Bill Maher accuses Jeb Bush of converting to Catholicism to win elections

"The Bush boys tend to believe in whatever juju the locals do"

Published February 25, 2015 4:05PM (EST)

  (Openly Secular)
(Openly Secular)

Bill Maher really doesn't like Jeb Bush. After attacking the potential 2016 hopeful for his stance on marijuana, Maher took a shot at Bush's recent conversion to Catholicism in a blog post published on the "Real Time" website yesterday.

"Did you know Jeb Bush is Catholic? Neither did I," wrote Maher. "[He] converted to Catholicism in 1996 -- 22 years after marrying his Mexican-born wife, Columba, [sic] -- and conveniently between the first time he ran for governor (and lost) and the second time he ran, and won. The Bushes play election hardball, but they also play the margins. They look for every little edge. So is there something to this?"

Maher points out the George W. Bush converted to Evangelical Protestantism before running for Governor of Texas, where 34 percent of voters also happen to be Evangelical Protestants.

That may be a helpful strategy for state elections, but Bush's Catholicism probably won't help much if he embarks on a national campaign. According to Pew Research, only 23.9 percent of Christians identify as Catholic nationally, while over 50 percent identify as some sort of protestant.

"Now, of course, who am I to question God’s power to work wondrous change?" he continued. "I’m just saying the Bush boys tend to believe in whatever juju the locals do."


By Joanna Rothkopf

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