The 2016 US Election (Part I)

[Dalton]

Rick Perry has announced

[Ace Pace]

Since this seems to be a common theme in GOP elections, what precisely is the GOP's gain in this wide field of candidates?

[Borgholio]

Since this seems to be a common theme in GOP elections, what precisely is the GOP's gain in this wide field of candidates?

Try and out-conservative each other until they get the nomination, then flip-flop back to the middle and lose to the Democrats.

[Pelranius]

Since this seems to be a common theme in GOP elections, what precisely is the GOP's gain in this wide field of candidates?

A lot of the candidates seem to be angling for some sort of Fox News show after the primaries are done, or to draw attention to their own pet issues (Lindsay Graham).

Now the GOP seemed to want to avoid a repeat of the 2012 primaries, but with all that sweet Super PAC money rolling around, it could be even worse (for them) this time around.

[Civil War Man]

Add a fourth Democrat - Lincoln Chafee just announced.

And you posting that sentence here is probably the biggest impact his candidacy will have on the election. I agree with a lot of his positions (pro-choice, pro-marriage equality, voted against the Iraq War and Bush tax cuts in the Senate, etc), but I think he'd be in way over his head as President. When I first heard that he was considering running, I thought it was a joke.

[Dalton]

He soft-launched his campaign a couple months ago on various media outlets, but was careful to say he was "exploring" a run (though he let slip a few times that he WAS running). Since then he's been more or less quiet until now, and every Dem voice aside from Hillary is being drowned out by the relentless cavalcade of GOP candidates looking for book deals and Fox paychecks.

[KroLazuxy_87]

DNC declines Sanders' request for more debates

By Jess Wisloski | June 9, 2015

Just days after the Bernie Sanders campaign launched a petition — and media push — urging the Democratic National Committee to hold more presidential debates starting this summer, he had amassed a list of nearly 100,000 electronic signatures supporting the request.

His efforts were both public, in a letter to the DNC, and in private appeals to his supporters.

"In my view, the candidates for president should engage in a series of debates beginning this summer," his petition read, the same as the text of his letter to DNC chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, D-Fla.

The Democratic National Committee told VTDigger on Friday that it received Sanders' message but that the original plan to host six debates was going to stand.

"We're thrilled to see the Senator is eager to participate in our debates," DNC spokeswoman Holly Shulman wrote in an email, and "... we believe that six debates will give plenty of opportunity for the candidates to be seen side-by-side."

Sanders is one of four Democrats seeking the 2016 presidential nomination. Also announced are former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley and former Rhode Island Sen. Lincoln Chafee.

"... we believe that six debates will give plenty of opportunity for the candidates to be seen side-by-side."

[Crossroads Inc.]

Meanwhile...Santorum shows he's not QUITE as popular as he thinks he is. From POLTICO

One voter shows up at Santorum event in Iowa

At first, one was the loneliest number for Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum on Monday.
Just one Iowan showed up at 2 p.m. campaign stop Monday at a restaurant in the unincorporated community of Hamlin, population 300, according to a report from The Des Moines Register — Peggy Toft, an insurance agent who chairs the county’s Republican Party.
Story Continued Below

“We didn’t have a lot of notice that he was going to be there,” Toft said in a telephone interview with POLITICO, explaining the low turnout.
But even she would not endorse Santorum outright.
The Audubon County Republican chair said that she is “leaning” toward supporting Santorum but has not yet made a decision about whom she would support in the caucus.
“I feel like I have to get all of the facts,” she said.
The presidential candidate spoke for about 10 minutes one-on-one with Toft, outlining what differentiates him from the rest of the Republican field, she said.
Toft said she agrees with Santorum’s views on the Affordable Care Act, marriage, family and his overall conservative views.
The two also discussed Santorum’s business experience.
“It helps a lot as far as grassroots,” she said. “Should I decide to vote for him, I will get the word out.”
Eventually, there were four Iowans gathered at Santorum’s table (not counting photographers and campaign aides), where the 2016 hopeful lunched on a breaded tenderloin with a side of onion rings.


Santorum told the Register that the low turnout was not surprising, but that it is all a part of the plan.
“It’s not glamorous, and you’re not out there raising money, but you’re doing what the money is ultimately supposed to do — getting votes,” Santorum told the Register. “This is a lot more fun than being on the phone raising money.”
The lunch stopover in Hamlin came during the former Pennsylvania senator’s latest swing through the crucial early-primary state, where he narrowly prevailed over Mitt Romney by just 34 votes in the 2012 caucus.
He drew a slightly larger crowd in nearby Panora, Iowa, when 10 people showed up to ask him questions about his positions at a telecommunications company.
While posing for photos outside Darrell’s Place, Santorum called the event a success, emphasizing the importance of every vote in the caucus system.
“People don’t understand. One guy in there said, ‘I’ll speak for you at the caucus,’” Santorum said. “That’s maybe eight votes that you wouldn’t otherwise get. Eight votes can make a big difference, as I know.”
In 2011, Santorum visited all 99 counties in Iowa, a tour chronicled by the 2013 documentary “Caucus,” he noted.


Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/06/r ... z3cf254MAt

To be fair, he did this in a town with barely 300 people...
That said, who on earth would think it's a good idea to hold a meeting on such a short notice in such a small town? I can guarantee you "Only One person shows up" is all anyone will be talking about in regards to Frothy for the next month!

[Pelranius]

Is Victor Freiss (sp) still financially supporting the Human Stain?

[Dalton]

I dunno, six debates is quite a few. Too many debates and the public will start getting fatigued.

[KroLazuxy_87]

I dunno, six debates is quite a few. Too many debates and the public will start getting fatigued.

I don't think debates are what 'fatigue' the populace. With the internet, attack ads, and the 24hr cable news cycle, I doubt debates contribute much to that. We've got 17 months until the general election. I think some more time to actually see the candidates talking about the issues would be better.

[Irbis]

I don't think debates are what 'fatigue' the populace.

Didn't one study found out that you're lucky these days if people watch 15 minutes of one debate, as vast majority of them switches channel before doing that? It would be different in big debate just before the election, but preliminary with 6 or 8 people with mostly the same views, just differing in details, it's kind of hard to energize anyone into watching that.

[Dalton]

I watched most of the last VP debate because it was fucking entertaining.

Listening to a gaggle of mostly old white men yammer on about who hates gays/poors/immigrants/muslims/Obama the most will wear out fucking quickly.

[Borgholio]

The last VP debate was less a debate and more a clubbing of a baby seal. I almost felt sorry for Ryan. Almost.

[The Romulan Republic]

I don't think debates are what 'fatigue' the populace.

Didn't one study found out that you're lucky these days if people watch 15 minutes of one debate, as vast majority of them switches channel before doing that? It would be different in big debate just before the election, but preliminary with 6 or 8 people with mostly the same views, just differing in details, it's kind of hard to energize anyone into watching that.

I watch at least some of the Presidential/Vice Presidential debates, and I'll probably watch at least some of the Democratic Primary debates this time around if they're on any of the TV channels here, just so I can see the fun of Bernie Sanders taking on Hilary Clinton. But I honestly don't know if I'll bother to more than glance at the GOP debates.

[Dalton]

Jebbie to announce at 3pm

[Pelranius]

I wonder how his Super PAC apparently (according to the Washington Post) won't make their goal of $100 million by the end of June?

[Pelranius]

The Donald is running, and he's going to claim a $9 billion net worth.

Donald Trump will declare $9 billion in assets as he reveals 2016 plans

By Robert Costa and Matea Gold

Donald J. Trump, the billionaire real estate mogul, on Tuesday will release a summary of assets that total about $9 billion as part of his likely entry into the race for the Republican presidential nomination, according to people familiar with his plans.

The two-page document — to be published after he holds a political rally at Trump Tower in New York — will provide a valuation of his hotels and other properties. It also will show hundreds of millions in cash on hand and an outline of his debts, these people said.

The details that he will reveal Tuesday will provide one of the first looks at the worth of the real estate and television empire that the colorful impresario has amassed — one whose value has been debated avidly.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/ ... feafdd1394

So Mr. Priebus, what happened to the serious 2016 primary you wanted to run?

[SpottedKitty]

<headdesk>

The comment I came across a couple of weeks ago is looking more apt all the time; it isn't a clown car this time, it's a minibus.

[Pelranius]

I think Mitt was onto something when he decided to skip 2016.

So we've got Trump and Carson, I pity the primary debate moderator that has to keep them physically away from Jeb.

[Dalton]

Oh man, I hope they ALL have a chance to debate each other. I hope they tear each other apart for months on end until the final blood is drawn at the RNC.

[SpottedKitty]

The Donald is running,

Was anyone else utterly becroggled to learn which music he chose for his triumphal entry onto the stage?

Neil Young's Rockin' in the Free World.

(Hint: Young is not a fan.)

At this point I'm not sure if pointing and laughing is even necessary to display to the world how much of a great big trump he is...

[Gandalf]

I look forward to The Donald's dropping out just before assets are declared and the next season of The Celebrity Apprentice.

Oh man, I hope they ALL have a chance to debate each other. I hope they tear each other apart for months on end until the final blood is drawn at the RNC.

They should just steal an idea from major sports leagues, and declare divisions of candidates. The winners of each division face each other in the finals on the eve of the Iowa caucus.

[KroLazuxy_87]

Per SpottedKitty's comment about Trump's music choice:

Neil Young to Donald Trump: Don't Rock in My Free World

The rocker also endorses Bernie Sanders.
—By David Corn | Tue Jun. 16, 2015 5:07 PM EDT

When Donald Trump strode on to the stage at Trump Tower on Tuesday to announce that he would enter the Republican race for president, a rock and roll anthem blared: Neil Young’s "Rockin’ in the Free World." It was an odd choice, given that the 1989 song seemed to slam a Republican administration for not giving a damn about the poor. And Young has taken exception to Trump's appropriation of his tune. A statement issued to Mother Jones for Young by his longtime manager Elliot Roberts suggests Young was not pleased by Trump's use of the song:

Donald Trump's use of "Rockin' in the Free World" was not authorized. Mr. Young is a longtime supporter of Bernie Sanders.

In other words, it may be a free world, but you're not free to steal my song.

[The Romulan Republic]

I'd fucking love it if he sued Trump's ass off for copyright infringement.