Did I miss anyone? GOP Race to White House
It’s sometimes important to back up to the real presidential process. Running back to 2004 and the Democratic nomination, there always felt something kind of synthetic about Dean’s collapse —and remember, the intra-party organization that ran negative ads against Dean was funded by Clinton stalwarts. “Americans for Jobs, Health Care, and Progressive Values”. I suppose you could say that if Dean couldn’t withstand fire from the Clintons, how would have he withstood Bush? It’s an interesting conundrum of our curious political system.
It’s a little dicier to suggest that what was fully going on was getting Kerry nominated to keep ensure Hillary Clinton 2008. The clearer issue was to maintain fund-raising control of the Democratic Party apparatus.
The 2008 presidential nomination from the Republican vantage point seemed as much a punt as anything else, even more so than Kerry being nominated by the Democrats in 2004. Though, I suppose, Romney did well by not winning the nomination. And so we enter 2012. Romney versus Perry. Perry gets applause lines for executing a lot of people. WEEEEE! Romney shuffles through, deliberately, waiting for the fracus to die down.
There were eight presidential candidates on the stage at the Reagan Library. The culling has commenced — the media framed it as Romney versus Perry. And maybe it’s just as well. Michele Bachmann‘s campaign — IMPLODING, you say? They say.
Oh well…
Michele Bachmann Overdrive is a concept, and the concept is to have a band that captures the spirit of Michele Bachmann by being somewhat ill-prepared, not really up to the challenge ahead of it but going full speed ahead,†Mike Sager said.
The round-up from the NYTs and Washington Post dutifully fills out the bottom of their columns with quick snappers for candidates 5 through 8. The gist of the liners
Newt Gingrich came out swinging … against the media… claiming the debate was too debate-y — media is creating riffs. Sometimes this an apt criticism — but at its highest level, a debate showcase like this is supposed to sharpen the distinctions.
What is the point?
I have this theory about Jon Huntsman, Jr.. He is helpful in Mitt Romney’s campaign, as he provides Romney a centralizer — Romney needs someone who is perceived as “to his left’ in the race so that the Republican Party won’t feel that let down when they eventually nominate him. So it is Huntsman — Romney — Perry. Huntsman is guaranteed media coverage, even though his road to the White House settles on something like — winning every single Independent vote int he New Hampshire primary. The process is ludicrous: see “Politics and Eggs“.
Rick Santorum is sick of being called a bigot, and having the full thrust of political campaigning against him coming from outside any Republican rivals and coming out of the “Gay Jihad” against him. It won’t really get any better. For whatever reason the media decided that his showing at the Iowa Straw Poll allowed him to “hang around a while longer”.
Herman Cain is campaigning on the Hoffa rhetoric non-issue that has gotten Fox News — conservative radio– blogoland hot and bothered. Puzzlingly enough, HNN has an article putting him in historical perspective, next to Henry Wallace — because they both had jobs dealing with food?
Ron Paul supporters are the worst, part three hundred.
Meanwhile — off stage: Thaddeus McCotter claims Musicians should be worried that Obama wants to take away your Guitars. It’s how far the the Regulatory State is reaching these days. Buddy Roemer made an appearance on Jon Stewart — anywhere he can find, I suppose.
Roy Moore may actually be making himself useful, though its a curious reasoning.
A trial is scheduled for two sidewalk counselors in Montgomery, Ala., who were charged with trespass when they stepped around a water jet that operators of an abortion business had aimed at the public sidewalk they were using.
Judge Roy Moore, former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, is arguing through his Foundation for Moral Law that it’s an abuse even to cite the men.
“The law is being abused to silence these men protesting the deprivation of the right to life, which is one of our unalienable rights given by God and recognized in
the Declaration of Independence by our Founding Fathers,” he said.