or is he toast? My bet is..the relatively short memories of the average ditto-head....still won't help him. He's locked in as "Mr. Amnesty" now...and given the basis for the opposition to immigration reform...heightened by a Latino like Rubio being the one who pushed it..... I'd say he's got zero shot at 2016 now.
So who's "pure enough" for the GOP Base....but not SO nuts that they wouldn't lose 40 states in the General Election?
Unfortunately ....none will be accepted as pure enough by the opposing sections of todays GOP. We will likely see a repeat of the internal warfare play out again, I am guessing only six candidates this time, and they will cause more damage to each other than anyone else long before the Dems need to fight them.
True.....first people to attack Rand Paul on the Civil Rights Act...will be his fellow GOP Primary opponents, not Democrats. Same for Rubio and Ryan on immigration reform. Christie would catch hell from all sides....but likely, as a bully, wouldn't tolerate BEING bullied and fight back.
Listening to the left opine on who should be the repo's choice is about as useful as thinking that the opposing team should choose your quarterback.
No, neither would I support Christie; both of whom are probably thought of semi-favorably by independents and the left. For now, I'm more-or-less a Rand Paul supporter, who really seems to tee-off the rhinos and neo-cons; and who maybe the left doesn't quite know what to make of yet.
We would hate to see you go into another election cycle with your taxi squad quarterback again. Unless you purposely don't want to move the ball. Which is what we ALL are beginning to think.
So you're one of those guys who's going to CLAIM that "Unless it's Rand, I won't vote" in 2016, right?
No, he thought he could pass immmigration reform....not catch TOO much hell from the xenophobic GOP Base....still have all his "true conservative street cred" on other issues to win the Nomination....then use immigration reform and habla'ing Espanol to win Latino voters in the General Election and swing them to the GOP. Where he screwed up was....underestimating the hatred and bigotry in his own Party.
It really depends on how good he is at politics. Like Obama, he was this over-hyped young senator who'd never actually accomplished a damn thing in life. Unlike Obama, however, he actually has time to establish a track record [both good and bad] before running for the presidency. Also, unlike with Obama, the mainstream media has never fallen hopelessly in lust with him to the extent of presenting bogus articles speculating on what a magnificent president he would make merely because he possesses a winning smile, a great speech making ability, and a pleasantly [Politically Correct] skin color. So unlike with Obama, Rubio would first have to prove himself to the party and then to the nation. Still and all, when you consider that half of the Democratic Party in 2008 labelled Bill and Hillary Clinton racists merely for daring to TRY and run a traditional political campaign against their party's Political Messiah and yet the very same leftwingers who spat on her name back then would eagerly vote to replace Obama with her today -- then yes, Virginia, there remains Hope for Change in Rubio's status with the Republican Party.
As far as the base goes, I would agree, although he still has prominent media supporters like Hannity that could help him. But the "base" doesn't choose Republican Presidential candidates. They have some influence, but usually they can't unite behind a single candidate. Reagan was the last conservative candidate. Bush senior, Dole, Bush Jr, McCain, and of course Romney, all moderates. The Republican establishment has more influence than the conservative base does. We are more likely to get another Bush as a candidate in 2016 than a conservative.
For all that talk about a "real conservative", and the fringe dwellers that get all the attention when the election is years away, when push comes to shove, it's McCain/Romney/White Bread Bland, because as the election draws near, people start thinking "I like this guy, but I doubt that he could take 3 states, so I'll vote for the guy who can win".
