Althouse: "If Christie is knocked out, if Walker loses his re-election bid and if Jeb Bush decides not to run..."

March 14, 2014

"If Christie is knocked out, if Walker loses his re-election bid and if Jeb Bush decides not to run..."

"... the chances increase that the Republicans in 2016 will opt for one of the far-right, freshman senators who’ve signaled that they’re running — Paul, Rubio or Cruz. If so, they’ll be repeating on a national scale what they did in US Senate races in Nevada, Connecticut and elsewhere, namely, running an ideological zealot who can’t appeal to independent, centrist and moderate voters, exactly Hillary Clinton’s base."

Wielding the "ifs" at The Nation.

45 comments:

Lyle said...: Yep, Ted Cruz or Rand Paul are just like the candidates the Republicans put up in Nevada and Connecticut. Haha... not!

Maybe the Nation should be trying to figure out who the Democrats will run to win, if not Hillary. I can see the Democrats winning, but who will that be?; 3/14/14, 10:18 PM
chickelit said...: What if Dems whiff?

Will the sky fall?; 3/14/14, 10:21 PM
Anonymous said...: I don't know a single Republican in my swing district who has any interest in seeing Jeb Bush run.; 3/14/14, 10:29 PM
bleh said...: Independent, centrist and moderate. Hillary. LOL.; 3/14/14, 10:29 PM
From Inwood said...: Hil's base = "independent, centrist and moderate voters"?

Er, no. It's those who are submissive to "bossy" Wymyn.; 3/14/14, 10:31 PM
richard mcenroe said...: Christie ain't in. He's simply the darling of the DC GOP who never venture outside the Boswash corridor.

Walker has nothing to do with virtually any other GOP candidate. Which other one has broken the unions and produced a huge refundable surplus for their constituency, in spite of everything the Democrats can throw at him?

Rand Paul talks well, but if we're fed up with Kennedies, Clintons, Bushes (bye, Jeb), Gores, Mikowskis, etc.,why would we want a Paul dynasty, especially with Ron Paul in the role of crazy Papa Joe?; 3/14/14, 10:33 PM
Birkel said...: Projection is not just a river in Egypt.; 3/14/14, 10:33 PM
Hal Duston said...: Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal is term-limited in 2015, having served two full terms. Perhaps he'll be looking for a new position.; 3/14/14, 10:34 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: It's Ted Cruz. He's got an ego that won't be able to tell him "no".

The public will do that for him,...; 3/14/14, 10:57 PM
Jim said...: Jindal, Romney, Huck, Perry, Kasich I like our bench better than theirs.; 3/14/14, 11:01 PM
SteveR said...: What difference, at this point, does it make?; 3/14/14, 11:31 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Yeah, why not Romney?

As for Walker... he's ours. We need him in Wisconsin.; 3/14/14, 11:39 PM
cubanbob said...: I like Jeb Bush. I voted several times for Jeb Bush. He was a pretty good governor. He is not my choice for president. I will consider Ted Cruz. I will consider Rand Paul. I will consider Scott Walker. I want a candidate that will push for maximal economic growth, maintain a strong national defense and will try to downsize the rest of the government.; 3/14/14, 11:46 PM
Anonymous said...: Walker got a little less attractive when the nation is calling his number.

I hope it turns out the nation regrets calling walker one of the good Republicans and starts to lump him into the far right camp.

But who am I kidding? Of course they will do that. The moment he is the Republican presidential nominee.; 3/15/14, 12:05 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: Ann Althouse said...
Yeah, why not Romney?

Really? Mr. 47% are "takers"? The supplement salesmen? The guy from the "church" that just admitted they were racist for most of their history? His Stepford wife? The house with the car elevator or something?

Really?

Mitt didn't want to do it the last go 'round. Kept it to himself until afterwards - what's he going to say about that admission? He's not Billary, laughing in the face of contradictions - he visible gets unnerved. Lights, Everybody!

Hasn''t the poor multimillionairily weirdo-under-a-haircut suffered enough?; 3/15/14, 12:14 AM
Kirk Parker said...: richard mcenroe,

What's this Paul "dynasty" you're talking about. The senior Paul was a long-term representative from two different districts in Texas. The junior Paul is senator from Kentucky. Other than a bit of name recognition, what else did he get from his old man?; 3/15/14, 12:37 AM
Revenant said...: why would we want a Paul dynasty

You appear to not know what the word "dynasty" means.; 3/15/14, 1:25 AM
Steven said...: Haley/Rice 2016.

If just for the entertainment value of seeing the wind get totally sucked out of Hillary's sails. "Yeah, yeah, you're a woman running for President. And the Republican ticket has two women of color, neither of whom got prominent by riding a husband's coattails."; 3/15/14, 2:59 AM
damikesc said...: Well, if they mean they will have the IRS target them as they did O'Donnell, yeah, it is possible.; 3/15/14, 6:24 AM
Mark said...: Not shocked. Christie has no chance post Bridge scandal, no one wants Jeb (literally) and Walker is struggling in his re-election and is assured to squeak by with an unimpressive win if he even gets that.; 3/15/14, 6:57 AM
Jason said...: Jeb was a very fine governor. Everbody in Florida knows that. Even the Democrats.

Well, except for the teachers unions. But fuck them.; 3/15/14, 7:31 AM
drywilly said...: only people thinking Walker is struggling are the Milwaukee DA and comrade john; 3/15/14, 7:33 AM
Jason said...: And then there's Garage, hoping for Walker's perp walk like Linus waiting for the Great Pumpkin.; 3/15/14, 7:40 AM
Anonymous said...: I wonder if you pass through a 'Hall of History' as you enter the Nation's headquarters?

Some grainy photos at the HUAC trials..

An extensive power point of power distribution throughout the US gov't.

A paper mâché diorama of John Brown giving another crazy sermon to followers...; 3/15/14, 7:46 AM
Mark said...: Drywilly, Rasmussen just polled WI. Given they are regularly well to the R side here (Romney +7) a tie is not good new for Walker.

Three weeks of stories about John Doe has bled a Walkers support significantly. Refusal to answer questions is not the Wisconsin way.; 3/15/14, 7:48 AM
Humperdink said...: I remember the story after Chappaquidick, was that Ted Kennedy would not run for president because his staff was afraid that people would show up for his rallies in scuba gear.

Hillary (3AM phone call) Clinton would have similar Benghazi disruptions. I can't see her running. But then these are the Clintons, they seem to have an immunity to dishonor.; 3/15/14, 8:29 AM
Oso Negro said...: One thing on which the Establishment, Democrat and Republican like, can agree, is that no truly conservative candidate can be permitted. Imagine Ted Cruz laying off the entire U.S. Department of Education. The horror! The loss of graft! The devastating loss of make-work jobs! The chance that public education will begin to rise with the weight of the D.C necronauts off its back!; 3/15/14, 8:41 AM
Curious George said...: "Mark said...
and Walker is struggling in his re-election and is assured to squeak by with an unimpressive win if he even gets that."

LOL "assured"; 3/15/14, 8:56 AM
sane_voter said...: Rassmussen may have been R-leaning in the past, but they seem to be D-heavy since Papa Ras left the company. For example they consistently have Obama at higher job approval than the other polling companies.; 3/15/14, 9:01 AM
Curious George said...: The WI DNC jumped on Burke because they are sick of wasting their own money, and she has some ability to self finance.; 3/15/14, 9:07 AM
Brando said...: The GOP problem has a lot more to do with its process of making its nominees beholden to a base that alienates the nominee from the country's moderates than it does with the nominees themselves. It's a party hobbled by this process, which may result in a rare win when the Dems are weak (which they might be in 2016, after 8 years of Obama fatigue, an awful nominee like Hillary, or a weak economy and unpopular health care mess) but the GOP works against long odds.; 3/15/14, 9:47 AM
garage mahal said...: I'm surprised Althouse didn't post the Rasmussen poll showing Burke and Walker tied at 45-45. Not surprisingly, Walker & Republicans are eliminating early voting on weekends. If you can't win fair and square, cheat.; 3/15/14, 10:06 AM
Mark said...: Ah, we hear from the unskewed poll people. That insisting polls are skewed worked so well last time.; 3/15/14, 10:19 AM
Bayoneteer said...: The repubs will probably not elect another president. The electoral mojo just isn't there for them any longerm other than Texas what's left? Let the elephant die and start devising a new conservative coalition that can win again in the future. Or emigrate to some place better.; 3/15/14, 10:28 AM
Anonymous said...: I'm an ex-libertarian independent and I wouldn't vote for any of them if that helps those calculating odds at home.; 3/15/14, 1:22 PM
Anonymous said...: @kenk.

I think republicans can elect another president because they are the only other option available. How else can regular people express their dissatisfaction but in the pointless charade of voting for another party?

As I said elsewhere, Dems can manage not to repulse more people, but can they lead and execute the deep, systemic changes necessary to benefit all Americans in a global economy?; 3/15/14, 1:29 PM
damikesc said...: Ah, we hear from the unskewed poll people. That insisting polls are skewed worked so well last time.

Ah, we hear from the people convinced Rasmussen is a Republican polling company, even when evidence shows otherwise.; 3/15/14, 1:33 PM
damikesc said...: Not surprisingly, Walker & Republicans are eliminating early voting on weekends. If you can't win fair and square, cheat.

I'll bite --- how is that "cheating"?

Discouraging uninformed voting seems like a good idea.; 3/15/14, 1:33 PM
Strelnikov said...: Love when the Far Left states that it's beloved candidate appeals to "centrists and moderates" - among which they count themselves.; 3/15/14, 4:16 PM
Scott said...: Characterizing Rand Paul as "far right" shows how out-of-touch the leftist progressive establishment is with the libertarian movement.

Libertarianism is not the same as conservatism. Their Venn diagrams may overlap, but not nearly as much as The Nation's editors apparently think. Libertarianism's appeal is unique. And if the progressive petite bourgeois can't grok it, too bad for them.; 3/15/14, 4:17 PM
Strelnikov said...: And no one has the GOP's best interest at heart like the good folks at The Nation.; 3/15/14, 4:19 PM
Scott said...: You said it.; 3/15/14, 4:31 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: You guys think anyone who doesn't carry water for racists doesn't have the party's interest at heart.; 3/15/14, 10:18 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Condi's carry water for you - how, I don't know, but she's a carryin', Boss!; 3/15/14, 11:00 PM
Unknown said...: Shocking how few are mentioning Jindal. Did one still performance in front of the camera damage him that badly?

Jindal, Walker, Paul, Rubio, Ryan, Cruz. Nice group to select from.; 3/16/14, 3:24 PM