Elections GOP Road to 2016 Primary Thread

[Lead]

Cruz MIA at Armed Services hearings

Ted Cruz thunders about what he calls a

 

[Lead]

Republican candidates are on a collision course with the American electorate

The good news for Republicans: They have a path to victory in 2016.

The bad news for Republicans: They are not on that path.


At the moment, in fact, they have wandered into a dense thicket and are picking nettles from their skin while being bitten by mosquitoes.

The latest instance of self-defeating bushwhacking comes courtesy of the Indiana legislature and Gov. Mike Pence, who on Tuesday tried to quell a national conflagration by promising to fix a new state law that allows anti-gay discrimination. But the Hoosier Republicans had already diverted the party

 

[Lead]

What Jeb Gets That Walker Doesn

 

[Lead]

New Hampshire conservatives plan anti-Jeb Bush caucus

Taking aim at Jeb Bush, a group of leading New Hampshire conservatives and libertarians are preparing to stage their own caucus three months before the state’s first-in-the-nation primary — and then unify behind the winner.
Sick of the string of centrist GOP-ers who’ve dominated the state’s primary in recent years — including John McCain (twice) and Mitt Romney — conservatives and libertarians are hoping to defy the conventional wisdom that the Granite State is moderate-friendly turf between the evangelical-dominated Iowa caucuses and socially conservative South Carolina.

They plan to choose among a slate of candidates likely to include Scott Walker, Ted Cruz and Rand Paul at their own presidential caucus in October, according to activists involved. Participants will agree to unify around the winner of the caucus in the hopes of beating Bush and other perceived moderates in the actual primary. The scheme emerges from years of simmering discontent within the state Republican party that now threatens to spill over into presidential politics and upset the plans of the national party, which has condensed its primary schedule and drastically cut the number of debates in order to hasten consolidation around an establishment nominee.

 

[Lead]

Indiana law draws Republican White House hopefuls into the culture wars

The national debate over an Indiana religious-liberties law seen as anti-gay has drawn the entire field of Republican presidential contenders into the divisive culture wars, which badly damaged Mitt Romney in 2012 and which GOP leaders eagerly sought to avoid for 2016.

Most top Republican presidential hopefuls this week have moved in lock step, and without pause, to support Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R) and his Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which has prompted protests and national calls for boycotts by major corporations. Republican legislators in Arkansas approved a similar measure Tuesday that Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) is expected to sign.

Whatever damage the email ordeal had on Clinton, times that by five for what this shit is going to poll numbers of GOP guys in the GE if this keeps up.

 

[MyOwnSummer12]

Quinnipiac Poll: Rand Paul Beats Hillary In PENNSYLVANIA!

Pennsylvania
Paul 45, Clinton 44

....that's a 12 point swing from the last poll.

Rand Paul also does better against Hillary in Ohio than any other GOP candidate:
Paul 41, Clinton 46

Full Results:
http://www.quinnipiac.edu/news-and-e...ReleaseID=2180

 

[Jack V Savage]

Quinnipiac Poll: Rand Paul Beats Hillary In PENNSYLVANIA!

Pennsylvania
Paul 45, Clinton 44

....that's a 12 point swing from the last poll.

Rand Paul also does better against Hillary in Ohio than any other GOP candidate:
Paul 41, Clinton 46

Full Results:
http://www.quinnipiac.edu/news-and-e...ReleaseID=2180

Well, that settles it.

Are you going to make it down for Paul's inauguration?

 

[MyOwnSummer12]

Well, that settles it.

Are you going to make it down for Paul's inauguration?

I'll likely be in Iowa and NH for the primary. I'll buy you a beer if you make it there because libertarians know how to party and are all about voluntary exchange.

 

[ShoelessRye]

The QPoll's Pennsylvania sample party ID is dead even Ds, Rs & Is (31/31/31). In February it was +8D (36/28/28).

 

[Lead]

The QPoll's Pennsylvania sample party ID is dead even Ds, Rs & Is (31/31/31). In February it was +8D (36/28/28).

Don't they use recent turnout history or something? What's more accurate?

 

[Ayin]

Whatever damage the email ordeal had on Clinton, times that by five for what this shit is going to poll numbers of GOP guys in the GE if this keeps up.

That seems strange to me. The Clinton email issue seemed something party-neutral that Clinton could be criticised on, but for the Republican contenders, being said to be anti-gay (or pro-whatever, as I'm sure it's framed in a positive manner) doesn't seem, well, that far away from normal.

Is the concern that seeing them as such would damage their chances to gain votes from people who aren't already planning to vote Republican? I would think promoting that (as they all seem to be doing) would ensure the maximum number of people who were already planning on voting for them would turn out in support.

 

[UpaLoompa]

Is the concern that seeing them as such would damage their chances to gain votes from people who aren't already planning to vote Republican? I would think promoting that (as they all seem to be doing) would ensure the maximum number of people who were already planning on voting for them would turn out in support.

Both parties have relatively similar numbers of core voters (at least in terms of turnout), though democrats are actually slightly higher but less consistent. The issue is that neither party can really win a general without pulling a lot of undecideds. These undecided voters are considerably left of the GOP base that votes during primaries, which is why you saw Romney have to walk back much of his rhetoric from the primary.

 

[Lead]

That seems strange to me. The Clinton email issue seemed something party-neutral that Clinton could be criticised on, but for the Republican contenders, being said to be anti-gay (or pro-whatever, as I'm sure it's framed in a positive manner) doesn't seem, well, that far away from normal.

Is the concern that seeing them as such would damage their chances to gain votes from people who aren't already planning to vote Republican? I would think promoting that (as they all seem to be doing) would ensure the maximum number of people who were already planning on voting for them would turn out in support.

It hurts them long term. In the past few years, the percentage approving of gay marriage has jumped. The GOP has all but conceded on this issue but idiots like Pence and the Arkansas governor have brought it back to the main discussion. If the GOP makes the debate social issues, they will lose.

 

[Lead]

The Week Mike Pence

 

[Lead]

California donors still not sold on Jeb Bush

When Jeb Bush launched a presidential super PAC earlier this year, he got a jump on the competition and quickly positioned himself as the establishment wing front-runner.
But his fundraising trip to California this week shows he

 

[Lead]

Carly Fiorina Reaffirms Support for Same-Sex Civil Unions

Carly Fiorina is entering the fray and setting herself apart.

Late Wednesday night, Fiorina sent out a press release addressing the debate over Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act, calling the discussion "of critical importance for our country." In her statement, the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard and potential presidential candidate took the time to express her support for government benefits for same-sex couples.

"The debate about gay marriage is really a debate about how the government bestows benefits and whether they should be bestowed equally. I believe they should," Fiorina said in a statement. "I also believe that people of religious conviction know that marriage is a religious institution with a spiritual foundation because only a man and a woman can create life, which is a gift that comes from God. We must protect their rights as well."

 

[Lead]

Ted Cruz Tries to Parlay Obstructionism Into Campaign Asset

Most presidential candidates run on what they

 

[Lead]

Jeb Bush is an early GOP favorite as companies cut PAC checks

The first signs of which companies are supporting Republican 2016 presidential candidates are in, and things are looking good for Jeb Bush.
Four companies

 

[Lead]

Ted Cruz raises $4 million in first 8 days

Ted Cruz raked in around $4 million in the eight days following his presidential kickoff last week, his campaign announced Thursday.
The Texas Republican, the first candidate to formally launch a 2016 campaign, has capitalized on a wave of attention since kicking off his campaign last week at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. In his speech, he cast himself as a steadfast conservative who, if elected, would roll back much of President Barack Obama

 

[Lead]

Marco Rubio: Initial Details of Iran Deal 'Troubling'

One of the biggest hawks in the 2016 GOP field is blasting President Obama's nuclear agreement with Iran.

Marco Rubio, Florida's junior senator, said in a press release just hours after the deal was announced Thursday afternoon that while he looks forward to hearing the specific terms, "the initial details appear to be very troubling."

"This attempt to spin diplomatic failure as a success is just the latest example of this administration's farcical approach to Iran," Rubio charged. "Under this President's watch, Iran has expanded its influence in the Middle East, sowing instability throughout the region. Iran's support for terrorism has continued unabated without a serious response from the United States."