Is Rand Paul a Serious 2016 Contender?

The 2016 presidential election is light-years away, yet the political pundits make daily predictions about who will win the Republican nomination.  The Democrats are set.  It’s Hillary Clinton all the way.

I don’t know why Chris Matthews made his predictions this early.  It could be that he’s trying to get Rand Paul on his show where he can berate him, or perhaps he wants to be the smart one in the crowd, where he’ll be able to say, “I told you so.” I think he’s trying to explain how some conservatives feel.  He's heard  some republicans say that if we’re going to lose to Hillary anyway, let’s go with someone who espouses our conservative values.  It’s no more “go along to get along.”

Joe Scarborough quickly said that he also does politics for a living, but he disagrees with Chris Matthews because he doesn’t think Rand Paul can win a general election.  Former RNC Chairman Michael Steele said Rand Paul has a legitimate shot at the nomination because he’s everything that the established Republicans aren’t but he agreed that Senator Paul would be a long shot to win the general election.

Senator Rand Paul is depending on the youth vote, but GOP governors have made it much harder for that group to vote.  If Hillary is the democratic nominee; he might be forced to find a woman to run as his vice president. Susana Martinez, governor of New Mexico, might be the cosmetic choice, but she doesn’t hold his libertarian views, and neither does New Hampshire senator, Kelly Ayotte.  Senator Marco Rubio or Ted Cruz would be willing to sacrifice their true beliefs for a shot to be vice president.

Republican Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey is the most popular politician overall but not by much, and yet; he still ranks eighth as far as GOP nominees go.  Some Republicans are so sensitive that they can’t get over the governor’s photo OP with President Obama during hurricane Sandy.  The governor is one example of not being conservative enough for the tri- cornered hat crowd. And that is what the 2016 election will be all about for the GOP.

It'll start at the sate level  where the Tea Party of Texas is making it too darn easy for a hostile takeover by the Dems…They are saying John Cornyn, a man who is always near the top as the most conservative member of Congress, is suddenly not conservative enough because he won’t join Senators Mike Lee and Ted Cruz in trying to shut down the government over defunding Obamacare…. Those dangling tea bags hanging from their tri-cornered hats are blinding them, but I hope they run one of the Christine O’Donnell type candidates because one of the Castro brothers will mop the floor with them.

I don’t think we’ll have a robust economy in 2015, but when Hillary makes the trip to Iowa for the first time, it’ll be on the verge of a full recovery.  That’s when she’ll hit Rand Paul, if he is the leading candidate.  She’ll tell the country that Senator Paul is on the wrong side of an increase of the minimum wage, woman’s issues and national security.  Rand Paul will hit back with Benghazi, which will be a faint memory in the voter’s memory, and his Ayn Rand’s philosophy of an unfettered free market.  The national polls will then show Hillary’s numbers trending up, and Rand Paul’s headed toward the basement.  

Another national election loss for the GOP will be devastating enough for them to make some serious changes.  They will learn that voters don’t really care about ideology (liberal or conservative) they want a strong national defense, effective government, and fairness across the board.

 A win for the GOP would signal the end of unions,  and Roe v Wade because they will appoint the next Supreme Court justices. Obamacare would be repealed along with serious cuts to the social programs. Medicare and Social Security would be on a path toward privatization. You can bet that Hillary Clinton will emphasize that on every campaign stop.

 

No Scarborough, MSNBC is Not Like Fox.

To view the video go here

This morning  Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough were arguing about RNC Chairman Reince Priebus’s   decision to bar CNN and NBC from airing the GOP presidential debates if they show the documentary on Hillary Clinton.

Mika Brzezinski said that Priebus should come on their show and explain his position because he still had Fox for the friendly venue that he wants.  Joe stepped in and said “Every time you bring up Fox, you’ve got to bring up MSNBC."

If Joe’s comments comparing the networks and the rhetoric stopped there, I might tend to agree with him more often. MSNBC, low ratings and all, do not recruit people who are running in the democratic primary.  There's no doubt that the network liens liberal and they will discuss the issues from that point of view.  I don't think any one is blaming the RNC for trying to use their leverage but they can't be crying media bias.

Joe Scarborough always plays the moral equivalence card when confronted with some crazy things republicans say.  These days, moderates  like to stay above the fray by saying that both sides do it, but that's not true. The left has their fringe elements but they've been kept  out the limelight for several years now.  The right on the other hand has been out of power for several years, so they're more willing to show their frustration.  For example, Republicans are attacking Republicans right now and Democrats are sitting back and enjoying the show.

For whatever the reasons, liberals don't tune in to talk radio or view MSNBC unless it's during a presidential election year, and the network’s rating prove it.  I normally record the evening programming for some tidbits I might of missed during the day.  Oftentimes, a guest like Erza Klien will break down an economic theory enough to where I can understand it.  Lawrence O'Donnell will break down policy procedures as he did when he was a senior staff member in the U.S. Senate.

Fox on the other hand appeals to the older 65 year plus white viewer, who will turn on Fox at 6:00 AM and a leave it there until they go to bed.  It's a constituency that votes.  Christianity, conservatism, the Second Amendment and traditional values is what drives these people and Fox tailors their programing to suit their needs.

I don't see what Republicans are complaining about because they have more than their share of the media. Conservatives certainly dominate talk radio and Fox dominates political cable television.  I guess they want network television, Hollywood, the New York Times  and the White House as some sort of entitlement. They think that the country is center right even though the data doesn't support that.

A good illustration  of the media and political differences is someone's take on the George Zimmerman trial. I bet an avid viewer of Fox thinks that Trayvon Martin was a thug, and George Zimmerman had every right to kill him in self-defense.  An MSNBC viewer like myself watched most of the trial and was disappointed but not surprised at the verdict. It wasn't so much the network's influence because most of us already had preconceived notions about the outcome.I believe networks like MSNBC, and Fox serves as cheerleaders for a certain point of view and CNN does a disservice because they go out of their way to try to stay in the middle.  Look at the several George Zimmerman trial letters that have been written in our newspaper which are mostly about promoting an agenda.