Posted on 02/10/2015 2:22:53 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
They’re coming out of the woodwork
And out from under the rocks.
For when the Primary season begins,
It opens Pandora’s Box.
The latest national census establishes the population of the United States as slightly over 325 million.
Of this number (excluding Sarah Palin) nearly 170 million are old enough and eligible to be elected President.
Why then is the voting population consistently doomed (with the exception of Harry Truman’s contest) to choosing the lesser of two evils?
The next election is still almost two years away, but the media is replete with the names, backgrounds and chances of hopeful candidates of every point of view, from the sublime to the ridiculous.
The Republican primary season in the last presidential contest was likened to a circus, with a rambunctious cast of characters providing fodder for the comedians and late night commentators, as one by one they dropped off to the ultimate success of Mitt Romney’s nomination.
That gentleman’s star was eclipsed last week when he announced, after nearly a month of testing the waters, that he would not run again, thus leaving the field “open to new blood.”
Among the reasons for his decision was the falling away of some of the political and money support that were critical to his run in 2014. The billionaire Koch brothers reported that they would no longer help finance a Romney campaign and would spend nearly a billion dollars to advance the cause of Jeb Bush.
Others turned their backs based on their view that he was “a loser,” and that his past history indicated that he would be a loser again.
That logic is unfortunate. Based on that kind of thinking, the likely Democrat opponent, Hillary Clinton, is also a loser, having been unexpectedly upset in that party’s 2008 primary by a little known freshman senator from Illinois.
Polls show that many of the young Democrat voters are less than enthusiastic this year with Mrs. Clinton, and Romney has maintained name recognition as a moderate conservative. In this writer’s view, he would have been the strongest Republican candidate against her.
A review of the likely GOP aspirants in next year’s race has all the aspects of the same kind of circus we saw in 2008.
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who visited Sarasota last week, cannot be taken seriously. His attitude toward women and his position on gay rights label him as something of a clown, who may appeal in backwoods areas, but not in sophisticated communities like those in southwest Florida.
Dr. Ben Carson and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal appear to be cerebral citizens with conservative credentials, but the Republican Party is not ready for either of them on a national scale.
At the other end of the intellectual scale stands Texan Rick Perry, whose attempt to remake himself as an eyeglass wearing savant fools no one outside the boundaries of his state. It will add zest to late night comedy, but will not advance his candidacy.
Similarly, freshman Senator Ted Cruz of Texas will make a lot of noise, but gather no serious support in any primary contest anywhere in the country, including his own state.
Rick Santorum, who was defeated as a senator from Pennsylvania, is not only a loser in his own state, but has proved himself unable to understand the Constitutional difference between church and state. The father of seven children, he opposes artificial birth control, same sex marriage and teaching the Darwin theory instead of the Old Testament in public schools.
Florida’s freshman Senator Marco Rubio will do well in this state, but not elsewhere. He is young, articulate and handsome, but has no experience in foreign affairs. His attitude toward Cuba is unrealistic, and his prior statements that his parents were fugitives from Dictator Fidel Castro are misleading. They emigrated when the corrupt, mob-backed, Fulgencio Batista was dictator, and our decades old embargo on that island nation has done nothing but make life miserable for its citizens.
New Jersey’s Governor Chris Christie has the backing of many of the country’s conservative donors, but his brash attitude makes it unlikely that he can secure the nomination. In spite of his own attempt to lose weight by stomach stapling and diet, concerns remain about his health and ability to live through a four year term.
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has thrown his hat into the ring as an ultra-conservative’s conservative, but like Florida’s Rubio, he has had no international experience.
Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, who will be coming to Sarasota shortly, has the youth and sense of humor to make a viable candidate, but as of this writing, the party refuses to take him seriously. (Maybe 2020?)
That leaves Florida’s former governor, Jeb Bush.
The basic attraction of the Republican Party is that it stands for the premise that “the best government is the least government.” That means, among other things, that government should keep its nose out of people’s bedrooms and not impose one religion’s beliefs on others.
During his term as governor, Bush and the Republican dominated legislature flagrantly violated the Constitution in the Terri Schiavo case by forcing authorities to keep her alive in a permanent vegetative state, until they were slapped down by the courts.
Two weeks ago the New Yorker magazine published a lengthy article on him, with a caricature painting anointing him “King Bush.” His record on women’s rights also leaves something to be desired.
Bush will do well in Florida’s primary, but as to the rest of the contest, it might be well to heed the words of his mother, Barbara, who opined that “there have been enough Bushes in the White House.”
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Richard Hershatter is a retired Connecticut lawyer and novelist who writes an occasional column of interest to Floridians. He can be reached at Banyan502@AOL.
You knew more than that non campaigning, socialist, loser Mitt Romney. He thought Obama was just in a little over his head. He liked Obama's ideas so much, he couldn't find anything to criticize during the campaign. But he found plenty of Newt Gingrich's ideas he didn't like. With his campaign, he told everyone in Florida who he really hated running government. I'll give you a hint. It ain't liberals.
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