Bush sharpens economic pitch for debate

Jeb Bush is wrapping cybersecurity into his economic pitch for the country as he seeks to revive his flagging poll numbers in the second Republican debate.

Bush this week introduced a five-point plan for improving the nation’s digital defenses that argues the economy cannot reach 4 percent growth without a “vibrant and secure Internet.” 

{mosads}“If people have no confidence their information will remain safe online, they will  —  quite simply  —  be less willing to use the Internet, thereby jeopardizing future growth possibilities,” Bush wrote in his proposal.

The economic pitch for cybersecurity is unusual, as the issue is typically debated through the lens of national security.

But political strategists say Bush’s approach is deliberate. 

“I think the fact that they’re describing it as an economic growth issue first shows you how they want to highlight this and how they think they can benefit from it,” said Matt Mackowiak, a Republican strategist.

The economic frame allows Bush to tap into voter concerns about data theft, which have been growing since high-profile hacks at health insurers such as Anthem and at retailers such as Target and Home Depot.

“It’s well-timed and designed to connect to voters who make purchases on the Internet every day,” Republican consultant Ron Bonjean told The Hill. “[Bush] can score political points by offering a sound policy idea that links directly voters’ financial anxieties while using the Internet.” 

Bush is building his policy platform around the economy, which is typically the top issue for voters in presidential elections.

He laid out a tax plan in a Wall Street Journal editorial last week that promises the same “sustained 4-percent economic growth” that is mentioned in the introduction to the cybersecurity plan. 

“Since he decided to put his tax plan out last week with this 4-percent growth target, that is the frame that he wants to be talking about,” Mackowiak said. “He wants to fit everything else in his campaign into that frame.”

But pigeonholing the cybersecurity discussion into a purely economic framework could prove a limiting strategy, Mackowiak notes. First, there are a lot of issues that are more directly related to economic growth. 

And while online security may come up during the debate Wednesday evening, it will most likely be touched on as a national security issue.

The recent release of the plan still gives Bush an edge in that conversation, however — and could give him material to deflect comparisons to his brother, former President George W. Bush.

“He might get asked nine different ways if his brother made the wrong decision about Iraq,” Mackowiak said. “He may be able to cleverly pivot off of some of those legacy issues into areas where he has proactive ideas that are substantive and serious.”

The Bush plan calls for a more aggressive strategy for responding to state-backed hackers, something that candidates will be likely to address as part of a conversation about the Office of Personnel Management hack that is widely believed to have originated in China. 

“We must hold to account those who are stealing our nation’s intellectual capital,” Bush wrote in his cyber proposal. “Efforts to expose, prosecute, and in some cases retaliate against these actors will raise the cost of conducting such attacks and increase deterrence of future attacks.”

His plan also calls on the U.S. to stop “demonizing” the National Security Agency and offers support for a controversial cybersecurity bill that would boost data sharing between private companies and government. 

Mackowiak noted that Bush would be able to say during the debate that he is the only major candidate to put forward a formal cybersecurity plan, although other candidates have campaigned on the issue. 

“He can stand on that stage and say, listen I’ve put a serious cybersecurity plan out there, no one else on this stage has,” Mackowiak said. “That has the potential to be a very strong line for him on a very important issue.”

GOP presidential hopefuls Carly Fiorina and Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) have all been vocal about the need to bolster national cyber defenses over the last year. 

So has Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who called for a more tech-friendly environment in government at an August campaign event while touting his ability to bring Silicon Valley and the feds together.

But whether other candidates will feel pressure to introduce their own cybersecurity plans remains to be seen.