Who will get 2016 Republican Presidential Nomination?

[kimmy]

I actually had either forgotten or hadn't noticed that he's made it official that he's running. I had a quick look through his site, and so far there's nothing overly Tea Partyish there.

The one thing in his track record that kind of impresses me is the success in reducing the incarceration rate in Texas, in particular by adopting a smarter approach to drug offenses.

-k

[Derek 2.0]

I actually had either forgotten or hadn't noticed that he's made it official that he's running. I had a quick look through his site, and so far there's nothing overly Tea Partyish there.

His economic policies, help the little guy on main street and small private banks and burn down the trough on Wall Street etc, are already being panned by some (both the left and right), but largely, the minute media attention he is receiving is for his verbal flubs (WRT to the shooting, saying accident, when he meant incident) much like the last race.........The guy isn't stupid, doesn't come from money (His parents were dirt cotton farmers), and though he is without a doubt a religious-social conservative (which offends many), he sure does suffer from the Oopsies when talking......

I really have nothing against Perry, he's not an ass like a Trump or Cruz, but I really do think this is Jeb's race to loose, and that of the current field, Rubio or Walker (future of the party) will likely end up on the bottom of the ticket........But I'd think Perry would make a good addition to the Federal Cabinet, in either Veterans Affairs, Agriculture or the interior........

[kimmy]

A couple of other news items about the Republican campaigns:

-Ted Cruz is returning a donation his campaign received from Eric Holt III, the founder of Council of Conservative Citizens. The CoCC was the group that Dylann Roof cited as influencing him to commit his attack against the black people at the church. Rand Paul also received a donation from Holt, and is donating the money to a fund for the victims family.

-Ben Carson has slammed opponents who won't address the obvious racial motive in the Charleston attack. "Not everything is about race in this country. But when it is about race, then it just is. ... Let's call this sickness what it is, so we can get on with the healing. If this were a medical disease, and all the doctors recognized the symptoms but refused to make the diagnosis for fear of offending the patient, we could call it madness. But there are people who are claiming that they can lead this country who dare not call this tragedy an act of racism, a hate crime, for fear of offending a particular segment of the electorate."

-as Derek mentioned, Rick Perry has endorsed taking down the Confederate battle flag from the South Carolina state building. Now South Carolina governor Nikki Haley has called for it to come down as well. Some observers are saying she might end up on the short list of candidates for Vice President.

-k

[GostHacked]

If Rick Perry had to adjust his image to be more palatable for a certain group, then he is no leader.

[Rue]

To Kimmy please refer to the following for summaries of the position some argue that Mormonism cost Romney his election. I do concede it would not be the only reason and appreciate your come back.

http://.wnd.com/2013/07-did-romneys-faith-cost-him-2012-election

http://huffingtonpost/benhamin-knoll/mit-romney-mormon_b_4121217.html

Now as for Hilary Clinton and her attempt to package herself as a socialist and leader of minorities in the US it aint gonna work.She can try take credit for the medicare program which most Americans believe is a fiasco, or he loosening of immigration laws with Mexico and try portray herself as the woman's candidate and try ride her husband's popularity with blacks but it won't wash.

On the ground when she speaks she comes across as what she is, a rich elitist.

Her biggest backers are the same Wall Street financiers as she claims are behind the Republicans. Her no.1 supporter? Goldman Sachs. This cowtowing to the rich elite and pulling yourself off as a socialist is a crock. Here's an example of her foot and mouth I was referring to:

www.breitbart.com/big-government/2014/01/27/hilary-top-seven-out-of-touch/

[kimmy]

To Kimmy please refer to the following for summaries of the position some argue that Mormonism cost Romney his election. I do concede it would not be the only reason and appreciate your come back.

http://.wnd.com/2013/07-did-romneys-faith-cost-him-2012-election

http://huffingtonpost/benhamin-knoll/mit-romney-mormon_b_4121217.html

Now as for Hilary Clinton and her attempt to package herself as a socialist and leader of minorities in the US it aint gonna work.She can try take credit for the medicare program which most Americans believe is a fiasco, or he loosening of immigration laws with Mexico and try portray herself as the woman's candidate and try ride her husband's popularity with blacks but it won't wash.

On the ground when she speaks she comes across as what she is, a rich elitist.

Her biggest backers are the same Wall Street financiers as she claims are behind the Republicans. Her no.1 supporter? Goldman Sachs. This cowtowing to the rich elite and pulling yourself off as a socialist is a crock. Here's an example of her foot and mouth I was referring to:

www.breitbart.com/big-government/2014/01/27/hilary-top-seven-out-of-touch/

Of the links you posted, 2 of the 3 don't work. Since they're from WND and Breitbart, that's probably no great loss. The Huff Post article is a bunch of speculation that actually leads the author to the conclusion that the slight anti-Mormon sentiment might have caused up to 3 million Republican voters to stay home, which means Obama still would have won.

But your premise was that Christians would "come back" to support Jeb Bush, and it's borne out by the numbers that they never left. The results of the 2012 election should show that religious turnout isn't enough to win an election on its own anymore.

I notice you didn't respond at all to my questioning of your claims that Hilary has dissed minorities, or that Latinos would turn against the Democrats in great numbers because of eased relations with Cuba.

I do agree that Hilary's attempt to rebrand herself as a peoples' populist is pretty sad. The big problem for Democrats isn't Cuba or Benghazi, it's disenchantment among the voters who won two elections for Obama. After 8 years of Obama, I think a lot of people are starting to come to the conclusion that they really are all the same and that it really doesn't matter who you vote for. The young and idealistic voters are getting behind Bernie Sanders, not Hilary Clinton, and while she'll easily win the nomination I don't think she'll win back the kinds of voters who are going over to Sanders, because they see her as part of the problem.

-k

[Derek 2.0]

-as Derek mentioned, Rick Perry has endorsed taking down the Confederate battle flag from the South Carolina state building. Now South Carolina governor Nikki Haley has called for it to come down as well. Some observers are saying she might end up on the short list of candidates for Vice President.

Interesting point, without a doubt Haley, Rubio, Scott Walker and Bobby Jindal are the future of the GOP, and would all be smart choices for the bottom of a Bush ticket (or if anyone beats Bush) and I could only really see three possible outsiders (not running for the nomination), Gov. John Kasich, Gov Susana Martinez and Condoleezza Rice superseding any of them on the bottom of the ticket.......Though Rice has publicly stated countless times that she is not interested, assuming Bush wins the nomination, based on her longstanding relationship with the Bush family, I could see her changing her mind if asked (by a Bush).

[Michael Hardner]

Trump surges in New Hampshire, 2nd in poll:

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/06/23/trump-surges-in-popularity-in-n-h-taking-second-place-in-suffolk-poll/

I'm titillated by this news.

[Shady]

"I don't know. Looks like to me it was, but we'll find out all the information. It's clear it was an act of raw hatred, for sure. Nine people lost their lives, and they were African-American. You can judge what it is."

I doubt that will cost him much. Besides which, Blacks don't vote Republican anyway.

Exactly. God forbid somebody waits just a little bit for all the facts even just one time.

[Shady]

Trump surges in New Hampshire, 2nd in poll:

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/06/23/trump-surges-in-popularity-in-n-h-taking-second-place-in-suffolk-poll/

I'm titillated by this news.

Trump is an interesting candidate. He's not afraid to speak his mind, and has nothing to lose. And people agree with his stance on China's trade and currency manipulation and Mexico's taking jobs and sending over illegal immigrants.

[Argus]

Trump is an interesting candidate. He's not afraid to speak his mind, and has nothing to lose. And people agree with his stance on China's trade and currency manipulation and Mexico's taking jobs and sending over illegal immigrants.

Trump can afford to badmouth other countries since he will never have to sit across the table from them.

[bush_cheney2004]

Trump can afford to badmouth other countries since he will never have to sit across the table from them.

Doesn't matter...he would do it anyway. Canadian candidates sure do on a regular basis.

[Shady]

Trump can afford to badmouth other countries since he will never have to sit across the table from them.

True. But he'll most likely be in the first debate, and his populist, pro-American trade, screw China type of message sits well with a lot of people who feel that America has bent over backwards regarding trade deals over the past 10 - 20 years.

[BubberMiley]

Trump is an interesting candidate.

I agree. A clown is the perfect candidate to put up as a sacrifice to surely lose in 2016.

[Michael Hardner]

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/06/trump-bump-terrifies-gop-119449.html

All jokes aside, the Republican Party is officially afraid of Donald Trump.

He has virtually zero chance of winning the presidential nomination. But insiders worry that the loud-mouthed mogul is more than just a minor comedic nuisance on cable news; they fret that he’s a loose cannon whose rants about Mexicans and scorched-earth attacks on his rivals will damage the eventual nominee and hurt a party struggling to connect with women and minorities and desperate to win.

Story Continued Below

“Donald Trump is like watching a roadside accident,” said former George W. Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer. “Everybody pulls over to see the mess. And Trump thinks that’s entertainment. But running for president is serious. And the risk for the party is he tarnishes everybody.”

Those risks were amplified this week after a trio of polls showed him likely to earn a coveted invitation to the party’s debates, which ironically were restructured with the very goal of avoiding the circus-like atmosphere of 2012. Giving Trump a major platform just as the country is tuning in is not exactly the Big Tent the party’s bigwigs had in mind..

“I’m not excited about somebody as divisive as Trump or somebody as obnoxious as Trump being on the debate stage,” one RNC member confessed.

The right-wing media monster that helped the Republicans is now hurting them. Outrageous and fringe views get attention for TV shows and shows like The Apprentice, or radio like Michael Savage and Rush Limbaugh but they make the brand less mainstream and less presidential.

[Derek 2.0]

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/06/trump-bump-terrifies-gop-119449.html

The right-wing media monster that helped the Republicans is now hurting them. Outrageous and fringe views get attention for TV shows and shows like The Apprentice, or radio like Michael Savage and Rush Limbaugh but they make the brand less mainstream and less presidential.

That is one opinion......inversely, having a handful of numpties in the RNC/GOP race will allow the far more moderate/mainstream candidates (Bush, Rubio, Walker etc) to renounce them in a "presidential fashion"......

[kimmy]

Rush's influence within the party, and in general, is declining. His ratings are declining and he's being dropped by top stations and picked up by smaller stations.

-k

[bush_cheney2004]

The right-wing media monster that helped the Republicans is now hurting them.

The "left wing" media monster has fared quite worse, going back to the slow painful death of Air America Radio. Fox News dominates the cable news market, and has for many years.

[Michael Hardner]

Air America failed- which was good for the democrats

[Michael Hardner]

http://ca.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idCAKCN0P92HD20150629

(Reuters) - NBC Universal is ending its business relationship with real estate mogul Donald Trump "due to the recent derogatory statements," CNBC said in a tweet. (bit.ly/1SYtXLq)

So either he was running to promote his show and made an error (which can't be, because we know he doesn't make mistakes) or this is all a doubleplus brilliant plan to get the nomination AND his show.

Well played, Trump. Or IS it ? Or isn't it ?

[Derek 2.0]

http://ca.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idCAKCN0P92HD20150629

So either he was running to promote his show and made an error (which can't be, because we know he doesn't make mistakes) or this is all a doubleplus brilliant plan to get the nomination AND his show.

Well played, Trump. Or IS it ? Or isn't it ?

Thats great!!! I heard an interview with Karl Rove on FNS, in which Rove says Trump has yet to provide financial info to the RNC....and he doubts he ever will, as such, won't be able to run under the GOP ticket.

[Shady]

This hysteria over Trump is comical, but I'm sure he's enjoying every second of is.

[kimmy]

Of course he's enjoying it. It's the ultimate act of self-aggrandizement from a guy whose entire life is one big exercise in self-aggrandizement.

Ultimately Trump running for the nomination doesn't hurt anybody except possibly Republicans.

One of the things that Rince Priebus and the egg-heads at the RNC learned from 2012 is how crazy-talk alienated people. They wanted to present a more diverse, more tolerant face for the party in 2016. But here's this loudmouth running around with his megaphone shouting the same kind of rhetoric that alienated people last time around. They would desperately like for Carly Fiorina to at least be in the top 10 so that they'll have a woman on stage during the debates... if she gets bumped out of the debates by a loud-mouth guy ranting and raving against Mexicans, Rince is going to face-palm so hard he'll have a hand-print on his face for weeks.

-k

[On Guard for Thee]

That is one opinion......inversely, having a handful of numpties in the RNC/GOP race will allow the far more moderate/mainstream candidates (Bush, Rubio, Walker etc) to renounce them in a "presidential fashion"......

That sounds like a pretty desperate form of strategy. But they certainly have the numptys to try it.

[bush_cheney2004]

....Ultimately Trump running for the nomination doesn't hurt anybody except possibly Republicans.

Not even...Trump is a known quantity on the political landscape each election cycle by now, and few seriously think he will be nominated (including Trump himself). The media attention may actually help the other "serious" candidates appear quite moderate in comparison.