One of the most mature, unbiased, and thoughtful political posts I've ever seen on this site. I agree with almost everything you said here.
My Opinion on the candidates/potentials so far:
- -Ben Carson: Already out, the whole "gays are a choice, people that go to prison and come out gay is proof" thing ruined him quick. It goes to show just because you're well educated in one area doesn't mean you are in another.
I think many older people who are apolitical will not care about this. I find that outside in the world when people don't pay attention to news or politics that many people have never even heard or considered the thought that gay marriage is a real thing in many places. Carson is an extremely intelligent person, but not intelligent enough to just say nothing on this. I question how well he can do politically since knowing when to not say anything is important.
-Ted Cruz: IMO he might have something, despite what people think of him he hasn't had any true issues come up yet, and the whole Government shutdown thing could actually be used to his advantage if he spins it right. Plus his credentials pre-politics are pretty good. He'll likely cause a LOT of infighting though amongst establishment and anti-establishment.
Cruz is an interesting candidate. I really like the guy. As a conservative non-Republican I would agree with you on the infighting thing. My observations of the Republican party is there is a principled part and a political part, and the establishment tends to be more political and want to give here and there to grow the base. (Not a bad thing politically, but it alienates others.) I actually love watching them fight (even if it damages chances for conservative candidates) so at least it won't be boring.
-Jeb Bush: Big money and establishment guy, he'll probably lose simply because his last name is "Bush" if he's picked for the GOP. Also political family dynasties should be outlawed.
Yep.
-Rand Paul: Alright guy, I await for new "It's Happening" memes with his face shooped on them instead of his father's. He has a sound policy and I think it's a bit lulzy that the attacks on him currently are accusing him of sexism and having an uncontrollable temper simply because he doesn't take shit from crappy interviewers.
The issue I have with the Pauls is their extreme isolationism. I used to think this way pre-9/11. Now I think we should have learned lessons from Pearl Harbor. It'll be really interesting to see if he can resonate with the young folks the way his dad did. I used to see the Paul crowds and think "they like him because it's the cool thing to do" but whenever I talk to Paul supporters they are extremely well informed.
-Mike Huckabee: Claims to be an outsider but is an Establishment guy who will only get the religious vote.
As a huge Huckabee fan, religious American (but not religious voter) I would agree. I have family in the extreme Bible Belt and they all voted for Huckabee as did their entire areas. I know many people who vote solely on whether a candidate is pro-life or pro-abortion. Single issue voters piss me off. Anyway, he spent a ton of money as governor of Arkansas and I don't know if his conservative credentials will resonate with primary voters. That said, he was extremely magnanimous in 2008 when he bowed out of the race to increase Romney's chances over McCain. People won't forget that. Plus he can play the guitar.
-Chris Christie: Not happening.
-Lindsey Graham: The Republican base hates him because he always sides with Democrats on most things.
Yep.
-Scott Walker: Might be an option to the Republicans because he is known as a fighter amongst the Repubs for not caving in on the union thing and winning a recall campaign against him because of it and then winning the election after that.
Personally I like Walker the best right now. I'd like to see Cain run again. I wish he would have stayed in it. Many of his accusers were discredited and I think he could resonate with people again. But, I imagine that's a dream that will never happen. Walker survived vicious attacks and has proven he knows how to handle himself during situations like that. In addition, he's proven that he will tackle politically unpopular issues to try and improve the situation in his state. We need to do something about our entitlement spending. Outright welfare and non-discretionary spending are dwarfed by it. Some unpopular decisions need to be made and fast. We can't kick the can down the road forever.
You also forgot Carly Fiorina. I like her but I don't think she'll resonate with the national party.
-Hillary Clinton: Already lost, she has too many enemies, controversy is all around her, Obama is obviously against her, she has the Benghazi thing, she's extremely secretive and has a recorded history of having a horrible temper behind the scenes to everyone around her and is known to go on explosive tirades and threatening/humiliating media outlets and their journalists if they're even slightly negative about her. She's in it solely to stroke her ego. She's not Bill Clinton. Also the whole political dynasty thing again.
Yep. There are also issues about whether or not the Clintons broke the law receiving all this money in their foundation from foreign governments and nationals while she was Secretary of State. It won't turn into any legal troubles for them but it will certainly drag down her campaign.
-Elizabeth Warren: Supposedly Obama 2.0 ideology-wise, this is reportedly the person Obama wants to replace him. She's kind of an unknown and quiet right now (which people think means she's going to possibly run) but in the past she's been open on her views and not shy about saying what she believes in which might make her pretty unpopular with anyone that isn't a hard liberal. If she covers things up, plays the moderate, and sucks up to millennials until she gets into office then she has a chance.
I don't know much about her to be honest. I don't think a hard liberal will win. I don't really think any liberal will win. We are very much a pendulum and it always swings the opposite way. Obama isn't any more popular than Bush was (and Bush wasn't as conservative as the media made him out to be) and I think as a result we'll see someone more center or right-of-center but that's just my opinion.
Mark Warner: Seeing as I lived in VA when he was Governor, he's an alright guy policy-wise and is pretty moderate when governing from what I remember. I would vote for him if he was a presidential nominee and the Republican was a Jeb Bush ot something.
Under Warner they raised sales taxes. First thing McDonnel did was raise speed limits. I liked McDonnel. Too bad about the whole bribery thing. Warner is not a bad guy.
If it comes down to a Hillary vs. Jeb Bush, then I'm going to write someone in and then plan on leaving the U.S.
QFT.
Anyway, awesome post. If I could rate like a million more times I would.
Whoops. Anyways Mark Warner is considered a potential candidate as well and who I was talking about.
