Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush shot back at attackers, including President Obama, who jumped all over a statement he made, related to the Oregon school massacre, taken completely out of context.
Appearing at the Conservative Leadership Project in Greenville, South Carolina on Friday, Bush was asked about gun control in the wake of the tragic shooting at Umpqua Community College that killed nine Thursday. Despite a thoughtful response, liberals on the left seemed to only hear two words… “stuff happens.”
“We’re in a difficult time in our country and I don’t think more government is necessarily the answer to this. I think we need to reconnect ourselves with everybody else. It’s very sad to see. I resist the notion. I had this challenge as governor,” he said, speaking about challenges he had as governor of Florida. “Look stuff happens, there’s always a crisis and the impulse is always to do something and it’s not always the right thing to do.”
But those words were ripped out of context by a liberal reporter for” The New Yorker,” Ryan Lizza, who, it seems, wanted to paint the worst picture of Bush that he could. And Democrats, including the president, were all too happy to take the bait.
In Greenville, South Carolina, Jeb Bush, arguing against calls for gun control after major tragedy, says, "stuff happens."
— Ryan Lizza (@RyanLizza) October 2, 2015
In a White House press conference later that day, Obama was asked about Bush’s remarks. “I don’t even think I have to react to that one,” the president said, followed by a short pause as it appeared this was the first he was hearing about Bush’s comments.
“I think the American people should hear that and make their own judgments based on the fact that every couple of months we have a mass shooting,” he added. “They can decide whether they consider that stuff happening.”
But, not long after the quote began to take on a life of its own on social media, the Bush campaign fired back in a statement issued by spokeswoman Allie Brandenburger.
“It is sad and beyond craven that liberal Democrats, aided and abetted by some in the national media, would dishonestly take Governor Bush’s comments out of context in a cheap attempt to advance their political agenda in the wake of a tragedy,” Brandenburger wrote. “Taking shameless advantage of a horrific tragedy is wrong and only serves to prey on people’s emotions.”
Bush, himself, also clarified what he meant when he spoke to reporters later on Friday,
“There are all sorts of things that happen in life,” he said. “Tragedies unfold almost, look, you just read the papers, and you see a child dies in a pool and drowns. And parents want to pass a law to do something, and you got to be careful that you want to solve the problem. If there’s a problem, a defect in the law, fine, then we did that all the time, but sometimes you’re imposing solutions to problems that doesn’t fix the problem and takes away people’s liberties and rights, and that’s the point I was trying to make.”
Ultra liberal Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz was among the first to pounce with “A message for Jeb Bush.”
A message for Jeb Bush: 380 Americans have been killed in 294 mass shootings in 2015 alone. "Stuff" doesn't just "happen." Inaction happens.
— D Wasserman Schultz (@DWStweets) October 2, 2015
Jeb Bush’s response to another mass shooting? “Stuff happens.” President Obama’s response to Jeb Bush? https://t.co/j19rqTIbBv
— The Democrats (@TheDemocrats) October 2, 2015
Jeb! doubles down. Proof it was not a gaffe. His policy is to do nothing in face of mass shootings. #stuffhappens https://t.co/Kg9OmWj8Fe
— Paul Begala (@PaulBegala) October 2, 2015
Stuff happens, you know, the bottoms falls out of your grocery bag, mass murder… #StuffHappens @KenSimonSays
— Lizz Winstead (@lizzwinstead) October 2, 2015
Liberal Dems & some in media distorted my words to advance their agenda in wake of tragedy. It’s wrong. Thx to those who set record straight
— Jeb Bush (@JebBush) October 2, 2015
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