Democrats and/or liberals: Which Republican should we be rooting for?

Hmmm. Well I have a friend who knows somebody who just spent the weekend with Bloomberg and family in Bermuda. ;D Says Bloomberg isn't running.

 

Liberals should root for Huckabee because he has absolutely no prayer of winning a general election. Conservatives should root for Obama because I still do not believe America, when push comes to shove, will elect a black man to be the president and racial bias, prejudices and outright bigotry among the American people might be the last hope for the GOP to win in November.

Of course, sane people will vote for George Phillies..........

 

I'm with PCLoadLetter on the "this isn't the Super Bowl; hope for the best choices to emerge instead of what's best for your team" bandwagon. As someone who refuses to feel like there's a moral obligation to vote for the one wearing the donkey/elephant, I want the two people who I would feel most confident could run this country so that even if my guy/gal doesn't win, I don't openly weep for the state of the nation.

But I'll probably end up voting for the most obscure candidate so I can get the paper the next day and see if I was the only one in my precinct to do so.

 

McCain is the only grown-up in that field. Romney is an empty suit (or a Ken doll, depending on what analogies you favor), Huckabee is an affable guy, but he's a total religious nut -- plus, that Fair Tax idea of his is bullshit. Rudy and Fred are dead men walking (plus Rudy would be worse on civil liberties and the war on terror than Bush. Hell, Rudy is damn near a dictator. The idea of using a disaster to hold off an election...Lincoln ran during the Civil War. FDR ran during World War II).
I'm an Obama guy...but if it's McCain vs. Hillary in the general election, I will gladly vote for McCain.

 

If it's McCain-Obama, Obama will make McCain look like the old man he is. Carter couldn't make Reagan look like the old man he was. (Neither could Mondale.)

 

That is a brutally honest post.

I think both Hukabee vs. Obama and McCain vs. Obama would be fascinating matchups. The first one, for the reasons zag stated. The second one because McCain, at his age, stinks at speaking. Did you see his N.H. victory "speech"? Eeeeegad. He had to read it, and he did not read it well. The contrast in styles would be really interesting.

 

I remain amazed at the love from D's for McCain. How may serious issues are there on which you actually agree with the guy, and remember he's already walked most of his 2000 positions back.
On the war, on executive power, on the economy -- some bullshit about tax cuts the other day -- he's Bush on steroids. His idea of bipartisan government is my-way-or-the-highway.
'ee's a puzzlement.

 

Go Huckster! Go Huckster! Go Huckster!

 

You really comfortable with the Huckster as president, Luggie? Because don't think for a second he's unelectable in a race against Hillary.

 

I hate the concept of wishing for someone to win because I think they are easier to beat. Theoretically, the American public should be presented with the two best candidates for making America a better place. (I later saw that PCLoadLetter said something along these lines as well.)

When I run down the list of Republicans, here is what I think…

Huckabee – He has openly stated that he wants to change the Constitution to fall in line with “God’s laws.” He has openly stated that he wants to abolish the IRS (in a recession, he wants to cut jobs) and go to a strict sales tax and he is baffled by the concept of the black market arising.

Romney – At one point the man positioned himself as a man that did a lot for gay rights and as a man that is pro-choice. Now, in order to make himself more likeable to a group of voters he has changed his position. It concerns me that his principles seem so insincere.

Giuliani – Anyone that has been around NYC while he was mayor knows about his authoritarian ways. The man is Putin Lite. At a time when we are watching more of our civil liberties get pushed aside this man should really concern the populace. He has also demonstrated that he isn’t one for working with the opposition.

Thompson – I read that he rented a pick-up truck to make himself more likeable to people that care that a candidate drives a pick-up. Seriously, if you work in politics, why would you need a pick-up? Wouldn’t that just make people think you were kind of stupid?

Paul – He has the vote of racists. He is an isolationist.

McCain – The man seems palatable. I like the idea that he could be the man to cut down on some of the government spending. The fact that he went back to Liberty to blow Falwell after blowing him off does not speak well to his character. I can see him working with the opposition, sometimes. I just wonder about his age and level of strength.

As such, I would say McCain, depending upon his veep, would be the most palatable. The rest, specifically Huckabee, are just downright awful.

 

He is the type of person that makes me wonder where America is headed. I can easily see him fucking this country for the get-go. He would be an embarrassment on the national stage. He’ll talk his way out of a paper bag but then talk his way into a plastic one.

 

Huck or Romney would both be guaranteed wins for the Dems. Al Sharpton could run and beat Huck or Romney in the general. I'm personally rooting for Romney to get the nomination. I don't think a Mormon former governor of Massachusetts is going to sell well to the country. He polls really badly against any of the Dem candidates. Ditto that for a theocrat who is in way over his head (didn't know what the NIE was). Huck is scary and has no chance in hell. McCain scares me because he could win. I crossed over to vote for him in 2000 in an attempt to keep Bush from winning the nomination. He was palatable then but not so much now. I'm not interested in 100 more years in Iraq, overturning Roe and the other typical GOP positions that he has. I liked his "straight talk" style in 2000, but the more you learn and the more he sucks up to the people that screwed him 8 years ago, the less I identify with the guy.

On the other side, as much as I loved her husband, Hillary scares me. I want the right wing nuts to stay home on election day. So I'm hoping Obama pulls out the nomination. Regarding the black comment: The Dems aren't going to win the South, and outside the South I don't think race is as big an issue. The Dems just need Kerry's states plus Ohio (trending blue) or Florida or a couple of states out west, which is trending blue in general. There's a reason Denver's hosting the DNC convention. I think that's doable, especially given how fired up Dem voters around the country are in general. Dems have a money advantage nationally and more people are voting in the Dem caucuses/primaries in the early going than Republicans. All good signs. Just got to make sure Hillary doesn't get the nomination and fuck things up!