I've been an observer of Presidential politics since shortly after I learned how to read but I've never seen anything like this pre-primary season. Serious candidates like Mitch Daniels and John Thune took a pass then Tim Pawlwnty dropped out after the Iowa straw poll after losing to Michelle Bachman.
Donald Trump was leading the polls in the spring peddling birther nonsense then his bubble burst when Bin Laden was killed and he decided to go back to his TV show. Texas Governor Rick Perry was cheered for executing people and raised a bunch of money but couldn't speak in complete sentences and had a memory lapse. Then it was pizza guy Herman Cain who was sunk by an allegation of a 13 year extramarital affair after being accused of sexual harassment. Cain dropped out Saturday and the Borowitz Report translates his statement:
But before I go, let me share with you my final thoughts on my campaign. After months of crisscrossing this great land of ours and participating in over three hundred televised debates, I am being disqualified because of an extramarital affair. And that raises the following question: are you fucking kidding me?
I mean, let’s get real. I never heard of Libya. I didn’t know whether that CNN dude’s name was Wolf or Blitz. And my only training for running the #1 nation in the world was running its #8 pizza chain. Yet none of that, I repeat, none of that disqualified me. In fact, I was the front-fucking-runner, as long as I kept my 9-9-9 in my pants. (I have no idea what I meant by that — I just like saying 9-9-9.)
But here’s the part that really kills me. You’re kicking me to the curb because I was messing around, and instead you’re going with… Newt Gingrich? I repeat: are you fucking kidding me? Oh, I know what you’re saying: you love Newt because he’s an “intellectual.” Well, Newt Gingrich is the intellectual of the Republican field the way Moe was the intellectual of the Stooges.
Now the front runner is Newt Gingrich who is an ideas man. Most of them are bad like having grade school kids work as janitors. Now he talks about bipartisanship after poisoning the atmosphere in the 1990's.
Every Word Matters: Using 'Keywords' as a Political Tactic
Gingrich's negative words for Democrats
"Anti-flag, anti-family, anti-child, anti-jobs, betray, coercion, collapse, consequences, corruption, crises, decay, deeper, destroy, destructive, devour, endanger, failure, greed, hypocrisy, ideological, impose, incompetent, insecure, liberal, lie, limit(s), pathetic, permissive attitude, radical, self-serving, sensationalists, shallow, sick, they/them, threaten, traitors, unionized bureaucracy, urgent, waste"
Now Trump is back in the news saying he will be the moderator of a Newsmax debate about a week before the Iowa caucus that has some Republicans balking . Newt doesn't have a ground game and even if he wins an early contest or 2 it's hard to see him lasting in a contest with Mitt Romney. Andrew Sullivan said that Romney makes plastic look real.
Back to my original point. I really don't think that the Republican media machine want's to see President Obama defeated. It would be bad for ratings for FOX News and Rush Limbaugh if they didn't have a Democratic President to beat up. Not to mention what it would do to their book sales.
Nobody asked me, but you made a prophetic statement over a year ago. "All of these other GOP candidates will make Romney look sane."
ReplyDeleteI stand by my belief that Obama squeaks by in the electoral college, but it is going to be a brutal campaign.
I don't believe the GOP wants to lose, they have a deep hatred of Obama bordering on racism--if not outright.
Definitely it is the most circus like group of primary candidates of any major party in history but I would caution those on the left who feel that when Romney is ulttimatley nominated the right will be so disgusted with him that they will stay home.
In fact, if your theory "is" correct about Fox, and Limbaugh, etc. their followers by the millions believe the BS and would rather vote for a Mormon (even the deep south) as opposed to a black man whom they believe was born in Kenya.
The secret is turnout and Obama needs to shore up the base and convince enough indies.
The best case scenario would be if Trump himself entered the fray as a third party candidate, ultimately splitting Romney's take and handing a possible electoral landslide to the President.
Time will tell.
Make no misstake, this ship of fools drift further out of the harbor with each public statement and public gathering. Pwople will actally watch the Man of Har debate and think they are watching history. The day will come when this campaign will be made into a very successful cartoon. Abadee abadee abadee that's all folks.
ReplyDeleteideas man = a man who was leading the charge to impeach Bill Clinton for committing adultery* while secretly committing adultery himself. Yupp, that's the ticket.
ReplyDeletefamily values = a man who has been thrice married.
compassion = offering the idea that poor children should be pressed into janitorial work in schools. Can you say "stigma"? "Muffy, let's puke of the floor so that the poor kids will have to clean it up! Great idea Chery!". For the record I was a poor kid once and I definitely knew the value of work...so SCREW YOU Newt!
Add it all together? Sadly, if this is the best the GOP can do, it will mean 4 more years of a mediocre (at best) sitting President.
(*) I know, the standard Limbaugh talking point is that Clinton was impeached for lying, not committing adultery. But lying about what? Oh, that would have been committing adultery...you know, the thing Newt was doing as well.