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[Coriolanus]

He's a damn good speaker and debater. Better than Romney was. That's the only thing that makes me worried.

But, yeah, his results as governor has not been great, unless you're a fan of union busting and cutting education spending to pay for capital gains tax cuts. Basically he built up a résumé that only the republican base could like.

The resume lacks results, so not like it can be openly used once the primaries are over.
Walker is no threat, his record buries him.

 

[Oblivion]

I hope Jeb makes Magic Carpet Ride his campaign theme song.

Jeb Bush shaped by troubled Phillips Academy years

Bush previously has acknowledged what he called his “stupid” and “wrong” use of marijuana. In the years since, he has opposed efforts to legalize marijuana for medicinal or recreational use.

How do assholes like Bush justify this shit? If his stupid ass was arrested, he would never have gotten the chance to run for president. The only difference between what he did and the people doing weed right now is that he was fortunate enough to not get caught.

 

[Teggy]

He's a damn good speaker and debater. Better than Romney was. That's the only thing that makes me worried.

But, yeah, his results as governor has not been great, unless you're a fan of union busting and cutting education spending to pay for capital gains tax cuts. Basically he built up a résumé that only the republican base could like.

Why has he been so successful in Wisconsin from an election standpoint? Do democrats there just not care about the governor?

 

[B-Dubs]

I don't think he can beat Hildawg (but probably no Republican can), but I think he'd have a good shot in general election otherwise.

No way, doesn't matter who he faces he'd be crushed. The guy has no real record to speak of and how many people would be willing to give the launch codes to someone who never bothered attending college, other than a small segment of Republicans.

Why has he been so successful in Wisconsin from an election standpoint? Do democrats there just not care about the governor?

All his elections have been in offyears with low turnout. He's never faced his state's large scale electorate.

 

[thepotatoman]

Why has he been so successful in Wisconsin from an election standpoint? Do democrats there just not care about the governor?

Mainly because governor elections only ever happen in midterms. And midterms also happen to be the elections where your base's turnout is more important than appealing to the center, which is something Walker is great at given his strongly conservative record, and is something Democrats can't seem to ever learn.

 

[bananas]

PoliGAF 2015 |OT| We Have No More Threads to Make Because We Made All of Them.

 

[B-Dubs]

PoliGAF 2015 |OT| They're all comedy options!

 

[Coriolanus]

No way, doesn't matter who he faces he'd be crushed. The guy has no real record to speak of and how many people would be willing to give the launch codes to someone who never bothered attending college, other than a small segment of Republicans.

Anyone who tries attacking him directly on this point might as well quit the race early.

 

[Poodlestrike]

PoliGAF 2015 |OT| Trump 2016!

 

[B-Dubs]

Anyone who tries attacking him directly on this point might as well quit the race early.

I doubt anyone will use it as a line of attack, but I'd like to think it would be in the back of everyone's minds if he somehow makes it that far.

 

[Coriolanus]

I doubt anyone will use it as a line of attack, but I'd like to think it would be in the back of everyone's minds if he somehow makes it that far.

Why should it be?
Heck, far more likely that it could easily be spun as a positive, what with the current costs of superior education in the US.

 

[Poodlestrike]

Why should it be?
Heck, far more likely that it could easily be spun as a positive, what with the current costs of superior education in the US.

"I'm qualified to make judgements about higher education in the US because I've never attended any" isn't going to fly well with the average voter

 

[Coriolanus]

"I'm qualified to make judgements about higher education in the US because I've never attended any" isn't going to fly well with the average voter

"im qualified to tell you that you too can aspire to the highest position in the country, even without a college education. That through the sweat of your brow there is no position that is beyond your reach, cuz this is 'merca, god damn it. Just look at *mentions rich people that dropped outta college and got loadsa cash*"

The silent point is stronger

Additionally, who'd be against a man that argued that college costs too much? Certainly not democrats.

Good thing he's shit at actually running a public administration.

 

[B-Dubs]

"im qualified to tell you that you too can aspire to the highest position in the country, even without a college education. That through the sweat of your brow there is no position that is beyond your reach, cuz this is 'merca, god damn it. Just look at *mentions rich people that dropped outta college and got loadsa cash*"

The silent point is stronger

Additionally, who'd be against a man that argued that college costs too much? Certainly not democrats.

Good thing he's shit at actually running a public administration.

He doesn't have the gravitas to make that kind of argument. When you talk to any of those people he'd mention they all come off as intelligent and curious, most of them have it, the sorts of people that you know if they had gone to college would have done well and wound up where they did anyway. I don't think you could say the same about Walker. Walker doesn't have it, whatever it is.

 

[Coriolanus]

He doesn't have the gravitas to make that kind of argument. When you talk to any of those people he'd mention they all come off as intelligent and curious, most of them have it, the sorts of people that you know if they had gone to college would have done well and wound up where they did anyway. I don't think you could say the same about Walker. Walker doesn't have it, whatever it is.

Charisma.

Man's the personification of boring.

 

[B-Dubs]

Charisma.

Man's the personification of boring.

There you go! That's why he can't make that argument, he's boring as balls. I feel like it might be more than that though. If you saddled Obama or Bill Clinton with having not gone to college they'd be able to make it work because they'd come off as impressive anyway.

 

[PhoenixDark]

Charisma.

Man's the personification of boring.

Jeb Bush isn't charismatic either. Neither is Rand Paul tbh. Christie is the most talented politician in the group but he's not going to do well for a variety of reasons.

 

[Coriolanus]

Jeb Bush isn't charismatic either. Neither is Rand Paul tbh. Christie is the most talented politician in the group but he's not going to do well for a variety of reasons.

Don't even know why you'd mention Paul, dude's a dead man walking.

There you go! That's why he can't make that argument, he's boring as balls. I feel like it might be more than that though. If you saddled Obama or Bill Clinton with having not gone to college they'd be able to make it work because they'd come off as impressive anyway.

Obama don't count. Dude's swag personified. I mean, fucksake, he made the US forget that they were voting for a black man named Barack Hussein Obama running on Hope and Change.

Bill was the sax guy, sure.

Same goes for reagan. Boss charisma.

Good thing Perry can't string sentences together, otherwise, sheeeeit. Dat cowboy persona could do some major damage.

 

[B-Dubs]

Don't even know why you'd mention Paul, dude's a dead man walking.

Because he's going to get some decent numbers in the primary, if he runs, due to riding his father's coattails.

 

[WayneMorse]

"im qualified to tell you that you too can aspire to the highest position in the country, even without a college education. That through the sweat of your brow there is no position that is beyond your reach, cuz this is 'merca, god damn it. Just look at *mentions rich people that dropped outta college and got loadsa cash*"

The silent point is stronger

Additionally, who'd be against a man that argued that college costs too much? Certainly not democrats.

Good thing he's shit at actually running a public administration.

He dropped out because he was a shit student.

 

[Coriolanus]

He dropped out because he was a shit student.

Walker is shit at everything but beating democrats during midterms. Was just entertaining the "no college education" point.

Because he's going to get some decent numbers in the primary, if he runs, due to riding his father's coattails.

So did his father. Republicans always managed to find a way to take pops out of the equation, tho. Largely by pretending that he doesn't exist.

 

[Metaphoreus]

"I'm qualified to make judgements about higher education in the US because I've never attended any" isn't going to fly well with the average voter

On the other hand, "I'm qualified to make judgments about higher education in the US because I went to a college" doesn't speak well of one's mental acuity, either. In any event, the politician will hire (hopefully expert) advisers in formulating education policy, and voters implicitly understand this.

 

[Diablos]

The fuck is wrong with you? Hispanics and women aren't just going to see a Hispanic or a woman (or both) on the ticket and say "you know what, they look like me, forget how I feel about the issues" and punch that hole on the ballot. No different than when Palin got put on the ballot, those demographics will see right through it.

Two things:

1. I said Martinez would play well in New Mexico and perhaps other places in the region (i.e. Colorado, Arizona). Outside of that it probably will not make a difference. I never implied having her on the ticket is going to magically convince all Hispanics to vote for the GOP now. She's a popular Governor in her state though, and that could turn into +5EV for the GOP.

2. Haley just being a woman is not going to, again, magically change anyone's mind but I think she could be a solid campaigner and negate the narrative that Hillary is bucking the trend once more by being a woman. I didn't say it will make people abandon their political views but it could change the mind of some moderate women voters who more than anything want to see a female elected President.

 

[thepotatoman]

Don't even know why you'd mention Paul, dude's a dead man walking.

Maybe because he has consistently done as well in the polls? Christie, Huckabee, and Carson are basically the only ones to ever top him in the polls for the secondary anti-Bush spot. The most recent poll from Fox News has him tied for second behind Bush with Huckabee.

Huckabee is probably just teasing it for the publicity and wont run when the time comes, so that leaves Christie, who Paul is barely behind of, and Carson, who Paul is barely ahead of. Seriously, if you're going to call Paul dead, you might as well call the whole field dead except for Bush.

So did his father. Republicans always managed to find a way to take pops out of the equation, tho. Largely by pretending that he doesn't exist.

Except the Republican establishment doesn't hate Rand Paul like they hated Ron Paul. They haven't shown any signs of ignoring him thus far, because Rand hasn't really done anything very offensive to them. Rand isn't his father, and is much more like your average Republican.

 

[NeoXChaos]

Maybe because he has consistently done as well in the polls? Christie, Huckabee, and Carson are basically the only ones to ever top him in the polls for the secondary anti-Bush spot. The most recent poll from Fox News has him tied for second behind Bush with Huckabee.

Huckabee is probably just teasing it for the publicity and wont run when the time comes, so that leaves Christie, who Paul is barely behind of, and Carson, who Paul is barely ahead of. Seriously, if you're going to call Paul dead, you might as well call the whole field dead except for Bush.



Except the Republican establishment doesn't hate Rand Paul like they hated Ron Paul. They haven't shown any signs of ignoring him thus far, because Rand hasn't really done anything very offensive to them. Rand isn't his father, and is much more like your average Republican.

Jeb's money, the anti-bush vote split & no clear coalescing behind 1 candidate early on will make that a reality. The establishment in the end get who they want. Ask dole, mccain, romney, etc

 

[B-Dubs]

Maybe because he has consistently done as well in the polls? Christie, Huckabee, and Carson are basically the only ones to ever top him in the polls for the secondary anti-Bush spot. The most recent poll from Fox News has him tied for second behind Bush with Huckabee.

Huckabee is probably just teasing it for the publicity and wont run when the time comes, so that leaves Christie, who Paul is barely behind of, and Carson, who Paul is barely ahead of. Seriously, if you're going to call Paul dead, you might as well call the whole field dead except for Bush.

I'd put money on Huckabee jumping in, no way he leaves his cushy Fox News paycheck for some publicity. He probably sees what we see, a field of clowns, and thinks he'll be able to swoop in and steal the nomination with ease.

 

[Chichikov]

I'd put money on Huckabee jumping in, no way he leaves his cushy Fox News paycheck for some publicity. He probably sees what we see, a field of clowns, and thinks he'll be able to swoop in and steal the nomination with ease.

I hope he does, I have much better fat jokes for him than for Christie.

 

[thepotatoman]

I'd put money on Huckabee jumping in, no way he leaves his cushy Fox News paycheck for some publicity. He probably sees what we see, a field of clowns, and thinks he'll be able to swoop in and steal the nomination with ease.

Maybe, but little does he know he's probably one of the bigger clowns of them all.

Seriously, how does a presidential candidate, in 2015, go on a rant about New York women being trashy because they use swear words?

 

[B-Dubs]

Maybe, but little does he know he's probably one of the bigger clowns of them all.

Seriously, how does a presidential candidate, in 2015, go on a rant about New York women being trashy because they use swear words?

I never said he wasn't blind. I was watching him on the Daily Show the other week and I wanted to smack the shit out of him. I think Jon did as well.

 

[Aaron Strife]

Two things:

1. I said Martinez would play well in New Mexico and perhaps other places in the region (i.e. Colorado, Arizona). Outside of that it probably will not make a difference. I never implied having her on the ticket is going to magically convince all Hispanics to vote for the GOP now. She's a popular Governor in her state though, and that could turn into +5EV for the GOP.

2. Haley just being a woman is not going to, again, magically change anyone's mind but I think she could be a solid campaigner and negate the narrative that Hillary is bucking the trend once more by being a woman. I didn't say it will make people abandon their political views but it could change the mind of some moderate women voters who more than anything want to see a female elected President.

Republicans will not win New Mexico in 2016

 

[NeoXChaos]

Aaron is right. NM is gone for the Republicans.

 

[Aaron Strife]

Just to clarify I know of course that Bush won NM in 04 - by a hair, and over a decade ago when the Republicans were more business-friendly which meant supporting immigration reform. The post-tea party GOP would rather see everything burn.

 

[Oblivion]

Uh oh. I think that about wraps it up for Ben Carson:

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/01/ben-carson-liberal-views-2016

 

[HylianTom]

Aaron is right. NM is gone for the Republicans.

Thirded. I count New Mexico as part of Hillary's starting 251EVs.

Edit:
And this happened at a Mardi Gras parade last night. That's a circle of the Supremes, holding hands, ring-around-the-rosie-style. They were all unadorned, except for RBG, who had really pretty electronic beads around her neck. The crowd really enjoyed it.

(Not my pic.. found it online)

 

[Strike]

Mary Cheney: Why is drag 'socially acceptable' and blackface isn't?

 

[Lucky Forward]

I hope he does, I have much better fat jokes for him than for Christie.

On a serious note regarding Huckabee's weight, this is a guy who, back in 2003, was told by his doctor that if he remained obese he would likely die in less than ten years. Twelve years later, with a lot of the weight back on, you have to wonder about the state of the guy's health and how much longer he'll be around. (Not that he has any serious chance of being elected.)

 

[Wilsongt]

Thirded. I count New Mexico as part of Hillary's starting 251EVs.

Edit:
And this happened at a Mardi Gras parade last night. That's a circle of the Supremes, holding hands, ring-around-the-rosie-style. They were all unadorned, except for RBG, who had really pretty electronic beads around her neck. The crowd really enjoyed it.


(Not my pic.. found it online)

They should have set Scalia on fire.

Also, the Mary Cheney comment is WTF, but not surprising coming from her background and all...

I mean, you'll never go around and say "Wow, that white person looks like a better black person than me!"

But there are drag queens who make far prettier women than most...

 

[Aaron Strife]

Mary Cheney: Why is drag 'socially acceptable' and blackface isn't?

Yeah, and why can't white people use the n-word?

 

[Wilsongt]

Fuckabee pulled the "I have gay friends" line.

Must be log cabiners.

 

[PhoenixDark]

Yeah, and why can't white people use the n-word?

That's not what she's saying.

 

[FiggyCal]

Rand Paul's Crazy Dream of a Libertarian-Democratic Alliance on Civil Rights Is Actually Happening

On the morning before attorney general nominee Loretta Lynch would face Congress, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul re-introduced a bill that would tie her hands. Paul and a crew of congressmen—Minnesota Representative Keith Ellison, Michigan Representative Tim Walberg—had resurrected the Fifth Amendment Integrity Act. If passed, it would restrict the government’s ability, from the Department of Justice on down to local cops, to seize property from criminal suspects.

...
As 2014 dragged on, the violent news cycles gave Paul new chances to find a libertarian-liberal consensus. He took those chances. After the shootings of black teens by police officers, Paul wrote that it was “impossible for African-Americans not to feel like their government is particularly targeting them.” He’d introduced some bills to rectify that. The Democratic Senate had slept on them. So here he was, in 2015, starting what most people see as a nascent presidential campaign with an effort to erase harsh laws—to the joy of Democrats who have no power to pass any bills on their own.

“I’m glad when my colleagues start waving around the Constitution,” said Ellison. “I think the constitution is offended by civil forfeiture.”

Last year, Paul’s bills were written—and introduced with Democrats—at a staggered pace. This year, the senator expected “to get all those bills introduced in the next few weeks.” They include a bill that would give judges more flexibility in sentencing (with Pat Leahy), a bill that would allow felons to more easily restore their voting rights (with Harry Reid), and a bill that would reduce sentencing disparities in drug crimes (with Cory Booker).

“The reason why we introduced civil asset forfeiture first is because there is great momentum behind this bill with the recent move by the administration to limit the asset seizure program,” said Paul. “This bill has a good chance of being passed into law this Congress.”

...

Old news... but I hadn't read the part about the future bills that he's planning with democratic support.

 

[HylianTom]

Fuckabee pulled the "I have gay friends" line.

Must be log cabiners.

There's a guy on Twitter right now with a Buddy Cole avatar posting as "@HucksGayBFF". I'm sitting here at work giggling..

 

[Aaron Strife]

That's not what she's saying.

It's a slippery slope.

 

[WayneMorse]

www.nytimes.com/2015/02/02/us/obama...ze-deficit-and-address-income-inequality.html

Obama's new budget is out. It wont pass of course, but I at least hope Hillary takes up some of the proposals.

 

[benjipwns]

WEBBGATE:
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/30/politics/jim-webb-white-working-people/
http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/Jim_Webb_Is_Almost_Making_Sense

"I think they could do better with white, working people and I think this last election showed that," Webb said, referencing the 2014 midterms where Republicans took control of the Senate and added more power in the House. "The Democratic Party could do very well to return to its Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Andrew Jackson roots where the focus of the party was making sure that all people who lack a voice in the corridors of power could have one through the elected represented...You are not going to have a situation again where you have 96% of the African American vote turning out for one presidential candidate. ... We need to get back to the principles of the Democratic Party that we are going to give everyone who needs access to the corridors of power that access regardless of any of your antecedents. I think that is a fair concept."

Also:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/01/opinion/sunday/retroactively-authorizing-war.html

They went largely unnoticed, four words President Obama ad-libbed during the State of the Union address last month as he asked lawmakers to provide legal cover for America’s military intervention in Iraq and Syria.

“We need that authority,” the president said, adding a line to the prepared remarks on his teleprompter that seemed to acknowledge a reality about which his administration has been inexcusably dishonest.

As the new Congress gets settled in, the debate over the scope and legal authority of Washington’s new war in the Middle East has resurfaced amid strikingly disparate views. The White House is consulting with lawmakers from both parties on the parameters that would retroactively establish ground rules for the bombing campaign against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria that began in September.

That task has become more complicated by irresponsible calls from some lawmakers, and the nation’s top military officer, for an expansive mandate that would leave this president, and his successors, with dangerously broad authority to use military force in perpetuity.

The Islamic State, a barbaric militant group that seeks to establish a caliphate, poses a dire threat to the United States and its allies that will take a long time, and significant resources, to fight. But the group, also known as ISIL and ISIS, cannot serve as a pretext to give the executive branch what amounts to a blank check to battle an ever-shifting array of enemies around the globe.

By failing to replace the sweeping war authorizations Congress established for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan more than a decade ago, with a far narrower mandate, lawmakers are abdicating one of their most consequential constitutional powers: the authority to declare war. White House officials maintain that the current campaign in Iraq and Syria is legal under the Afghan and Iraq war resolutions, a dubious argument considering those were tailored to respond to the Sept. 11 attacks and to deal with Saddam Hussein, then the Iraqi leader, on the grounds — since proved to be false — that he had weapons of mass destruction.

While President Obama has called on Congress to draft a new authorization for the use of military force, the White House has yet to lay out a specific blueprint that could serve as a starting point for negotiations on Capitol Hill.

...

Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, indicated in an interview that he was pushing for a timeless war authorization. “All options should be on the table, and then we can debate whether we want to use them,” he told the Pentagon’s news service on Jan. 23.

Prominent Republicans in recent days have called for an even more robust campaign. Senator John McCain of Arizona, the new chairman of the Armed Services Committee, recently said that “American boots on the ground are necessary to defeat” the Islamic State. He also called for the establishment of a no-flight zone in Syria and more support for so-called moderate rebels. His position would not seem as ill-advised if the painful lessons of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan weren’t as raw.

 

[thepotatoman]

Mary Cheney: Why is drag 'socially acceptable' and blackface isn't?

SNL actually did get a lot of flack for often having to resort to drag a lot in order to satirise female celebrities because they didn't employ enough actresses to be able to do it. It's also pretty crappy that drag is often used as a joke in itself.

I'd say that comparisons toward blackface are fair in that case. Thankfully SNL responded by hiring more actresses, and the problem went away.

But her bringing up Ru Paul as the example doesn't seem like that is the sort of thing she's getting at.

 

[Bam Bam Baklava]

With Obama's popularity having the momentum of a runaway freight train I think the real question is how could any Democrat lose if he campaigns for them.

 

[ISOM]

With Obama's popularity having the momentum of a runaway freight train I think the real question is how could any Democrat lose if he campaigns for them.

I actually agree. Which is why I find it ridiculous that Hillary HAS to be the Democratic nominee to win the presidency. Honestly I think any democrat who doesn't step on their own feet will win in 2016 especially with Obama campaigning for them.

 

[benjipwns]

I would have liked to see "too liberal" or something since many people think of themselves as moderates no matter what their actual positions.

 

[Diablos]

With Obama's popularity having the momentum of a runaway freight train I think the real question is how could any Democrat lose if he campaigns for them.

He's very much solidifying himself as a 50/50 President. Not sure if he'll get much more momentum.
Maybe he'll hit the mid-50s? It's just that he was SO down at 39%...

Subtract -10 if the SCOTUS rules in favor of King.