brothers turn their attention to the younger Bush as a presidential candidate due to concerns about their original favorite’s (Scott Walker) electability. As part of their positive PR push, the Koch brothers have been pushing for criminal justice reform. Jeb’s attack is in conflict with that campaign.

During his campaign for governor and after he was elected, Jeb Bush pushed “tough” on crime policies. According to the St. Petersburg Times, “Jeb Bush, a 40-year-old Miami real estate investor, said that as governor he would… build more prisons and fill them with more prisoners and make people on welfare get a job or an education.”

But don’t expect Bush to lose out on a piece of the Kochs’ $900 million because of this.

The Kochs’ position on criminal justice is dripping with hypocrisy. The Kochs only started their campaign for criminal justice reform after employees at their Corpus Christi, Texas, plant were charged with 97 counts of environmental crimes.

Koch Industries marketing executive has even admitted the campaign is nothing more than a PR push, telling Yahoo news, “emphasizing criminal justice reform is a key part of the strategy to deflate the negative narrative around the Kochs.”

The Kochs’ picks for president prove it: Their campaign for criminal justice reform is nothing more than a PR campaign to protect their bottom line.

Read more about the Kochs and criminal justice reform in Bridge Project’s report, “The Koch Brothers’ Criminal Justice Pump-Fake.”

Paid for by American Bridge 21st Century Foundation