Senate The Future of the Republican Party

1. Kelly Ayotte (Senator, New Hampshire) - reasonable
2. Michele Bachmann (Congresswoman, former candidate) - Oh, God, please, no
3. Jeb Bush (former Governor) - if this country elects another Bush, we deserve whatever we get
4. Chris Christie (Governor,New Jersey) - my pick
5. Ted Cruz (Senator-elect, Texas) - oh brother
6. Ken Cuccinelli (Attorney General, to run for Governor, Virginia) - reasonable
7. Mary Fallin (Governor, Oklahoma) - I'm from Oklahoma; this must not happen
8. Jeff Flake (Senator-elect, Arizona) who?
9. Nikki Haley (Governor, South Carolina) - well, she's definitely hot enough
10. Bill Haslam (Governor, Tennessee) - nah
11. Dean Heller (Senator, Nevada) - who?
12. Gary Herbert (Governor, Utah) - not from Utah, thanks
13. John Hoeven (Senator, former Governor, North Dakota) - WHO?
14. Mike Huckabee (former Governor/candidate) - likable, affable
15. Jon Hunstman (former Governor/Ambassador/candidate) - call him crazy for believing in evolution; he'll NEVER get through a Republic primary
16. Bobby Jindal (Governor, Louisiana) - his moment was like three years ago
17. John Kasich (Governor, Ohio) - uh who?
18. Mark Kirk (Senator, Illinois) - er who?
19. Mike Lee (Senator, Utah) - not in 2016
20. Susana Martinez (Governor, New Mexico) - bringing out the Hispanic vote? Doubtful
21. Bob McDonnell (Governor, Virginia) - right
22. Sean Parnell (Governor, Alaska) - because that worked so well last time
23. Rand Paul (Senator, Kentucky) - he'll run; he'll fail in the primary
24. Mike Pence (Congressman and Governor-elect of Indiana) - who
25. Rick Perry (Governor, former candidate) - if he runs again, he deserves whatever he gets; he's stupid enough to give it another shot
26. Rob Portman (Senator, Ohio, former Bush budget director) - probably will run
27. Condoleeza Rice (former Secretary of State) - I doubt she's interested anymore
28. Marco Rubio (Senator, Florida) - he'll run; he has a real shot
29. Paul Ryan (Congressman, former VP candidate) - he'll run; he's charming enough, but I doubt he has a shot
30. Brian Sandoval (Governor, Nevada) - who
31. Rick Santorum (former Senator/candidate) - probably; he's sure an idiot
32. Rick Snyder (Governor, Michigan) - who
33. Pat Toomey (Senator, Pennsylvania) - I doubt it
34. John Thune (Senator,South Dakota) - could be
35. Scott Walker (Governor, Wisconsin) - do you want to see rioting in the streets?

God, that was fun.

 

You may want to read up on him before you call him a 'reasonable' candidate.


There are several reasons I emphatically do not want him as my state's next Governor.

 

Well, there are a lot of arguments you can make. I simply view it as he campaigned as a "severely conservative" candidate and endorsed the Tea Party on nearly every issue - abortion (which he previously was moderate to liberal on), immigration (he embraced self-deportation), tax cuts (he raised his hand for the 10 to 1 ratio). If he would have held these previous positions of his during the primary, I think he would have been rejected by the party base just as Lugar and others have been.

And the biggest reason he won, I argue, is because his competition was pathetic. Herman Cain? Bachmann? Perry? Santorum? Gingrich?

The GOP field in 2016 is interesting. Definitely better than 2012, where I think their only serious candidate was Romney, but no one strikes me as a winner.

Jeb Bush - had a secret meeting in Washington, the Hillary of the GOP in terms of gossip over if he'll run. I think his time has passed, but then again 8 years after W left office could be enough time to give the Bush name another run. Even with it, I think he'd be their strongest and smartest candidate.

Bobby Jindal - might run, although I doubt he does in 2016 if he didn't this year, but he's immensely boring and will have to fight to stay relevant for another 4 years.

Marco Rubio - definitely will run, and be hyped, but I think he'll fall flat. I've always viewed him as fake and without much depth. His recent comments about homosexuality and evolution could mean he's not quick on his feet...better as the VP choice, but I don't see him going the distance.

Chris Christie - will definitely run...stands a shot at getting the nomination because he is popular but it'll ultimately depend on if the Tea Party turns against him, or has the power to, and how he positions himself. He's already praised Obama and positioned himself as a moderate in the national spotlight. I think the Tea Partiers will rally behind someone else.

Bob Portman - might run, but incredibly boring.

Rand Paul - will probably run, will do about the same as his father.

Bob McDonnell - probably their best bet in terms of strategy (Virginia) and overall ability to be a good candidate (not completely insane like most GOPers these days, could appeal to moderates, definitely competent in what I've seen of him so far)

Jon Huntsman - might run, but doesn't matter because he won't win...too blatantly moderate and was the only candidate to not lead at some point in the bizarre 2012 GOP primary

Paul Ryan - most likely will run, stands a good shot at getting the nomination

Kelly Ayote - maybe in 2020 or 2024, but not in 2016

Nikki Haley - eh, maybe, seems kind of insane

John Thune - no

Pat Toomey - no

Scott Walker - no

Mike Pence - no

Eric Cantor - hell no

Mike Huckabee - no

John Kasich - no

Susana Martinez - maybe as VP to try and get the women/Latinos...but no otherwise

 

After the republicans give in to the tax demands the tea party will fold. They have lost their power cause they are plane stupid. They chose not to compromise. Honestly, Boehner doesn't like these guys. He is just using them to get what he wants. Now that they have been shown as leaderless flocks of sheep who wasted their energy screaming about the injustice of obamacare. Honestly, politics is compromise. These guys know it. That is how they have stayed in power in the middle. They compromise. The rest of the party want Boehner to give what he can to get them reelected and throw the tea party away. They served their purpose for this election cycle and lost. The tea party lacked one major thing toward total victory. This isn't war. This is peace time. There are no winners. There is just the politics of living. They forgot that.

 

I don't think Paul Ryan can win, though. He was brought onto the ticket to be the young, good-looking person to Romney's experienced, not-as-good-looking-anymore person. It didn't work. I don't think Ryan can really appeal to the middle ground.

If I were running the GOP, I would get down on my knees and beg Christie to run. He appeals to the middle, and he's proved that he's willing to put actions before games and work with the other side to take care of his people.

It's a shame Huntsman won't get elected, because he seems like he has a head on his shoulders. Pence is kind of an idiot. Niki Haley is, from what I've heard, unpopular in her own state and kinda crazy. W is reviled enough that no one is going to elect a third Bush. Scott Walker is too divisive a candidate. Mike Huckabee's time has come and gone (he ran in '08). Rand Paul isn't going to be elected. Marco Rubio has a decent chance in the primaries, but if I were running the GOP, I might try to bring Rubio on as VP. Though things might change in four years.

Or, you know, the six months we have left before the campaign begins.

 

Ryan could have run and possibly run this year, or in 2016 if he weren't the VP. I think his facade as a serious policy wonk and fiscal 'conservative' was unveiled this year leaving him as damaged goods for next time around. His power in the House also seems to have wained, I've heard nothing about his involvement in the 'fiscal cliff' resolve.

 

Ryan has said he supports Boehner's plan, but has really taken the back seat. The one thing he tried was to replace the only woman in the House GOP leadership with a man, and he failed at it.

 

Several sources are reporting that John Boehner is going to resign as Speaker tonight at a meeting of Republican Representatives. One source suggests that it is a product of the Tea Party supporters and some Establishment people (particularly Eric Cantor) to distance the party from the tax increases that were part of the fiscal cliff deal.

 

Yeah, I heard that too.

Doesn't bode well for the debt ceiling talks.

The GOP has no direction right now, it's a merry-go-round.

 

Bobby Jindal is a conservative, Indian version of Barack Obama. He was elected because of his aura of celebrity and promise of change for the better (especially after Kathleen Blanco's terrible term)....but he never amounted to anything really spectacular, even leaving his biggest supporters disenchanted when it came time for his reelection. Even worse was that when the fiscal crunch time came with our state universities, Bobby was MIA, preferring to go hob-knob and photo-op with the Republican presidential contenders.

I like Bobby Jindal as a person, have actually met him quite a few times. But his tenure as governor can still be summed up as "meh".

 

Eric Cantor will be speaker if Boehner resigns, and he's no match for the Democratic leadership. He's an ideologue who has no flexibility.

 

well then it'll be ideologue against ideologue, won't it?

bye bye, blub-face!

 

My stomach churns at the thought that the no - good Rep from my State could possibly be second in line for the Presidency.

 

Looks to me like Boehner will stay as Speaker. Seems like unfounded rumors to the contrary.

 

do not worry juliet - if the unthinkable happens, bides will have that thing all locked down. he has the clown car all polished up and ready to go!

 

Hope so...

 

Boehner will stay Speaker, but I'm not sure if that's a 'good thing' - there is no longer a governing majority in the House, much less one that Boehner has control over. The Tea Party in the House refuses to cooperate or listen to him, meaning that any negotiations or major legislation will have to be done without the Speaker that even knows how many votes he can get. Cantor and McCarthy wouldn't even vote for the fiscal cliff deal after Boehner told them to (and they themselves urged other members to vote for); Boehner couldn't even muster up enough votes for his own plan; and he refuses to negotiate with Obama because...he can't deliver the votes. Talk about a disaster.

 

On the other hand, there weren't any clear - cut candidates for the Republicans to elect in that role. I'm thinking we're coming closer and closer to a civil war within the Republican party and the American people are going to pay the price economically.

 

Well, a decent number of them are willing to throw the world economy over a cliff to prove a point over the debt ceiling. Partly because a lot of them don't know enough about economics to understand what the U.S. defaulting would mean (I'm looking at you, Bachmann).

And Cantor would have been the Speaker if Boehner would have failed. He got many of the protest votes and is 2nd in command currently as is. And is bat**** crazy to boot.

 

Great post here by Alex Pareene: http://www.salon.com/2013/01/04/lesson_of_the_failed_boehner_coup_were_dealing_with_idiots/

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I agree, of course. I think we sometimes lose sight of the reality that many of the GOP representatives in Congress (and many of them are freshmen) watch Fox News and live in the same echo chamber as their constituents. In many cases, they were private citizens only recently. When you live in that echo chamber, the real world that the rest of us live in gets warped, almost to a point that people who don't live in it can't recognize the world that the residents of the echo chamber describe.

Also, I sometime go back to a line by Deep Throat in "All the President's Men," which was, "these aren't very bright guys." Some of them are very intelligent, but check their intellect at the door of politics. Others just aren't particularly smart by any standard.

 

Just yesterday, Rush Limbaugh was ranting about how liberals don't understand the debt ceiling. He describes it as a credit card limit and, once you hit the limit, you simply just can't spend anymore.

To echo KW, this is why negotiating with them is so hard. They don't understand that this isn't the case or simply think it's a liberal media conspiracy that a default would be catastrophic for the world economy.

 

The House GOP leadership understands this, and the Senate certainly does, as well.

Boehner, and even Cantor, for all his intransigence, does NOT want to see a default, because it will end the Republican Party for good. Never mind that the dollar will fall to zero, the US will no longer be a superpower, and we will end up pariahs on the world stage for causing a depression; as long as the 'doctrine' is adhered to, then compromise is for the weak.

The Tea Party reminds me of "sensei" John Kreese from "The Karate Kid"-brute force is not only the one way to get what you want, it is the correct way, and negotiation, like mercy, is inviting further weakness.

Unfortunately, since spending bills originate in the House, and Boehner seems unwilling to violate the "Hastert rule" again, we may be in for a bumpy ride. I would recommend (if you all can afford it) owning several thousand dollars' worth of gold and silver bullion coins, just in case the ceiling is breached and the Treasury and bond markets collapse. At that point, whether your bank account says $10 or $10 billion, the money itself won't be worth the paper it is printed on. So...back to bartering, I guess .

I wonder how many groceries I can get for one troy ounce of gold, or silver? How many gallons of gas?

Peace,

V-03

 

Boehner is sane, which is more than most Tea Parties, he simply doesn't have control over the caucus anymore because it's run by lunatics. And he won't negotiate with Obama - he's walked out 3 times - because he doesn't even know who will vote which way at this point.

 

The GOP keeps insisting on spending cuts and entitlement reform.

But, besides from saying they want to change how inflation is calculated for Social Security (relatively minor), have they actually said what they want to cut? What they want to reform?

What does the Republican Party stand for, right now? Do they stand for anything?

 

They don't really stand for much of anything solid right now. Especially since they 'mission' to make Obama a 'one - term president' (in the words of McConnell, Bachman, and others) failed rather spectacularly.