So far, the clowns on the Right have a really poor pool for presidential...

[rasputin1952]

candidates.

This is really pathetic. The one's that have shown any interest all, drove to Chicago in a clown car. There is Ron Paul, Donald Trump and Rick Santorum. Gingrich appears to be out, and Romney is iffy at best, Huckabee is mulling over options.

So far, that's about it, with none of them actually pushing for the post. It's about testing the water, and none of these people has even the slightest possibility of being elected, even with GOP/Teabagger support maxed out. About the only thing they have is, "I'm not Barack Obama". The thing is, they think that's all they actually need.

To be sure, I question the wisdom of some of PO's decisions of late, but in all honesty, he's doing a better job than bush, and he has made some progress at certain levels. I'd like to see a lot more progress, particularly on the domestic side of things, but I'm not complaining about every decision that has been made, I know the political process, it takes time and a lot of effort to get anything done, (this side of an overt declaration of war), especially against a determined foe.

The GOP led House is a complete disaster, Boehner, so far, has shown himself to be a completely devoid at any kind of leadership ability, this is a huge plus for D's. It's an excellent chance to shift Left, if the D's want to regain the House and Senate, that's the way they are going to have to go. The Right has moved so far over, they are about to topple over the edge, people are looking for balance, and the only way to balance things is to shift to the Left.

We'll see where all of this goes, there may be a Dark Horse out there waiting in the wings for the GOP, but as it stands right now, their chances in 2012 are pretty pathetic. There's along way to go, so I'll make no wild eyed prophetic message, but at this point, it looks as if the electorate actually gets off their dead butts, there is little, if any chance for a GOP gain...in fact, I'd say massive losses might be in the works. Anything can happen, and I'll be tossing anchors to those of the GOP that are floundering in the water, but I feel pretty optimistic about the future.

[pocoloco]

1. What is pathetic is they get what they want now. Why change?

A repug prez couldn't have made, and got away with, all
of the concessions to the right!

[livetohike]

2. Pathetic. I agree. They have no one that will beat

President Obama and they know it. Huckabee won't give up his TV gig. It's the best money he has made in his life. Donald Trump!! Oh yeah, very Presidential :sarcasm:. Romney - been there and done that. Just let him waste more of his millions. Palin and Bachmann - SNL fodder and just a couple of cartoon characters. Pawlenty - makes me fall asleep the minute he starts talking. Haley Barbour - probably puts his KKK robe on when he goes home. A joke of a field of candidates.

[rasputin1952]

4. Incredibly ,Palin and Bachmann will both be vying for the nomination...

Pawlenty, Barbour...neither of them will get out of the gate, I don't even think they are testing the water. I'm actually surprised DeLay didn't enter the fray...:rofl:

So far, just about anyone that has been looking, from the Right, turn out to be gifts for the D's...:D

[JoePhilly]

3. Wait until they start to announce ... it will get funnier.

Currently, the GOP benefits a great deal specifically because they don't have a leader for Dems and the press to focus on.

The GOP and the press love to beat the crap out of Obama, he's standing right there out in the open as "the leader". But the GOP has no such target yet.

As the GOP candidates announce, significant focus will turn on each one of them. Every word they utter. The American peoples choice in 2012 will get even clear than it is now. One of these GOP nuts, or Obama, and that's going to be an easy choice because not one of the GOP hopefuls has a real plan to do anything.

I expect the GOP wannabes to delay announcing for as long as humanly possible so that little happens prior to the actual start of the primaries. Then, as soon as one of them jump into the pool, they all will.

[rasputin1952]

5. My thoughts as well...

No one wants to be the sacrificial lamb at this point; but when the first one dives into the pool, there will be a swarm of them. That benefits D's as well, as they will all be vying for tight cash, further cracking the GOP base...;)

There is a serious opportunity here, question is, will the D's finally get enough sense and gumption to take advantage of the situation? I have some serious worries as to who the political advisers are, D's have made some serious missteps and need to get back on track and offer some real change.

[JoePhilly]

8. Agree totally ... Dem strategists on TV make me scream ...

They waste the first part of every answer describing what they AGREE on, and then have no time to draw a clear distinction. The GOP strategists meanwhile, simply calls the Dem a socialist, and then moves on to their talking point regardless of what the question was.

[rasputin1952]

10. I don't know why they feel "boxed in" by the RW...

a full scale attack on RW BS would clear the air and open the field. It's disturbing to see a terrible strategy; and tactically, they could do 1000x times better, especially right now, when the R's are most vulnerable because they have no idea what they are doing, no plans and no propositions to offer the nation that would benefit the citizenry. All they have is "taxes" and "abortion", both of them have been used to mobilize the base and some fringe elements, but they've been used so often, they don't have the "power" they once did.

I suspect abortion will be a big item, but it's so easy to crush that notion, after all, when they had both the House and Senate and the WH, as well as a compliant USSC, they did nothing. They never intended to do anything anyway about abortion, it's the goose that lays golden eggs. I've talked to single issue, (abortion) RW'ers in my area, and they agree w/me that all the GOP has done is suck up cash w/the anti-abortion folks and those people have received nothing in return.

I'd be running them into the water that's at the GOP's back right now, atack them relentlessly, every time one of them opened their mouths, I'd be there to shut them down. I have no idea why we don't have some people dedicated to destroy the neo-con POV, and others pushing Liberal/Progressive ideas that would benefit the country. We're in the perfect position to drive them into the sea, but for some reason I cannot fathom, we're holding back...and that could cost us, at least in the short run.

One other thing the GOP is very good at is using the fear card at every turn. They scare the crap out of people, but fear motivates people. Fear let the so called "Patriot" Act go through...what people should and still should, fear, is the Rights and Liberties that they handed over with supporting that monstrosity.

[impik]

6. "He's doing a better job than Bush".

How gracious of you.

Welcome to the ignored list. Lots of so-called progressives there.

Bye.

[rasputin1952]

7. For one thing, I've never used a capital "B" when typing bush's

name in any post I've ever made on DU.

For another...are you one who expected miracles and a complete 180 from PO, if you did, you don't know much about politics or how processes work, especially with a determined opposing party. That's why, in virtually every political move, timing is imperative. An understanding that virtually everyone hates change, even when it's good for them, is a plus...that's why things in any democratic society are done over time, in increments.

[AnneD]

9. The jokers on the left don't look any better.....

I refuse to believe the gene pool is this shallow. I suspect some genetic modification as my farmer family members would say.

[AlinPA]

11. If he can get past Palin, John Thune will be a tough candidate-add Rubio on the ticket, and

it will be very tough for us.

[rasputin1952]

12. Most people I know, and theyare R's....

(comes w/the territory in NE), have no idea who Thune is, although they've heard of Rubio.

I don't think he'll get any traction on a national level. It's extremely early though. and it's tough to figure who's serious and who's just trying to raise cash. Even the major financial backers are sitting this out, I think they smell the stench of defeat in the air, and don't want to put cash into a losing cause. They, (financial backers of the GOP), may focus on House and Senate races instead, hoping for gains, but certainly not wanting to lose the House...(that's where the tax bills must originate).

[AlinPA]

13. Let's hope your point about financial backers sitting it out comes to pass, because with no limits

to how much corporations can spend on candidates, they could spend billions to sell Thune-Rubio. With a dumbed down electorate, they could sell the "attractive" candidates.

[rasputin1952]

19. I hope they do as well...

the CEO's of these monsters will hedge their bets until someone comes forward to run that might have a chance. In the mean time, I think they will spend cash on House and Senate races.

Then again, plenty of people spent a ton of their own, and corporate money last election, and they are sitting at home after those expenditures, wondering where they "went wrong". I'm hoping the days of the Teabagger are pretty much history, we shall see.

[CanonRay]

14. Donald Trump? Donald Trump????

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Guess I missed something.

[flpoljunkie]

16. Trump is apparently not on the CPAC presidential straw poll ballot.

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/MSNBC/Sections/NEWS/A_Politics/2011-CPAC-straw-poll.pdf

[flpoljunkie]

18. Although, there is a space for a write-in candidate.

[flpoljunkie]

15. Apparently, a large number of 'clowns.' There are 15 on the CPAC straw poll

The ballot: http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/MSNBC/Sections/NEWS/A_Politics/2011-CPAC-straw-poll.pdf

The candidates, listed in alphabetical order, are: Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, former talk show host Herman Cain, Christie, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Texas Rep. Ron Paul, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and South Dakota Sen. John Thune.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/02/10/cpac-straw-poll-features-15-potential-2012-candidates/

[Proud Liberal Dem]

17. Yup- Their field is pretty shallow

which is why I'm not sure why some people are running around with their hair on fire worrying about losing next year. Sure, anything is possible but not everything that is possible is probable (or likely). I'm really having a difficult time visualizing how they're going to pull off a win. Has anybody even formally ANNOUNCED that they're running? :shrug: It seems to me that somebody would be chomping at the bit to run against President Obama if they were so certain that their position is better for the country and/or more popular. Instead, even all of the "first tier" candidates seem to be coy about their plans. That's not a good sign for their level of confidence IMHO. The Republicans seem to be hoping for a 1980 election scenario when, in all probability, it will end up being more like a 1996 or 2004 election scenario IMHO. Obama has had more accomplishments and successes in general than either Carter or Clinton and the Republican Tea Party is already breaking a lot of the good China in the House.

[rasputin1952]

21. They don't want to be the "first"...

which is odd, because that is the prominent position.

I'm not saying PO is teflon by any means, but with what they have now, and Trump stating yesterday that he'd "make a decision", at some time in the "future", (I figure he's got a finger in the air trying to figure if he has a chance); but with this crop of goomers, one can pretty well figure they are headed for a profound defeat.

Thing is, the D's have to "spine up", all of them, not just PO. A lot was accomplished in the Lame Duck congress of 1020, they showed they could do it, now it's a question of pushing it harder, taking the field and crushing the neo-con, Teabagger GOP under their heels.

[polichick]

20. Listening to The Donald on Morning Joe, it's his for the taking. lol

[rasputin1952]

22. I caught a few minutes of that before C-SPAN autotuned...

I thought Mika's fawning over "The Donald" was pathetic...the whole segment stunk.

The thought of him running though made me feel better about PO...:D

[jtrockville]

33. He could definitely win, probably even the presidency.

Because he can just buy it.

[Pacifist Patriot]

23. I've been thinking the same thing.

I just looked at the Republican Governor's Association and no one rose to the top there either. At least in my humble estimation. But I think the Republicans would do better to look there than nominate one of these clowns with national exposure.

[rasputin1952]

29. I think you're on to something...

Governors are a pretty good choice for either party, (except Palin).

From what they have that have received national, "recognition", the field is nothing but weeds and briers.

[struggle4progress]

24. I think I'll try not to be overly-optimistic in 2012: back in 2000, I couldn't imagine

that anybody would vote for W

Expect a big poisonous blast from Citizens United, intended to sway the "barely paying attention" crowd

[rasputin1952]

30. To be sure, I expect all kinds of wild eyed stuff from the Right...

I'm still trying to figure out how bush even got the nomination...:wtf:

[we can do it]

25. That's What I Thought In 2000

[polichick]

26. Me too. They admire ignorance. nt

[rasputin1952]

31. For the life of me, I have no idea how that cretin was ever nominated...

it was a joke to see him on the campaign trail...and then, it became "holy shit!" when he was (s)elected that started an 8 year nightmare ride into hell.

[bvar22]

27. It would be foolish to discount the Right.

The current Palin/Bachmann/Tea party circus is all a part of the kabuki.
None of those you mentioned will be the nominee.
They are being used as Stalking Horses by the Republican Strategists.

*Stalking Horse
1. Something used to cover one's true purpose; a decoy.
2. A sham candidate put forward to conceal the candidacy of another or to divide the opposition.
3. A horse trained to conceal the hunter while stalking.

The Palin/Bachmann circus is sucking up all the oxygen and allowing the really dangerous Republican contenders like Pawlenty and Jeb Bush and "?" to avoid the stones, arrows, gossip, slurs, investigations, media light, and coordinated democratic opposition strategy.


The Republican nominee will wait until the last minute, then emerge from the shadows looking absolutely fresh, sane, moderate and "Populist", spouting the "I have heard your message America" slogan.

Tim Pawlenty was on Jon Stewart a couple of weeks ago, quietly establishing his credentials (phony) as a sane, intelligent, Republican who "cared about the plight of the American Worker & Poor"....who had "heard the message from America".....and that message WILL have tremendous appeal to the low information voters.
You don't even hear THAT message from the Democratic Party these days.
After the last two years, it will be EASY to cast the Democratic Party as the party of The RICH.

The Tea Party candidate WILL be bought off before the Republican convention, and WILL throw support to the sane Republican candidate in order to "save America from Socialism". (It doesn't have to make sense.)


It is not a good idea to discount the conservative strategists behind the Republican Party.
Look at what they have accomplished over the last 30 years.
Hell, letting Obama get elected may have even been a part of their 30 year plan.

None of this takes into account the potential of a 3rd Party challenge from The Left.
The Centrist, bi-partisan Obama administration has created a HUGE vacuum on the Pro-LABOR/Anti-War/Anti-FreeTrade Left Wing,
bigger than the one created by the Clinton Administration.
Vacuums are filled.
Its Physics.
A 3rd party challenge from The left would find easy funding from conservative pocketbooks.

No.
Don't be distracted by the Clown Car.
It is not time to start doing a Victory Dance for 2012.
The elements for a Perfect Storm are ALL in place right now.

Remember 1991.
Almost nobody knew who Bill Clinton was before the convention.

[former9thward]

28. You are correct. Bill Clinton did not even announce until October, 1991.

Many of the people proclaiming 2012 will be a stroll in the park are the exact same people who said we would have no problems in 2010. Their powers of prediction have not done well in the past.

[rasputin1952]

32. I agree on some points...

and this certainly is a case of "stalking horse".

One thing is for sure, whomever it will be, it's someone out of left field...I'd find it incredible to see any of those looking now to ever come close to being the nominee.