US: Possible Republican candidates woo social conservatives

[webfact]

Possible Republican candidates woo social conservatives
THOMAS BEAUMONT, Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A parade of potential Republican presidential candidates vied for attention Saturday at a gathering of social conservatives who will play a key role in next year's Iowa caucuses that kick off the battle for the party's nomination.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and many others turned the Iowa Freedom Forum into the unofficial launch of the next campaign for the Iowa caucuses. More than 1,000 religious conservatives met at a refurbished theater to hear their pitches.

But missing from the gathering were two possible candidates considered leading contenders for the nomination: former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and the party's 2012 nominee, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Also missing from the lineup were Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Marco Rubio of Florida.

Cruz cited the Bible as he challenged caucus participants to back only presidential candidates with a proven conservative track record. "You know what," he said, "talk is cheap. The word tells us you shall know them by their fruits ... Look every candidate in the eye and say 'Don't talk, show me.'"

In his remarks, Walker promoted his administration's enactment of voter identification, concealed carry handgun and abortion restriction legislation — all issues appealing to the conservative audience. For many Republicans, he is best known for restricting the rights of public employee unions, beating back a recall effort and then winning re-election.

"You see, I think that sends a powerful message to Republicans in Washington and around the country that if you're not afraid to go big and go bold you can actually get results," Walker said.

Rick Santorum, the former senator from Pennsylvania who won the 2012 Iowa caucuses, said Republicans need to do a better job convincing working-class Americans that Republicans are on their side.

"We don't win because too many people don't think we care about them, said Santorum. He called for lower taxes, less regulation and stronger family values.

The forum's sponsor, Rep. Steve King of Iowa, opened the event by asking the crowd, "Do you believe that the next president of the United States is going to be speaking to you today?" The audience erupted in applause and King responded, "As do I."

Among others speaking at the forum were businesswoman Carly Fiorina, former vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and real estate mogul and reality TV star Donald Trump.

Trump let it be known that he didn't think much of Romney and Bush. "You can't have Romney. He choked," Trump said. "You can't have Bush. The last thing we need is another Bush."

Christie, an abortion rights and gay marriage opponent better known for his union and budget battles, was not expected to emerge as the favorite among Iowa's evangelical voters. Yet his appearance could allow him to make inroads with a group focused as much on ideological purity as defeating the Democrat nominated to follow President Barack Obama.

"He has gusto that makes him an everyman. That appeals to me," 29-year-old Steve Friend of Sioux City said of Christie. "But I think he tanked the 2012 election by praising President Obama after (superstorm) Sandy."

Christie has defended his praise of the president for visiting storm-ravaged New Jersey in the weeks before Romney lost. But it's an image that sticks in the craw of Iowa's most right-wing conservatives.

"I don't trust him," said Mary Kay Hauser, another forum attendee. "I think he's disingenuous. I think he's part of the old New Jersey party."

Last week, when he was in Iowa for Gov. Terry Branstad's inauguration, Christie told reporters, "If I do run, I'll be myself and we'll see how Iowans like that."

While Christie has opposed abortion rights for 20 years, he said in 2011 that his Roman Catholic faith "does not rule who I am." He also has said homosexuality is not a sin and that he believes people who are gay are "born with a predisposition."

Those statements are red flags in a state where the past two caucus winners, Santorum and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, closely aligned themselves with Iowa's evangelical pastors and Christian home-school network.
___

Associated Press writer Catherine Lucey contributed to this report.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-01-25

[NeverSure]

"Those statements are red flags in a state where the past two caucus winners, Santorum and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, closely aligned themselves with Iowa's evangelical pastors and Christian home-school network."

Neither of them came close to winning the nomination, either. They sure wouldn't win the general POTUS election.

Why are all of these proven losers trying to recycle themselves?

If either the radical right OR the radical left steps up they will lose. They need to be more inclusive.

[khwaibah]

"Those statements are red flags in a state where the past two caucus winners, Santorum and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, closely aligned themselves with Iowa's evangelical pastors and Christian home-school network."

Neither of them came close to winning the nomination, either. They sure wouldn't win the general POTUS election.

Why are all of these proven losers trying to recycle themselves?

If either the radical right OR the radical left steps up they will lose. They need to be more inclusive.

Toss this joke in also..Palin.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/palin-says-she-is-seriously-interested-in-2016-white-house-bid/ar-AA8xbWS

[NeverSure]

"Those statements are red flags in a state where the past two caucus winners, Santorum and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, closely aligned themselves with Iowa's evangelical pastors and Christian home-school network."

Neither of them came close to winning the nomination, either. They sure wouldn't win the general POTUS election.

Why are all of these proven losers trying to recycle themselves?

If either the radical right OR the radical left steps up they will lose. They need to be more inclusive.

Toss this joke in also..Palin.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/palin-says-she-is-seriously-interested-in-2016-white-house-bid/ar-AA8xbWS

Palin herself isn't a joke. She has a big following. I just don't think it's nearly big enough for her to win. My guess is that her followers would see the tea leaves in time and jump ship for someone who appeared to be able to win.

Do you know she has a popular TV show about hunting? I think she eats raw meat, LOL.

[Chicog]

"Those statements are red flags in a state where the past two caucus winners, Santorum and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, closely aligned themselves with Iowa's evangelical pastors and Christian home-school network."

Neither of them came close to winning the nomination, either. They sure wouldn't win the general POTUS election.

Why are all of these proven losers trying to recycle themselves?

If either the radical right OR the radical left steps up they will lose. They need to be more inclusive.

Toss this joke in also..Palin.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/palin-says-she-is-seriously-interested-in-2016-white-house-bid/ar-AA8xbWS

Palin herself isn't a joke.

Er.... yes she is!

[ggt]

I watched and listened to a good bit of this conference as it was live on CSPAN TV...there seemed to be some more emphasis on expanding the party to include the disenfranchised minorities of the US...some social and economic engineering to bring spending under control and put people back to work in jobs that pay above the minimum wage...tackle immigration in a rational and fair manner...and address the healthcare debacle with fairness to those who would otherwise not have healthcare coverage were it not for the outrageously expensive Obamacare...

[Jingthing]

A parade of potential Republican presidential candidates

Why do they have to have a parade?

Isn't that just sticking it in the faces of normal people?

Sure they can indulge in their unnatural political proclivities behind closed doors ... but when they parade, impressionable children might see!

Edited January 25, 2015 by Jingthing

[chuckd]

Watch out for Scott Walker, a governor with a very good record.

IMHO Palin, Romney, Santorum, Huckabee, Trump and Jindal plus a few others are not players. They will run but I don't think they will ever be nominated.

The US needs someone with previous management experience, unlike the current "Prez". OJT ain't the solution ever again.

I'm of the opinion the GOP might end up running with two governors on the ticket. After all, they have 35 to choose from.

[NeverSure]

"Those statements are red flags in a state where the past two caucus winners, Santorum and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, closely aligned themselves with Iowa's evangelical pastors and Christian home-school network."

Neither of them came close to winning the nomination, either. They sure wouldn't win the general POTUS election.

Why are all of these proven losers trying to recycle themselves?

If either the radical right OR the radical left steps up they will lose. They need to be more inclusive.

Toss this joke in also..Palin.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/palin-says-she-is-seriously-interested-in-2016-white-house-bid/ar-AA8xbWS

Palin herself isn't a joke.

Er.... yes she is!

She actually has a big following and during the congressional elections in November (where the Repubs kicked axe,) she traveled and supported some of the Repubs who won. That wins cred and support for herself.

She has a strong base but it isn't big enough to win the nomination. IMHO she'd be a spoiler for someone. She's not able to win the nomination but she's not a joke in American politics considering her support base.

If she throws her support to one particular Repub candidate in the primaries it will help, not hurt that candidate.

[NeverSure]

Watch out for Scott Walker, a governor with a very good record.

IMHO Palin, Romney, Santorum, Huckabee, Trump and Jindal plus a few others are not players. They will run but I don't think they will ever be nominated.

The US needs someone with previous management experience, unlike the current "Prez". OJT ain't the solution ever again.

I'm of the opinion the GOP might end up running with two governors on the ticket. After all, they have 35 to choose from.

This is a strong strategy that the Dems can't match if Hillary is the nominee. Hillary is on her own with no place to call home.

If two of the popular Republican governors, who as you said have 35 of the 50 states, were to team up as pres and vice pres on a ticket they'd pull their states and that could tip the race.

[NeverSure]

If the Dems get overconfident and run a proven loser like Hillary they may be in for a surprise. The Republicans, rather than being washed up, are strong.

They just took control of both the House and Senate - the whole Congress in a butt kicking election last November. There are Republican governors elected by the people to 35 of the 50 states. The party is alive and well.

It truly surprises me that despite those clear facts, some people act like the Repubs don't exist and that Hillary will walk away with all of the marbles.

The evidence just doesn't prove that to be true at all.

Hillary herself got her fanny kicked by a nobody named Obama the last time she was anointed the front runner and proved herself to be very vulnerable. She has a lot of vocal support but it doesn't run really deep. People either love her or hate her giving her a lot of negatives. That's why they were so relieved to find an alternative named Obama to vote for the last time.

Don't be lighting candles on Hillary's coronation cake just yet. She may not even get the nomination as she also failed to do last time.

[rickirs]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Watch out for Scott Walker, a governor with a very good record.

IMHO Palin, Romney, Santorum, Huckabee, Trump and Jindal plus a few others are not players. They will run but I don't think they will ever be nominated.

The US needs someone with previous management experience, unlike the current "Prez". OJT ain't the solution ever again.

I'm of the opinion the GOP might end up running with two governors on the ticket. After all, they have 35 to choose from.

"previous management experience" ???

Read Indispensable: When Leaders Really Matter, by Harvard Business School professor Gautam Mukunda. He "argues that 'unfiltered leaders' — those who haven’t had much relevant experience — will likely have a greater impact than filtered leaders. What’s harder to predict is whether that impact will be good or bad." It is very relevant.

Other than running for re-election for President of the United States of America, there is no job in the US (or maybe on earth) one can have that provides sufficient "management experience" to run a country of 300+ million people having a $15.7 trillion GDP with 119 million full-time employees and a federal budget of $1.1 trillion. Then there comes the added roles of being leader of the free world and superpower - a nation loved by some, envied by many, and hated by others. Some of the most successul presidents in USA history "broke the mold" to what they experienced in their own lives. Their success was to expand beyond their singular experiences into a persona that can unite and lead a nation.

Which of the current propsective Republicans can be said to be "unfiltered" leaders? Who can you see as the next Ronald Reagan, Dwight Eisenhower, or Abraham Lincoln? Who can rise above themselves to become greater than the sum of their experiences? But party politics is never so enlightened but the history of USA presidential elections has shown that a successful candidate must be able to build coalitions of support BEYOND their own ideology. "Previous management experience" is almost irrelevant to that end.

[Publicus]

If the Dems get overconfident and run a proven loser like Hillary they may be in for a surprise. The Republicans, rather than being washed up, are strong.

They just took control of both the House and Senate - the whole Congress in a butt kicking election last November. There are Republican governors elected by the people to 35 of the 50 states. The party is alive and well.

It truly surprises me that despite those clear facts, some people act like the Repubs don't exist and that Hillary will walk away with all of the marbles.

The evidence just doesn't prove that to be true at all.

Hillary herself got her fanny kicked by a nobody named Obama the last time she was anointed the front runner and proved herself to be very vulnerable. She has a lot of vocal support but it doesn't run really deep. People either love her or hate her giving her a lot of negatives. That's why they were so relieved to find an alternative named Obama to vote for the last time.

Don't be lighting candles on Hillary's coronation cake just yet. She may not even get the nomination as she also failed to do last time.

Everyone has their mind made up about former senator and secretary of state Hillary Clinton who despite all the baggage is the Secretariat in the coming 2016 downs.

Just about everyone in the country has their opinion of Hillary Clinton so that is set, determined, decided in all parts of the country, just about everyone. I dunno anyone who is about to change his mind about Hillary Clinton as president of the United States.

History’s a Positive for Clinton; Not So for Bush or Romney

Hillary Clinton’s potential place in history and her husband’s tenure in the White House boost her presidential prospects, while Jeb Bush’s political legacy and Mitt Romney’s 2012 run for the office are negatives, a new ABC News/Washington Post poll finds.

Clinton leads both in hypothetical head-to-head matchups at this early stage – as well as Rand Paul, Chris Christie and Mike Huckabee alike.

The national survey finds 53 to 56 percent support for Clinton among registered voters against each of these potential Republican candidates, while they get 39 to 41 percent.

One reason is that Clinton is stronger in her political base, given the far more fragmented nature of the current GOP field.

See PDF with full resu.lts and charts here

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2015/01/historys-a-positive-for-clinton-not-so-for-bush-or-romney/

[Publicus]

Watch out for Scott Walker, a governor with a very good record.

IMHO Palin, Romney, Santorum, Huckabee, Trump and Jindal plus a few others are not players. They will run but I don't think they will ever be nominated.

The US needs someone with previous management experience, unlike the current "Prez". OJT ain't the solution ever again.

I'm of the opinion the GOP might end up running with two governors on the ticket. After all, they have 35 to choose from.

Voters across the United States are not looking for a governor who has the record or style of Scott Walker in Wisconsin.

Yes, Wisconsin is a Blue state but while voters in Blue states do elect Republican governors, voters in Red states do not. And strictly speaking, voters in Blue states don't vote for Republican governors for prez either, not since Reagan which is a long time ago.

There are also too many issues that are above Scott Walker's head, such as climate change, same sex marriage, marijuana, immigration, Obamacare, nukes in Iran, Russia and much else he has no familiarity with at all. Yes he or any other incumbent governor can learn, but who wants an OJT president....what, we gonna pay him less for the first 18 months .

Voters aged 18-34 who voted strongly for Prez Obama twice don't consider governors in the same way as older voters do, so having a governor head the ticket or on it is of far less consequence in this century. Jeb is anyway one Bush too many and while Hillary is not widely viewed as a retread, Willard is...a third time retread.

Also, putting two governors on the ticket is much too insular for the comfort of Independent voters and to the many voters in coastal and border states especially.

[Publicus]

I watched and listened to a good bit of this conference as it was live on CSPAN TV...there seemed to be some more emphasis on expanding the party to include the disenfranchised minorities of the US...some social and economic engineering to bring spending under control and put people back to work in jobs that pay above the minimum wage...tackle immigration in a rational and fair manner...and address the healthcare debacle with fairness to those who would otherwise not have healthcare coverage were it not for the outrageously expensive Obamacare...

These are the voters who chose Mike Huckabee in the 2008 Republican state caucuses and then chose former Sen Rick Santorum in 2012, neither of which went anywhere in the overall process because all of 'em voters and candidates alike are far right tea party extremists and God fearing Christians first and foremost.

While Iowa in general elections consistently votes D for prez, Iowa Republicans are to the right of the Spanish Inquisition and to the left of only Cardinal Richelieu.

Everything in the post is brand new this year window dressing to hide the fact these voters oppose the separation of church and state. Host of the event, Congressman Steven King of the 4th District, is a tea party extremist who is a leading advocate of unification of church and state.

These people are the extremist far out religious right of the religious right.

[DaddyWarbucks]

A parade of potential Republican presidential candidates

Why do they have to have a parade?

Isn't that just sticking it in the faces of normal people?

Sure they can indulge in their unnatural political proclivities behind closed doors ... but when they parade, impressionable children might see!

Thanks for the quote "A parade of potential Republican presidential candidates."

Otherwise I would have thought you were talking about Gay Mardi Gras.

[sletraveler]

Freaks in America. Democracy is truly dead. Republican neo fascists to continue the ruination of the middle class. They desire a return to the days of the robber barons and unfettered capitalism. Democrats aren't a whole lot better.

Moving to Thailand and am very glad to be missing all the bullshit.

[NeverSure]

-snip-

but who wants an OJT president....what, we gonna pay him less for the first 18 months .

By your OTJ training reckoning, Obama should be paying us.

[Publicus]

-snip-

but who wants an OJT president....what, we gonna pay him less for the first 18 months .

By your OTJ training reckoning, Obama should be paying us.

I'm not gonna start a bidding war but I don't want to know how much of the taxpayer's dough the Bush family has rolled up into their own accounts getting paid for father Bush as a congressman, CIA director, vp in the official vp residence 8 years, prez with his own personal plane etc, Bush the son as governor of FL 8 years, then also Bush the son as governor of TX 6 years then 8 years as prez,....the benefits to the family while in their various offices to include retirement pay.

Why it must be up to a half billion bucks among 'em, if not more...if not more.....

But as I say, I'm not gonna research it to start a political party bidding war here.

Let's just say they've lightened my wallet considerably....yours too....

Edited January 25, 2015 by Publicus

[NeverSure]

-snip-

but who wants an OJT president....what, we gonna pay him less for the first 18 months .

By your OTJ training reckoning, Obama should be paying us.

I'm not gonna start a bidding war but I don't want to know how much of the taxpayer's dough the Bush family has rolled up into their own accounts getting paid for father Bush as a congressman, CIA director, vp in the official vp residence 8 years, prez with his own personal plane etc, Bush the son as governor of FL 8 years, then also Bush the son as governor of TX 6 years then 8 years as prez,....the benefits to the family while in their various offices to include retirement pay.

Why it must be up to a half billion bucks among 'em, if not more...if not more.....

But as I say, I'm not gonna research it to start a political party bidding war here.

Let's just say they've lightened my wallet considerably....yours too....

Oh sure, let's change the subject to be about Bush. That proves you lost that round.

I still need a tinfoil hat to read that. You need a tinfoil hat so you won't write that junk.

[DaddyWarbucks]

-snip-

but who wants an OJT president....what, we gonna pay him less for the first 18 months .

By your OTJ training reckoning, Obama should be paying us.

I'm not gonna start a bidding war but I don't want to know how much of the taxpayer's dough the Bush family has rolled up into their own accounts getting paid for father Bush as a congressman, CIA director, vp in the official vp residence 8 years, prez with his own personal plane etc, Bush the son as governor of FL 8 years, then also Bush the son as governor of TX 6 years then 8 years as prez,....the benefits to the family while in their various offices to include retirement pay.

Why it must be up to a half billion bucks among 'em, if not more...if not more.....

But as I say, I'm not gonna research it to start a political party bidding war here.

Let's just say they've lightened my wallet considerably....yours too....

It all started with US Senator Prescott Bush - Dubya's grandaddy. His business dealings with Nazi Germany were notorious throughout the 1930s until his company's assets were seized in 1942 under the Trading with the Enemy Act.