Posted on 04/27/2011 2:05:19 PM PDT by Minus_The_Bear
We’ve been told that former Ark. Gov. Mike Huckabee, a rumored candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, is giving his former S.C. supporters the nod to seek work on other presidential campaigns. The word is that he’s told South Carolina staffers that they have his blessing for them to peddle their wares elsewhere. If this is as true as it appears, it’s the second major shakeup. Monday, Miss. Gov. Haley Barbour surprised everyone but himself when he announced that he would not seek the GOP nod.
Comment was NOT focused on Rand. General comment to thread.
Someone posted on one of the Trump threads, early on, that Trump cut a deal with the Republican party to get the nomination to run against Zero. I haven't been able to find that post again.
Maybe they realize the ‘optics’ of a white southern conservative running against Obama were a bit harsh.
Good. One down, one (Mitt) to go...
Rand would be fantastic if he gets in. I don’t know that he will, with his dad declaring. Your thoughts?
Then he meets my first required qualification.
If it be His will, it will be taken care of…alright?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hChMR3sYPCI
Did you see him on Hannity tonight?
Haven’t you heard?
Either
A)It’s a forgery
or
B)It doesn’t matter, he’s not a citizen no matter where he was born cause his dad was foreign and his mom wasn’t 21 yet.
Can’t wait for the next election. I’m reading a lot about the Canadian election.
No Huckabee? He’s denying he’s pulling out.
My take
Bachmann - Like her, can she win the GE? She has the potential to win the Iowa caucuses
Bolton - Don’t think he’s going anywhere, I expect a “not running” statement.
Cain - I like him but he’s a very long shot
Daniels - Some things I like, some things I don’t
Gingrich - Come on
Huckubee - (insert Yiddish word)
Johnson - Anathema to social conservatives
Palin - Can she win? Or is the slime they threw on her two thick. Ultimately I think she’ll exit the race. If she doesn’t...
Pawlenty - Meh, he may end up being our non-Mitt option if Palin’s not in.
Paul - Senile
Roemer - That one WTH candidate who no one even remembers. If he lasts till Iowa he’ll get 6 votes. Or let’s nominate him for hell of it! ;d
Romney - The enemy
Trump - Egomaniacal fraud trying to seduce us.
Santorum - Not POTUS timber
I’m unlikely to ‘endorse’ till the wheat is separated from the chaff.
Wish to hell that someone would swoop in. I’d surmise that Allen West or Jim DeMint could grab this thing if they wanted to.
Bachmann - Like Palin but without the controversy. House members are long shots, but I suppose it's better than nothing. Excellent conservative record and nice lady, needs to work on presentation skills.
Bolton - Think he'll run, but not get anywhere in the primaries and drop out early on. Damn shame. His foriegn policy skills are impeccable and he's good on most other issues. No charisma, but he'd rip Obama a new one and show people what a competent leader looks like. Based on the current crop of candidates, I'd probably vote for Bolton if he's still on the ballot by the time Illinois votes, but that's not likely to happen.
Cain - Great guy, needs to have SOME kind of office (elected or appointed) before people will take him seriously as a presidential candidate. The only other way to be a viable presidential candidate is become a general and win a war. Right now, he'll probably get 2% in the primaries. Sorry to bust people's bubble, just being realistic here.
Daniels - Some really good things about him, but other areas make him real problematic. I'd support him if the only other choices were total RINOs (Trump, Giuliani, etc.), but that's not saying much.
Gingrich - Excellent policy wonk behind the scenes. However, terrible, unlikable candidate, and “major league a—hole” to boot. Also too cozy with liberals, even though they despise him. Nominating him would gurantee a second Obama term.
Huckabee - Still think he was superior to Rudy McRomney in 2008. That being said, in 2012 he won't be the fresh new face nationally anymore, and the murder pardon he issued will probably kill his chances. I don't think he'll run, but he'll wait as long as possible before making that announcement.
Gary Johnson - I really liked him when he was Governor. Went against the grain of the GOP establishment by endorsing Forbes, and his fiscal record and commitment to smaller government was far beyond most governors. I would have seriously considered him as a dark horse presidential candidate, until I learned he was pro-abortion and pro-open borders. Damnit! Wrong on at least 2 or 3 of the most important issues. Now I simply can't support him.
Palin - I really like her, but I think she killed her chances when she resigned as Governor and the media has brainwashed voters against her. I was willing to “wait and see” if she connected with voters after resigning, but it seems only the conservative base is willing to listen.
Pawlenty - I was much more willing to consider this guy for POTUS before Al Franken stole the state from under his nose. Pawlenty’s last couple months in office and failure to keep the state in GOP hands (he was succeeded by a terrible incompetent RAT who couldn't even get re-elected Senator) left a bad taste in my mouth. Too milquetoast. Acceptable if he wins the nomination, but not someone I could get excited about in a primary.
Paul - 5%’er. Strange cult-like following and loves the TV cameras. Still unacceptable due to foriegn policy views, though it will be more amusing this time since he'll go after Obama for Libya.
Roemer - Louisiana? I agree, nobody is paying attention to this guy. Is his record even conservative? I haven't checked to be honest.
Romney - I thought he would be our nominee in 2008, given his picture-perfect family, smooth delivery, and near perfect super organized campaign machine. Instead he could barely hold off Huckabee. Old news, go away Romney.
Trump - Egomaniacal fraud trying to seduce us.
Santorum - Losing re-election to a nobody by an 18-point margin in 2006 killed his presidential chances. Should be trying to make a comeback by starting small instead of trying to get the other 49 states to like him. Non-starter. Another guy in the “people I USED to really like’ category, I thought he would have made a good veep candidate in 2000, before his career fell apart.
Roemer’s House record looks okay, for a rat.
I don’t know what his record was as Governor , (wikipedia says he vetoed a pro-life bill) but he couldn’t out poll Edwin Edwards and David Duke, epic fail on that front.
Bozo the Clown should have been able to top those chumps. That’s probably worse than Santorum getting blasted by Casey.
And he’s not taking any big money donations (big time campaign finance reform guy). Meaning he has no chance of increasing his tiny name recognition.
It sure seems to me that this is being set up for Daniels to be the nominee. Hard core conservatives are understandably wary of his reluctance to prioritize social issues.
I’ve seen and heard and read a lot from Daniels, and he is a true conservative, and he will ultimately appeal. He has really only said that we must first put our financial house in order before advancing social issues. Realistically, he’s right, and assuming that the GOP has a mandate after 2012, this strategy will leave plenty of time for social issues to come to the fore, and with growing popular support.
Barbour left to give Daniels a clearer shot. And if you do a Daniels-to-other comparison against any of the other GOP candidates, it seems to me that Daniels wins.
My belief is that this sorts out pretty quickly over the next 2-3 months, and that it’s Daniels v. Romney for frontrunner status, with the others a good distance behind.
I wonder if Huck will endorse Sarah Palin when she does run??
I say he does not, but hope to be wrong.
I still believe Huck IS running. For me it`s Sarah Palin or bust!
I am thinking the same thing. Daniels won re-election in 2008 in Indiana where Obama and everything else Democrat won, the party insiders know this.
As to hard core conservatives concerns, Daniels is going to have a bill on his desk this week to defund Planned Parenthood in Indiana, along with Charter School, School Voucher bill and a projected budget surplus. May be the most conservative legislative agenda success in the country.
I agree with you there. I don't think GWB was too many people's first choice, at least not around here, but he was a solid second-choice for most and wound up gaining considerable conservative support as a consensus candidate rather than an ideal one.
On the whole, if we're going to analyze the field, as large as it is, I think it's important to note who people's second choice is -- that may tell us a lot more about who will eventually come through than what people's first choices tell us.
You don’t like him, but I think it’s Donny or bust.
Donny/Michele in 2012.
Nope, mark my words you will see Rove give the nod to Mitch Daniels when he announces. They are quasi friends plus Mitch will also have the backing of many of the old Bush people who knew him when he worked there, especially Barbara.
About a year ago my mother asked Mitch what he thought of Sarah Palin in an informal meet and greet we attended. His response was sincere and I thought quite genuine, he really liked her a lot and his eyes lit up when she was mentioned. Even though I know a lot of people don't like him here my bet on the nominee will be a Daniels and (Palin or Bachmann) ticket.
Then you must be thinking Mitt (no!) or TPaw (I could stomach that). Christie would be great, if not for the fact that he isn’t running (and if he was, he’s awfully skinny of foreign policy).
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