Who will get 2016 Republican Presidential Nomination?

[Shady]

Cruz may not personally believe the earth is 6000 years old, but picking Liberty U as his launchpad shows where he's aiming his campaign. He'll be pandering to the evangelicals, trying to pick up the supporters that made people like Santorum or Huckabee factors in previous years.

And of course he was already the darling of the Tea Party types; Breitbart has been sporting wood non-stop since Sunday. This is the wing of the party that has been saying ever since Romney's defeat that they have to stop nominating moderate candidates because "the base" won't turn up at the polls to support them.

-k

It's only fair that some conservatives have a candidate they can sport wood of, since liberals have been sporting for Obama for years now. Personally, after Obama, I'd never nominate a one term senator again, even a Republican.

[On Guard for Thee]

Please reference Cruz specifically stating that those are his beliefs. Just because he chose to speak there, doesn't mean it's so. Just like when he chooses to speak at other universities.

Not hard to find Shady.

http://www.salon.com/2014/10/16/move_over_rick_santorum_ted_cruz_is_the_gops_new_anti_gay_rock_star/

[Michael Hardner]

I don't really know what science denying you're referring to, or gay scaremongering.

Denying global warming is happening, trying to invoke states rights to kill gay marriage.

He's a mirror image of the court jester Obama was, except very conservative instead of very liberal. He even has the same policy in terms of gay marriage that Obama had in 2008.

Obama isn't that Liberal... pretty close to Harper from what I see...

[guyser]

Please reference Cruz specifically stating that those are his beliefs. Just because he chose to speak there, doesn't mean it's so. Just like when he chooses to speak at other universities.

Kind of like Rev Wright and Obama happened to be in the audience?

Seems to me you were all over that huffing and puffing and on it like stink on a T .

And you may well be right.....however its bad optics and only gives the Dems fodder to laugh at the Uni's and by extension Cruz's beliefs.

[GostHacked]

I'm not really sure what beliefs you're talking about. Perhaps you could reference some of them, right after you reference Hamas' recognition of Israel. I know he has one wacky belief, that marriage is between a man and a woman. The same wacky belief Obama had when he was running in 2008. He's a mirror image of Obama, except instead of being very liberal, he's very conservative.

But Cruz is a Republican right? Is that why you like him? Even when he is the same as Obama?

[Shady]

But Cruz is a Republican right? Is that why you like him? Even when he is the same as Obama?

Why would you think I like him? I said he's the same as Obama.

[GostHacked]

Why would you think I like him? I said he's the same as Obama.

Well since you did not explicitly say you were against Cruz, the mentality around here is to automatically think that you DO support Cruz.

[Wilber]

I don't really know what science denying you're referring to, or gay scaremongering. He's a mirror image of the court jester Obama was, except very conservative instead of very liberal. He even has the same policy in terms of gay marriage that Obama had in 2008.

It's not 2008 any more. Over 70% of Americans live in jurisdictions where same sex marriage is legal. The dabate is as good as over on a national level.

[Bob Macadoo]

It's not 2008 any more. Over 70% of Americans live in jurisdictions where same sex marriage is legal. The dabate is as good as over on a national level.

Not from legislation.......only due to reversal of legislation.......not really evolution there.

[-TSS-]

There's something profoundly unhealthy about a system where 20 months before the election all the candidates are already declaring their candidacies and probably for a reason as if they didn't they would be lagging behind decisively. In elections such as the 2016 election will be this is especially the case because there is certainly going to be a new president.

[Wilber]

Not from legislation.......only due to reversal of legislation.......not really evolution there.

Never said it was a revolution. Things don't have to change because of revoulution, they change because their time has come.

[Shady]

It's not 2008 any more. Over 70% of Americans live in jurisdictions where same sex marriage is legal. The dabate is as good as over on a national level.

Polling indicates it's about a 55% to 45% issues. Perfectly reasonable for somebody to hold a position of the 45%.

[Mighty AC]

It's perfectly reasonable to decide for yourself to disapprove of homosexuals. However, it is not perfectly reasonable to deny equal rights to a class of people because of your own hangups.

[bush_cheney2004]

Equal rights are still denied to "classes of people" because of society's hangups. Still considered to be perfectly reasonable.

[On Guard for Thee]

Equal rights are still denied to "classes of people" because of society's hangups. Still considered to be perfectly reasonable.

Considered to be perfectly reasonable amongst those with the hangups. Hopefully evolution will continue to correct that problem, although it does seem to be relatively slow in some jurisdictions.

[Bob Macadoo]

Never said it was a revolution. Things don't have to change because of revoulution, they change because their time has come.

I don't expect 'r'evolution either.......a couple baby steps would be nice though.

[kimmy]

And you may well be right.....however its bad optics and only gives the Dems fodder to laugh at the Uni's and by extension Cruz's beliefs.

It's not bad optics. It's the optics he wants. He's already the Tea Party candidate of choice-- if you don't believe that, head over to Breitbart and check out the breathless coverage he's been receiving from that segment of the Republicans. He wants to expand his appeal by bringing in the evangelicals as well.

While large numbers of moderates and liberals and independents in the US think that Liberty University is hilarious, that doesn't matter because none of those people will be voting in the Republican primaries.

In the Republican primaries, there'll be two kinds of candidates. There'll be mainstream candidates (or "establishment" candidates in the opinion of the Tea Partyists)... guys like Jeb Bush and Chris Christie. And there'll be the ultra-conservative favorites (or "grassroots" candidates, in the opinion of the Tea Party), guys like Ted Cruz and Rand Paul and maybe Mike Huckabee if he decides to run again. And there'll also be guys like Marco Rubio and Bobby Jindal and Scott Walker who if they run will be trying to bridge the gap... courting the ultra-conservatives while trying to appear mainstream at the same time.

So while it might be tempting to write off the ultraconservative segment as a fringe, keep in mind how the Republican nominations last time around. They didn't win, but they delayed Mitt Romney's victory for a long time, dragging out the campaigning and resulting in Romney having to keep trying to suck up to the far right wing when he should have been already nominated and trying to appeal to the independent voters.

Last time, the ultraconservatives bounced around from Rick Perry to Herman Cain and finally settled on Rick Santorum. If they had been behind one candidate right from the start, they might have posed a serious threat to Romney. Cruz has to be thinking that if he can get the Tea Partyists and evangelical voters lined up behind his candidacy right from the start, he could establish right away that he could make it farther than Santorum did last time.

So, long story short, launching his campaign at Liberty U is a direct appeal from Ted Cruz to evangelical voters. By this time next year, nobody is going to remember where he launched his campaign.

-k

[Je suis Omar]

I would hope that they would be smart enough to nominate someone who is fairly moderate. I don't think one makes President by being a radical.

Most if not all have been radical terrorists.

[Argus]

Most if not all have been radical terrorists.

The sheer banality of your responses is only exceeded by the self-righteousness in which you post them.

And doing so under the stolen moniker of a terrorist sympathizer is far less clever than you seem to believe.

[Je suis Omar]

The sheer banality of your responses is only exceeded by the self-righteousness in which you post them.

.

Care to discuss the facts which illustrate my point, Argus?

[Argus]

Care to discuss the facts which illustrate my point, Argus?

You have presented no facts and you have no point.

Edited April 1, 2015 by Argus

[Je suis Omar]

You have presented no facts and you have no point.

If the Nuremberg laws were applied, then every post-war American president would have been hanged.

- Noam Chomsky

For the facts, see,

http://www.chomsky.info/talks/1990----.htm

Edited April 1, 2015 by Je suis Omar

[bush_cheney2004]

...and if my aunt had different plumbing, she'd be my uncle.

"Nuremberg laws" do not apply to warmongering American presidents (or Canadian prime ministers).

[Je suis Omar]

...and if my aunt had different plumbing, she'd be my uncle.

"Nuremberg laws" do not apply to warmongering American presidents (or Canadian prime ministers).

"We must never forget that the record on which we judge these defendants today is the record on which history will judge us tomorrow. To pass these defendants a poisoned chalice is to put it to our own lips as well. We must summon such detachment and intellectual integrity to our task that this Trial will commend itself to posterity as fulfilling humanity's aspirations to do justice."

Robert H. Jackson

Chief of Counsel for the United States

Nuremberg, Germany

November 21, 1945

[kimmy]

Does anybody think Carly Fiorina has a chance? Does Carly Fiorina even think Carly Fiorina has a chance?

I can't help wondering if she's only talking about running because somebody in the RNC feels they need at least one female candidate to seek the nomination and Fiorina is the only woman they could find.

-k