Jeb Bush has a tea party problem.
Mark Meckler, an influential voice of the tea party movement, told msnbc on Wednesday that the all-but-likely Republican presidential candidate is rarely mentioned in his circle – and when he is, “that’s when the vitriol flows.”
“If you were to go to a tea party meeting or any real grassroots meeting on the right now and say ‘let’s talk about the presidential candidates’, his name won’t come up because he’s loathed,” said Meckler, who co-founded the Tea Party Patriots political organization in 2009 before becoming president of Citizens for Self Governance.
Instead, names that do come up include Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida, Ted Cruz of Texas and Rand Paul of Kentucky and even third-tiered potential candidates like retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina. While the mention of Rubio, Cruz and Paul are no surprise (they were elected with support from the tea party), what is interesting is that Bush, according to Meckler, is barely discussed, even though his record as governor is considered significantly more conservative in contrast to his national reputation today.
Related: Jeb loses ground in Florida








