GOP Presidential Candidates

Off Topic Politics & World Issues
1

Webb’s up by over 7000 votes, with 99.8% of the tally in.

http://www.raisingkaine.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=5905

A few months ago, George Allen was considered one of the GOP’s front runners for the 2008 presidential election. Now it appears his political career may be finished, for now. He’s never going to win the party’s presidential nomination, when he can’t even win an election in his home state.

So who’s left?

Mitt Romney- can a Mormon win the presidency? He’s only got one term as Governor under his belt, right? Isn’t he a political novice?

McCain- Not even popular among his own party’s base. His flirtation with Democrats ended this election, with his last minute ass-kissing of the Bush agenda. He’s a chameleon who has alienated voters across the spectrum.

Frist- Failed record as Senate leader makes party nomination highly unlikely. Has some ethical issues still pending.

Giuliani- liberal on social issues, making a nomination unlikely

Condi Rice? Am I seriously supposed to believe the GOP would nominate a black woman as their candidate? LOL. Too many racists in the party for that to ever happen (Allen flew the Confederate flag, and the GOP would replace him with Condi? Yeah right!)

So who does the GOP have waiting in the wings, for 2008? Anybody who can win?

Will voters in the midwest and the south vote for a Mormon from Massachussetts named Mitt?

2

Needs to be someone with a proven track record of taking a chainsaw to government spending and entitlement programs. Needs to be someone who, having done the above, returns some of the savings back to the people. If Republicans dare put another liberal spender up for the nomination, the party will stay home on election night.

3

Is there a person who fits the bill? Nobody who is on my radar… I’m asking the right wingers.

I’ve heard people say that NYC mayor Bloomberg might run… give me a break. Like southern GOP voters are going to vote for a socially liberal New York jew? No way that will ever get out of the starting gate.

What about Newt?

4

[quote]Brad61 wrote:
Is there a person who fits the bill? Nobody who is on my radar… I’m asking the right wingers.

I’ve heard people say that NYC mayor Bloomberg might run… give me a break. Like southern GOP voters are going to vote for a socially liberal New York jew? No way that will ever get out of the starting gate.

What about Newt?[/quote]

Newt’s a smart guy and he has been quite an interesting speaker in the years since he’s been out of the game, but he has too much baggage not to mention that he apparently polled extremely poorly in Georgia exit polls last night.

This election has certainly shaken things up for 08.

5

Where are all the right wing loudmouths? Cat’s got your tongue?

Are there any viable Republican presidential candidates for 2008? I can’t think of any, can you?

JEB Bush? I doubt it, the way Dubya has tarnished the Bush name (and the last 2 years might just get even worse, as far as that goes).

Who do you have on deck?

*** tumbleweeds roll by***

*** crickets chirp***

CHENEY? He’s even less popular than the president is.

6

On deck? I don’t think anyone has announced yet.

7

The knives are being drawn right now in the Republican and I don’t know that there are very many people equipped to say who will be left standing and who will emerge from the dust and wreckage. There is going to be a battle between those in the establishment reluctant to cede power and those outsiders looking for revolution, the results of which will influence both who will be running and how the party as a whole will fair next election. I doubt that the final candidate for the GOP in 08 has been mentioned yet in this thread nor that he/she (ha) will be soon.

By early next year perhaps we will see things begin to come together.

8

[quote]etaco wrote:
The knives are being drawn right now in the Republican and I don’t know that there are very many people equipped to say who will be left standing and who will emerge from the dust and wreckage. There is going to be a battle between those in the establishment reluctant to cede power and those outsiders looking for revolution, the results of which will influence both who will be running and how the party as a whole will fair next election. I doubt that the final candidate for the GOP in 08 has been mentioned yet in this thread nor that he/she (ha) will be soon.

By early next year perhaps we will see things begin to come together.[/quote]

I like Obama’s chances against the leading republican canidate…Duncan Hunter.

9

Most POTUS candidates have their VP candidates to shore up voting in demographics they’re weak in.

I’d say Romney for POTUS and Rice to run as VP with him.

She’s black, female, from the South and a Bush-ite for the Bush Loyalists. But she has some liability too.

Yes, she’s Southern, but will Southern whites vote for a Southern black woman? Doubt it. And she’s single, and I am sure questions of sexual orientation will arise. That may help her in some demographics, but not the one’s Romney would need her for. She has also made comments in favor of affirmative action, which will be another ding against her with many conservatives. Religious fundamentalists would probably not turn out to vote for this ticket.

The race issue would be heavily mitigated for her if the Dems nominated Obama as a POTUS candidate, since racists would either not vote at all, or vote a ticket with a white POTUS/black VP candidate than the other way around.

10

Sonny Purdue?

I forsee all the same problems for the GOP in 2008, as we saw this week, especially that the president will still be the less-than-popular George W. Bush, at the time of the election.

11

[quote]pwilliams wrote:
Most POTUS candidates have their VP candidates to shore up voting in demographics they’re weak in.

I’d say Romney for POTUS and Rice to run as VP with him.

She’s black, female, from the South and a Bush-ite for the Bush Loyalists. But she has some liability too.

Yes, she’s Southern, but will Southern whites vote for a Southern black woman? Doubt it. And she’s single, and I am sure questions of sexual orientation will arise. That may help her in some demographics, but not the one’s Romney would need her for. She has also made comments in favor of affirmative action, which will be another ding against her with many conservatives. Religious fundamentalists would probably not turn out to vote for this ticket.

The race issue would be heavily mitigated for her if the Dems nominated Obama as a POTUS candidate, since racists would either not vote at all, or vote a ticket with a white POTUS/black VP candidate than the other way around.
[/quote]

This is interesting.

Right now I see three leading candidates: McCain, Giuliani and Romney.

If the election were held today, I’d think Romney would have the best chance of winning – someone who has been governor of the bluest of blue states, executive/business experience, and could run as a Washington outsider. And I wouldn’t think that Mormonism would be held too much against him – if corruption is still a concern, a squeeky clean Mormon might be just the ticket.

Of the three, I think either Giuliani or Romney would be willing to take a VP slot – I don’t see McCain doing that.

Rice is an interesting wild card – I don’t know if I can see her heading the ticket, because she has shown no inclination to seek out the head spot, or to engage in campaign politics. But tapping her as a VP could be very good move for any of the three above-mentioned people.

For Newt – I think he wants to throw his hat back in the ring, and I like his ideas more than most, but I don’t see it happening. I think he’d be more suited to a cabinent position.

12

Joe Lieberman

13

Giuliani- liberal on social issues, making a nomination unlikely
[/quote]

It will be Giuliani. The GOP needs a candidate that’s popular with the public but is as far as possible from the Bush administration. Colin Powell could make a run for it too. He’d have a good chance actually since he’s seen as a moderate republican that’s far from the Bush administration. I don’t think the black issue would matter with Colin Powell as much as Condi.

For the Democrats I think it will be Obama. I think he will beat out Hillary for the nomination.

14

I find an Obama candidacy laughable. What’s he done? He’s two years into his first term. He’s written a couple books that have sold moderately well. What legislation has he sponsored? I don’t know. In any event, TWO YEARS experience? Come on, folks.

He’s a name because the Dems hitched their wagon to him at the 2004 DNC. He was the keynote and they all wore ‘OBAMA’ buttons. Why? Because he’s black and young and they are Democrats, that’s why.

As for the GOP: It’ll be McCain. That’s all they’ve got. Romney? Won’t win a general election. Guiliani? Won’t win the nomination. Rice? Not interested and has no chance. By the way, It’s not the “racists” that won’t vote for Condi. It’s blacks. They won’t vote GOP and it’s especially been proven that they won’t vote for a black Republican.

McCain will struggle in the Primaries but get the nod, simply because there is no opposition. No strong opposition anyway.

McCain vs. Cliton and it’ll be McCain in a landslide.

Then the GOP will take back Congress and the Senate in 2010. Give the liberals time to fuck things up. Republicans can sit back and pick 'em apart ala the Dems the last 6 years. Only it will be a quicker turnaround because the country is fundementally Conservative. That’s why most of the Dems - with the exception of Sherrod Brown from Ohio - that were elected are actually Republicans in disguise.

15

[quote]JustTheFacts wrote:
Joe Lieberman[/quote]

That’s amusing, but I did see some idle speculation on the impact of a McCain/Lieberman ticket…

16

It donesn’t really matter who the republicans choose does it? Bush could run again and still beat Hillary. Hell I thought Bush was doomed in '04 but Kerry was so stupid and incompetant, that Bush won easily. Willie Nelson could have run and beat Bush in '04.

The Dems have a nasty habit of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. I do not expect them to occupy the White House in '08 especially with Hillary as the candidate. I think this '06 election did a lot to ensure the dem’s won’t control the Executive branch in '08. Had this mass firing occured in '08, yes, a democrat would be there no problem. I don’t see that happening now.

Nevertheless, I will be voting for Willie Nelson form president and Bob Dylan for Vice President.

17

I fully believe that a Rudy/Condi ticket could win the race.

18

Colin Powell vs Obama…wait…America is the most rascist country on the planet…

Okay: Guliani will be the top guy (to take New York), with someone from another populous state like Florida or Texas.

19

Giuliani’s not even close to being conservative enough to survive the primaries. He’s pro gay rights and he’s pro choice. He has skeletons that aren’t even in his closet, too (he had an affair while he was married, and brought his girlfriend home to live with his kids. Etc.) He’s practically a New England liberal with an ethnic name… he’ll be the GOP’s “Dukakis”. Good luck with that.

20

[quote]Brad61 wrote:
Giuliani’s not even close to being conservative enough to survive the primaries. He’s pro gay rights and he’s pro choice. He has skeletons that aren’t even in his closet, too (he had an affair while he was married, and brought his girlfriend home to live with his kids. Etc.) He’s practically a New England liberal with an ethnic name… he’ll be the GOP’s “Dukakis”. Good luck with that.[/quote]

Who else could take New York away from Hillary?

The Republicans are NOT conservatives anymore. They were under Ronald Reagan, but these guys are a very pale imitation of that great man. They tried to out-Dem the Dems, so they lost.

Fuck 'em all. I’m voting Libertarian.