Only Chance The Republicans Have In 2016 Is Jon Huntsman (votes, wages, democratic)
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I hope the Republicans run a far right nominee. They quicker they get smashed in the general the quicker they can silence the hardcore right. You can tell them all you want but they need to see it with their own eyes. Only then when the sensible pubs regain their party and play to win.
Jon Huntsman is the only chance republicans have in 2016 but they will never nominate him. Any other republican has no chance of in hell of winning get ready another 8 to 16 of demarcate presidents are coming
Rand Paul & Cruz are to out there for most people
Jeb Bush the Bush name is tainted he would lose hard
Perry is a Joke he is running because he likes to be in the spot light
Christi never had a chance to being with people like him a little but not enough to win
Marco Rubio best chance he is not out there like the others but he will still lose
The wacko republicans and tea party have hurt republicans for a long time to come
Its funny how Democrats act like its impossible for Republicans to win the next election. You really think somebody like Joe Biden would have an easy victory? Him and Obama are like "Dumb and Dumber." Why would people want to elect somebody from the Obama administration? And if Howard Dean runs again? Why do you think we have a chance with him?
I only hope people don't blindly follow Hillary like they did for Obama.
Jon Huntsman is an extremely intelligent individual who would make a splendid president, and I say that as a leaping, screaming Liberal. He is a moderate, and has a lot of good ideas that should make him imminently electable. Obama presented himself as a liberal, but he has proven to be Bush lite. He is actually to the right of center.
One of Huntsman's ideas was to eliminate homelessness by housing the homeless, and he had the numbers to prove that it would save the state money. The republicans shot him out of the saddle.
That said, the Democrats don't need to worry about a candidate. Hillary will run, and she will win handily. I hate to see this. I don't like her in the least, but all of her republican opposition on the horizon at the moment is composed of retreads, narcissists, and loons, or a combo of the three. It's hers to lose. I just hope she takes Liz Warren to the WH with her.
Unless the republicans can field a moderate candidate, they will not regain the WH for a long time to come. There has to be something done to make the GOP more appealing to youth, ethnic groups, and women. As Lindsay Graham said, there aren't enough "angry white men" warming up in the bullpen to keep them viable for too many more election cycles.
Many women like the GOP, but of course, any conservative woman will be trashed by the liberals. There are many women who are opposed to abortion. There's A LOT of younger people who lean conservative and don't blindly follow what the media tells them to. It gives me hope.
And last time I checked Sarah Palin, Michelle Malkin, Nikki Haley, Jan Brewer, Susana Martinez, Bobby Jindahl, Marco Rubio, Condi Rice, Herman Cain, Ben Carson, and Michelle Bachman aren't white men.
I doubt that Huntsman will run in 2016. He never even reached 4% in polling during the primaries. He was either last or next to last from Feb 2011 until he dropped out in 2012.
It would be tough for him to raise money for another run. For some reason there is an ongoing liberal obsession over Huntsman. I don't know why that is; supposedly he had a fairly solid conservative record as Utah Governor.
I don't think the calculus of swinging left/center/right matters as much as it used to. What matters most now is identity politics. Romney swung hard right during the primaries, and stayed there after he got the nomination. As a conservative, I was delighted w/ his rhetoric. Romney won 60% of the white vote, and I doubt that 60% of whites are hard right. But Obama won 80% of the non-white vote, and that was how he won.
I think Huntsman's quiet thoughtfulness was an attraction to the liberals. Obama, like it or not, exhibits that same thoughtfulness. In general,Liberals like details, and they like candidates who can go into detail with concerns that liberals have. Conservatives seem to go more for generalized, more sweeping statements.
On both sides, emotional appeal is the same, but the emotions are very different. Neither side is immune from using fear as a motivator, but other things tend to be different. Obviously, hope sold very well in 2008, as did change. Both still were strong enough to win again 4 years later, while frustration and anger didn't appeal to everyone nearly as much.
You may well be right about identity politics. In a time when it seems neither party has enough answers, I tend to think voters are going to follow how they voted in the past. Neither party has made enough appeal to all the disinterested and disaffected voters to believe overturning the apple cart and voting for the other guy is going to work this time.
For sure, only Huntsman really concerned the Democrats the most in 2012. Given the lack of a highly popular Democratic candidate, which is possible in 2016, I honestly believe a lot of moderate Democrats would vote for Huntsman over a lesser-known Democrat. He is the kind of conservative really a lot of liberals can agree with and be comfortable with in their choice.
But only as a Republican. If Huntsman were to switch parties, he would be seen by both parties as an opportunist. I seriously doubt he will run now, but last year, I still thought he may be considering a run. I also am sure he will never leave his party, and I think the guy may be biding his time, as it's obvious that the GOP is still favoring louder, more colorful politicians.
2020 could be his year. The Democratic party is good to go in 2016, and the Republican civil war is only making things easier for them, but the Democrats are no more immune to fracture than the Republicans, and their base is, in part, just as impatient as is the GOP's is.
All the GOP needs is a solid candidate who has the same skill for playing the long game Obama has. His departure from office will leave his marvelous tools behind, but his long-game view will likely go with him. The Democratic party could well fall into the tactical politics trap that has afflicted the GOP after 2016. They've done it before, and it lasted for longer than it has within the Republican party when it happened the last time.
Last edited by banjomike; 07-17-2014 at 12:16 AM..
Huntsman is a Republican like Colin Powell is a Republican.
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