Who will get 2016 Republican Presidential Nomination?

[bush_cheney2004]

Yes, many nations have a mix, which I applaud. But they all have a national health care program - except you guys.

The U.S. has a national health care program...it is called Medicare...with current beneficiaries numbering about twice the entire population of Canada and growing fast. There are other national programs as well for the poor and disabled. The success of these programs is what makes them popular during election season, but also undermines any attempt to expand them into privately insured and state run programs.

Edited August 21, 2015 by bush_cheney2004

[kraychik]

The U.S. has a national health care program...it is called Medicare...with current beneficiaries numbering about twice the entire population of Canada and growing fast. There are other national programs as well for the poor and disabled. The success of these programs is what makes them popular during election season, but also undermines any attempt to expand them into privately insured and state run programs.

Also Medicaid. Also mandated group-benefits via employers. Also the VA (which while justifiable, needs some free market reform).

[Argus]

The U.S. has a national health care program...it is called Medicare...with current beneficiaries numbering about twice the entire population of Canada and growing fast. There are other national programs as well for the poor and disabled. The success of these programs is what makes them popular during election season, but also undermines any attempt to expand them into privately insured and state run programs.

Congratulations. You have medical programs for the dirt poor and the old. How about having one for ordinary people? It would be a lot more efficient use of resources.

[Derek 2.0]

There it is:

The Republican presidential candidate Scott Walker said on Sunday that building a wall on the US northern border with Canada was “a legitimate issue for us to look at”.

If we included the Alaskan border, a wall along the US-Canada border would be about the size of the Great Wall of China.......

[kimmy]

Well, I am sure it would create lots of jobs.

I assume Scott Walker must have a friend who is a chain link magnate or something of that nature.

-k

[bush_cheney2004]

Nothing new about proposing a fence on the Canada-U.S. border...here's a story from 2011...that would be President Obama, not a Republican candidate stumping for votes:

OTTAWA - The United States is looking at building fences along the border with Canada to help keep out terrorists and other criminals.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency has proposed the use of "fencing and other barriers" on the 49th parallel to manage "trouble spots where passage of cross-border violators is difficult to control."

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2011/09/29/canadian-border-fence_n_986606.html

[Argus]

Well, I am sure it would create lots of jobs.

I assume Scott Walker must have a friend who is a chain link magnate or something of that nature.

-k

Scott Walker is an empty suit. He has no ideas or policies of his own, only those of his paymasters. He'll support only what he's told to support, and it's unlikely, barring one of those paymasters sees a profit in it, that he'd put in a wall along Canada's border.

[ReeferMadness]

They're all empty suits. What a round-up. Paul Krugman

But Mr. Trump isn’t alone in talking policy nonsense. Trying to deport all 11 million illegal immigrants would be a logistical and human rights nightmare, but might conceivably be possible; doubling America’s rate of economic growth, as Jeb Bush has promised he would, is a complete fantasy.

Consider, if you will, the case of Chris Christie. Not that long ago he was regarded as a strong contender for the presidency, in part because for a while his tough-guy act played so well with the people of New Jersey. But he has, in fact, been a terrible governor, who has presided over repeated credit downgrades, and who compromised New Jersey’s economic future by killing a much-needed rail tunnel project.

A veritable convenience store full of nut bars.

[kraychik]

At this point, I reckon Scott Walker but I'm not really following this. I also reckon that Rand Paul, at this stage, has some very devoted supporters who make him seem important.

How is Ted Cruz not on that list?

[Shady]

Trump is on to something.

Most Americans support building a fence with Mexico but not one with Canada

https://today.yougov.com/news/2015/09/04/build-fence-mexico-not-canada/

[Big Guy]

In a discussion about Islamist extremism with the conservative talk-radio host Hugh Hewitt on Thursday, Trump was asked to identify the leaders of major militant groups, including General Qassem Suleimani of Iran’s Quds Force, Hassan Nasrallah of Hezbollah, al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, Nusra Front leader Abu Mohammad al-Julani, and Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Trump admitted he could not, and the discussion ended with Hewitt pushing the candidate on the topic, asking him: “So the difference between Hezbollah and Hamas does not matter to you yet, but it will?”

Trump replied: “It will when it’s appropriate. I will know more about it than you know, and believe me, it won’t take me long.”

[cybercoma]

You know, the President has advisors on these issues. The vast majority of people couldn't name these guys and that doesn't matter. What's more concerning is that he doesn't know the difference between Hamas and Hezbollah. He should at least have some idea about those groups' history if he's running for the presidential nomination.

Far be it for me to defend Trump, but I think if one of the ideals of your nation is that any American citizen could be president some day (as absurdly false as that is), then candidates shouldn't be chastised for not memorizing particular details about things, especially in foreign countries. Names. Dates. These things can be looked up in books. The core of a candidate should be their ideas and solutions--their vision. It should not be their ability to answer trivia questions.

[WIP]

Sad news for comedy fans across the USA and beyond, as Rick Perry rides off into the sunset:Republican Rick Perry drops out of presidential race.

No doubt this will be a letdown for Texas comedian/voice actor Mike Mcrae, who has made Perry one of his goto characters in recent years. So this segment for the Jimmy Dore Comedy Show three weeks ago may be the last time he gets to take him out for a spin:

Rick Perry Net Worthless - Jimmy Dore Show (08-14-15)

[cybercoma]

Looks like Ben Carson is within 4 pts of Trump.

[kimmy]

Most surprising thing is that Jeb Bush has fallen back among the likes of Cruz, Huckabee, and Rubio. There's still a year to go, but geez. Get it together, Jeb!

(link to poll)

Lately I've seen several articles like this:

Trump has hammered Wall Street in recent speeches, wants to raise taxes on the rich and has embraced policies that will hurt many multinational companies.

"Wall Street hates him because he is a class traitor," said Greg Valliere, chief political strategist at Potomac Research Group. "He has bought into the populist rhetoric that Wall Street is greedy and makes too much money...He sounds more anti-Wall Street than Elizabeth Warren."

and this:

NEW YORK — Wall Street is growing increasingly terrified that Donald Trump — once viewed as an amusing summertime distraction — could actually win the Republican nomination for president.

The real estate billionaire, who took another populist shot on Sunday by ripping into lavish executive pay, continues to rise in the polls. Would-be Wall Street saviors like Jeb Bush are languishing in single digits. The belief that Trump's candidacy would quickly fade is now evaporating in a wave of fear.

(...)

The latest frightening broadside for the Wall Street class came on Sunday when Trump said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that executive pay in America is “a complete joke” and promised to raise taxes on “the hedge fund guys.” In a statement sent to POLITICO on Monday from his campaign, Trump relished in the attacks from Wall Street, singling out both Bush and Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, another favorite on Wall Street.

Fun times!

-k

[Derek 2.0]

Most surprising thing is that Jeb Bush has fallen back among the likes of Cruz, Huckabee, and Rubio. There's still a year to go, but geez. Get it together, Jeb!

(link to poll)

This time, back in 2011, Cain was starting to cut into Perry's lead in the polls.........I think as more of the also rans drop out, you'll start to see the establishment candidates numbers improve.......with that said, you never know if populous fever will carry Trump to 1600.......

What could go wrong

Edited September 16, 2015 by Charles Anthony
deleted superfluous image

[kimmy]

Another Republican debate last night. I didn't watch it myself, but Carly Fiorina is once again getting strong reviews. She received a jump in the polls after the first debate where she was in the "happy hour" underdog debate. Will her performance last night continue to boost her popularity?

-k

[Shady]

Another Republican debate last night. I didn't watch it myself, but Carly Fiorina is once again getting strong reviews. She received a jump in the polls after the first debate where she was in the "happy hour" underdog debate. Will her performance last night continue to boost her popularity?

-k

She definitely will see a rise. She knocked Trump around pretty good, it was fun to watch.

[Big Guy]

Another Republican debate last night. I didn't watch it myself, but Carly Fiorina is once again getting strong reviews. She received a jump in the polls after the first debate where she was in the "happy hour" underdog debate. Will her performance last night continue to boost her popularity?

-k

I think her performance in the debate just made her a contender - if not the main choice but also on the ballot. It was an impressive show on her part and she lived up to the pre-debate hype with one liners that had Trump stuttering and blushing. The beauty of those one liners is that they appeared spontaneous (in that they referred to other responses that night) and not scripted.

There are three anti-establishment contenders - Trump, Carson and Fiorina. As Trump and Carson start to fade, Fiorina is taking their support.

Good coverage of last nights events at:

http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/17/politics/republican-debate-winners-losers-donald-trump/

[Derek 2.0]

Another Republican debate last night. I didn't watch it myself, but Carly Fiorina is once again getting strong reviews. She received a jump in the polls after the first debate where she was in the "happy hour" underdog debate. Will her performance last night continue to boost her popularity?

-k

I think she had a couple of good exchanges with Trump, but Trump also deflated her managerial prowess talking points from her experience in the business world. She, like many on the stage, focused in on the unsubstantial platitudes of Trump, but like many of the others, offered little more in terms of concrete policy. I think she “did well” by resonating with people with her economy of words in response to Trump “remarks regarding her face”, likewise retelling of her loss of a child to a drug overdose during the portion on States Rights/Marijuana. Without a doubt she’ll gain in the polls.

I think Bush will also bounce back. Like Fiorina, he also deflated Trump’s talking points on buying and selling politicians, retelling how well in Florida he rejected Trump’s bid on bringing Casino gambling to the State. More importantly, which I think resonated with Republicans and other candidates, was his defence of his wife and brother, both targets of Trump. I think Bush showed more energy and countered the claim that he is too soft spoken (like his Dad).

Furthermore, I think Rubio took Trump to the wood shed on foreign policy, making him look like the clown that he is. I feel he might gain some traction. Likewise, Chris Christie, who I think had a good showing and helped take his campaign off life support, both by talking policy and rekindling his tenure as States attorney. In the first debate, I think Graham did well on foreign policy and his defense of Hispanics.

As to the losers….conventional wisdom says Trump got thumped, and looked unhealthy and tired, well also unable to answer pointed questions on policy. I think Walker also looked weak. Carson, though intelligent and well spoken, I think will fade away due to his confused policies and soft spoken demeanor. Cruz needs Trump to depart to regain the Tea Party vote share. Huckabee, though likeable, also offered little, but did create a good mantra on wishing to cure diseases ala Kennedy’s man on the moon speech. Kasich didn’t blunder or hurt himself, but was unnoticeable…….Rand Paul? The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree

[cybercoma]

Another Republican debate last night.

-k

I was wondering why so many people were talking about Trump today.

[Shady]

Trump was pretty silent during the second half of the debate when actual policy was being discussed.

[WIP]

Another Republican debate last night. I didn't watch it myself, but Carly Fiorina is once again getting strong reviews. She received a jump in the polls after the first debate where she was in the "happy hour" underdog debate. Will her performance last night continue to boost her popularity?

-k

No, because her clay feet are already getting chipped away at today....her main skeleton in the closet is the one she flies as justification to vote for her: becoming Hewlett-Packard CEO and first woman in US history to head a major US corporation. Problem is that her term as CEO was a disaster, marked by the failure on all fronts of her decision to push for the merger with Compaq. The HP takeover was heavily leveraged with high interest junk bond borrowing, that was paid for by slashing payrolls of both companies....even worse, HP employees were forced to compete against Compaq's for the remaining jobs that were left. HP went into a decline that continues to this day...so they can't blame all their problems of Carly of course. But, nobody at all levels of the company had anything good to say about her, after she grabbed her golden parachute and bailed out.

Worth asking if Carly Fiorina is such a great businesswoman, why was she never apparently invited to take on a top level managerial role at some other corporation? Instead she's played the right wing "charitable foundation" circuit, tried to get a job at Fox news, and then turned to politics. But, she's never been able to follow up on her great business credentials for some reason!

But, it is pretty damn obvious that the billionaire puppetmasters who run the Republican Party and right wing media, are scared shitless of a Trump nomination! When I got home several hours after they had their little debate, the first thing I did was turn on my computer and check the rss feeds on my browser. And reuters had not one, but three news entries just on Carly Fiorina and her wonderful performance in the debate. Not that I'd bother watching anyway, but even if she set the place on fire and smoked the other Republican wannabees, every other news search I did made it pretty damn obvious that a lot of important people are shifting towards her as the anti-Donald. FWIW, Carly is an even worse choice for Republicans to make to try to woo back women voters than Sarah Palin! At HP, Carly condemned any and all policies that might provide more opportunities for women or address issues like sexual harassment on the job. That may put her in good standing with old white Republican men....but she would expand the base about as much as Ben Carson will win black votes for Republicans!

[sharkman]

Trump was pretty silent during the second half of the debate when actual policy was being discussed.

We are a long ways from the nomination, but I fully expect that Trump will be gone by then. He's performing some very useful service being the bad cop as it were but as things get serious his many flaws will finish him.

[kimmy]

Several polls out recently all showing that Fiorina has indeed jumped since the debate.

This one from CNN places her in 2nd at 15%, behind Trump at 24%, with Ben Carson right behind at 14%.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/20/politics/carly-fiorina-donald-trump-republican-2016-poll/index.html

I saw other polls showing Carson ahead of Fiorina and with Trump as high as 29%, but there seems to be general agreement that Trump is by a good margin, with Carson and Fiorina being his closest competitors.

One other interesting news item: Scott Walker has joined luminaries like Bobby Jindal, George Pataki, Lyndsey Graham, and "Jim Gilmore" (whoever that is) in the Zero Percent club!

http://www.wkow.com/story/30072499/2015/09/20/walker-at-0-in-new-national-poll

Congratulations, Scott! You're less popular than Bernie Madoff, the flu, paper-cuts, and Milli Vanilli.

-k