Pawlenty drops out of race

Yeah, but sitting out is essentially a vote for Obama. At the very least, it' a vote lost for the Republican nominee.

And, if you just stay home, Republicans all the way down the ticket are deprived of your vote.

You might not be happy with your options if that's what we get, but unless you believe there's no difference between them, there's still a decision to be made.

And, there's a big difference between them.

 

It's the "send a message" appeal.

She's so far away from Oabama that she draws people who want to show just how much they dislike him & his policies.

She's also been very tough on him, which appeals to a lot of people. It's what drew people to Trump. (And why Pawlenty drew flies.)

 

All true. But I think, more than that, Republicans find she has an authenticity to her that some of the other candidates lack. She is who she is and she makes no bones about it. She didn't try to reinvent herself in her quest to win higher office (or at least she did a good enough job with the reinvention to convince Republicans that it was genuine, as George W. Bush did). And she reflects the values and anger that are possessed by the social conservatives that she appeals to.

 

I don't EVER vote ticket. Ever. So if I don't like a candidate, I don't vote for them. And I'm not putting a psychopath in office just to say "Oh, I voted Republican, so I can sleep tonight."

 

But with Bachmann, and her supporters, I see the difference between "having your voice heard" and "actually winning a national election".

To put this in a football analogy:
Bachmann is the high school football coach who says, "My principles are running the ball. Every down, we're going to run the ball. Every down!" That's great to be principled. Maybe that works in high school (a Congressional District) football. In the NFL (a presidential race), you will be 3-13 at best.

Romney could win you 10 games and get you to the playoffs. Perry could as well.

To win a presidential election, you don't need to actually *be* a centrist, you just have to campaign like one (our current president, for example).

Bachmann will not do this. I've interviewed Bachmann during this campaign I find her to be ill-informed, without a "filter" (brain-to-lips) and hardly presidential. She gets flustered easily when interviewed by someone other than Sean Hannity. And I am a conservative, Christian Republican! I'm her frickin' base.

She is principled. That's great for the NW suburbs of the Twin Cities and her Congressional District. Can she really go into a swing state and win independents? Nope. She won't get past the "O'Connell Line" (40%...the political version of the Mendoza Line).

Those who back the Tea Party - especially true social conservatives - need to understand the generational gap of America's Republicans.

Bachmann's voting base are 61-year-old married couples, who may be former small business operators, former professionals who are now retired. They've lived in the Midwest their whole lives, live simply (which is good) but they, generally, only associate with people of a similar background. That isn't the future of the Republican party.

I'm mid-30's. I fought the "political battles", in my younger days, on the pro-life side. Against same-sex marriage.

And, you know what? That stuff doesn't really matter anymore politically -- and I believe many others my age, even as "conservative Christians" realize this. I am very rigid on abortion, personally, but I also understand you can't really legislate someone like that. With same-sex marriage, I won't belong to a church that endorses it but I won't sign a petition to overturn it if a state. I have close friends who've had abortions. I have gay friends who want to legally marry.

Until this gets solved within the Republican Party, the footstomping of "I'll just stay home if my candidate isn't the nominee!" will continue.

 

Concern Troll is concerned.

 

I disagree. Candidates already spend enough time in the large states and ignore the small ones. Having NH and Iowa early gives some small-state voters a say in who the candidate is.

 

Tim Pawlenty was in the race?

 

A Perry vs. Obama election would be two good-looking guys who are both really charismatic and are smooth talkers... but neither can govern worth a shit. Basically, meaning this country is screwed for another four years.

Out of the whole candidate pool (on both sides), I really don't see anyone worth a damn right now.

I don't give two shits about a candidate's view on abortion or gay marriage, just fix the damn economy!! Obama is proving he can't do it and Perry won't either.

 

[blue]It sounds like you're as mad as hell and you're not going to take it any longer.[/blue]

 

Great point, Baron.

I've said the same thing to those who slam on the electoral college.

The best thing it has going for it is it makes presidential elections truly "national" campaigns, rather than "candidates flying in and out of the 10 largest metro areas" campaigns.

 

Just call me a modern day Howard Beale