The failure of the GOP to produce credible presidential candidates

[tinydancer]

Much of the Republican's problem started when they began to "pander" to the Tea Party. True the True Party helped win then a majority in the House of representatives - but at what cost?

For all intents and purposes, the Tea Party represents a 3rd political party in America and if the Republicans think they can still set the agenda - think again!

No the Republican Party's problems stem from RINO's in charge. Inside the beltway politicians who care more about the dinner circuit in Washington than they care about working for their constituents.

 

[rightwinger]

Much of the Republican's problem started when they began to "pander" to the Tea Party. True the True Party helped win then a majority in the House of representatives - but at what cost?

For all intents and purposes, the Tea Party represents a 3rd political party in America and if the Republicans think they can still set the agenda - think again!

No the Republican Party's problems stem from RINO's in charge. Inside the beltway politicians who care more about the dinner circuit in Washington than they care about working for their constituents.

It is the Tea Baggers who are the RINO's

 

[del]

At least they all can produce a valid, verifiable, hard copy print on paper birth certificate.

get over it, birther, that ship sailed a loooooong time ago.

if i didn't know better, i'd swear your problem with obama starts with his skin color.

 

[WillowTree]

Their only credible candidate who can win a national election is Romney. Romney has the national backing and most of the funding. What he lacks is grassroots support. I have never seen a person with a Romney sign on their lawn and have never seen a poster on this site support Romney. Romney has corporate Republican support but no support from actual Republicans

The fact that Cain is still considered a viable alternative to Romney speaks volumes about the state of the Republican Party

The best thing Mr. Romney has going for him is he ain't obama.... ABO

 

[rightwinger]

The Republican field for president seems frustratingly weak. The front runner is not conservative. He was the inspiration for ObamaCare and has a "pro choice" past. And then there is Perry, who seems intellectually unfit. Finally there is Cain, the anti-Romney candidate, who is fast becoming a joke. Behind the "Big Three" we see people like Gingrich and Bachman, who can't be taken seriously as candidates.

40 years ago the GOP was a strong party with credible leaders. They represented family values, small government, and strong national defense. Today, they don't seem to represent anything.

A question arises. What happened to the Republican Party? Have they lost anything of value on the long road from William F Buckley & Milton Friedman to Sarah Palin & Donald Trump? Can anyone speculate why this once great party has become such a powerful breeding ground for misfits, morons, and opportunists?

You failed to mention Ron Paul, which means this thread is an epic fail.

TV will not promote the candidate that will serve you. TV will only promote the candidate that will best serve there interests. Wake up to the fact that your thoughts are manipulated through the most effective propaganda machine the world has ever seen.

TV promotes the candidates who are doing well in the polls and might have a chance of winning. Nobody was ignored more than Herman Cain. Once he came up in the polls, he became a media darling

If the media thought Paul would improve their ratings, you would see more stories on him. But Paul is Paul and has the same core of supporters he has always had. Let him start gaining converts and the media will pay attention

 

[rightwinger]

Their only credible candidate who can win a national election is Romney. Romney has the national backing and most of the funding. What he lacks is grassroots support. I have never seen a person with a Romney sign on their lawn and have never seen a poster on this site support Romney. Romney has corporate Republican support but no support from actual Republicans

The fact that Cain is still considered a viable alternative to Romney speaks volumes about the state of the Republican Party

The best thing Mr. Romney has going for him is he ain't obama.... ABO

That's about it

 

[Dr.Traveler]

A question arises. What happened to the Republican Party? Have they lost anything of value on the long road from William F Buckley & Milton Friedman to Sarah Palin & Donald Trump? Can anyone speculate why this once great party has become such a powerful breeding ground for misfits, morons, and opportunists?

Vitter's Endorsement in Louisiana Elections Doesn't Amount To Much.

The article above isn't about the national scene, but if you want to understand a little bit of what's going on at the national level it helps give you a smaller scale problem. Let me explain:

In the Great State Of Louisiana, the Democratic party is a non-entity at this point. The last election for state offices had MANY races that featured 2 prominent Republicans vying for the same post. Vitter waded into the races trying to help the Tea Party and other conservatives identify who were the "Real" Republicans. Once they were identified, nearly to a man, they lost.

Why? Because Centrists and Moderates still matter. The "Real" Republicans tried to steer as hard Right as they could to get Tea Party votes and found themselves literally cornered as the more moderate Republicans, Independents, and Remaining Democrats banded together and picked the RINO's. Keep in mind this happened in a fairly Conservative state.

That kind of split is what you're seeing in the National Level now. As the Democratic party implodes, which it is, you'll see a rift grow in the Republican party. The folks that want to steer hard to the Right will lose for the same reason they lost in Louisiana, while the more Centrist folks will gain ground. That will be especially true in the GOP Primary as there will be many cross over Democrats, ticked off at Obama, that will change over registration to "R" skewing those Primaries to the center.

If the GOP is intelligent, they'll embrace that as it pushes the DNC farther to the extreme. Or they can reject those centrist voters and find themselves pushed off to the fringe.

 

[WatertheTree]

The Republican field for president seems frustratingly weak. The front runner is not conservative. He was the inspiration for ObamaCare and has a "pro choice" past. And then there is Perry, who seems intellectually unfit. Finally there is Cain, the anti-Romney candidate, who is fast becoming a joke. Behind the "Big Three" we see people like Gingrich and Bachman, who can't be taken seriously as candidates.

40 years ago the GOP was a strong party with credible leaders. They represented family values, small government, and strong national defense. Today, they don't seem to represent anything.

A question arises. What happened to the Republican Party? Have they lost anything of value on the long road from William F Buckley & Milton Friedman to Sarah Palin & Donald Trump? Can anyone speculate why this once great party has become such a powerful breeding ground for misfits, morons, and opportunists?

You failed to mention Ron Paul, which means this thread is an epic fail.

TV will not promote the candidate that will serve you. TV will only promote the candidate that will best serve there interests. Wake up to the fact that your thoughts are manipulated through the most effective propaganda machine the world has ever seen.

TV promotes the candidates who are doing well in the polls and might have a chance of winning. Nobody was ignored more than Herman Cain. Once he came up in the polls, he became a media darling

If the media thought Paul would improve their ratings, you would see more stories on him. But Paul is Paul and has the same core of supporters he has always had. Let him start gaining converts and the media will pay attention

I think you have it backwards. Media made him a darling and then he came up in the polls. Do you really think a black guy with a pizza advertisment with little to no funding and little to no time in debates suddenly just surged in polls?? Not to mention he just makes shit up as he goes. How many times has he tripped on his own words??

No, he is a product of the media. He is a manufactured candidate ready for consumption by sheeple who think mainstream media sources have any truth to offer. Its the exact same as music artists being manufactured for consuption by the masses.

I dont even have faith in polls anymore. Im 31 and voted since I turned 18. Guess how many poll calls ive gotten? Big fat zero. I bet if you ask your friends and neighbors if they have ever gotten a call and I bet the answer will be a big fat zero. I think they use polls to control popular opinion and substantiate the flat out stupid opinions and comments of the mainstream media. In short they use polls to give themselves credibility, but they never talk about how polls are all conducted by corporate institutions with the same agenda as the media.

 

[rightwinger]

You failed to mention Ron Paul, which means this thread is an epic fail.

TV will not promote the candidate that will serve you. TV will only promote the candidate that will best serve there interests. Wake up to the fact that your thoughts are manipulated through the most effective propaganda machine the world has ever seen.

TV promotes the candidates who are doing well in the polls and might have a chance of winning. Nobody was ignored more than Herman Cain. Once he came up in the polls, he became a media darling

If the media thought Paul would improve their ratings, you would see more stories on him. But Paul is Paul and has the same core of supporters he has always had. Let him start gaining converts and the media will pay attention

I think you have it backwards. Media made him a darling and then he came up in the polls. Do you really think a black guy with a pizza advertisment with little to no funding and little to no time in debates suddenly just surged in polls?? Not to mention he just makes shit up as he goes. How many times has he tripped on his own words??

No, he is a product of the media. He is a manufactured candidate ready for consumption by sheeple who think mainstream media sources have any truth to offer. Its the exact same as music artists being manufactured for consuption by the masses.

I dont even have faith in polls anymore. Im 31 and voted since I turned 18. Guess how many poll calls ive gotten? Big fat zero. I bet if you ask your friends and neighbors if they have ever gotten a call and I bet the answer will be a big fat zero. I think they use polls to control popular opinion and substantiate the flat out stupid opinions and comments of the mainstream media. In short they use polls to give themselves credibility, but they never talk about how polls are all conducted by corporate institutions with the same agenda as the media.

The media made Perry their darling when he came out and his numbers went through the roof. Once Perry imploded because of poor performance, his support went to Cain. Once Cains numbers went up, the media jumped on his bandwagon

 

[ladyliberal]

It's not really fair to compare modern candidates to earlier philosophers like Buckley and Friedman who weren't standing for office. And besides, I think the current crop is fairly strong. A number of candidates who are now running or who considered a run look stronger on paper than Reagan did in 1979. There are of course others who would be weak candidates in the general, but they won't win. They're just the modern equivalent of Harold Stassen.

 

[PLYMCO_PILGRIM]

Much of the Republican's problem started when they began to "pander" to the Tea Party. True the True Party helped win then a majority in the House of representatives - but at what cost?

For all intents and purposes, the Tea Party represents a 3rd political party in America and if the Republicans think they can still set the agenda - think again!

No the Republican Party's problems stem from RINO's in charge. Inside the beltway politicians who care more about the dinner circuit in Washington than they care about working for their constituents.

It is the Tea Baggers who are the RINO's

Which "Teabaggers" do you consider RINO's and why do you consider them RINO's?

Yes i'm looking to debate their RINO status with you.

 

[rightwinger]

No the Republican Party's problems stem from RINO's in charge. Inside the beltway politicians who care more about the dinner circuit in Washington than they care about working for their constituents.

It is the Tea Baggers who are the RINO's

Which "Teabaggers" do you consider RINO's and why do you consider them RINO's?

Yes i'm looking to debate their RINO status with you.

None of the Tea Baggers are real Republicans. No more so than John Birch Society members were real Republicans

They have managed to hijack the party and take it to the far right. They are the Republicans in name only

The genuine Republicans are the moderates. Always have been

 

[PLYMCO_PILGRIM]

It is the Tea Baggers who are the RINO's

Which "Teabaggers" do you consider RINO's and why do you consider them RINO's?

Yes i'm looking to debate their RINO status with you.

None of the Tea Baggers are real Republicans. No more so than John Birch Society members were real Republicans

They have managed to hijack the party and take it to the far right. They are the Republicans in name only

The genuine Republicans are the moderates. Always have been

For example?

 

[Wiseacre]

I'm not too thrilled with the GOP candidates, but even less impressed with the democrat alternative.

 

[Dragon]

Mitt Romney actually is a credible presidential candidate. I won't vote for him, but he's not a loon.

The problem for the GOP, as stated above, is that the party has become hijacked by radical right-wing extremists who insist that a radical right-wing extremist be nominated. The hijacking isn't complete, so the party may do the sane thing and nominate Romney after all, but the fact that he isn't running away with the nomination, given the absurd nature of his competition, says no good things about the Republican Party's viability in the long term.

Tea Party types like to believe that they represent a majority of the American people. They could not be more wrong. At most 25% of the people believe in the Tea Party agenda; what's even worse for them is that the constituency is aging and dying and even fewer of the rising generation subscribe to their beliefs. There is no way to base a viable political party on this sort of narrow slice of the populace. The Republican Party, over the next few elections, will either divorce itself from the Tea Party or wither and die.

 

[PLYMCO_PILGRIM]

Mitt Romney actually is a credible presidential candidate. I won't vote for him, but he's not a loon.

The problem for the GOP, as stated above, is that the party has become hijacked by radical right-wing extremists who insist that a radical right-wing extremist be nominated. The hijacking isn't complete, so the party may do the sane thing and nominate Romney after all, but the fact that he isn't running away with the nomination, given the absurd nature of his competition, says no good things about the Republican Party's viability in the long term.

Tea Party types like to believe that they represent a majority of the American people. They could not be more wrong. At most 25% of the people believe in the Tea Party agenda; what's even worse for them is that the constituency is aging and dying and even fewer of the rising generation subscribe to their beliefs. There is no way to base a viable political party on this sort of narrow slice of the populace. The Republican Party, over the next few elections, will either divorce itself from the Tea Party or wither and die.

They represent hte same portion (not same people just portion/percentage) as the OWS people represent.

 

[Ropey]

They, like many Democrats, are beholden to the lobbyists & the corps they represent. The conservatives don't seem to mind having the best gov't money can buy though as evidenced by their glee inre: Citizens United.

And Obama just hired a lobbyist as a senior advisor to his campaign. Environmentalists are outraged at this hire.

His name is Broderick Johnson.

Environmentalists are nonetheless seething at the news, even though Johnson won’t be working for the White House in his capacity as a senior campaign adviser to Obama.

“It stinks,” Bill McKibben, an environmentalist who’s spearheaded most of the public protests in the U.S. against the pipeline via TarSandsAction.org, said in a statement.

“I don’t think you could conceive a more elaborate way to disrespect not just the environmental community but also Occupy Wall Street, because this is simply a reminder of the way that corporate lobbyists dominate our politics. Forget ‘Hope and Change’ _ it’s like they want their new slogan to be ‘Business as Usual.’”

Johnson’s resume includes stints in former president Bill Clinton’s White House and work on Sen. John Kerry’s unsuccessful run for president in 2004. His latest career move has prompted his wife, National Public Radio host Michele Norris, to announce she’s taking a temporary leave from her job.


Oh and his wife is with NPR but to her credit she is at least taking a leave of absence so she won't be shilling for her husband and Obama during the 2012 campaign.

Not in the media at any rate.

 

[Dragon]

They represent hte same portion (not same people just portion/percentage) as the OWS people represent.

No, that isn't true. When I say that the support for TP positions is no more than 25%, I don't mean support for the movement itself, I mean support for what the movement stands for: reduction in government services, deregulation of business, purist free-market capitalism, social conservatism. Support for the goals and issues of Occupy is overwhelming; something like 80-90% of the people believe that the money needs to be gotten out of politics, that wealth is distributed unfairly, and that the government serves the interests of the rich, not the people.

Of course, the Democratic Party is not basing itself on Occupy, either, but that may happen; anyway the changes the Democrats need to go through are outside the scope of this thread. I'm not saying there aren't any.

 

[Ropey]

Which "Teabaggers" do you consider RINO's and why do you consider them RINO's?

Yes i'm looking to debate their RINO status with you.

None of the Tea Baggers are real Republicans. No more so than John Birch Society members were real Republicans

They have managed to hijack the party and take it to the far right. They are the Republicans in name only

The genuine Republicans are the moderates. Always have been

For example?

Genuine Republicans are moderates? Where does this fellow stick his head. This is the reason for the tea party. To get the 'genuine' Republicans back to where they belong. Where the real genuine republicans are awaiting them with open arms.

OWS is the reason for the Lib stance of giving free stuff for all and why not?

Just get it from the rich.

 

[MiddleClass]

The Republican field for president seems frustratingly weak.
40 years ago the GOP was a strong party with credible leaders. They represented family values, small government, and strong national defense. Today, they don't seem to represent anything?

The Tea Party is the Republican Party Waterloo, as independents are running away from the radical policies the tea party has forced onto the GOP this year. Independents are not happy with Obama, but poll after poll has shown that Independents would prefer him over the new Tea Party lead GOP. The Tea Party is the worst thing that has ever happened to the Republican Party, and 2012 will be the final nail that splits the GOP up for years to come. So, Whatever happened to Reagan's God's honest truth of placing Country over politics. President Reagan must be rolling over in his grave watching what NeoCons have done to the grand ol' party he rebuilt. Shame