After taking five whole days to lick his wounds, Former Gov. Jeb Bush — who droppedjebbush out of the Republican presidential race after he came in fourth in South Carolina Saturday — sent an email Wednesday thanking supporters for sticking by his lazy, Eyeore self and defending his lackluster campaign.

It’s probably the last email we’ll be getting from info@Jeb2016.com — unless there’s an endorsement coming later. Sen. Marco Rubio told reporters on Tuesday that he and his former mentor had spoken by phone and agreed to meet in the future.

“He’s just decompressing from this election,” Rubio is quoted as saying. “And trying to get going again in the rest of his life.”

We guess that begins by sending the saddest political email Ladra has ever read. It’s also as exciting and engaging as the Bush campaign. Exactly. After you read this, you have to think “no wonder.”

Here is Jeb’s goodbye email in its entirety:

“Dear Friend,

I wanted to take just a moment to thank you for all your hard work on my behalf. While the result was not what we had hoped, we communicated very important ideas and campaigned true to the belief that the Republican nominee must be hopeful and optimistic.

Every step of the way, we offered solutions to problems and I spoke out for what I believe, even if that meant I was the only one on the trail willing to challenge the voices of division and demagoguery.

Through your support, you lent strength and conviction to our effort and in particular to the policy ideas for greater economic growth and national security preparedness that we know are so important to the future of our great country.

Despite the results, I still believe we can make this the greatest time to be alive if we fix a few big things, and I will continue to fight for that as a private citizen.

Columba and I appreciate your support and will always remember your steadfast friendship.

Onward!

Jeb”

Onward, indeed. No hint as to who he might back in the important race or what he may be doing as a private citizen. But Ladra forsees some kind of foundation or something. He really can’t go back too the private sector now that he doesn’t have a presidency or other public office in his near future.

Stay tuned. At the very least, we’re going to want to know how he votes on March 15.

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Three Miami congress members will basically eat crow today when they MarcoRubioRos-LehtinenMarioDiaz-Balartformally endorse Sen. Marco Rubio in the GOP presidential primary.

Marquito wasn’t their first choice. But U.S. Reps. Carlos Curbelo, Mario Diaz-Balart and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen suddenly find themselves without a candidate in the race, since their loser pick, former Gov. Jeb Bush, withdrew Saturday after coming in fourth in South Carolina.

Ladra understands that they don’t want to be shut out of the White House should the universe align and Rubio pull an impossible feat by winning not only the nomination and then the presidency over Hillary Clinton. But just how valuable is this runner-up nod? Not much.

Read related story: Gloves are off in Jeb Bush vs Marco Rubio primary

rubioversaillesNobody is going to forget what Ileana said months ago — that Rubio ought to wait his turn. That he wasn’t mature enough yet. What’s she going to say now to get back on Rubio’s good side? That it’s his turn now? Boy, he grew up a lot in 48 hours.

She told Michael Putney on WPLG Local 10s’s This Week in South Florida Sunday that “This Week in South Florida,” Ros-Lehtinen said “we know and love Marco. We never said one negative word about Marco.”

What is Diaz-Balart going to say? He said months ago that  he was “all in” with Jeb. “I don’t think there’s anybody more prepared to be president than Jeb Bush,” he told The Hill. 

Now he’s going to say there’s nobody more prepared than Rubio? Or is Marco just the next best prepared? Could he be saying the same thing about Texas Sen. Ted Cruz next month?

Read related story: Presidential absentee ballots drop today to 157,000+ voters

Yes, he could. Because this is how it is in party politics, people. 

This sudden Rubio love — an official endorsement at a joint press conference is expected Monday afternoon — is going to be hardest for Curbelo to swallow. He and Rubio have had a longtime feud, rooted in the day Marco beat him for the local party chairmanship and solidified with Curbelo’s giddy backing of Charlie Crist for Senator against his Cuban-American hermano.

What about Jeb? Everyone wants to know if he’s going to throw his weight behind his onetime protege. And how is that going to sound after he’s attacked Rubio on the campaign trail and in debates? Suddenly the no-show votes and abandoning ship on his immigration reform aren’t all that important?

Bush may have hinted at a coming Rubio endorsement MARCO RUBIO JEB BUSHwith his concession speech Saturday, which sounded a little like the Senator’s stump speech.

“Over the last seven years, our nation’s bright light has become little more than a flicker. We have retreated from the world stage. The American values that have brought peace and opportunity are fading. That is not the America we know and love,” Bush said.

“America is a country that thinks big, acts boldly and leads without apology. It will be up to the next president to restore that kind of leadership.”

Then again, maybe he’s talking about Donald Trump.

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Coming to a mailbox near you: Absentee ballots for the March 15 presidential election2016primary.

Miami-Dade County Elections Department dropped more than 157,000 ABs in the mail today (Tuesday, Feb. 16) to voters with a request on file. The county encourages these people to be on the lookout for their ballot in the mail.

Ladra encourages Republicans to ignore all the also-rans that are not really in the running anymore but are still on the ballot.

Miami-Dade ballots, like most Florida ballots probably, include candidates like Chris Christie and Lindsay Graham and Carly Fiorina and Jim Gilmore — all of whom have withdrawn from the race.

In fact, there are more candidates on the ballot, at 13, than there are in real life. sixGOPcandidatesAs of right now, there are only six candidates left: Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, Marco Rubio and Donald Trump.

Even though Ladra completely expects a couple more (read: Ben Carson for sure) to drop out in the next month.

Maybe even Jeb! Depends on how he does in South Carolina Saturday and Nevada Feb. 23. Because our former governor really, really doesn’t want to come in fourth in Florida.

A few reminders for those who plan to mail in their ballots. 

  • Ballots must be received by the Supervisor of Elections no later than 7:00 p.m. on Election Day.
  • Voters must sign inside the red box on the back of the return envelope.
  • Signatures must match the signatures on record.
  • Oh, and never give your ballot to anyone, unless they have been authorized as a designee under Section 12-14 of the Code of Miami-Dade County. 

“Absentee voting continues to grow in popularity with each election cycle because voters are able to research the candidates and vote from the comfort of their home,” voteMiami-Dade Elections Supervisor Christina White said in a statement.

The department will likely be mailing absentee ballots out every day as voters continue to request them. The deadline to request a ballot for the March 15 primary is 5 p.m. March 9.

Voters can request an absentee ballot on the website, by phone at (305) 499-8444, in writing or in person. Go to www.iamelectionready.org or call 305-499-VOTE (8683) for more information.

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Pinecrest Mayor Cindy Lerner went to New Hampshire last week to personally Lerner Rubio NHdeliver a letter signed by her and 14 other mayors in Miami-Dade regarding climate change and the federal response to both Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush.

Lerner, a deep blue Democrat who served in the Florida House with Rubio, told each of them at separate events that she hoped they would meet with her and the other mayors before the Florida primary March 15.

“We appreciate that you acknowledge the reality of what we are experiencing in South Florida, being ground zero,” she told Bush at a town hall meeting, in what sounds like a dig at Rubio for his more exreme denial position.

She asked both to look at the impact the fossil fuel industry has on global warming and explore renewable energy sources.

Read related story: Miami-Dade 2015 budget rally is for climate change funds

Bush, who once lived in Pinecrest, told her he “would love to meet you. But I’m not coming back for a couple of weeks.”

And of course there’s already a “but.” He is in a Republican primary after all.

“You can’t destroy our economy in recognition of that,” Bush said, adding that all the taxing solutions would just be passed on to the consumer. “We  have to balance our economic interests with this legitimate concern that the climate is changing…the federal government should play a role in research ad development to find the next source of energy that would have less impact on the climate.”

Senator Rubio was a little less enthusiastic when he also agreed to meet with these mayors during a campaign event last Thursday — responding “sure” to the surprise invitation.

“But I can tell you right now I’m not going to destroy our economy. The climate has never stayed the same. It’s always changing,” Rubio said.

He said that scientists don’t expect the proposed measures to make changes in sea level rise or the dropping temperatures for years and years to come but that economists say they will make things more expensive and put us at a disadvantage economically.

“I can’t support something that does nothing to help the environment but devastates our economy,” Rubio said.

Read related story: Top 10 reasons Miami-Dade residents must buy a life vest

He said he would instead favor measures that rewarded and increased the use of alternatives to fossil fuels.

“Let’s beat the world in every energy resource. Let’s beat the world in wind, in solar, in bio fuels, in renewables. But we are going to fully utilize our natural gas, which by the way is a clean source of energy. Let’s build more nuclear power plants.”

Lerner — who is arguably Miami-Dade’s lead sea level action champion — came home satisfied that both presidential hopefuls had heard her out and agreed to meet. Both encounters can be found on YouTube, published by ClimateTruth.org, which sponsored Lerner’s trip and has collected a number of videos of people confronting the candidates on the issue.

“With Jeb I was really pleasantly surprised because not only did he acknowledge climate change, he also said he would support eliminating subsidies on oil products,” Lerner said. “He has a much more moderate position.

“Rubio launched into his rote response,” she added, echoing earlier sentiments about the senator’s need for new material (Ladra told Team Marco months ago). “But I know he knows better.”

But she certainly isn’t going to vote for either of them. Lerner spent the rest of her time in New Hampshire making phone calls from two campaign offices and walking door-to-door in Bedford for Hillary Clinton.

 

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