AtlanticLeague
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Why did the GOP candidates suck?
Why didn't anyone stronger try to run against President Obama?
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04-25-2012 03:55 PM |
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DrTorch
Proved mach and GTS to be liars
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RE: Why did the GOP candidates suck?
Because the banks hold a lot of power.
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04-25-2012 04:04 PM |
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AtlanticLeague
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RE: Why did the GOP candidates suck?
(04-25-2012 04:04 PM)DrTorch Wrote: Because the banks hold a lot of power.
Go on...
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04-25-2012 04:08 PM |
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Lord Stanley
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RE: Why did the GOP candidates suck?
I wondered this as well, and I really think it is nothing but bad timing. If 2012 was 2016, you might of had Ryan, Rubio, Christie, and Paul instead of the current crop of has been, wannabees and self aggradizers + Romney.
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04-25-2012 04:11 PM |
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Max Power
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RE: Why did the GOP candidates suck?
Because the GOP sucks?
Daniels, Barbour, Christie, Huckabee etc didn't run because they knew Obama is a master campaigner and will get reelected and want to face a presumably weaker candidate in 2016. So that left you with the pizza guy, the PA senator who got booted by a record margin in '06, a disgraced former speaker, Bachmann ("Barack Obama will be a one-term president!" "And you will be a no-term president so STFU!") and Romney, who felt he was next in line.
(This post was last modified: 04-25-2012 04:20 PM by Max Power.)
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04-25-2012 04:20 PM |
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AtlanticLeague
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RE: Why did the GOP candidates suck?
(04-25-2012 04:11 PM)Lord Stanley Wrote: I wondered this as well, and I really think it is nothing but bad timing. If 2012 was 2016, you might of had Ryan, Rubio, Christie, and Paul instead of the current crop of has been, wannabees and self aggradizers + Romney.
The timing is a gamble on the economy. If it continues to improve, it will be hard (if not impossible) to defeat President Obama.
If the economy tanks, then you defeat President Obama but now have to deal with the economy.
It's a lose-lose. Might as well wait until 2016.
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04-25-2012 04:21 PM |
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Brookes Owl
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RE: Why did the GOP candidates suck?
(04-25-2012 04:21 PM)AtlanticLeague Wrote: (04-25-2012 04:11 PM)Lord Stanley Wrote: I wondered this as well, and I really think it is nothing but bad timing. If 2012 was 2016, you might of had Ryan, Rubio, Christie, and Paul instead of the current crop of has been, wannabees and self aggradizers + Romney.
The timing is a gamble on the economy. If it continues to improve, it will be hard (if not impossible) to defeat President Obama.
If the economy tanks, then you defeat President Obama but now have to deal with the economy.
It's a lose-lose. Might as well wait until 2016.
AL, that's an interesting theory.
In general, incumbents are harder to defeat. Only Ford, Carter, and GHWB haven't been elected as incumbents since Wilson beat Taft in 1916. And, of course, Ford wasn't elected originally. It stands to reason that savvy, capable potential candidates wait until an incumbent is term limited out (or decides not to run). I've mentioned before that this feels a little like 2004. Going into the election GWB's popularity was not very good and many thought the election was the D's to lose. But it ended up being a weak/flawed D field.
(This post was last modified: 04-25-2012 04:53 PM by Brookes Owl.)
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04-25-2012 04:52 PM |
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smn1256
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RE: Why did the GOP candidates suck?
(04-25-2012 03:55 PM)AtlanticLeague Wrote: Why didn't anyone stronger try to run against President Obama?
Don't count all your chickens yet, Obama was an unknown underdog 4 years ago.
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04-25-2012 07:24 PM |
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georgia_tech_swagger
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RE: Why did the GOP candidates suck?
A strong person did run. The problem wasn't the candidate.
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04-25-2012 07:50 PM |
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wvucrazed
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RE: Why did the GOP candidates suck?
Part of it is that there is a huge disconnect between what is needed to win a GOP primary and what is needed to win the general election in November - and the top GOP politicians know this. You run for President, you really can't predict how you're going to come out of it. It's a huge political gamble. Obama remains popular and he will be difficult to beat. The GOP really attracted fringe candidates for the most part this cycle but I expect that to change in 4 years.
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04-25-2012 08:13 PM |
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swagsurfer11
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RE: Why did the GOP candidates suck?
Short answer....because they didn't think they could win. JEB would have been the strongest candidate but Huckabee, Thune, Jindal, Pataki, Guilani could have done well. Rick Perry was a strong candidate but he was completely unprepared. Believe it or not, he had no intention of running for president.
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04-25-2012 09:13 PM |
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UM2001GRAD
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RE: Why did the GOP candidates suck?
The bottom line is that the polling didn't indicate a good chance of beating the President.
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04-25-2012 09:32 PM |
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Ninerfan1
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Why did the GOP candidates suck?
The myth of Obama's invincibility.
The idea that Obama is some master campaigner is a liberal wet dream. Hope and change won't cut it this time around.
I'm sure many had no desire to run or didn't want to deal with what would come their way if they did. It's been known for sometime that Obama's strategy would be to divide the electorate and trash his opponent without mercy because he's failed as president. It takes a fair amount of gumption to be willing to put yourself and your family through that. Plus you have to battle a media establishment that will march in lockstep with Obama and do all that is possible, again, to ensure his reelection.
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04-26-2012 07:04 AM |
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UCF08
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RE: Why did the GOP candidates suck?
(04-26-2012 07:04 AM)Ninerfan1 Wrote: The myth of Obama's invincibility.
The idea that Obama is some master campaigner is a liberal wet dream. Hope and change won't cut it this time around.
I'm sure many had no desire to run or didn't want to deal with what would come their way if they did. It's been known for sometime that Obama's strategy would be to divide the electorate and trash his opponent without mercy because he's failed as president. It takes a fair amount of gumption to be willing to put yourself and your family through that. Plus you have to battle a media establishment that will march in lockstep with Obama and do all that is possible, again, to ensure his reelection.
lol riiiiiiight
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04-27-2012 11:27 AM |
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Bull_In_Exile
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RE: Why did the GOP candidates suck?
They sucked this year because the GOP is about taking "your turn"
There is no way Dole was the best candidate in 96, and Bush I sure as heck was not the best in 88...
This was "Mitts Turn" had Mitt been an actual conservative there would have been fewer people like Bachman even in the race.
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04-27-2012 11:31 AM |
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Ninerfan1
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Why did the GOP candidates suck?
(04-27-2012 11:27 AM)UCF08 Wrote: (04-26-2012 07:04 AM)Ninerfan1 Wrote: The myth of Obama's invincibility.
The idea that Obama is some master campaigner is a liberal wet dream. Hope and change won't cut it this time around.
I'm sure many had no desire to run or didn't want to deal with what would come their way if they did. It's been known for sometime that Obama's strategy would be to divide the electorate and trash his opponent without mercy because he's failed as president. It takes a fair amount of gumption to be willing to put yourself and your family through that. Plus you have to battle a media establishment that will march in lockstep with Obama and do all that is possible, again, to ensure his reelection.
lol riiiiiiight
Who could argue with such a well reasoned argument? Well done.
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04-27-2012 11:38 AM |
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nomad2u2001
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RE: Why did the GOP candidates suck?
Because Ron Paul is an "extremist"
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04-27-2012 11:39 AM |
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GrayBeard
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RE: Why did the GOP candidates suck?
(04-27-2012 11:39 AM)nomad2u2001 Wrote: Because Ron Paul is an "extreme nut"
FIFY
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04-27-2012 02:11 PM |
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Max Power
Not Rod Carey
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RE: Why did the GOP candidates suck?
(04-27-2012 02:11 PM)Pot Wrote: (04-27-2012 11:39 AM)nomad2u2001 Wrote: Because Kettle is "black"
FIFY
FIFY
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04-27-2012 02:13 PM |
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aTxTIGER
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RE: Why did the GOP candidates suck?
You assume there were actually good candidates to run. The Presidency has become an office such that only the most narcissistic of an already narcissistic group would want it. At that point, you are left with demagogues and a Etch-a-sketch on the right and Obama on the left.
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04-27-2012 02:14 PM |
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