says The Wall Street Journal for a new candidate to enter the Republican race, since the current three leaders (Romney, Bachmann, Perry) are lacking:
Republicans and independents are desperate to find a candidate who can appeal across the party’s disparate factions and offer a vision of how to constrain a runaway government and revive America’s once-great private economy. If the current field isn’t up to that, perhaps someone still off the field will step in and run. Now would be the time.
But wait, isn’t it too late? Isn’t that what we’ve been told, that only a dunce would wait until September to enter the race, because by then there would be no room?
The non-Romney Republican field has withered on the vine this summer, with only Rick Perry’s recent entrance making the race interesting. Michele Bachman’s rise is a mirage; busing a couple hundred more people to the Iowa straw poll than Ron Paul does not make one a contender.
It’s Romney v. Perry. For now.
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“For now.”
Until September 3rd and a certain event in Waukee, Iowa: http://is.gd/lrsfe5
🙂 🙂 🙂
Can’t wait. It’s like looking forward to Christmas.
Considering Perry essentially backtracked on the states rights/gay marriage issue, it’s Romney or bust for me.
Whenever I see a slew of comments saying how they’ve grown tired of Palin’s “tease” — “poop or get off the pot” — I remind them that Ronald Reagan waited until November 13, 1979, to declare his candidacy.
Yeah…. Reagan got a late start in the 1980 Presidential election, but he also had a set date of January 21st for the Iowa Caucus. Reagan didn’t have to contend with the possibility of having to move the Iowa Caucus up to the beginning of January, or possibly even into December of 1979 (which is a distinct possibility AGAIN this year because Florida is playing with their primary calendar again like they did in the 2008 cycle).
You have to remember, though, Reagan lost the 1980 Iowa Caucus to GHW Bush. (32% to 30%).
The advantage of declaring late is that it gives your opponents less time to attack you. The disadvantage is what you lose in fundraising, advertising, personal interaction and speeches to outline your policies. Unless you’re fabulously personally wealthy, have an enormous campaign war chest from a prior campaign, or have instant name recognition with well known pro-conservative, anti-tax and federal government reduction plan policies then you can’t declare late. I can’t think of anybody who fits these criteria right off the bat.
This election is going to be all about the policy positions of the candidate. The public got bamboozled by Obama’s “Hope and Change” rhetoric and didn’t ask for specifics, and they’ve gotten the economic disaster that followed. This time, they’re looking for specifics and for proven leadership.
I actually doubt that ANY candidate, no matter how well known, could announce in November or even in October and make even a reasonable showing in any of the early primary states simply due to the time it takes to get offices up and running.
My point was that August is not too late to declare — or September, for that matter. The people to whom I referred are NOT anxious for Palin to declare she is running; they’re anxious for her to declare she isn’t. They want her out of the way of their guy. They’re afraid she’ll win.
I can’t wait for Sarah Palin to run. But I’m patient; I trust her instincts.
Used to be a Christie fan until his “anti-Sharia crazies” comment. Romney is MR. ESTABLISHMENT. Who, I asked myself, is the most likely candidate to get more “real” votes than The Won (not counting the fraudulent votes, of course)in what has become the “American Idol” of politics? Rick Perry. ANYBODY BUT OBAMA! (Please Lord, give us Marco Rubio as Vice President on anyone’s ticket. Rubio is looking good in 2016)
The MSM can say whatever the want, whenever the want regardless of what they said yesterday or last week or last month.
“Consistency is the mark of a small mind.”
These people are nuanced, ya know…
Now that Perry will push Bachmann out of the race because of the man-centered Christian voters, and will bloody Romney so badly in his effort to win, Perry will make Romney look like a loser, and because since most independent voters will not care for Perry’s radicalism–which will be exposed during the campaign–Obama will be re-elected.
“man-centered Christian voters”- ?
What’s the big rush? Let the field percolate long enough and several candidates will eventually eliminate themselves. This far out from the election there’s no harm in a half dozen Republican candidates rallying support and hammering on Obama and his failures. Let’s find out who has the best body of work, who can and who can’t manage a campaign before we try to hand them the party and the country. There’s plenty of time left.
That’s part of the point. We do want lots of ideas out on stage, and we are missing some. So everyone who’s plausible should be in there testing talking points and new ideas so we end up with the best candidate. He or she may not be in there yet, unfortunately.
Who ever the GOP candidate, it is the economy,debit,and Obama stupid. Does the GOP have the perfect candidate, no but it’s a strong field. Will not be surprised if there is a primary run against Obama, if the economy gets worse and his poll numbers continue to fall.
Only a 24 hour news cycle would consider 15 mos before the election as “late to the game.”
The better to distract the populace. Think of it as a grand shell game. Obama screwing up? Quick, slam Bachmann! It’s good to distract everyone!
It’s getting late in the game theoretically. The primary elections have been slowly creeping earlier and earlier into the year. It’s not really the general election that the candidate has to initially be concerned about.
5 months, even with a dedicated ‘grass roots’ group already on the ground is cutting it close. It’s hard to get all the moving pieces in place that fast to be ready.
Don’t go negative on Bachmann. Bachmann’s rise is not a “mirage.” Even without busing in a couple of hundred people she received enough votes in the straw pull to demonstrate she’s for real. Do you still like the deal Boehner accomplished? Bachmann did the right thing by voting no and conservatives should give her credit and support for doing so.
The non-Romney Republican field has withered on the vine this summer…
Gary Johnson’s vine might have grown had CNN let him into its Republican debate. A self-made businessman and two-term governor of a swing state is not eligible to debate? Give. Me. A. Break.
(Although Johnson would have been a long shot in any case, it’s easy to suspect that CNN was manipulating the race. It’s even easier to conclude that there’s a lot more manipulation being readied where that came from.)
Can we all just agree that straw polls, particularly ones given at state fairs, are a stupid way to pick candidates in the modern era?
Let me illustrate- Ron Paul finished 200 votes out of first place. I rest my case.
I was begrudgingly on the Romney boat. But, that was before I heard Rick Perry this weekend. Really dig his libertarian bent. George W Bush he is not. Perry is going to steamroll the GOP field.
When Obama and his surrogates are already pushing the minimum wage jobs meme (as in Perry has only created minimum wage jobs), then you know they know they are in deep doo doo if matched up against him.
Heck, he already polls at 46% vs Obama will virtually no name recognition outside Texas.
Pair him with a Rubio or Christie and you’re looking at a possible 40+ state rout.
You know what’s worse than a low-paying job, Mr. Obama? No job at all.