America is not a monarchy and in fact, the United States was born out of rebellion to a monarch's rule.
As such, America should not suffer the burden of, or entertain, political dynasties, and yet, we have had them throughout our history.
The Rockefellers. The Roosevelts. The Kennedys. The Clintons. The Bushes. And each one of them have come with their own unique set of alluring, inimitable qualities. But they have also come with their skeletons, as is the case with the most recent of the political dynasties, the Bushes.
By now, most informed people know that China is increasingly becoming a peer competitor to the U.S. And in fact, China doesn't just want to be our peer; China wants to be the leading global power.
President Donald Trump not only understood the threat but he took it seriously: Trump battled China's expansion in the South China Sea, battled China's trade dominance, and battled against China's encroachment in American society.
But even as he did that, there were factions working against him (and our country at large) who, you would think, would know better. Like the Bush family.
A nonprofit affiliated with the late former President George H.W. Bush agreed to accept $5 million from a policy group at the center of China's U.S. influence efforts, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: As tensions escalate between the U.S. and China, leaders with the George H.W. Bush Foundation for U.S.-China Relations have sounded off for closer ties — and while criticizing Beijing in some cases, have toed China's line on some major geopolitical issues.
"Axios obtained a written agreement that spells out the details of a $5 million grant from the China-United States Exchange Foundation to the Bush China Foundation, established in 2017 with the former president's blessing," the outlet continued.
Now mind you, President George W. Bush had an early brush with the Chinese regime. Within a few months of taking office in 2001 (and just months before the 9/11 attacks), Bush was faced with the capture of an 11-person EP-3 Orion crew whose plane was forced to land on Hainan Island after it was 'brushed' by a Chinese fighter jet. The Chinese plane crashed after the pilot ejected and died at sea, but Beijing held onto our crew for nearly two weeks. And they got as much data from our spy plane as they could harvest.
It became clear to him then that China was a rising threat and meant to overtake the United States at some point, militarily and economically. His intelligence agencies confirmed that throughout his eight years in office. They have confirmed it since he left office.
So why, now, would an organization bearing his name and linked to his family take money from a Chinese state entity that is nothing more than a propaganda operation on behalf of the ChiCom regime?
"We are proud of our partnership with CUSEF and deeply appreciative of CUSEF’s generous support," Bush China Foundation spokesperson Leslie Reagan confirmed to Axios, before claiming -- ridiculously -- that the CUSEF has 'no influence' on Bush center policy (right; the $5 million was just pure generosity).
"(T)he Bush China Foundation has staked out a very strong independent posture on virtually all of the major issues in the U.S.-China relationship; in the process, we have frequently leveled sharp criticism of Chinese policies and actions when we believe that has been merited," she said.
But wait -- isn't the Chinese entity just a megaphone for Beijing's commies?
"Knowing CUSEF as we do, we do not buy into that narrative," she said. "CUSEF has never sought to influence our editorial positions or encroach on our editorial independence."
What a load of stinky stuff.
It gets worse, though: The Bush political dynasty isn't going away anytime soon. There is a riser in Texas, a nephew to the former president -- George P. Bush.
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