Who is the real Donald Trump?

[Bob Kohm]

kingmaker like DeMint

By "kingmaker" you mean "guy who has some name recognition but who couldn't sway anyone who is already 100% aligned with him"? That's who and what Jim DeMint is and that's a damnably poor definition of "kingmaker".

[PaleoMan]

By "kingmaker" you mean "guy who has some name recognition but who couldn't sway anyone who is already 100% aligned with him"? That's who and what Jim DeMint is and that's a damnably poor definition of "kingmaker".

In the land of Dixie, he has massive appeal. His endorsement could go a long way.

[nots]

I will be putting forth all my energy to get the venerable Ron Paul nominated, now that he has announced his potential candidacy. After being mocked in 2008, a twist of serendipity has made his platform appear almost prophetic. He's been clamoring for years about the heavyhandedness of the Federal Reserve and a reckless money supply for more than 3 decades. The impracticality of maintaining a massive overseas empire largely off foreign credit is another issue which bodes well for him. At the very least, he will be the conscience in the GOP primary race, separating the wheat from the chaff. His chances of being nominated are slim, but if he can generate some momentum in N.H. and Iowa, you never know when a kingmaker like DeMint would throw his support behind him in a key state like South Carolina.

I can find some common ground with Ron Paul, but this is nothing more than a quixotic run.
Kind of a new generation's Lyndon LaRouche.

[Wonderboy]

What do you politicos think of Bobby Jindal?

Unelectable. He has a foreign sounding first name and was born with a different religion. Also fails to wear a flag pin all the time, thus proving he isn't a patriot.

[Wonderboy]

I can find some common ground with Ron Paul, but this is nothing more than a quixotic run.
Kind of a new generation's Lyndon LaRouche.

I agreed with that assessment up until 2008. Now I'm not so sure. He has a real shot at the GOP nomination under the current political environment.

[B-Fly]

I can find some common ground with Ron Paul, but this is nothing more than a quixotic run.
Kind of a new generation's Lyndon LaRouche.

I was thinking Dennis Kucinich, or at best (re: electability), Howard Dean.

[PaleoMan]

The fraudulent preacher man may be running. God help us. I think I may have thrown up in my mouth abit:

http://www.thestatecolumn.com/articles/mike-huckabee-leading-south-carolina/

The polling results come just days after Mr. Huckabee’s 2008 campaign manage Ed Rollins said he expects Mr. Huckabee will enter the 2012 Republican campaign. “He’s receiving quite a bit of counsel and encouragement,” Mr. Rollins said. “He knows he has roughly a June 1 deadline to decide.”

[cardboardbox]

what a sorry bunch to choose from. Maybe someone will impress me later in the year but right now its not a stimulating crowd. I assume this is in large part due to the cyclical nature of the economy. Most everyone realized in 2008 that the economy would be vastly improved in 2012, making O almost invincible, so some of the more interesting candidates are staying home. OTOH, Rubio might be too young right now to win so perhaps he wouldnt have run anyway.

I like Daniels but doubt he'll get much traction if he decides to run. He's too smart, serious, and boring from what I've seen.

[nots]

The fraudulent preacher man may be running. God help us. I think I may have thrown up in my mouth abit:

http://www.thestatecolumn.com/articl...outh-carolina/

I expect Huckabee will run as well. Not my candidate of choice, but I don't buy this 'fraudulent preacher man' business. I applaud his tone and demeanor, if not his politics.

[Wonderboy]

I expect Huckabee will run as well. Not my candidate of choice, but I don't buy this 'fraudulent preacher man' business. I applaud his tone and demeanor, if not his politics.

Yeah, I don't agree with almost anything he says, but I think he is sincere.

[PaleoMan]

what a sorry bunch to choose from. Maybe someone will impress me later in the year but right now its not a stimulating crowd. I assume this is in large part due to the cyclical nature of the economy. Most everyone realized in 2008 that the economy would be vastly improved in 2012, making O almost invincible, so some of the more interesting candidates are staying home. OTOH, Rubio might be too young right now to win so perhaps he wouldnt have run anyway.

I like Daniels but doubt he'll get much traction if he decides to run. He's too smart, serious, and boring from what I've seen.

O is on life support politically, but (1) he has a billion dollar warchest (he is the CORPORATE candidate if you haven't been paying attention) (2) the Republicans have AAAA competition lined up in any prospective 2012 battle. Christie and Rand Paul are on deck for 2016.

[Bob Kohm]

Christie and Rand Paul are on deck for 2016.

Speaking as someone interested in seeing continued Democratic rule through 2024, I sincerely hope so.

[PaleoMan]

I expect Huckabee will run as well. Not my candidate of choice, but I don't buy this 'fraudulent preacher man' business. I applaud his tone and demeanor, if not his politics.

there is alot of dirty stuff on this guy. The hard drive scandal is the most revealing. He is a motivating public speaker though. Rev has the goods.

http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=2786

The latest Huckabee scandal involves Huckabee spending $500k to erase government hard drives before leaving office. Shouldn’t all ordinary government records be available for the public? Making this scandal worse is the fact that an emergency fund was pillaged to pay for the hard drive erasures. Well, I suppose if you’re a crooked governor in Arkansas, you would consider erasing hard drives before you left office “an emergency.”

There are a few interesting points here: Who spends 500k to have hard drives erased? What kind of spendthrift idiot is Huckabee? Just have a 15 year old computer literate kid do it. It would have been cheaper to replace the hard drives and burn the old ones. What was on Huckabee’s hard drives? Illegal contributions? Kiddie porn? Was it even legal for Huckabee to erase those hard drives?

[PaleoMan]

Speaking as someone interested in seeing continued Democratic rule through 2024, I sincerely hope so.

The key for republicans to regain the White House is to unite the clans and create real grassroots energy. People who vote republican are a fastidious sort. That's why nearly all the 2012 candidates are so uninspiring. They're all cheap facisimiles of conservatism without any substance, relying on cliches and platitudes. Ergo, the party has been hopelessly fractured. No oomph. If a republican is ever going to be sucessful he's going to have to unite the religious right, the finance cons, the paleos, the libertarians and the shrinking remnants of self-avowed Reagan democrats. There is one of these rare people locked away in the bullpen, but he ain't ready to run as of yet.

[Bob Kohm]

The key for republicans to regain the White House is to unite the clans and create real grassroots energy. People who vote republican are a fastidious sort. That's why nearly all the 2012 candidates are so uninspiring. They're all cheap facisimiles of conservatism without any substance, relying on cliches and platitudes. Ergo, the party has been hopelessly fractured. No oomph. If a republican is ever going to be sucessful he's going to have to unite the religious right, the finance cons, the paleos, the libertarians and the shrinking remnants of self-avowed Reagan democrats. There is one of these rare people locked away in the bullpen, but he ain't ready to run as of yet.

And you see Rand Paul doing that? Chris Christie? I agree with what you worte (for the 2012-'16 elections) but those two ain't it, not by a long shot.