The 2016 Presidential Election Trainwreck

[Coach McGuirk]

Looks like Rand Paul and Chris Christie are already gearing up already.. However, in my mind. This just goes to how separated the GOP is and lessens the chance of winning. But, there is still lots of time before then. But the infighting still remains..

What, That? could be the worst set of sentences... but ever. But it is still pretty bad.

[dabrockster]

What, That? could be the worst set of sentences... but ever. But it is still pretty bad.

Multi-tasking is never a good thing for me.. As noted above..

[The_Douger]

Chris Christie, lol.

[VirginiaCougar]

I wonder if Jeb Bush doesn't make a run. Is it still too soon and/or have the dems and Obama effectively made the Bush name toxic.

A Jeb Bush with Marco Rubio could be a nice ticket. Florida would go red again with them. I think we reverse the downward trend among Latinos also. A Mexican born first lady and the son of Cuban immigrants as VP. That ticket might be too Catholic for the far right, but I think it is time to put them in check.

I like Paul Ryan quite a bit. He'll be attractive if the GOP's worst fears are realized and the economy is still in tatters in 4 years. I could also get behind a Ryan-Rubio ticket. I just wonder if they're too young together.

I really would love Mitt. But he's done even if it were an option.

Sadly, Jeb was always the strongest presidential candidate among HW's kids. Its less an issue of what the Dems have done with the Bush name, it is what Bush did with it. I can imagine a much better world if he had chosen not to listen to Cheney and Rumsfeld and had listened to Powell and Rice instead. And just like Foreign Policy, similar things can be said about his idiotic economic decisions - we continue to pay for these really bad choices and will for years to come.

[VirginiaCougar]

Saw this in a tweet by one of my favorite twitterers of all time:

http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2012/11/19...bio-has-begun/

:facepalm:

Marco, the earth is like 2 billion years old. Just say that. This isn't a gotcha question. It's not a difficult question. Why in the hell can't these rising GOP stars deal with this crap? This is turning into a game for the media and frankly it's kind of fun to watch as I hope this crap finally either tanks the GOP or releases them from their servitude to the religious right.

I'm afraid that Marco actually thinks the earth is 7,000 years old. Thank god I'm not a Republican.

It is not something pleasant given that I have been a Republican my whole life, but the GOP is imploding. It is being killed by a true cult of ideology which is ripping the party apart and destroying it nationally. It will still win Congressional and state seats due to gerrymandered districts. But nationally - it is in deep trouble. Particularly the rightwingers have all the characteristics of cult followers with how they handle their ideologies (both the conservative and libertarian versions). Just look at the joke Mike Lee has become, well I guess that he has always been but that he was ever elected to high office!?

The silly 7K year old earth quote is just the very small tip of a very deep iceberg. That ideological political cult rejects science, education and knowledge, true Constitutional negotiation and compromise and if anything divergent happens - facts that don't fit the dogmatic paradigm - well that is just media bias. Its TV and radio evangelistic preachers knock down any alternative narrative. No need ever to deal with the cognitive dissonance resulting between the ideology and the real world. All just like a cult and just as dangerous.

[woot]

Looks like Rand Paul and Chris Christie are already gearing up already.. However, in my mind. This just goes to how separated the GOP is and lessens the chance of winning. But, there is still lots of time before then. But the infighting still remains..

Paul responding to Christie blasting him about surveillance on US citizens..

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...k-more-real-a/

Christie calling the debates over drone strikes and surveillance "too intellectual" tells me that Christie is more of the same. Unfortunately, it also tells me he's more likely to win. I'm so sick of the democrats, but can't remember the last time the republicans nominated someone I could vote for with a 10-foot pole. Romney is probably the best they've come up with in decades and he was still all about cozying up to the know-nothing wing of the party.

[Goatnapper'96]

It is not something pleasant given that I have been a Republican my whole life, but the GOP is imploding. It is being killed by a true cult of ideology which is ripping the party apart and destroying it nationally. It will still win Congressional and state seats due to gerrymandered districts. But nationally - it is in deep trouble. Particularly the rightwingers have all the characteristics of cult followers with how they handle their ideologies (both the conservative and libertarian versions). Just look at the joke Mike Lee has become, well I guess that he has always been but that he was ever elected to high office!?

The silly 7K year old earth quote is just the very small tip of a very deep iceberg. That ideological political cult rejects science, education and knowledge, true Constitutional negotiation and compromise and if anything divergent happens - facts that don't fit the dogmatic paradigm - well that is just media bias. Its TV and radio evangelistic preachers knock down any alternative narrative. No need ever to deal with the cognitive dissonance resulting between the ideology and the real world. All just like a cult and just as dangerous.

I think the biggest issue is it is without a leader to rally around. So much of that, while not going away, would be subordinated if the Party had a leader.

[Surfah]

I think the biggest issue is it is without a leader to rally around. So much of that, while not going away, would be subordinated if the Party had a leader.

I agree with this completely.

[Goatnapper'96]

Christie calling the debates over drone strikes and surveillance "too intellectual" tells me that Christie is more of the same. Unfortunately, it also tells me he's more likely to win. I'm so sick of the democrats, but can't remember the last time the republicans nominated someone I could vote for with a 10-foot pole. Romney is probably the best they've come up with in decades and he was still all about cozying up to the know-nothing wing of the party.

He didn't say they were too intellectual he just referred to them as intellectual debates that pale in comparison to dealing with the human experience of seeing the impact of 9/11. I don't like his comments either as they remind me of the same emotional leverage the President tries to use to take away people's guns. I just want to be clear that I don't find Christie's comments anti-intellectual but rather pro-emotional, which is in my non-intellectual opinion pretty damn dumb.

Regardless, if the gets the Republican nomination I think the dude can win.

[VirginiaCougar]

I think the biggest issue is it is without a leader to rally around. So much of that, while not going away, would be subordinated if the Party had a leader.

I wish that were true, however I think the type of campaign Romney was forced to run by these types completely undermined his candidacy.

These guys destroyed him from being the reasonable guy with strong economic credentials. They also destroyed the necessary support among women and Hispanics necessary to win a National election. You don't need a lot, but you need a small portion of those voting blocks.

In spite of leadership, we were exposed as the party of "extreme conservatives." Put another way, the party of radical, angry, bitter old White men (with a solid dose of mysogeny on top.)

Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk 2

[Goatnapper'96]

I wish that were true, however I think the type of campaign Romney was forced to run by these types completely undermined his candidacy.

These guys destroyed him from being the reasonable guy with strong economic credentials. They also destroyed the necessary support among women and Hispanics necessary to win a National election. You don't need a lot, but you need a small portion of those voting blocks.

In spite of leadership, we were exposed as the party of "extreme conservatives." Put another way, the party of radical, angry, bitter old White men (with a solid dose of mysogeny on top.)

Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk 2

In other words Romney was not that leader. Romney was just not meant to be a politician. Obviously, I think he would have been a better President than our current one and perhaps even a good President. But he was not a politician. I think Christie is a politician and can win. I don't buy the narrative about the Republican Party having insurmountable issues.

[All-American]

In other words Romney was not that leader. Romney was just not meant to be a politician. Obviously, I think he would have been a better President than our current one and perhaps even a good President. But he was not a politician. I think Christie is a politician and can win. I don't buy the narrative about the Republican Party having insurmountable issues.

I'd vote for Christie. Certainly over Hillary. Likely over Paul, Ryan, or most other likely candidates.

[VirginiaCougar]

In other words Romney was not that leader. Romney was just not meant to be a politician. Obviously, I think he would have been a better President than our current one and perhaps even a good President. But he was not a politician. I think Christie is a politician and can win. I don't buy the narrative about the Republican Party having insurmountable issues.

I guess we just disagree. I go back and forth about whether they are insurmountable, but they are certainly very, very serious. The problems are also very deep. I see these dogmatic ideologues in numbers I've not seen in my 20 years in the field at every level. In city council meetings, fighting any sort of planning (and forgetting how much planning has developed their cities in ways they enjoy), in state legislatures with increasing vitriol against teachers and education (thanks Rep. Osmond for that wonderful little gem) and as we have been discussing at the national level.

The problems aren't that Romney had gaffs like the 47% line, it is that he knew it was the only line they wanted to hear. If you buy that line, you (speaking generally and not specifically at you Goat) are part of the problem. There are numerous, numerous issues as I said that are tied up in that cult of ideology. The various attacks on science whether it be the age of the earth or climate change, the attacks on education because it may make kids more fair/objective, calling women who want birth control sluts, etc. There is a whole stinking pile of crap that any party leader would have to shovel out. I currently don't see a potential party leader out there both capable and willing to try that kind of heavy lifting to save the party from itself.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

I'd vote for Christie. Certainly over Hillary. Likely over Paul, Ryan, or most other likely candidates.

We're less than three years removed from the Democrats getting a historical ass-kicking in the midterms, Obama won by less than four points and the navel-gazers are saying the Republicans are imploding? How many governorships and state legislatures do the GOP control again? And it's increasingly becoming likely that the GOP will take back the Senate next year. So after that -- the legislative branch will be controlled by the GOP along with a majority of Governorships and state legislatures.

Meanwhile the Democrats have Hillary to run in 2016 and that's it. Zero viable candidates outside of her. I don't think the Democrats can win the White House with a white male candidate for the next 20 years. They're going to have to have the record-breaking minority turnout like they had in 2008 and 2012 every time because of what the Obama administration has done.

[The_Douger]

In other words Romney was not that leader. Romney was just not meant to be a politician. Obviously, I think he would have been a better President than our current one and perhaps even a good President. But he was not a politician. I think Christie is a politician and can win. I don't buy the narrative about the Republican Party having insurmountable issues.

I think we'll just see another big spending conservative if we vote Christie in. I want Jeb. I doubt it happens.