Does the crowded GOP potus candidates field risk there being an unpopular nominee?

Re: Does the crowded GOP potus candidates field risk there being an unpopular nominee

CanadaJohn said:

I could be wrong, and stand to be corrected, but Jeb Bush is far more in line with social conservatives in the Republican Party than either Rubio and Paul, he's just quietly so. He will be attractive to social conservatives, when the likes of Huckabee and Santorum inevitably drop out, in a way that Paul definitely and Rubio likely will not. Add to that his perception as a moderate, simply because he isn't strident, and you have the recipe for a conservative Republican President who can garner the support of the Reagan Democrats, to the extent they still exist.

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Jeb loses social conservatives with his Immigration stance and with Common Core (of which he is a big proponent, but which social conservatives actively loathe. Ditto for Huckabee); Rubio is actually slightly more socially conservative. Interestingly, Rubio is still able to present his positions more cheerfully and gracefully, whereas Jeb seems to carry around the same disdain for his base that helped doom Huntsman.

Re: Does the crowded GOP potus candidates field risk there being an unpopular nominee

cpwill said:

Jeb loses social conservatives with his Immigration stance and with Common Core (of which he is a big proponent, but which social conservatives actively loathe. Ditto for Huckabee); Rubio is actually slightly more socially conservative. Interestingly, Rubio is still able to present his positions more cheerfully and gracefully, whereas Jeb seems to carry around the same disdain for his base that helped doom Huntsman.

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I'm slightly confused at the suggestion that Common Core is a truly "social" issue rather than a more typical dialogue about the scope of government in government affairs.

Oh well, I find it rather sad. Common Core is an ineffective means of pressuring schools to do better. Nevertheless it seems that conservatives have lost the guts to use government to ram reform through the schools like they used to. The Reagan administration was perfectly happy with the concept of putting more standardization and pressure on the schools to properly utilize tax payer money.

This was a conservative education movement, but now they are ceding ground to liberals.

Re: Does the crowded GOP potus candidates field risk there being an unpopular nominee

cpwill said:

Jeb loses social conservatives with his Immigration stance and with Common Core (of which he is a big proponent, but which social conservatives actively loathe. Ditto for Huckabee); Rubio is actually slightly more socially conservative. Interestingly, Rubio is still able to present his positions more cheerfully and gracefully, whereas Jeb seems to carry around the same disdain for his base that helped doom Huntsman.

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If Rubio was the heavy-weight you seem to believe he is, he would have carried much more of the day and the party with him when he made his immigration reform proposals. People saw him in action - he lacked the conviction of his principles and he caved when the going got rough and he was basically non-existent in the year and a half after that mess. On the other hand, Jeb Bush has the conviction of his principles and he lays out his position for all to see and he doesn't back away from them when the going gets rough. He's prepared to say "this is what I believe we should do" - if you're with me, great - if you're not with me, there are other candidates that may be better for you. He's not in it to be President so he can say he's President and he won the election - that's for the Obama's of the world - Bush is in it to try to get some things done that he thinks are important. He may not get there, but I hope he does.