Forums >Off the Beaten Path>Why Is the Republican Field So Extreme?
We do need "Change We Can Believe In".
I suppose WE do. I (a part of "we") have not seen much I want to identify with re: the current crop of candidates.
We are not amused.
Agreed. If this were summer 2003, someone might well have written "Sharpton? Kucinich? What's with these extremists? I guess there's Kerry, but he's kind of a stiff."
Come all you no-hopers, you jokers and roguesWe're on the road to nowhere, let's find out where it goes
The Congressional Black Caucus has 41 members. That is indeed a very small constituency.
Fair enough.... Didn't do my homework. I just figured that it was in a larger audience with a larger media exposure.
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Feeling the growl again
C-R (as Ker did after) were simply pointing out that there is extremism on both sides -- it's hardly owned by Republicans. Jeff dismisses this as indicating that Obama and other Democratic leaders discussed here are balanced...insinuating C-R is simply un-supportably frustrated that the extremism being highlighted is all Republican.
The fact is Obama, Pelosi and Reid are all viewed as pretty extreme by good numbers of people. Denying this while presenting the Republican extremism as fact is simply dismissive.
"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand
I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills
The sensation I'm experiencing is that of pounding my head against a cinder block structure.
That's pretty fucking extreme.
I'm sure if you keep doing this over and over again, you'll eventually achieve a different result.
I believe the proper term for that is "voting".
Prince of Fatness
Regarding your original post, Jeff, I don't think that you will end up seeing any of these "extremists" on the ballot come election time. That would be a stupid thing for the Republicans to do (do I give them too much credit?). It's Romney's nomination to lose, in my opinion.
Here's what I think will happen (not that I am hoping for some or any of it):
I'd like to believe that the Republicans send someone else out who offers real solutions to our problems instead of just saying, "I'm not Obama", but I have my doubts. I hate to simply vote against someone, so I don't know what the hell I will do.
Campaigning has become an exercise of breaking down your opponent instead of building a platform of solutions.
Not at it at all.
The number and severity of said skeletons will determine the outcome of the election. Damn, what I said right there is sad. I'd like to believe that the Republicans send someone else out who offers real solutions to our problems instead of just saying, "I'm not Obama", but I have my doubts. I hate to simply vote against someone, so I don't know what the hell I will do. Campaigning has become an exercise of breaking down your opponent instead of building a platform of solutions.
The number and severity of said skeletons will determine the outcome of the election. Damn, what I said right there is sad.
Well, that's exactly why Mitch Daniels didn't run. Not because his skeletons appear to be all that offensive or impactful on his character or ability to run as a president, but because they'd crucify his family regardless. That dynamic cost the race one true moderate right there.
Romney doesn't have any skeletons that we don't already know. The guy really is that boring.
His liabilities will be that he's an uber rich white guy who was born of privilege, he's from Massachusetts, he's a Mormon (sad but true this will hurt him) and he's changed positions many times with the changing political winds.
I don't think "RomneyCare" will end up hurting him in the end and too much focus on that will actually work against many of his competitors in the republican field.
But we'll see.
Runners run
Regarding your original post, Jeff, I don't think that you will end up seeing any of these "extremists" on the ballot come election time. That would be a stupid thing for the Republicans to do (do I give them too much credit?). It's Romney's nomination to lose, in my opinion. ... Campaigning has become an exercise of breaking down your opponent instead of building a platform of solutions.
Perry will clean Romney's clock, I'm afraid. (and I do kind of literally mean "I'm afraid")
As for Republicans doing strange things, see: Palin for VP. And I don't mean today's "Palin" product. I mean what we knew when she got added to the ticket.
Ostrich runner
That's true to an extent. Daniels' wife would rather he wasn't in office to begin with, and my conversations with him and with people close to him suggest to me that it is more a time commitment issue than it is an issue of his drug dealing and intermittent marriage. Also, Daniels really quit being a moderate in the last year or so when he started getting national attention. That said, compared to the front runners, he's probably still moderate.
You mentioned Pelosi, Reid, and Obama above as being perceived by a good portion of the population as extreme...I can understand that for Pelosi, but I don't think there are many reasons to think that Obama is a right leaning centrist, which is exactly why he has had some effect.
http://www.runningahead.com/groups/Indy/forum
Regarding your original post, Jeff, I don't think that you will end up seeing any of these "extremists" on the ballot come election time. That would be a stupid thing for the Republicans to do (do I give them too much credit?). It's Romney's nomination to lose, in my opinion. Here's what I think will happen (not that I am hoping for some or any of it): Romney will be the Republican nominee. Unemployment will still be in the toilet when the main campaigning starts. Because unemployment (and the economy) suck, the Democrats will send all of their agents out looking for skeletons in Romney's closets. The number and severity of said skeletons will determine the outcome of the election. Damn, what I said right there is sad. I'd like to believe that the Republicans send someone else out who offers real solutions to our problems instead of just saying, "I'm not Obama", but I have my doubts. I hate to simply vote against someone, so I don't know what the hell I will do. Campaigning has become an exercise of breaking down your opponent instead of building a platform of solutions.
No (to your last point). Romney is 'extreme'ly well-vetted at this point. His biggest problem is ObamneyCare and he may not survive the primary because of it. 2012 will revolve around the economy, not around any skeletons that operatives can dig up.
Menace to Sobriety
I agree with this post wholeheartedly except one thing. Perry IS a whackadoo.
The fact that he's crushing the rest of them in SC (my home state) supports your thesis.
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