I work hard at NOT filling my noggin with presidential politics. Even when the nominating conventions are behind us I will have little, or no, interest in the Republican nominee āā less so in the Democrat. Next year the Republican convention is scheduled to begin on July 18, 2016; Democrats the week of July 25, 2016. That is 18 months from now. Long enough for a corpse to plead for relief.
The only pastime pleasure establishment Republicans offer me by their ilk jockeying for position between now and the conventions is watching media choices burn and crash. Mercifully, Mitt Romney flamed out early. I do not have to read headlines when the same thing happens to Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, Marco Rubio, and most of the other acceptable candidates the media embraces like clockwork. My attention span begins and ends with those few conservatives who have a chance to spit in media eyes.
I must admit that I am somewhat disappointed that Mike Lee chose not to run.
Leeās name alone would send Karl Roveās Republicans, and Democrats alike, charging into battle like Kamikaze pilots.
NOTE: Orrin Hatch managed to hang on in a cakewalk, while another longtime RINO senator, Richard Lugar, bit the dust.
Mike Lee not running does give Tea Party conservative one bright star shining in their sky; a Cruz-Lee ticket. Think about that one for the next 18 months:
The only pastime pleasure establishment Republicans offer me by their ilk jockeying for position between now and the conventions is watching media choices burn and crash. Mercifully, Mitt Romney flamed out early. I do not have to read headlines when the same thing happens to Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, Marco Rubio, and most of the other acceptable candidates the media embraces like clockwork. My attention span begins and ends with those few conservatives who have a chance to spit in media eyes.
I must admit that I am somewhat disappointed that Mike Lee chose not to run.
Des Moines would have been the perfect place for Lee to launch a dark-horse candidacy. But the 43-year-old Republican cleared things up from the get-go. āMy name is Mike Lee. Iām from Utah. And Iām not running for president,ā he said, by way of introduction. āIām probably the only person up here today who can say that.ā
Leeās name alone would send Karl Roveās Republicans, and Democrats alike, charging into battle like Kamikaze pilots.
The praise for Lee isnāt universal, and critics come chiefly from two camps. The first is the GOP establishment in Utah, which hasnāt entirely gotten over his defeat of Bennett. Senior Utah senator Orrin Hatch maintains cordial relations with Lee publicly, but the two arenāt particularly close. One rumor in Utah is that Lee was advocating behind the scenes to find a primary challenger to Hatch in 2012, but a credible opponent never arose. Other Utah Republicans are seeking a primary challenger to Lee when heās up for reelection in 2016. A December article in Politico quoted Jon Huntsman Sr., the father of the former governor and a GOP power player in Utah, calling Lee an āextremistā with āextremely radicalā positions.
āAll I can say is Mike Lee is an embarrassment to the state of Utah,ā Huntsman Sr. told Politico. āHeās been a tremendous embarrassment to our family, to our state, to our country to have him as a U.S. senator.ā
āAll I can say is Mike Lee is an embarrassment to the state of Utah,ā Huntsman Sr. told Politico. āHeās been a tremendous embarrassment to our family, to our state, to our country to have him as a U.S. senator.ā
NOTE: Orrin Hatch managed to hang on in a cakewalk, while another longtime RINO senator, Richard Lugar, bit the dust.
Mike Lee not running does give Tea Party conservative one bright star shining in their sky; a Cruz-Lee ticket. Think about that one for the next 18 months:
To his fellow Republican senators, Lee is seen as more of a pest, particularly since the arrival in 2013 of Texas senator Ted Cruz. Cruz and Lee have been allied on some of the biggest tests of conservative principle, all of which seem to end up being big tactical mistakes and even bigger headaches for Mitch McConnell, now the majority leader. The 2013 government shutdown over defunding Obamacare was hatched by Cruz and Lee. In a Senate Conservatives Fund TV ad that aired frequently in the run-up to the shutdown, Lee said, āRepublicans in Congress can stop Obamacare if they simply refuse to fund it.ā They couldnāt, and they didnāt.
The Non-Candidate
Utahās Mike Lee is the most important Republican not running for president
Feb 9, 2015, Vol. 20, No. 21 ā¢ By MICHAEL WARREN
The Non-Candidate The Weekly Standard
Utahās Mike Lee is the most important Republican not running for president
Feb 9, 2015, Vol. 20, No. 21 ā¢ By MICHAEL WARREN
The Non-Candidate The Weekly Standard