Free Republic Straw Poll (February 2016 edition)

Free Republic | February 1, 2016 | 2ndDivisionVet

[2ndDivisionVet]

If you had to vote in your state primary/caucus today, knowing what you know now about the various declared and probable candidates, who would you vote for? Why? Who would you like to see as the running mate for your preferred candidate? If you could help staff your candidates cabinet and other top appointments, who would you choose? If you could recommend different congressional leaders than we have now, who would they be? And who would you like to see on the Supreme Court and why? And finally, feel free to donate to Free Republic.

[2ndDivisionVet]

Thanks!

[TigerClaws]

Trump. Not sure of running mate. May have to balance gender, race, or age, and pick up a key state.

Cruz. Supreme Court. Get him on there for 40 years annoying the other Justices.

Christie. Possibly AG. Or Gowdy.

Carson. Surgeon General.

Fiorina. Cabinet position perhaps. She needs to move to a Republican state and run for Congress.

Rubio. Happy him being where he is for now. He’s young.

[datura]

Trump
VP Sessions
DoD Allen West
Interior Palin
AG Cruz

Eliminate Education and EPA, nearly eliminate IRS and leave them with very limited authority, merge ICE and Coast Guard, totally reform DOT. TSA needs complete overhaul.

Vacate all EOs from Obama, remove ALL appointees from his entire tenure, review all tenured government employees promoted during his tenure, enact term limits on federal office, tort reform.

[Windflier]

I will vote for Trump in the Texas primary.

Why?

He’s the best qualified, among all the candidates, to be Commander in Chief. Compare all of their resumes, side by side, and Trump would be the clear choice of any board of directors who were looking for a new Chief Exec.

His VP?

I have a suspicion that Trump will choose a running mate that surprises most people.

Carly Fiorina is someone who’s got the right sort of grit and steeliness to make an effective VP, and, like Trump, she’s also a former Chief Exec from the private sector. I’ve honestly liked a lot of what she’s contributed to the debates, and think she has what it takes to serve Trump admirably (despite the barbs they’ve traded in the campaign).

[Windflier]

DoD Allen West
Interior Palin
AG Cruz

I like those picks. All three of those candidates are very well suited to the offices.

[datura]

See ya tomorrow 2DV.
Best of luck.

[TexasCruzin]

Trump all the way.

[patriot08]

Donald Trump

He's an American and he loves his country.
He's not 'owned' by anybody
He's not a Washington insider or an establishment politician
He's smart, extremely successful and charismatic
His remarkable children are a testament to his character and abilities

I believe him when he says he'll put up the wall.
I believe him when he says he'll put a stop to the Muslim invasion.
I believe him when he says he'll remedy the illegal alien problem
I believe he can make America great again


He will keep his promises. He does not want to sully the Trump name, but to glorify it and go down in history as one of our great presidents.

[political1]

Condoleezza Rice for VP. African American, female. That would hinder the “Trump is a sexist or racist stuff”. Hillary would say I was the Secretary of State, and Trump could say, “ Well so what, my VP choice was Secretary of State”.

[Hugin]

Trump. I used to think Cruz would make a good AG or Supreme Court Justice, but my opinion of Cruz has gone down a lot.

[Hugin]

If Fiorina wanted to run for Congress there are plenty of Republican districts in CA. She probably thinks being a mere Congresscritter is beneath her.

[JediJones]

Ted Cruz all the way. What matters in a President more than anything else is having the right values, policies, positions and ideology. To be sure a candidate has those, they need to have a consistent record and not a bunch of flip-flops. Cruz is thoroughly sincere and consistent on being for a small government, a strong military and Judeo-Christian values. This country has NO future unless it gets its moral house in order. Government has been responsible for much of our moral decay, from the banning of school prayer to Roe vs. Wade to same-sex marriage. Government therefore must play a large role in restoring our nation's moral foundation.

The #1 most important role of a President is appointing Supreme Court justices. Without Constitutional amendments, the Supreme Court holds enormous power. Ted Cruz is perhaps more qualified than anybody who's run for President in our lifetimes to identify and appoint strict constructionist justices. I don't know who the the next up-and-coming conservative justices are, but I'm sure Cruz does.

Cruz is a genuinely intelligent man who will easily be able to learn and react to all the different situations he encounters on the job. He's also extremely articulate and can be a great communicator for the conservative cause just like Ronald Reagan was.

The idea that having the resume of a businessman is what is needed to be President is dangerous and illogical. There are plenty of liberal and Democrat billionaire businessmen out there. Would we want them in charge? Should we draft Michael Bloomberg, John Corzine, Warren Buffett, Bill Gates or George Soros to run in the next election?

Government itself does not function like a business. A business leader is used to being a dictator of his operation. Bringing that attitude to the White House would lead to an imperial presidency that sidesteps checks and balances, including the role of the "4th branch," the media. Trump has treated the media very badly and actually bans them from reporting on his Iowa operation. He does not appear to be interested in being held accountable to the media and by extension to the public.

A good businessmen is fundamentally more of a follower than a leader. They form a successful business by sticking their finger in the wind of public opinion and creating exactly what the public demands. This explains why Trump's positions have shifted so much in his campaign and why he told Howard Stern he's against same-sex marriage but that "he could change his mind." A presidency that is run by polls instead of on principles means that every campaign promise is in danger of being broken and the Constitution, which requires a higher bar than 50% to amend for a reason, is also always in danger.

For Cruz' Vice President, Newt Gingrich would be my #1 choice. Gingrich is still the most successful conservative Republican political leader we've had since Ronald Reagan. His communication skills are second-to-none. His intelligence, creativity and ability to connect with the public are all tremendous. With a younger candidate on top of the ticket, I'd like to see that balanced out with someone older.

I'd put Allen West in a high appointment in the military. Ben Carson for a health appointment. Sarah Palin for the energy department. Rudy Giuliani for Attorney General. Dave Brat for Speaker of the House and Jeff Sessions or Mike Lee for Senate Majority Leader.

[lone star annie]

Trump. Politicians have failed us and we have too many smarmy lawyers in control. Let’s try something new—it could not get any worse.

[sockmonkey]

Condi is Pro abortion, isn’t she?

[meadsjn]

Trump for President; Jeff Sessions for VP.

[RC one]

[stocksthatgoup]

Trump

[JediJones]

Because when you want someone less smarmy, you always go with the man who cheats on his first wife, divorces his second wife right before their pre-nup is scheduled to give her more money, marries a nude model for wifey #3 and brags that he slept with other people’s wives along the way.

[Daniel Ramsey]

I agree, the best politicians offered so far still are just the same rancid dish.