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List your top 5 republican candidates.

liblady said:
there are a lot of huntsman supporters here, even lefties. why do you suppose he's so far down in the polls?
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I've gone over it more in depth in various places I think but in general...

Media Portrayal...both sides of the media mindlessly paint him right off the bat as a "moderate" which is a very narrow minded and rather inaccurate description of him. However, in the current climate, it does him no serivce.

Questionable history regarding two big things for the grass roots right now...immigratoin and environmental regulation.

Problems explaining away his problems...almost every negative policy issue a conservative has with him could pretty easily be negated or explained away to some extent. However he's having a hard time articulating that

****ty campaign strategy...rather than trying to simply focus on all the conservative aspects he's absolutely great one and avoiding some of the ones he's not, he's seemingly attempting to embrace the places where he parts with the stereotype which is not helpful for a primary.

Didn't have the name recognition or appealing story to get attention.

To my first point, Dav is a poster to talk to about Huntsman and his change in opinion of him from what he originally heard/read and then what he found out after talking to me and actually looking up info on him independently.
 
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Zyphlin said:
I've gone over it more in depth in various places I think but in general...

Media Portrayal...both sides of the media mindlessly paint him right off the bat as a "moderate" which is a very narrow minded and rather inaccurate description of him. However, in the current climate, it does him no serivce.

Questionable history regarding two big things for the grass roots right now...immigratoin and environmental regulation.

Problems explaining away his problems...almost every negative policy issue a conservative has with him could pretty easily be negated or explained away to some extent. However he's having a hard time articulating that

****ty campaign strategy...rather than trying to simply focus on all the conservative aspects he's absolutely great one and avoiding some of the ones he's not, he's seemingly attempting to embrace the places where he parts with the stereotype which is not helpful for a primary.

Didn't have the name recognition or appealing story to get attention.

To my first point, Dav is a poster to talk to about Huntsman and his change in opinion of him from what he originally heard/read and then what he found out after talking to me and actually looking up info on him independently.
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ok...but i sure don't think "moderate" is narrow minded........and neither do lefties who are disenchanted. the tide is turning, a majority of americans want tax increases on the wealthy, and most of us don't want idealogues like bachmann. huntsman would sell to the middle, even moreso than perry, i think. thanks, and i will at some point talk with dav.
 
liblady said:
there are a lot of huntsman supporters here, even lefties. why do you suppose he's so far down in the polls?
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Because most people don't pay any attention to actual records they just listen to what the media tells them. If they looked up actual records, actual stances on positions (outside of a select few wedge issues like gay marriage, abortion, and climate change), and looked at actual results I think the GOP race would be much much different. If we're going on straight qualifications and results Jon Huntsman far and away is the man. An Ambassador, a successful Governor, and a businessman. Gary Johnson's up there too if we want to look at results and records.

I'm not one of these people who thinks that it's a great thing if a candidate has zero political experience. Herman Cain has no experience and he seems to tout that as his sole qualification. In any other area of life, business, health care, law enforcement, etc. we want the most qualified and experienced candidate for the job. Politics is the only area where we think it's a great thing if someone's a naivete.
 
liblady said:
ok...but i sure don't think "moderate" is narrow minded
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Its narrow minded in the sense that people mindlessly label Huntsman as a moderate. You yourself highlight my above point when you talk about Americans wanting tax increases on the wealthy as some kind of reason why they'd support Huntsman. I guess "narrow minded" isn't the right word as much as perhaps tunnel visioned. Its one of those he gets called a Moderate, he doesn't agree with one or two hot button issues, so he must be a moderate! However calling him a "moderate" implies he's somehow overall a moderate which isn't really the case. He's not moderate fiscally, he's conservative. He's not moderate governmentally, he's conservative. He's moderate regarding Defense only if you're going off modern neo-conservative ideology and not traditional conservativsm. He's moderate only in regards to social issues really, and even then its not even that far towards the center.

Huntsman cut taxes to historic levels in Utah, implimented a flat tax in one case, and was rated the best governor in the nation on taxes in a conservative sense during his tenure as governor. There's no reason at all to believe that Huntsman would jump on the "just increase the wealthy's taxes" bandwagon other than people simply buying into the media creation of what he supposedly is.

Huntsman is okay with civil unions, is okay with possibly looking at a path to citizenship but only after fully securing the border, and he's okay with environmental regulations as long as its not too stringent on businesses.

Somehow, those three or four issues equals "moderate". He's one of the strongest fiscal conservatives in the race, significantly dropping taxes and slowing the rate of government growth and spending compared to his economic growth. He had Utah rated exceptionally well in terms of Job Creation atmosphere due to a very pro-business, pro-growth, pro-deregulation policy agenda. He supported and signed into law consumer focused, market driven health care reform for his state. He's pro-life. He's pro-2nd amendment. He's for strong securing of the border. He's a fan of the Ryan plan. He's in favor of lowering government spending.
 
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cpwill said:
1. Mitch Daniels
2. Paul Ryan
3. Mitch Daniels and Paul Ryan
4. Paul Ryan and Mitch Daniels
5. Rick Perry
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Paul Ryan needs a 13 month tour in combat then I "think" I might remember who he is
 
neocon1225 said:
Because most people don't pay any attention to actual records they just listen to what the media tells them. If they looked up actual records, actual stances on positions (outside of a select few wedge issues like gay marriage, abortion, and climate change), and looked at actual results I think the GOP race would be much much different. If we're going on straight qualifications and results Jon Huntsman far and away is the man. An Ambassador, a successful Governor, and a businessman. Gary Johnson's up there too if we want to look at results and records.

I'm not one of these people who thinks that it's a great thing if a candidate has zero political experience. Herman Cain has no experience and he seems to tout that as his sole qualification. In any other area of life, business, health care, law enforcement, etc. we want the most qualified and experienced candidate for the job. Politics is the only area where we think it's a great thing if someone's a naivete.
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I agree with this. Especially your second paragraph.


Zyphlin said:
Its narrow minded in the sense that people mindlessly label Huntsman as a moderate. You yourself highlight my above point when you talk about Americans wanting tax increases on the wealthy as some kind of reason why they'd support Huntsman. I guess "narrow minded" isn't the right word as much as perhaps tunnel visioned. Its one of those he gets called a Moderate, he doesn't agree with one or two hot button issues, so he must be a moderate! However calling him a "moderate" implies he's somehow overall a moderate which isn't really the case. He's not moderate fiscally, he's conservative. He's not moderate governmentally, he's conservative. He's moderate regarding Defense only if you're going off modern neo-conservative ideology and not traditional conservativsm. He's moderate only in regards to social issues really, and even then its not even that far towards the center.

Huntsman cut taxes to historic levels in Utah, implimented a flat tax in one case, and was rated the best governor in the nation on taxes in a conservative sense during his tenure as governor. There's no reason at all to believe that Huntsman would jump on the "just increase the wealthy's taxes" bandwagon other than people simply buying into the media creation of what he supposedly is.

Huntsman is okay with civil unions, is okay with possibly looking at a path to citizenship but only after fully securing the border, and he's okay with environmental regulations as long as its not too stringent on businesses.

Somehow, those three or four issues equals "moderate". He's one of the strongest fiscal conservatives in the race, significantly dropping taxes and slowing the rate of government growth and spending compared to his economic growth. He had Utah rated exceptionally well in terms of Job Creation atmosphere due to a very pro-business, pro-growth, pro-deregulation policy agenda. He supported and signed into law consumer focused, market driven health care reform for his state. He's pro-life. He's pro-2nd amendment. He's for strong securing of the border. He's a fan of the Ryan plan. He's in favor of lowering government spending.
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In a relative sense, compared to pretty all the others in the Republican primaries, I can see why people would think he's moderate.
 
Zyphlin said:
Its narrow minded in the sense that people mindlessly label Huntsman as a moderate. You yourself highlight my above point when you talk about Americans wanting tax increases on the wealthy as some kind of reason why they'd support Huntsman. I guess "narrow minded" isn't the right word as much as perhaps tunnel visioned. Its one of those he gets called a Moderate, he doesn't agree with one or two hot button issues, so he must be a moderate! However calling him a "moderate" implies he's somehow overall a moderate which isn't really the case. He's not moderate fiscally, he's conservative. He's not moderate governmentally, he's conservative. He's moderate regarding Defense only if you're going off modern neo-conservative ideology and not traditional conservativsm. He's moderate only in regards to social issues really, and even then its not even that far towards the center.

Huntsman cut taxes to historic levels in Utah, implimented a flat tax in one case, and was rated the best governor in the nation on taxes in a conservative sense during his tenure as governor. There's no reason at all to believe that Huntsman would jump on the "just increase the wealthy's taxes" bandwagon other than people simply buying into the media creation of what he supposedly is.

Huntsman is okay with civil unions, is okay with possibly looking at a path to citizenship but only after fully securing the border, and he's okay with environmental regulations as long as its not too stringent on businesses.

Somehow, those three or four issues equals "moderate". He's one of the strongest fiscal conservatives in the race, significantly dropping taxes and slowing the rate of government growth and spending compared to his economic growth. He had Utah rated exceptionally well in terms of Job Creation atmosphere due to a very pro-business, pro-growth, pro-deregulation policy agenda. He supported and signed into law consumer focused, market driven health care reform for his state. He's pro-life. He's pro-2nd amendment. He's for strong securing of the border. He's a fan of the Ryan plan. He's in favor of lowering government spending.
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Spot on, spot on! If only more Americans would actually look at records and not rhetoric. I hate that 3 or 4 (generally non-important in the grand scheme of things) issues are all that matters and define who you are. I hate that the far right dominates and controls the GOP nominating process because good men like Jon Huntsman get ignored before they even have a shot and even decent guys like Mitt Romney have problems. The problem is in order to get nominated moderate candidates are forced to drive hard to the right, and then when they get to the general election they have problems coming back to the center.
 
neocon1225 said:
even decent guys like Mitt Romney have problems.
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How is Mitt Romney a decent guy?!

I still find support for him strange. We can not trust him at all, and some of his opinions are dumber than most of Michele Bachmanns opinions. Come on, do we want to support a candidate that wants to create a trade war with China. To be honest, I probably support Michele Bachmann in front of Mitt Romney. At least she will lose against Obama, and Jon Huntsman may get the chance during the next election.
 
GARY JOHNSON
read this article and see if this is not an honest, forthcoming candidate who should be the next president of the USA: Gary Johnson, Republican Presidential Candidate: Politics: GQ
MORE JOHNSON, LESS WEINER
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... outlines his main—and most radical—position: to slash the federal budget by 43 percent. That's the number it would take to erase the deficit right now. This can be done, he says. Ya think? And he'd do it by, among other things, eliminating the Department of Education (he says he'd give all those billions to the states, minus 43 percent, and let them decide what's best, because "this whole idea that Washington knows best? That's why we're bankrupt"); bringing our troops home, particularly from all peaceful countries (he thinks it's absurd that we have tens of thousands of troops in Europe); and "rebooting" the federal tax code with a "fair tax" that would abolish the entire IRS ("Imagine that!") and would tax consumption, not income, "because it's, well, fair."
... stop pissing away money on border patrols and erecting fences and walls across the Mexican border, and let immigrants earn work visas "and actually contribute to our economy.
... [as NM governor] he managed to improve the state while slashing the budget. He vetoed 750 spending bills, knew how to strong-arm the Democratic-controlled state house and senate, and reinvented the state agencies. He also signed a bill to let New Mexicans drive seventy-five miles per hour on highways, and another one to let them buy beer on Sundays. ("Why not? That's a stupid rule. People can make their own decisions about what day of the week they want a beer.")
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distant #2. Colin Powell
#3. Ron Paul
#4. Jeb Bush
#5. Christie
 
None. There isn't a single member of the Republican Party who has placed themselves in contention for the nomination that I would vote for under ANY circumstances.
 
Tigger said:
None. There isn't a single member of the Republican Party who has placed themselves in contention for the nomination that I would vote for under ANY circumstances.
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given your expressed political disposition, i can imagine only some place such as north korea would offer up candidates meeting your criteria, as identified in the post below:
Tigger said:
One which requires those who are involved in its operation and decision making apparatuse to be Informed, Competent, Educated, and to actually have a stake in the decisions being made. There is a reason that Land-Ownership was a requirement for the Right to Vote at the founding of this country. There are also legitimate reasons why only Men were allowed the Right. Male Land-Owners were the one group of people who were likely to be Educated, Informed, Competent and Understanding of the Issues of the Day, and to actually be able to make a reasonable choice based on Logic. As we have opened the Right to Vote up to the greater unwashed masses of the citizenry we have seen a steep and decided drop-off in the quality of the candidates, the office holders, and the quality of the election and political process in general. There are other factors in that decline, but the inclusion of the masses in the process is a large part of it.
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justabubba said:
given your expressed political disposition, i can imagine only some place such as north korea would offer up candidates meeting your criteria, as identified in the post below:
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LOL. As of right now I am more likely to cast a ballot for BARRACK OBAMA than I am for any of the Republican nominees. Hopefully it doesn't come to that because an independent candidate steps up who is worthy of my support; but barring that I will likely be voting for the GREATER EVIL next November. For comparison, I voted for Chuck Baldwin of the Constitution Party in the last Presidential Election.
 
1) Jon Huntsman
2) Mitt Romney
3) Gary Johnson
4) Newt Gingrich
5) This one's kind of a stretch - but Ron Paul.
 
1. Marco Rubio
2. Jeb Bush
3. Chris Christy
4. Mitt Romney
5. Newt Gingrich
 
1. Jon Huntsman
2. Chris Christie
3. Jeb Bush
4. Mitt Romney
5. Ron Paul
 
1.)Mitt Romney
2.)Ron Paul
3.)Thats it ive gone to far
 
1. Ron Paul
2. Jon Huntsman
3. Gary Johnson
4.
5.

I couldn't make it to 4. It's like choosing between a douche and a turd sandwich.
 
Top 5 Republican Candidates that I would like to see as President:

1. John Huntsman
2. none
3. none
4. none
5. none

Top 5 to get the GOP nomination
1. Cain
2. Gingrich
3. Perry
4. Bachman
5. Paul
 
1) Gary Johnson
2) Jon Hunstman
3) Ron Paul
4) Fred Karger
5) Kermit the Frog
 
poweRob said:
1) Gary Johnson
2) Jon Hunstman
3) Ron Paul
4) Fred Karger
5) Kermit the Frog
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Forgot one so I'll edit my list:

1) Gary Johnson
2) Buddy Roemer
3) Jon Hunstman
4) Ron Paul
5) Fred Karger
 
1. Gary Johnson
2. That lizard in the car insurance commercials.
 
poweRob said:
Forgot one so I'll edit my list:

1) Gary Johnson
2) Buddy Roemer
3) Jon Hunstman
4) Ron Paul
5) Fred Karger
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like Gary Johnson, wish Buddy Roemer was not left out and forgotten. that would make one hell of a great ticket
 
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