So who have the Repubs have left for 2016 now?

I hope you're right. You make a good case. I'd vote for Paul. But we've all (most of us) been persuaded that a real conservative would be too much for the country. Ronald Reagan was elected at a special moment when the country was stunned by the Iranian hostage crisis and 20%+ inflation. There was deep discontent, so people were willing to risk a change. It could be that Obama has given Republicans the same juicy target that Carter did. Perhaps a conservative moment has come around again.

But one thing has changed. Democrats have succeeded in a vast expansion of the welfare state since the 1980s. So many people now count on government largesse, direct or indirect, that you might say Democrats have a voting majority on retainer. In 2016, Democrats will mount a fear campaign, as they always do, telling people that Paul will tear the teat from their mouths. I'm not sure how Republicans will counter that. Establishment Republicans (the Bushes, Romney, Rove) will hint that no matter what conservative noises they make, they won't really do anything. That didn't work for Romney, and it almost didn't work for Bush (remembering the 2000 election). I think a principled assertive forthright conservative would be best for the country and the party. We'll see.

 

The 2016 GOP ticket is frankly a joke.

 

Now that Hillary Clinton is out, who do Republicans have left for 2016?

 

So what I'm hearing is that you don't like any of the GOP candidates, and that one reason to dislike them is sufficient to discount them from every ascending to the Presidency.

As if no one could find one reason to dislike Hillary Clinton or Elizabeth Warren.

 

Whom are the reasons Hillary will win in 2016 for $800, Trebek?

I find it hard to believe anyone is really excited for a Hillary presidency, and then I look at this pathetic list and realize there is no other choice.

Paul is intriguing but the Republicans would never nominate him. Jeb is a Bush, he wouldn't be able to do anything without that being thrown in his face. Rubio and Walker are interesting in that they are not barf baggable. The others are pretty much barf baggable.

 

Not me.

I won't vote for Jeb under any circumstances. He's a RINO through and through, he's much worse then his brother ever was (and his brother brought us a new entitlement, so imagine what Jeb will do)

 

Who do the Republicans have?
Sen. Hillary Clinton
Sen. Elizabeth Warren
Gov. Andrew Cuomo
Sen. Harry Reid
Roseanne Barr
Michael Moore
Sen. Al Gore
Sen. John Kerry
Presidential Adviser Al Sharpton
AG Eric Holder
Rep. Charlie Rangel

The bench is almost endless.

 

love this thread , shows the desperation the Democratic party is feeling right now with Hillary's self immolation. Combine that with she is their only real candidate I can see where their desperation is warranted. Seems they just can't defend the undefinable actions of Hillary so lets throw some imaginary spitballs at the GOP, funny as heck.

 

Well since about half of the left-tilted MSM automatically support her and half of it automatically attack her, she's not really out as of yet. Or in other words she's still getting just enough spin and cover from the Left's MSM to limp past this sticking point. Or at least that's the likelihood at this point. Such a thing would finish off a GOPer, but Dems get waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more leeway for political corruption and lawbreaking, and that's just a fact.

But if Hillary really were down for the count at this point all the Left has that they all agree would make an ideal wish-list presidential candidate is Elizabeth Warren who in realistic terms does not yet have enough hard-edged political experience to survive the attacks that would be launched against her by the tons of other Dem Party hopefuls who will arise the instant that Hillary declares herself out of the running. Of all of them only John Kerry and Joe Biden have a realistic chance of both winning the nomination and becoming president and of those two we KNOW that Joe -- the gaff master -- Biden would shoot himself in the foot so often that a GOPer would end up strolling into the presidency.

John Kerry? Maybe but even he has his problems as a potential presidential candidate. His instincts when under pressure are not politically sound.

 

They have all their political eggs in one basket with 'damaged goods' Hillary and that makes them incredibly anxious -- especially since she refuses to make it official that she is running. Now most of them WANT Warren, but I maintain that she does not as of yet have the necessary political skills set to survive a hard fought presidential primaries contest. They will settle for John Kerry and even for -- shudder! -- senile ol' Joe Biden; but what they WANT is Hillary Clinton's political expertise and take no prisoners fighting spirit and currently in favor with the Left gender with Warren's 'clean' Politically Correct ultra-liberal credentials and (preferably) a BROWN skin-toned Hispanic background . . . but ultimately they will settle for either damaged goods Hillary or 'Swift Boat' John Kerry and then collectively cross their fingers and hope like hell.

 

So far, the Republicans in a tizzy over Hillary Clinton seem more interested in being pissy about her rather than in finding a viable candidate to oppose her.

Unless they discover that necessity, it looks as if they'll be celebrating yet another "Romney Landslide!" in 2016.

​

.

"Draft Zimmerman!"...............​

 

you must be living in a vacuum Natty. Over the weekend I saw Hillary getting crucified on Fire Dog Lake, Mother Jones, CNN and even MSNBC. Obama is trying to distance himself and Feinstein told her to man up and refused to carry her water. I am eagerly awaiting a new Hillary popularity poll, she is barely above water over at pollster now and the latest poll is a week old, before the email scandal. DNC should stock up on tissues, I have a feeling there is a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth there

for your viewing pleasure Natty, book mark it and watch it drop even more

http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/pollster/hillary-clinton-favorable-rating

 

Are you just reinforcing my point, or was there any mention of a viable opponent there?

 

so your point is that the Democratic party is so weak nationally that if Hillary bows out the Dems might as well concede the election. Not that I blame you seems as if Huffington Post agrees. The way 2016 is starting off the GOP does not need to worry about a candidate that can beat Clinton, she is doing a fine job of that all by herself. And As Huffington Post says

Once you get past Clinton, is there a "Democratic bench"? Yes. But the problem is, it's probably an actual bench.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/...-non-existent-democratic-bench_n_6826266.html

 

Walker is done, at least in my view not because of any email issues which caused barely a blip in this state. He is done because he is giving John Kerry a run for his money as the flip flop king. In just the last few weeks he has flipped on immigration, right to work and ethanol subsidies.

I give one free pass for every politician to flip flop on. Anything after that though and red flags go up in my mind. This WILL come back to bite him in the ass once he gets out of Iowa and this shows that neither him nor his staff are ready for prime time.

Hillary's chances are almost nonexistent at this point. Warren is to caustic but there is definitely going to be some late comer that pops out of the woodwork and supercedes Hillary. She is NOT Bill Clinton.

 

Walker might be done for you but he is still on top of the polls. I remind myself that I change my opinions on things as I grow and learn new facts so I don't sweat politicians changing as they learn more also. Haven't you grown since you were younger ? Myself I make it a point to learn a new word or factoid or read up on something that I just discovered each day. I am still hoping to see Kasich, Huckabee, and Santorum come up in the polls some. I just want a successful governor to win, I am not all that picky which one at this point

On the Clinton thing , she is toast and this will not go away before Nov 2016. Dems have such a narrow bench they are pretty much hog tied, Kerry might be their only real hope

 

I think it's preferable if you refrain from making up my point.

My point, as clearly stated, is that Republicans incessantly kvetching about Hillary Clinton is not enough.

They must find, nominate, and support an opponent that can defeat her.

Whether they settle upon George Zimmerman or someone else remains to be seen, but they'll have to decide on some 2016 model Willard, or it doesn't matter how much they rage that she is a foreign-born, islamist, communist America hater or whatever variations on those themes they contrive.

 

and you seem to be determined to ignore that it is also the far left and even mainstream Democrats that are kvetching about Hillary. GOP can afford to sit back at this point, Clinton is proving to be no more of a threat to them now than she was in 2008. They don't have to defeat her, she is defeating herself. Poll watching this week should be interesting

but feel free to sit here and rant and rave about the GOP while the Democratic nominee pours gasoline over herself and lights a match. I find it amusing beyond belief

 

No, despite the high degree of Democratic solidarity, not every last Democrat is wildly enthusiastic about Hillary Still, she has no realistic challenger for the nomination on the horizon, whereas the TP types are always wee wee'd up about that mysterious, ubiquitous "left" of theirs.

The GOP would dearly love to distract the national focus from their dysfunctional Congress at this point to be sure, but they'd need a viable presidential possibility to manage that, and they have no one in sight that they can unite behind.

Clinton was denied the 2008 Democratic nomination because of her foolish vote that surrendered to Dubya the power to contrive his trillion dollar nation-building fiasco in Iraq, of course, but it's not likely to emerge again as a significant issue - unless Randy Paul makes it one.

It's unfortunate that the GOP has no one they can enthuse about, but we can just go with Zimmerman as a place holder until and if they ever find someone.

In the meantime, we'll just have to content ourselves with having some fun with Hillary.

[video=youtube;VK2Mvd-nH9o]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VK2Mvd-nH9o[/video]​

 

Hillary is deeply flawed as a candidate and as a person. I hope she runs, gets the nomination, and figuratively ends up like Custer at the Little Bighorn.

 

I can't wait to hear the details of this Walker "scandal". He was the number one national target of the extreme left in the 2014 election. They have spent millions investigating him and have gotten..........nothing.

What exactly are you implying about Jindal? Go ahead, speak freely.

 

Do conservatives still have a chance for executive power? If not, do conservatives still have a stake in the success of the US? If conservatives don't have a stake in the success of the US, are they likely to help the US succeed?

 

His fiscal incompetence is exceeded only by Sammy Brownback and his disastrous Red State Model.

With Republicans creating budget crises as a direct consequence of their reckless ideological extremism, fiscal conservatives are without a competent money manager to promote.

 

I was gonna say that!

 

I think that if the republicans ran Jesus the democrats would crucify him.