Posted on 08/17/2011 12:21:37 PM PDT by martosko
Normally, by mid-August the presidential field would be set. But the 2012 cycle is anything but normal: Rick Perry entered the race this weekend, and he may not be the last. Paul Ryan is reportedly pondering a run. Sarah Palins bus tour is up and running again. Rudy Giuliani has said hell make a decision by September. And Karl Rove is suggesting Chris Christie could still be a welcome addition.
Polling, too, suggests that several of those possible candidates could have an impact on the race.
In the Daily Caller/ConservativeHome tracking poll, Chris Christie has sat at or near the top of the pack since the beginning. In June, before he was removed from the poll, 15.2 percent of likely Republican primary voters said he was the most electable candidate, outperforming everyone except for Mitt Romney. And 14 percent named Christie their top choice for president, tying him with Sarah Palin, behind Herman Cain, but ahead of Mitt Romney.
(Excerpt) Read more at thedc.com ...
Palin/Bolton. Bolton/Palin. I’m not picky :)
They can be mixed all they want. Its not like they have any say one way or the other.
Could Rudy pull NYS for the Repubs??
We need more better candidates fast!
I want them all in there.
Another 20 or so would be good. The Alinsky method on the left would be a mess after attempting to triangulate on the “one.”
And Sarah, God love her! She drives them completely insane with her coyness.
I can imagine the quandry in the news rooms as they take their daily order from the WH as to who to tar today and the targets keep moving.
I would like to see some more candidates get in. I have yet to see the candidate that is, for me, a perfect blend of ideology and electability (though electability is overrated. The general election is one on one, and usually a referendum on the incumbent, so I think that unless the GOP nominates Ron Paul, Obama is in trouble).
Palin and Bachmann are my ideological mates, but I am open to others getting in.
Translation: There is no room for Palin.
There is ALWAYS more room for more candidates and more discussion with the voters.
What there IS NOT room for is the media being able to pay for following, and bashing them all for Democrats
Instead of focusing on the ball Conservatives are busy day dreaming about some fantasy perfect candidate who will magically appear and "save" them.
The result is 2012 is probably a repeat of 2008. Conservative voters will be scattered to the 4 winds thus allowing the RINO Romney to win the nomination with about 20% of the party vote.
Then, since Romney is 0 lite, only the two parties hard core bases will vote in Nov 2012 allowing 0 to breeze to a 2nd term.
Perry will beat Romney easily.
There’s always room at the top.
Perry cannot be trusted, take a look at his record.
I’m down to these two hopes:
1) A conservative controlled House and Senate.
2) A president who will sign their legislation.
Even if we get your scenario, perhaps 1) will overcome or at least severely limit the damage.
Why would I trust him?
I hope you’re right. My only worry is Dems going heavy for Romney in open primary states.
I’m not knowledgeable enough of the schedule and process to know how legitimate a worry this is.
If I was old Axlegrease, I’d be working hard on making this happen. I think Baraq’s solid 40-42% support could give him a Clintonian plurality win if he has two challengers.
There is still a lot of time left. We are a year away from the beginning of the general election season.
There is no perfect candidate. But it doesn’t hurt to let them all duke it out, flush out the losers (T-Paw), and decide who will make the best president.
At this juncture I would say that Bachmann or Perry will win Iowa, Romney will win NH, Perry will win SC, and they’ll duke it out on Super Tuesday.
But that could all change if Palin, Ryan or Christie get in (none of which I think will).
Consider, by this time last cycle, Fred hadn’t even declared his candidacy, Rudy was the national front-runner, and McCain’s campaign was crashing and burning before being restructured. Romney was cruising in Iowa and Huckabee was an afterthought.
Then what happened? Huck won Iowa, Mitt lost again in NH and SC, and Rudy, having decided not to compete in either state, was essentially out of it.
Right now I predict Perry will be the nominee. But don’t rule out his rhetoric (and the media) scaring off some of the weak-kneed Republicans, and saddling us with Romney.
Be nice for a change if GOP voters tried thinking for themselves instead of letting the media tell them who to vote for because "they are electable".
Just sayin.
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