Giuliani out, Huckabee out, Romney out? Who's left?

[Sean Stuart]

Giuliani is likely out for his undisputed extramarital adventures and expenditures of New York tax-payer money to facilitate them, and his business ties to a terrorist-supporting state.

Huckabee is likely out for his push to free a convicted rapist who would rape again and commit murder after his release.

Romney is likely about to be out for his religious beliefs, for I expect nothing short of "I hereby renounce Mormonism and embrace Pat Robertson's version of Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour" will appease the prejudices of the Republican Base.

So who's left?

McCain with his un-Republican stance against torture?

Fred Thompson, with his sleep-inducing speeches and hot young wife?

Ron Paul and his terrorist-loving stance against the Iraq War?

I have no clue here! Somebody help me out!

[Alter Ego]

1. Huck is definitely the VP.

However, there is no clear nominee. There honestly isn't.

[oldtime dfl_er]

3. Thompson-Huckabee?

Now there's a ticket I could fall asleep to...

[Alter Ego]

6. The dichotomy would literally make people's heads explode.

[saltpoint]

2. Alan Keyes.

Fear him!

[JCMach1]

16. ROFL

[Virginia Dare]

53. I'd love another Keyes/Obama match up...bring it on! LOL!!....n/t

[I work for workers]

4. Has anyone outide the progressive blogosphere mentioned the rape thing?

I've only seen it there.

[Sean Stuart]

10. It's atleast broken into CNN and CBS

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/12/05/huckabee.dumond/index.html

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/12/03/politics/main3569614.shtml?source=RSSattr=HOME_3569614

... as well as more local papers scattered around. I expect it to get momentum. It's exactly the kind of easy-to-report and sensational story that the media enjoys.

[bigscott]

42. this morning on MSNBC

David Schuster indicated he thought this story had very little "legs"

I like DS and think he is great at exposing the bullshit of the * admin

[tekisui]

12. Yep. It's on the front page of Google News, now.

http://news.google.com/nwshp?tab=wn

It looks like it will be picked up. When you claim the moral high ground, you'd better be clean.

[gatorboy]

32. Several shows on MSNBC mentioned it last night.

[wishlist]

46. ABC's Good morning america had hard hitting expose yesterday

ABC did extensive research and interviewing into the pardon of the rapist and showed a scathing program yesterday (or Monday?) that virtually indicted Huckabee for lying about his active role in the pardon (parole board member says Huck personally appeared to them to pressure for the pardon) and lying about being petitioned by several women victims that felt he must not pardon the guy plus ABC interviewed the rape victim who even went in person to his office to plead with him not to pardon the guy plus interview with enraged mother of one of the murder victims who blames him for the murders after Huck let the guy out and is actively working against his campaign.

[Blue_In_AK]

70. Dan Abrams just went into it in depth

with parole board members and someone from Huffington.

[ThomWV]

5. Ron Paul! "Ron Paul", "Ron Paul" Ron Paul, the idiots cired ...

[graywarrior]

7. The republicans will settle for one of them.

They have no choice.

[underpants]

8. Waiting ..... lurking.....

[maine_raptor]

15. No, a thousand times NO!

:hide:

Not HIM!!!!!!!!!!!

Just the thought of that pompous ass in the White House is enough to get me to gag.:puke:

And besides, we'd have to go through a whole 'nuther "intern thing" every other week with him as Prez.

[underpants]

19. For the spectacle of the media having to present him as credible

I say YESS!! MORE NEWT!!! :bounce:

[maine_raptor]

21. Only if fried, with a side dish of hot sauce.

And do you really think the media would enjoy covering live 3 hour pressers with him spouting off about the "Third", "Fourth", or "Fifth Waves"?

I will grant you this, he can pronounce "nuclear" correctly.

[BrklynLiberal]

9. How about Chimpster's bro, Jeb??????????????

:wow:

[Ganja Ninja]

28. Never say never but I doubt it will happen this time around. n/t

[dysfunctional press]

63. the name "bush" isn't going to appeal to voters for quite awhile.

nt

[terrya]

11. Don't count Huckabee out.

Actually, I think he'll be the nominee. I used to think it would be Romney. But I think Huckabee appeals more to the nutjob fundie wing of the party. Which basically controls the GOP.

[EV_Ares]

14. I agree on that. Regardless whatl you think of him, he can give a speech,

he comes across very well, heads and shoulders of the others. He appears more credible, honest than the others. Yeah, I think you are right and he should not be counted out by any means.

[AlinPA]

23. I agree. It has to be a "Christian"church-going, bible-quoting, holier-than-thou

creationist "folksy" white man.

[Sean Stuart]

26. ... who got a rapist out of prison?

This is huge stain on Huckabee, one that charismatic Bible-quoting will not fix.

[saltpoint]

13. Maybe they've already conceded the race and don't care who their nominee

will be.

I think we can whip every last one of 'em.

[ThomWV]

17. You realized of course that when Hillary gets blown out of the water we'll be in the same shape

No shit, think about it. Remove Hillary from the presumed front-runner spot and everything below here turns into a rain of shit. And don't be fooled by MSM again, Hillary will fall when the voters get a chance to have their say. So then what have we got? If we were honest without ourselves and were looking for seasoned experience we'd be looking at Biden and Richardson, but not us. Look who we have sitting in a revolving second place and below - a lady whos main claim to fame is she was married to someone, a black guy with a great personality, a very pretty lawyer, a funnly looking little man who says wild things, and old dud and and even older dud.

[Virginia Dare]

35. Our candidates still have ten times more substance than theirs..

I realize that's not saying much, but I still think we're in a much better position than they are. They've got NOTHING. We've at least got potential.

[ThomWV]

45. 100% agreement

You're right of course, but it still astounds me that considering all of the very much experienced persons we have in our Party that the current field is what we have. Considering that just about any generic Democrat will beat just about any generic Republican in the next Presidential race you'd expect a more seasoned crop to emerge. There are some real Statesmen in the Democratic Party, some young and some old, who could bring better credentials to the race than most of the current batch. As I said, if you really wanted to pick a team from the Democrats who really have great experience you'd snatch up Biden and Richardson in a heartbeat. I suspect that Richardson will end up on someone's ticket and that Biden will fade back to the Senate but there are others out there keeping their hat out of the winning ring. Look at Gore for instance.

[Virginia Dare]

52. I'm puzzled that Dodd didn't get more traction..

he's at least as good if not better than Kerry was, but it took me a while to be sold on Kerry, as it did to be sold on Gore. Everytime I see Richardson I'm so impressed by him. I've come to the conclusion that those who pay attention to politics have a totally different idea as to who makes a good politician than those who don't.

[saltpoint]

68. There's a vacuum to their national focus this time. It's more than just

losing Rove.

The fundies are atwitter because their own leaders are backing various candidates, any one of them unacceptable for one or more reasons to the collective fundie base. It's quite a mess and it'll be fun to watch them splatter each other with mud and dung trying to sort out who to support.

The Bob Dole Republican voter, God help him or her, has no one in the race that's ven as good as Dole, and Dole was horrible.

Rudy still has a little fuel in the 9/11 tank, but the tank's less than half-full and there are leaks springing in it every two or three days. His polling is yet to collapse in the Feb. 5th states, but after losses in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, I'm not sure he'll be a viable choice, even for the most hero-worshipping delusional voters.

Independents will not line up to vote for fools like the current GOP field.

Women voters see no woman running for the Republicans. Hispanics see no Hispanic running for the Republicans. The rest of us see no problem-solvers running for the Republicans.

They're about to lose big, IMO.

[robbedvoter]

18. Why should Giuliani be out? he has all the credentials they need - fanatic crook

When doing this chart you certainly forgot who's in the White House now!

[saltpoint]

20. It's true that we never know how low the Republicans can go, as Dubya's

a good example of that, but Giuliani's polling is tanking.

There's been a slow erosion of his support, first in Iowa (his campaign has now all but abandoned Iowa), then in New Hampshire (where Romney on the far, far right and Paul on the Libertarian right have outflanked and outhustled him), and the once-strong lead he enjoyed in S. Carolina is now down to narrow single digits, if not lost to Huckabee.

So going into the large Feb. 5th election primaries, Giuliani would be a third-rated loser.

I think he could bounce back -- stranger things have happened -- but it isn't looking rosy at the moment.

[Sean Stuart]

22. I would agree that Guiliani is still the most likely candidate

After all, Bush tried to sell off our port security to UAB and there's enough corruption in his administration to make Ken Lay blush, and yet Bush is still beloved by his base.

And despite his assault on the sanctity of marriage (TM), Giuliani brings with him the "I'll take away your rights and bomb the whole goddamn world" platform that prompts right-wing erections all over the nation.

[robbedvoter]

39. Actually, I don't think the manipulators would pick him - kinda unpredictable

I think Romney is the best new puppet. Still, I heard Giuliani is the neocons pick, so that may weigh in the balance.

[Virginia Dare]

36. Most repubs are still in the dark about the real Rudy..

I hope they remain so and have the guts to nominate him.

[DeeDeeNY]

24. "None of the above"

At one point, the "none of the above" category was actually leading in a Republican primary poll!! (Makes sense!)

:rofl:

[mmarsh]

25. Huckabee

I don't see Huckabee numbers slipping, hes already #2 in Iowa. And What you said about him letting a convicted rapist/killer go free also applies to Mitt Romney.

I would say Huckabee's biggest problem is when he has to go after the moderate vote. Cozy up to the whackjobs is one thing, but the non-lunatic Republicans aren't going to take kindly to his ultra-conservative social views and the last thing they want is another president who claims to 'talk' to Jesus. Most GOP moderates are talking about voting Democrat as many of them did in 2006, he's got a tough sell.

Right now I would say Huckabee, but I agree with your reasoning on the other candidates. I dont think anybody is a clear winner.

[renate]

64. Welcome to DU!

:hi:

(P.S. Huckabee is my biggest worry right now. I hope you're right that moderate Republicans don't want a candidate who talks to Jesus, but I suspect that a lot of them do that themselves. I don't mean that in a snarky way; a lot of sincerely religious people consider their personal relationships with God and/or Jesus to be an important source of guidance.)

[saltpoint]

27. If the Pukes had a brain in their head, which is quite the iffy proposition,

they'd run John Danforth and Rob Portman.

That would be a combination that would give us great difficulty. Two white guys, including one who's a certified minister, both from swing states, both unthreatening and good on their feet.

Short of usurping the primary process, it doesn't seem to me that the GOP is ready for a national debate on almost any subject. No one of their current 8 candidates can go up against most of our 8 candidates on international or domestic issues, plus the long shadow of the failed Bush administration(s) casts a pall over their ballot-wide efforts.

And fundies are pissed because none of the candidates are sufficiently religiously insane. Huck's the closest, but as the OP accurately pointed out, it's tough to sell Jesus when you're pro-rape.

[mdmc]

29. Is see Romney, old man McCain, and Ghouliani as still in

Romney would be the candidate if he was born again.
McCain would be in if he was under 72.
And Ghouliani only flaw is sexually related - against the open relationship of the Clinton, The Ghoulmister can still stand.

Only if this campaign becomes about change will Ron Paul have a shot. At this time I see it as staying the course without flight suit boy in charge. HRC won't end the (drug) war, she will win it.

[OHdem10]

30. If those three go down---McCain is canddidate for GOP

In reality this can happen.

[SoCalDem]

31. Jeb?

:rofl:

[Annces]

33. how low can you go

If Huckabee or Romney gets the presidency, that will be unbelievable. A nation of hill-billies.

[KharmaTrain]

34. I Love It...A Cat Fight Extraordinare

Dare I admit I enjoy watching the Repugnican presidential beauty pagent more than the Democrats. This is like watching a demolition derby that shows a party far more divided and polarized than the Democrats and pulling further apart as the primaries approach.

The game here is not whose electable...IMHO, none of them are...but who will survive their brutal primaries and what good dirt they'll throw in the process. Whomever comes out of this mess is sure to be a damaged candidate (as you properly note above...and I'm sure there's more to come) and there's going to be a significant number of Repugnicans upset and turned off by the nominee that they'll either look third party or stay off the church busses. The more they throw mud at one another at this point the better.

If you go by the "conventional wisdom" that organiztion wins nominations and elections, Mittens still holds the upper hand with Ron Paul also making a respectable showing. Most the other candidates are clueless...especially Rudy. But that could all go out the window on Tsunami Tuesday (Feb 5) as anyone who runs the table on that day walks into the convention with a lot of delegates.

I still see McCain as the dark horse here...if Rudy falters, I don't see his supporters going to Mittens...and the same goes for Mittens. If one of these fall, I see McCain as the "firewall" in a "stop Rudy" or "stop Mittens" game on Tsunami Tuesday.

[Blackhatjack]

37. And Now You See Why Bloomberg Is Seriously Considering a 3rd Party Run....

He would draw heavily from the Repub base since there are no strong Repub Candidates running this time.

[saltpoint]

38. There it is. There's a gaping opening just ready for someone with a little

wherewithal and ambition. And a buck or two in the bank.

It would be real interesting to see the GOP place third behind us and Bloomberg.

[Blackhatjack]

40. Ask any seasoned political strategist their opinion of a likely Bloomberg Run and...

... they will most likely tell you it is a legitimate possibility.

Take $1 billion dollars to spend without fundraising, and add to it the freedom from having to run the Primary gauntlet, and you have a very inviting situation for Bloomberg.

His biggest hurdle would be to gather enough signatures to get on the ballot in each state --but $1 billion buys a lot of signature solicitors.

[saltpoint]

41. Agree on all counts, Blackhatjack. It's a very persuasive set of

circumstances for someone like Bloomberg.

Plus, the man is term-limited as NYC mayor and doesn't have a damn thing to do otherwise.

[Blackhatjack]

43. IMHO the deciding factor for Bloomberg is WILL HE BEAT THE DEM NOMINEE...

So the hand-wringing over whether Bloomberg will or won't enter the race is not really an emotional decision at all.

I think Bloomberg will make the jump IF HE BELIEVES he will beat the likely DEM NOMINEE in the General Election.

To win the General Election Bloomberg will have to take a huge percentage of Repub voters(including those who would have to abandon voting a straight Repub ticket all their lives) AND add a high percentage of Independents/Undecideds and Unaffiliated Voters. Even if he accomplished that he would still need to attract large numbers of the moderate Democrats to reach the winning margin needed.

Right now I would say he is more likely than not to run.

[saltpoint]

44. Good analysis.

I wonder what percentage of Independents would go for Bloomberg?

I'm with the blue ticket, even if my first 6 or 7 favorites aren't the nominee. But Bloomberg is uniquely positioned to give us some trouble since there's no competition from the GOP and our nominee is stil up in the air.

It could get weird.

[Virginia Dare]

55. Maybe that's what the repubs are counting on..

a strong third party candidate to hopefully take some Dems and Independents and sneak in to victory?...:shrug: They can't honestly be counting on winning with what they've currently got to offer.

[TwilightGardener]

60. I'm hoping Bloomberg loves his country enough to NOT run if his

polling suggests he draws more from the Dems--he left the R party, he knows how fucked up they are and why he shouldn't tilt the election to them.

[saltpoint]

67. True. They must be looking at this field of yahoos and thinking,

"Good God, we're going to get our butts kicked."

And they are, too.

I'm curious to see who Bloomberg is interested in for a veep nom.

[NeedleCast]

47. I don't think any of the people you have listed as "out"

are out. I believe Giuliani will win the Republican nomination.

[wishlist]

50. I can't believe Rudy will win, but hope so because a Dem can beat him easier n/t

[NeedleCast]

56. I hope you're right but

I don't think you are. Rudy won (twice) one of the most liberal cities in the country. He will pull a lot of votes from the middle. He'll lose some from the religious right. The question is, can he win New York state? If he does, that will almost lock up a Republican victory. New York + Texas is going to be a hard number of electoral collage votes to overcome. From what my friends in New York City say, even though he's a Republican, lots of New Yorkers see him as an effective leader, something the country sorely lacks right now.

[Seen the light]

48. Huckabee isn't out by a mile

That core of supporters that have surged to put him near the lead in every major Republican poll? They don't give a damn about anything except for someone sharing their fundamentalist Christian beliefs. As long as they know they have someone that would love to ban abortion and put every GLBT in a concentration camp, they will support him regardless.

Huckabee will be their nominee.

[wishlist]

49. I think Romney is not out unless ethics and honesty problems are brought out

At this point Romney's image is that of being squeeky clean, intelligent and polished (compared to Bush) and a dedicated family man espousing the correct right wing talking points, so he will probably end up as the front runner.

[TwilightGardener]

51. I think Huck's out. The Dumond story, and his lying about it, are not his only problems--

he's very corrupt, and is a policy lightweight. Jaysus can only take him so far. Rudy's not out, Mittens has the cash to go pretty far, McCain is a stubborn old bastard. It will come down to those three, unless voters start taking another look at Fred--he might do well in SC.

[Generator]

69. Don't count the Huck out!

I read a small piece about him in the New Yorker. He's has a nice personality compared to the others even though all his positions are the worst of the right wing. I fear he has that I'd have a beer with him quality the media swoon over. He's dumb, affable and right wing extreme-remind you of anyone?

[AuntPatsy]

54. Any Republican at this time in place should be utterly embarressed at the choices above...

I think it only proves how low they have become.

[havocmom]

57. Chuck Hagel can miss all the exposure of the primary race,

step in as the un-bush GOP savior (even though his voting record is pretty much 'tow the line') and wave at all the adoring, desperate people who won't have time to really check him out.

[TwilightGardener]

59. Newtie or Chuck to the rescue! Naw, I think it's way too late for them.

Although I do think they might be VP picks for somebody.

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

58. ...but who said bussh was going to give up his thrown?

scary, I know.

[allthingsimportant]

61. come on

like the r's give a crap about lying and cheating.....in fact that may get them a primary win. Why do you think abortion rights Rudy has gained traction with the Christian right....he has impressed them with his ability to be totally inept and just total scum.

[Ezlivin]

62. It's obvious who they'll choose: The one they talk about the most - Hillary Clinton

She'll wrap up the nomination for both parties.

And the debates will be a bitch.

(No offense intended.)

[Sean Stuart]

65. I underestimated Romney with his speech. Clever. Clever, indeed.

This morning, Romney had to somehow send the Kennedy-esque message that his religion should be immaterial to public office in order to assuage skepticism of his faith among the Christian Right, but at the same time satisfy their demand for God in the White House. Therefore, with his affirmation of the Constitution in its prohibition of a religious test for office, he also stated that "freedom requires religion." The heart of Romney's message to the Republican base is this: "The Constitution may prohibit a religious test and promotion of religion, but ... *wink* ... all of you and I know better, and I will bring God into public schools and courthouses. You can trust me on that."

[Imagevision]

66. gooliani is out that's for sure...