Herding Kittens Made Easier?
Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada have - for no logical reason - been the 1st to go with either a caucus or a primary. This cycle, the RNC has been faced with states wanting attention threatening to move their contests forward from February or March to as early as January. Florida is one of the more vocal ones. Iowa et al say that if that happens, they would move to December.
(You can get some flavor of what is going on by googling "republican primary dates 2012")
It seems to me that, with Romney, Bachmann and Perry in the brawl, the RNC can convince states that they may still be in the headlines if they hold their contests in February.
The downside for all of the GOP candidates is - gasp - money, the need to articulate plans and avoid gaffes, and money.
@JPB,
Quote:Chuck Todd (MSNBC) had a piece that said he thought it was because T-Paw isn't "dynamic" enough to appeal to the base
The WP is pitching this as
Quote:Pawlenty’s demeanor — he was the definition of “Minnesota Nice” — didn’t fit with an electorate who wanted confrontation with President Obama at all costs. Pawlenty watched as Rep. Michele Bacmann soared past him in the race — channeling the anger of voters who saw compromise in any form as capitulation.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/what-went-wrong-for-tim-pawlenty/2011/08/14/gIQAV8d5EJ_blog.html?hpid=z1
Not good news for those who are trying to portray Walker in Wisconsin and the Tea Party in Washington as the lunatic fringe. These guys keep claiming that they have been put into power to do a job, and I think it is about time that the establishment gives them and the voters enough respect to stop dismissing them. This is how democracy works, it is not the elites and it is not those who are sure that they are the smartest people in the room who decide what we do, we all get a say. The anger from the small government right has been fermenting over decades as the Dems were always in favor of a large oppressive government and as the REBUPS claimed that they wanted small government but voted the other way at just about every opportunity. These people are not going to be willing to start compromising until AFTER significant steps have been taken to shrink and depower Washington.
@hawkeye10,
Which raises the question of the relevance of the Iowa straw poll. Who are the folks that attend the straw poll and what is the relevance of the vote? It seems that the attendees represent the far right wing of the party for the most part and the winners haven't done very well as the season progresses.
@JPB,
Yet, even knowing that the Iowa straw winners rarely go on to win, people still spend all their time ranting about how evil the winner is.
@JPB,
JPB wrote:
Which raises the question of the relevance of the Iowa straw poll. Who are the folks that attend the straw poll and what is the relevance of the vote? It seems that the attendees represent the far right wing of the party for the most part and the winners haven't done very well as the season progresses.
Our process at all turns empowers the fringe at the expense of the center, that is how we got into broken government and why we seem to be destined to have this knock down drag out fight between the small government Right and the government oppression advocates on the Left.
@Sturgis,
Well, then perhaps we should look at the function of the Iowa straw poll as one of identifying the loons.
@JPB,
Loons willing to take $30 and a bus ride to vote for someone.
@hawkeye10,
I could paste in my oft repeated rant about the two party system but that's not the purpose of this thread. Suffice it to say that the primary process tends to send extreme candidates from both parties.
@parados,
Ha! I meant the candidate loons, but that works too.
It certainly looks like it is Perry's race to lose now. I dont like him at all, started hating him for the raid on the YFZ Ranch but there are so many reasons to disagree with this guy on policy.
@hawkeye10,
I don't know that it's his to lose. I don't think he's going to play at all well in the northeast or middle America. I still think it's Romney's to lose unless he keeps shooting himself in the foot. I don't think any of them can beat Obama - they all have too much baggage to appeal to the center.
@JPB,
JPB wrote:
I don't know that it's his to lose. I don't think he's going to play at all well in the northeast or middle America. I still think it's Romney's to lose unless he keeps shooting himself in the foot. I don't think any of them can beat Obama - they all have too much baggage to appeal to the center.
Romney was rejected even before the Tea Party movement on the basis of his personality, or lack there of, he will play even worse now. Perry has firm Tea Party cred, and he is a pro, and he is new on the national stage, and he is not Washington. Perry will be hard to beat, and if we get to the election we well may be a nation that says "anyone but Obama".
@hawkeye10,
Quote:we well may be a nation that says "anyone but Obama".
We might be that, but when the "anyone" is identified and made the candidate they might be worse than Obama.
@parados,
We have already proven willing to take a chance on a guy we hardly knew, I think that we will be more than willing to go with the devil we dont know over the devil we know, under the survival strategy " if what you are doing is not working then do something else, anything else".
@hawkeye10,
Why on earth would you want to jump off a cliff just because you haven't tried it?
@hawkeye10,
Could be, HEye.
Perry is the media darling right now, providing fodder for the pundits.
I am not sure he will be attractive in all parts of the country.
Would you mind if I ask you a question? Where are you living (I am in Virginia)?
Thank you.
@parados,
parados wrote:
Why on earth would you want to jump off a cliff just because you haven't tried it?
A lot of people are convinced that Obama is headed for the cliff, and while Perry might look like he is as well at least with him there is a chance that we are wrong. We know Obama too well know to be wrong about him. We are in a mood to continually swap out leaders in Washington till somebody shows that they know what they are doing, have the ability to lead us someplace better than where we are. We know that this is not Obama. The days of picking the least repulsive person is over, who gives a **** if the person is a pig, it is our survival that is at stake. If they can lead us to a better place they get to stay, If they might be able to lead us to a better place then they get the job. Full stop.
@hawkeye10,
I'm a small government libertarian-leaning fiscal conservative and I'd vote for Bernie Sanders before I'd vote for a theocrat of any genre.
@hawkeye10,
A lot of people are also convinced that Obama has prevented us from going off the cliff. Returning to the people that almost drove us off in the first place isn't really the 'anyone' they are looking for.
@realjohnboy,
Washington State ( 7 years and we are staying) , but being military (wife) we have been nomads. Originally from Illinois, from a family who tend to be solid conservatives but with some radical leftists mixed in. Mothers side of the family have scratched the iffy Michigan land for a few generations, fathers side tend to be entrepreneurs/professionals (Wisconsin/Chicago/Michigan). Both sides are hard working, roll of your sleeves, and stop expecting hand outs from the government and stop bitching about your life types....IE traditional Midwesterners.
