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Saturday, January 18, 2014

80th Rant: The Republican Presidential Nomination and 2016

One of my favorite blogs is entitled The Other McCain (no, not THAT McCain but the OTHER guy named McCain) and one of the articles that caught my eye was by Smitty entitled “32 GOP Presidential Choices? Nuts!” In it there was an email from GOP.com about 32 potential candidates for the presidential nomination. Now Smitty brings up a good point when he said the following:

(a) The next election is in 9 1/2 months, dudes. It’s both more important to focus on the next election, and to understand that how this November goes will inform what happens in 2016 in a major way.

We DO have a very important election in 9.5 months called the midterm elections in which all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 33 seats in the Senate (a total of 468 members of Congress) are up for grabs. If we focus on that, then we will decide where this country will go for the next two years and then ultimately in 2016. However, just for grinz, Smitty had put the 32 candidates in separate categories. I will posit his categories for all 32 candidates, and then offer my picks in the same categories.

Here are Smitty’s picks:

YES (9)

– Sen. Ted Cruz, of Texas
- Nikki Haley, South Carolina governor
- Bobby Jindal, Louisiana governor
– Sarah Palin, former Alaska governor
– Mike Pence, Indiana governor
- Sen. Rand Paul, of Kentucky
- Scott Walker, Wisconsin governor
– Former Rep. Allen West, of Florida
- Rick Santorum, former Pennsylvania senator

MAYBE (7)

- John Bolton, former ambassador to the United Nations
- Ben Carson, author and neurosurgeon
– Rick Perry, Texas governor
- Condoleezza Rice, former secretary of state
– Sen. Marco Rubio, of Florida
- Sen. Rob Portman, of Ohio
– Sen. Tim Scott, of South Carolina

NO (11)

- Sen. Kelly Ayotte, of New Hampshire
- Haley Barbour, former Mississippi governor
– Chris Christie, New Jersey governor
– Mitch Daniels, former Indiana governor
- Mike Huckabee, former Arkansas governor
- Susana Martinez, New Mexico governor
– John Kasich, Ohio governor
- Former Rep. Ron Paul, of Texas
– Tim Pawlenty, former Minnesota governor
– Brian Sandoval, Nevada governor
- Sen. John Thune, of South Dakota

I WILL VOTE LIBERTARIAN (2)

- Jeb Bush, former Florida governor
- Rep. Peter King, of New York

SPECIAL MENTIONS (3)

– Herman Cain, a radio host–Health concerns
- Newt Gingrich, former House speaker–Be an advisor, sir.
– Rep. Paul Ryan, of Wisconsin–You soiled yourself on the budget deal.

And here are my picks:

YES (7) - Marco Rubio (Florida Senator)
- Ted Cruz (Texas Senator)
- John Bolton (former ambassador to the United Nations)
- Scott Walker (Wisconsin Governor)
-  Nikki Haley (South Carolina Governor)
- Tim Scott (South Carolina Senator)
- Bobby Jindal (Louisiana Governor)
MAYBE (13) - Ben Carson (Author and Neurosurgeon)
- Paul Ryan (Wisconsin Congressman)
- Allen West (Former Florida Congressman)
- Rand Paul (Kentucky Senator)
- Brian Sandoval (Nevada Governor)
- John Kasich (Ohio Governor)
- Condoleezza Rice (Former Secretary of State under President George W. Bush)
- Sarah Palin (Former Alaska Governor)
- Kelly Ayotte (New Hampshire Senator)
- Haley Barbour (Former Mississippi Governor)
Mike Pence (Indiana Governor)
- Susanna Martinez (New Mexico Governor)
- John Thune (Former South Dakota Senator)
NO (10) - Jeb Bush (Former Florida Governor)
- Peter King (New York Congressman)
- Rick Santorum (Former Pennsylvania Senator)
- Ron Paul (Former Texas Congressman)
- Mike Huckabee (Former Arkansas Governor)
- Tim Pawlenty (Former Minnesota Governor)
- Rick Perry (Texas Governor)
- Rob Portman (Ohio Senator)
- Chris Christie (New Jersey Governor)
- Mitch Daniels (Former Indiana Governor)
I WILL VOTE OTHER (0) NONE (This is because if I were to vote for other if there were people in this category, then I would in a sense be voting for the Democrat running)
SPECIAL MENTIONS (2) - Herman Cain (Considering his age and also how 2012 was a train wreck for him, he might stay in radio)
- Newt Gingrich (I think he would be good in an advisory position or as Chief of Staff or other insider position for a Republican President)

Do you agree or disagree with my picks? Let me know on Skype (rickbulow74), email (rickbulow74@live.com), Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/RickBulow1974) or on Twitter (@RickBulow1974) where I am wrong. Let us, in the immortal words of one Tony Katz, engage the conversation on this and see where we differ.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons license.

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