Humor will not be tolerated!! -Portia

Is this really the best field of candidates that the Republican party has to offer? They range from forgettable to horrifying.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I miss Mitt.

Cognoscente wrote:I can't believe I'm saying this, but I miss Mitt.

Yep! Have been saying this for months.

So far I'm rooting for Ben Carson. I like that he's not a career politician and that he actually has experience in the medical field. I just wish he had more specifics on how he is going to change the issues (his website is just woefully vague to me). Overall, I'll admit that I haven't been following it closely at all so I don't know much about the candidates. Personally, I'm against Rick Santorum because of some of the things he said during his last run, but he is so far behind in the polls that I'm not worrying about him.

Which candidate is your favorite and why? Any candidates that you hate?

Bring back John Huntsman!

I loved Jon Huntsman.

I'm not a huge Carson fan. He's a little too far-right for me and I was really disappointed that he didn't give a straight answer to Trump about vaccines. The whole non-argumentative thing is definitely good but presidents need to be assertive as well.

Rubio had me until climate change and then I was pretty disappointed. But his immigration and foreign policy show nuance and understanding that goes beyond just pandering to the base. I'd want to hear more about his economic policy.

Kasich is okay. I like Fiorna except for her foreign policy. I could get behind a Rubio/Fiorna or Kasich/Fiorna ticket, or seeing Fiorna in the cabinet and running again in a few years with more experience and hopefully a better understanding of foreign policy.

Bush underwhelmed me, and so did Walker, but I always really disliked him. Christie and Paul had good moments but I don't agree with them enough to get behind them, especially when they have such little support.

I don't think I need to explain why Huckabee, Trump, and Cruz are "no's" for me.

Shrinky Dink wrote:he actually has experience in the medical field.

How is this relevant to being POTUS, though?

Are we getting any Dem debates? I want to see Biden throw his hat in the ring. I LOVE BIDEN.

I think there's a Dem debate in October.

There's a question on this coming through the pipes, so I won't say too much that will end up being repetitive.

I respect Kasich, Rubio, and Christie, even though I disagree with them as often as not. If one of them (by which I mean almost definitely Rubio) gets the nomination, I'll probably still vote Democrat*, but I won't be heartbroken if they win.

Huckabee just might be the single biggest threat to religious liberty in the United States. Cruz creeps me out--I honestly have a visceral reaction of disgust just looking at him or listening to his voice--and he's the ultimate champion of obstructionist negative politics. Donald Trump wouldn't know the truth if it slapped him in the face. I honestly do not believe that I could live in a country run by any of those three, but thankfully, I also don't think any of them have a snowball's chance in the HBLL of actually winning.

The other candidates are all varying degrees of "meh" as far as my opinion goes. Don't like them, wouldn't vote for them, but they're not the worst.

Major points to Rand Paul for bringing up the racism and classism of the drug war and major points to Kasich for actually understanding the Iran deal.

If I had to predict a ticket right now, it would be Rubio-Fiorina. If I had to choose a ticket, knowing that it would win, it would be Kasich-Rubio.

*When the election happens, I will almost definitely be living in either Utah or California, so my vote will be pretty much meaningless anyway. Thank you, Electoral College. Now THAT is a constitutional amendment I could get behind.

If I could personally pick any Republican ticket, though, it would be Bush-Trump. Guaranteed Democratic victory, AND it would be the most hilarious train wreck in the history of modern politics.

Portia wrote:

Shrinky Dink wrote:he actually has experience in the medical field.

How is this relevant to being POTUS, though?

It's not really, but I feel that it's good to have someone who is well rounded (ie, not just a politician) especially since Washington DC seems to say, "Well, we're not teachers, but we know what is the best way for them to run a class room." "We're not medical administrators, but we know the best way to run a hospital." There's a lot of good stuff that has come from congress by making sure that a certain standard of care is expected and helping maintaining a level of consistency. I guess I just think it's nice to have someone who has experience with more than just being a politician/lawyer so I guess it's just personal preference.