Democrats are responding to Jeb Bush’s new eBook of emails from his time as governor — tied to his campaign reboot on the slogan “Jeb can fix it” — with a book launch of their own.
Correct the Record, the Hillary Clinton-allied opposition research group, is unveiling what they call a “sequel” to Bush’s book: An eBook titled “Jeb Bush Replies All, Volume 2: The Hundreds of Thousands of Emails He Refused to Release.”
The 201-page eBook is entirely blank.
“Jeb Bush’s e-book was just released, but the sequel is already here — with room for all the hundreds of thousands of his emails that Jeb didn’t release to the public,” a blurb backing the book reads.
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It suggests readers “grab your favorite chair, kick back, and anchor yourself, baby, for this fall’s cozy read.”
Bush often touts his release of thousands of emails on the trail as both an example of his efforts to stay in touch with constituents while governor of Florida, and evidence of his commitment to transparency, as juxtaposed with Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton. The eBook, called “Reply All,” was a central part of his campaign reboot on Monday, which will take him on a a “Jeb Can Fix It” tour with stops in Florida, South Carolina and three days in New Hampshire.
But Democrats point out that Bush took more than seven years to turn over the emails he sent and received as governor to the public record, which would seem to flout a Florida statute requiring elected officials to turn over records pertaining to official business “at the expiration of his or her term of office.”
To go along with the eBook’s release, David Brock, a longtime ally of the Clintons and founder of CTR, is challenging Bush to a debate on transparency. “It takes a certain kind of politician to attempt to electrify a low-energy campaign with an electronic textbook full of ten year old emails, but I’m not here to second guess your strategy,” Brock writes in a letter to Bush. “Instead, I’m writing with an idea that may bring some pizazz to your otherwise humdrum effort: you and I should have a public debate on email and transparency issues—your record versus Hillary Clinton’s.” Brock closes the letter with another jab at Bush’s demeanor: “Let’s have the debate. You bring the low energy, I’ll bring the hair. I can’t be any more fearsome than Donald Trump, can I?” NBC News’ Jordan Frasier contributed to this report.
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