Right now- who do you think will be the Republican nominee for POTUS in 2012?

[underpants]

[Pirate Smile]

1. You should have included Romney as one of the options. He's much more likely then Ridge or most of

the rest of them. Just my opinion... :hi:

[underpants]

3. A Mormon on the top of the GOP ticket?

are they that desperate?

:shrug:

[Pirate Smile]

6. Look at the rest of the options. I don't know what they will do. He does have some weaknesses that

the other people running for the Repub nomination will definitely exploit - Romneycare, Mormon, flip-flopper, etc. - but he is definitely running.

[underpants]

7. I think this is 1984 all over

Hart imploded and there was really no one left to run against Reagan.

[Pirate Smile]

13. Who do you think will get it? If it is Palin, it will be ugly and nasty but Obama will win like

Reagan did in 1984 - a landslide.

[underpants]

14. I think that will bet the result anyway

well his 53% in 2008 was a landslide in this environment but we aren't supposed to remember that

[customerserviceguy]

20. Romney's running

but the fundies don't want to hand the Mormon missionaries trying to pick off their flocks even one talking point. The religious reich would frankly rather have another term of Obama than of Romney.

[Pirate Smile]

24. Nasty Palin campaigning against Romney in the primaries would be ugly. She is so good at spewing

hateful crap that you just know she would slip in some Mormon-bashing either by dog-whistle or just straight out. She, of course, never ran in the Republican POTUS primary. I don't think she could control her mean-streak. It would certainly be interesting to watch.

[customerserviceguy]

26. She doesn't have to bash the Mormons

The fundies already have the message. I'm sure she's smart enough to keep the Mormons on board, after all, Utah has five electoral votes.

Not like they're gonna vote for Obama, anyway...

[discopants]

31. Palin will run as 3rd party TP, she won't run in the primaries, she won't debate

until the general election and she'll demand to debate Obama and the GOP candidate. Like the opportunity she was handed by McCain, she'll cut to the front of the line without debating or press conferences.

[elocs]

4. Yes, that's a huge omission. n/t

[applegrove]

27. Yup. My money is on Romney running and winning the nomination.

[femmocrat]

2. Other: Romney. nt

[Jefferson23]

5. Obama will have to fight hard no matter who he is running against yet,

the most threatening of opponents would be Petraeus if he decided to run.

[FSogol]

8. Bob McDonnell - Gawd help us.

:puke:

[Amimnoch]

9. Riding the tide of hatred, I see Jan Brewer making a run of it.

[Milo_Bloom]

10. Other: Mitch Daniels

I think he will enter sparking a "fight" between the social conservatives (complete nut jobs) and the reasonable republicans (only partial nut jobs)

The media will play it off as a "fight for the soul of the republican party" making Mitch Daniels appear like a "moderate" republican alternative to Obama. I fear the media whitewash will get some democrats to cross the aisle in primary states to support him (ala McCain in 2000), which unless a single tea party nut job emerges as the "anti-daniels" early on, will give him a shot of becomming the candidate, as the complete nut jobs will split their vote and partial nut jobs along with the fooled democrats will go to him.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

16. Indiana res checking in

Daniels isn't a complete nutjob and is pretty moderate on social issues but he's got some Bush II baggage as his onetime former budget chief and he recently made some crazy (well, in my opinion, anyway) remarks likening the national debt to (literally) practicing child abuse. He's also got a failed IBM privatization of the state public assistance under his belt and he's not very well known nationally.....yet, anyway. I have a hard time believing that he will make it through the GOP primaries with his moderate stance on social issues and even if he does, I doubt that many (if any) Democrats are going to be fooled into voting for him. His economic "prescription" for the country is more tired and worn out bromides against government spending, regulation, and for lowering taxes. In other words, nothing new under the sun.

If I had to bet on who they'll run in 2012, I'd say it's going to be Romney- since he can appear moderate but still pander to the religious nutcases (even though he used to have a more moderate position on issues) but I guess that the nominee will largely be determined by whatever strategy they're going to pursue. I'm not even sure what strategy the GOP is going to use to run against President Obama in 2012 other than "I Hate Obama, how about you?" Anybody have any ideas? :shrug:

*I also heard that GOP is trying to change their primary structure from a "winner-takes-all" to a system more like the Democratic Party's nomination process, so that they will have longer to "vet" their potential nominees, so they will be slugging it out with each other for awhile in 2012.

[MikeW]

11. Romney

[IndianaGreen]

12. Earth is destroyed on 2012

Mayan calendar ends!

[golfguru]

15. It will be Gov Chris Christy from NJ n/t

[pipoman]

17. Bob Dole of coarse..

unless they think they can win, then it would be someone, anyone, else..

[gateley]

18. I'm with the Romney party. nt

[pa28]

19. Romney.

At the end of the day you need sponsorship from the money establishment. They'll never trust Palin as a custodian of their wealth.

[DFLforever]

21. Romney

People who own and operate America Inc. will want someone they can trust.

[customerserviceguy]

22. You left off Newt Gingrich

Yet you included Tom Ridge? If Ridge were President, and gave a fireside chat, even the fire would go out.

I've heard there's a website where insomniacs can buy Tom Ridge speech tapes as a permanent cure for their condition.

[doc03]

23. You have to ask? After watching Tweety's show today

it is Sarah Palin. I seem to remember a poll just a few weeks ago where Sarah Palin was about the last chance for 2012. I think her approval rating among Republicans was like 30 something percent. Two people that she backed won the primaries last night now today Tweety, Pat Buchanan and several other talking heads are showing a poll with her at like 70+ percent.

[Safetykitten]

25. Palin as vice with a cretin to be named later as prez.

[tilsammans]

28. Romney, but . . .

NJ gov Chris Christie will be somewhere in the mix.

:puke:

[Mimosa]

29. Why did you leave out Romney? n/t

[discopants]

30. Paul Ryan

and he'll run with Gingrich .... although either could be the top of the ticket

[saltpoint]

32. George Pataki.

I don't actually think he'll be the nominee but if I don't mention him no one, literally no one on earth, will.

[saltpoint]

33. How about Rick Perry?

(Gov. Perry is standing by my computer right this minute, holding a gun to my head, forcing me to type this...Dear god, won't someone rescue me?!?)

[leftynyc]

34. Mitch Daniels (n/t)

[saltpoint]

35. Lou Dobbs.

How about a Lou Dobbs - Franklin Graham ticket for the Pukes?

Perfect.

[LatteLibertine]

36. Uncle Ruckus

"Praise white Jesus and all great white men who came thereafter!"

[BlueIris]

37. Joe Lieberman.

With Condi Rice as VP nom. Their objective: Iran. Yes, you may laugh, but if you look at the moves Lieberman has been making these last few months, they're the moves of a man who wants to run for president again. Sadly, I think they'll pick him, because he wants what the neocons want just as much as they do.