I FIGURED OUT WHO THE GOP FRONT-RUNNER FOR 2016 IS
It's Scott Walker!
But only if that new Rasmussen poll is right and he's on the verge of being recalled.
Think about it -- apart from Romney, whose appeal is to the dwindling percentage of non-crazy voters in the GOP, who's done the best in the Republican primaries? Who has actually fired up the Republican electorate? Two losers. Two guys who went down in flames years ago: Gingrich and Santorum. And that makes perfect sense, because Santorum is seen as having been crushed under the all-powerful liberal jackboot, as, to a lesser extent, is Gingrich.
So four years from now, apart from Sarah Palin, who would bear scars in a more base-inspiring way than a guy who was kicked out of office by a bunch of "union thugs"?
This is especially true if all the smart people are right and Romney picks a running mate who inspires even less love from the base than Romney does, particularly if it's Ohio senator Rob Portman, George W.'s former Office of Management and Budget guy. John Heilemann says:
Portman's dishwatery demeanor might actually make Romney look like a bit of a spitfire. (No kidding -- Portman really is that dull.)
I've been assuming Romney's going to pick a real litmus-test conservative, to try to put the base's doubts about himself to rest. On paper, at least, Portman qualifies (Christian rightist: check; gun absolutist: check). But what the base really wants is a soldier in the Cause, and clearly Portman doesn't qualify. Why, he hasn't even been subjected directly to one of our side's vicious, merciless, freedom-crushing assaults!
A wingnut hero who loses as Romney's running mate would probably be an instant favorite for 2016. (Crushed by the liberals and betrayed by the RINO at the top of the ticket!) But if there's no one like that on the ticket, crazy base-heads in search of a martyr will have to look elsewhere.
What makes you a right-wing hero/martyr more than a war wound dealt out by the liberal Antichrist? That's why I think Walker, if he's kicked out this year and if Obama gets reelected, should really be thinking about running for president four years from now. The looneys will love him.
Two months to go, though. As much as I'd like to see Walker get the boot, I fear the hour of his martyrdom remains uncertain.
ReplyDeleteI agree. It's a lot to hope for, and there's a lot of oil-billionaire money on his side.
ReplyDeleteIf he BEATS the recall he'd be even more of a hero, no? I was just saying to a friend yesterday that Walker was probably supposed to be this year's golden-boy -- a newly elected governor who could flip a state held by Dems. There's no one like that in this year's race, which is quite surprising when you think about it.
ReplyDeleteIf he BEATS the recall he'd be even more of a hero, no?
ReplyDeleteThat would seem to make sense -- and yet this year the GOP seems to be embracing all losers, including Romney, rather than, say, Perry or Bachmann or Pawlenty or Huntsman. Even Cain lost the only other election he ran in.