2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

[Rover]

Re: 2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

This article is on point:

http://www.tnr.com/article/politics...mney-huckabee-gop-presidential-field-terrible

If latest polls are to be believed (and I'm not saying they should at this point) Obama is doing well in Virginia no doubt because there's no regional opponent in the race. If I were to handicap "swing states" that he won last time, I'd say Indiana is long gone and North Carolina will be tough followed by Florida then Virginia then Ohio. I don't as yet see him having a problem holding onto Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico or Iowa. Again I'd have to recheck but I believe if he holds those last 4 states and loses IN, NC, VA, FL, and OH he still wins the election. He'd have to also drop a New Hampshire or a Minnesota.

Regarding potential flips, I really don't see any unless Hispanics come out in droves in Arizona and the GOP nominates somebody uninspiring. I regard that as unlikely as the GOP winning Minnesota or Iowa.

 

[Handyman]

Re: 2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

Two questions:

Has anyone seen Rick Tyler (Gingrich spokesman) and Charlie Sheen at .the same place, at the same time?
Has anyone ever - even for a nanosecond - had the impression that David Gregory is a hard hitting journalist?

Don't let that stop you Charlie/Rick



w tfbbq?

Wow...I know Newt is no longer in office but...outsider? The dude has been a GOP talking head since Fox started! That is like calling O'Reilly an outsider

 

[amherstblackbear]

Re: 2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

Wow...I know Newt is no longer in office but...outsider? The dude has been a GOP talking head since Fox started! That is like calling O'Reilly an outsider

The other reason that Gingrich's response was priceless was that David Gregory was, at best, only dimly aware of the trouble Newt was getting himself into. It wasn't the liberal media that dropped the hammer on Newt on Monday -- it was the conservative media.

Let me stick up for Newt for just a moment. I saw the full interview. The best, most positive spin I can put on it is that Newt was trying to speak from experience. Yes, he rode a wave of power in 1994, but that didn't happen overnight. It took years of preparation and hard work. The country had to be "prepared" for the Gingrich revolution. It's possible that Gingrich is sympathetic to a lot of what Ryan wants to do, but was trying to argue that you can't just write a bill, drop it on the country, and expect things to happen. The country has to be sold on it first. Or something like that.

It's a reach, I know. But I have a lot of respect for Gingrich's political skills. He's still kind of loathsome, but he's no moron.

 

[Handyman]

Re: 2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

No I thought what he said on Meet the Press made sense...I was going to applaud him for not towing the company line by tearing down Ryan's plan...everything he has said since then to back track though shows he isn't half the politician he gets credit for. His response to the Echo Chamber outrage is sophomoric at best.

 

[Rover]

Re: 2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

I'd go along with a lot of this. Gingrich realizes something that the Ryans of the world don't, which is that public support is a fleeting thing. In particular, people like entitlements. They don't want to pay for them, but they also don't want them reduced. Nobody elected the GOP to the House majority to dismantle Medicare/Medicaid. Gingrich was dead on initially in that radical changes from either side tend to result in a strong backlash from voters.

 

[Rover]

Re: 2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

Not sure if this was posted elsewhere, but Daniels is out:

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2011/05/22/daniels_will_not_run_for_president.html

My initial reaction is that this is real good for Romney, who has one less person running from his wing of the party and one who apparently had access to a lot of the Bush campaign infrastructure. Another thought is that I can't believe the front runners for the GOP nomination are two guys from Massachusetts and Minnesota. While the time would seem ripe for someone else to jump in, I don't see any possibilities unless Rick Perry gives it a go.

 

[Alton]

Re: 2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

Herman Cain, former Godfather's Pizza CEO, announced his candidacy yesterday. No, really. http://caucuses.desmoinesregister.com/2011/05/21/herman-cain-announces-presidential-bid/

Awesomely awful moment from his announcement speech, as reported by the Des Moines Register:

Cain, 65, who lives in suburban Atlanta, made his announcement at Atlanta’s Centennial Park, urging Americans frustrated by the country’s direction to read the Constitution.

“Keep reading,” he said. “Don’t stop at life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.”

Great advice. Personally, my favorite part of the Constitution is where Jefferson lists all of the bad things that the King of England did.

 

[Bill]

Re: 2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

Herman Cain, former Godfather's Pizza CEO, announced his candidacy yesterday. No, really. http://caucuses.desmoinesregister.com/2011/05/21/herman-cain-announces-presidential-bid/

Awesomely awful moment from his announcement speech, as reported by the Des Moines Register:



Great advice. Personally, my favorite part of the Constitution is where Jefferson lists all of the bad things that the King of England did.

The possibility of Herman Cain getting the Republican nomination is the worst nightmare for the mainstream media and for Obama.

 

[Rover]

Re: 2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

The possibility of Herman Cain getting the Republican nomination is the worst nightmare for the mainstream media and for Obama.

Ummmm....yeah. I know I'm quaking in my boots over the Herm Cain juggernaut!

 

[Kepler]

Re: 2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

The possibility of Herman Cain getting the Republican nomination is the worst nightmare for the mainstream media and for Obama.

That's "lamestream media." Get with the program.

 

[Kepler]

Re: 2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

My initial reaction is that this is real good for Romney, who has one less person running from his wing of the party and one who apparently had access to a lot of the Bush campaign infrastructure.

I thought Daniels was considered a fiscal hawk? That doesn't seem much like Romney.

Having said which, any time another drops out, that has to be good for anybody who's still in.

I don't know why a potential candidate would formally declare they are not running. Why not just watch from the bleachers and see how things develop? That seems to be Perry's strategy, and it looks smart to me.

 

[Priceless]

Re: 2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

The possibility of Herman Cain getting the Republican nomination is the worst nightmare for the mainstream media and for Obama.

Care to explain why? That seems like an easy re-election to me. The rednecks would either nominate a third-party candidate or stay home. Obama might actually sweep the Confederacy if it remained a two-person race.

 

[Kepler]

Re: 2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

Care to explain why? That seems like an easy re-election to me. The rednecks would either nominate a third-party candidate or stay home. Obama might actually sweep the Confederacy if it remained a two-person race.

It's an article of faith in the Echo Chamber that Obama's election is solely due to liberals playing the race card. So, no race card, poof, no Obama. See?

It's a combination of Projection and Wish Fulfillment.

 

[Bob Gray]

Re: 2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

Disappointing that Daniels is staying out, as he seemed like he'd be one of the most likely ones to take a real stab at getting the federal fiscal house in some semblance of order. That said, I can't blame anyone for not wanting to go through what a candidate has to go through.

 

[Rover]

Re: 2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

I thought Daniels was considered a fiscal hawk? That doesn't seem much like Romney.

Having said which, any time another drops out, that has to be good for anybody who's still in.

I don't know why a potential candidate would formally declare they are not running. Why not just watch from the bleachers and see how things develop? That seems to be Perry's strategy, and it looks smart to me.

The problem I see is that its getting late in the game. Not to start advertising of course, but to set up your campaign in key states. Getting boots on the ground in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Nevada, and Florida (I believe the first 5 states to go) is going to take a hell of an organization. That needed to start already. Or, you'd need Ross Perot like money and enthusiasm to swoop in and set that up. Rudy Guiliani and Fred Thompson proved that just having a name doesn't do a lot of good.

So as far as late entries go, the only potential candidate I can see pulling that off easily is Palin. Money and volunteers wouldn't be a problem, as she was part of a national campaign network in 2008. Mind you, I'm not saying its a good idea if she ran. Just that she could easily set up a presence in all of these initial primary states. A guy like Perry should have jumped in months ago, but I'm guessing his state's fiscal situation (I read something about a 14Bn deficit which he can't exactly blame on liberal democrats since he's been governor since 2000) is keeping him on the sidelines more than anything else.

Regarding Romney, who was governor of my state, not a bad guy, sharp as a tack, way too many juvenile positions opposing Obama foreign policy lately, but in the end a guy who's doomed whether that comes in the primaries or at the hands of Obama. I just can't see him bringing the hard core southern evangelicals out while simultaneously holding his own with the crucial hispanic vote (a line Bush II walked extremely well). His embrace of an individual mandate in of itself will send half of the GOP base fleeing to somebody, anybody, else.

 

[Bill]

Re: 2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

It's an article of faith in the Echo Chamber that Obama's election is solely due to liberals playing the race card. So, no race card, poof, no Obama. See?

It's a combination of Projection and Wish Fulfillment.

I don't think Obama's election was solely due to race. Cain is also eminently more qualified than Obama ever was. He's actually run a big business whereas Obama's principal qualification was that he's a good speaker. Cain is pretty much a dark horse at this point, It remains to be seen if he can gain enough of a national following.

 

[unofan]

Re: 2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

I don't think Obama's election was solely due to race. Cain is also eminently more qualified than Obama ever was. He's actually run a big business whereas Obama's principal qualification was that he's a good speaker. Cain is pretty much a dark horse at this point, It remains to be seen if he can gain enough of a national following.

Running a big business makes you qualified to lead a government? Why? And how'd that work out for Donald Trump?

 

[Bill]

Re: 2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

Running a big business makes you qualified to lead a government? Why? And how'd that work out for Donald Trump?

Trump was never a serious candidate.

With the debt being over 14 trillion dollars and rising, not even counting unfunded liabilities, I wouldn't say that having our customary dem/rep politicians leading the government is working out too well for us.

 

[Priceless]

Re: 2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

Running a big business makes you qualified to lead a government? Why? And how'd that work out for Donald Trump?

So does that mean Bill Gates would be the best candidate?

 

[Foxton]

Re: 2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

Trump was never a serious candidate.

With the debt being over 14 trillion dollars and rising, not even counting unfunded liabilities, I wouldn't say that having our customary dem/rep politicians leading the government is working out too well for us.

He's not like the guys we currently have is not a reason why he's qualified.

And up until Obama ***** slapped Chump by taking away his one talking point he was a serious candidate.