GOP dark horses for 2012?

[Garam_Masala]

Yes, Palin is out there getting all the news peddling her book, and Huckster & Romney & Newt are
more well known and are obviously interested in running, but none of them might win nomination.
Paln is too controversial, Others are has beens.

Check out this list of dark horses...

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/lists/gop_dark_horses/

[SteppingRazor]

1. Out of all of them, Thune's the only one I like as a possibility.

The rest are no-gos from the start. There's not a snowball's chance in hell Cheney will run, much as I'd love him to. Coburn's completely unacceptable to anyone to the left of Genghis Khan, which still includes enough Republicans to make his candidacy an impossibility. Daniels is tied to both George Bush and Big Pharma, neither of whom are too popular with anyone right now, including most Republicans. And the "best of the rest" are so much wishful thinking. Cantor or Pence might try a run, but they'll bail just as quickly -- you don't get elected to the presidency from the House.

[livetohike]

2. The GOP doesn't have much do they?

My guess is that Thune will be a contender. The rest of the dark horses would be a surprise to me right now. Especially Cheney with his 19% approval rating when he left office.

[On the Road]

5. I Would Vote for Thune Also

Whatever DUers might think of his ideas, he is attractive to a lot of GOP primary voters.

[Garam_Masala]

9. Why would YOU vote for him if he is

likely to be popular with republicans? Do you think he will be
easier to defeat than the others?

[On the Road]

11. I Am "Voting" for Him in This *Poll*

which is entitled "GOP Dark Horses for 2012".

The GOP has a terrible slate of potential candidates and I do think that if Romney doesn't get an early kill shot, the field will be wide open for a candidate like Thune that no one is talking about now.

[Garam_Masala]

19. OK I get it eom

[Perky]

3. Santorum would take votes from everyone and enthuse the Tea Baggers

Huck would be toast. And he would give Palin a challenge with the RTL crowd in Iowa. And that endorsement is gold there. He could catapult into NH and then be the last midget standing in South Carolina

[WI_DEM]

4. The MSM must be pushing Thune because there was a column on him in my

newspaper today as a possible 2012 contender.

[Clio the Leo]

6. You are aggravating my John Thune-induced ulcer, please stop. :-) NT

[Garam_Masala]

8. I got just the cure for preventing an ulcer!

Take 2 tums and soak in a hot water jet tub reading True Romances with a glass of Tia Maria on the rocks :7

That will take your mind off Thune for at least an hour :toast:

[elfin]

7. Oh, yes, GOP helmet hair Thune

with the blindingly white persona and smile.

And for VP?? I would bet some major bucks it will be Paul Ryan from Wisconsin. A scary agenda packaged in a "family friendly" and fairly bright way.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Ryan_(politician)

He is up and coming and just recently earning some national attention. Of course there is that small problem of seeming to be against all Medicare, but who will notice that with all that hair and teeth and cute kids??

[blue_onyx]

10. I'm not sure if he's a "dark horse"

but I think Jeb Bush will be the nominee.

[alsame]

17. With Liz Cheney as VP...Bush/Cheney part deux nt

[Garam_Masala]

18. Another Bush? No way in 2012..

may be in 2016 since voter memories are notoriously short.

[countingbluecars]

12. Governor elect of Virginia,

Bob McDonnell.

[Perky]

16. Virginian here....Not a chance in Hell

This was a race to see who was less boring

[countingbluecars]

20. I hope you are right. n/t

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

13. "What a collection of assholes!"..... To quote Thomas Jefferson. nt

[Ter]

14. I'm rooting for Rand Paul to spoil it in 2012

Hopefully, he wins next year (no way Kentucky isn't going Republican anyway in mid-term elections, so stop it). The neo-cons despise him, and he could highly divide the Republicans anyway.

Moral of my statement: If you absolutely have to have a Republican in office (Kentucky), have him/her as someone who will split the party.

[damntexdem]

15. GOP dark horses are all asses.

But so are their palin horses.

[Garam_Masala]

21. Not really

It is more like horse's asses.

[Garam_Masala]

22. To sum it up, I think it is WIDE OPEN in 2012

which nominee will emerge. Regardless who it is, they all have baggage
which can be unearthed.

[saltpoint]

23. I could see Coburn running to block Palin, then withdrawing in a demur

blush, hoping for the veep nom.

[jeanpalmer]

24. Lindsey Graham also is positioning himself

for a run imo. MOving toward the middle. He's more of a personality than the other clowns.

[grantcart]

27. Lindsey Graham is coming under severe attack by the right in SC

If this keeps up he could lose his seat in a primary challenge.

[jeanpalmer]

28. True, it looks that way

but he has to soften his hard right image, and he's willing to temporarily alienate some of his supporters to get broader support. That's what his cap and tax is all about. Four years from now when he has to run for reelection, he'll run hard right and all will be forgiven and forgotten.

He has always struck me as having higher ambitions. He is more outspoken and articulate than someone like Thune. That's always an attention grabber for the right. I really don't see much competition for him. He's an ideologue. The bureaucrats like Pawlenty and Thune won't be able to compete, let alone an idiot like Palin. Grahanm is Palin with a brain.

[saltpoint]

25. It makes you wonder why Rick Santorum and George Pataki weren't

included.

And there are probably people even worse than that as well.

[Garam_Masala]

31. I can understand Pataki...but Santorum?

Heck he could'nt even win in his own state, PA.

[saltpoint]

33. Yep -- his own Pennsylvania folks tossed him out of the Senate.

Poor Rick.

[Arkana]

26. A black guy--Senator Negro Q. McBlackerton.

His campaign slogan will be "LOOK LOOK WE HAVE A BLACK GUY!"

[Indenturedebtor]

29. Hahaha as much as I could see the pukes being that stupid and insulting

they wouldn't dare inflame their KKK base. The Repuglicans are notoriously racist.

[Garam_Masala]

You got a point...may be Blackwell of Ohio fame? eom

[Colobo]

30. Thune and Perry are the strongest of the bunch.

[DU GrovelBot]

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[saltpoint]

34. One "computer model" might well have a dark horse candidate

emerging fromthe dust of the rivalry between Willard and Huck to eventually triumph over the loonies supporting Palin.

Iowa is dangerous ground for the GOP. Caucuses there can be predictable, or not. Rev. Pat Robertson has done as well there in a GOP as Mitt Romney. It can depend on the mix and the shift and the shake, rattle, and roll.

Here's a name: Susan Collins. Say she runs for her party's nomination, places an impressive second or an encouraging third in Iowa and then wins in New Hampshire a week later.

[AlinPA]

35. Palin will overshadow Thune. She has the media on her side. Teabaggers

won't find him interesting and fundamentalists and other wackos won't either. The base would snub him.

[rvablue]

36. As soon as I saw this picture today, I got a sudden feeling this is who the GOP powers that be might

try to recruit:



He's knowledgable, serious and now has some serious foreign policy experience. Doubtful the tea-baggers and freepers would go for it, since he's a "traitor" for serving in the Obama administration.

But I just got a flicker this could be a possibility, if not in 2012, as Huntsman actually might exhibit some loyalty, but I would look out for this guy in 2016. Definitely an antedote to the anti-intellectual, hysterical Palin mob.

[LatteLibertine]

37. I don't get the Palin thing

She abandoned her oath and office to make money. I suppose greed over all is a good conservative value.

On a side note, If the Republicans want to run a black man they should look up Uncle Ruckus, he'd fit right in.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_Ruckus

[iceman66]

38. Cheney all the way!

Unless Alan Keyes is up for a rematch!