2012 GOP Primaries: An Honest Poll

[Progressive]

Please discuss why you picked who you picked

[MasterJedi]

At Present: Probably will only change depending on who runs or not.

1. Newt Gingrich
2. John Thune

[TopherAwesome]

Sarah Palin

She excites the GOP base.

[minionofmidas]

I honestly have no clue.

[Frodo]

Given the way things are going, Sarah Palin will be the 2012 GOP presidential nominee.

[Obnoxiously Slutty Girly Girl]

His son's Senatorial victory will be the launchpad for Ron Paul's successful 2012 presidential campaign.

[Joe Biden 2020]

His son's Senatorial victory will be the launchpad for Ron Paul's successful 2012 presidential campaign.

Remember, though, that by January 2013, he will be 77 1/2 years old which would put him in his 80's even after just one term and over halfway to 90 if he served 8 years.  So, I doubt people will want another old geezer leading them.

Right now, I think the GOP is looking to a new rising star which does not include Sarah Palin, as she is already a has-been having run for Vice President already.  Plus, the problem with Palin is I think Hillary Clinton was the best chance for the nation to elect a female president and with her narrow loss to Senator Obama, it may have zapped the female power for a few cycles.  I am thinking Sen. John Thune (R-SD) to run and at least be in the top two in the GOP race and I think he even has a pretty good shot to unseat President Obama, who has found his major problem rising above the magnitude of Katrina, more along the lines of Carter's Iran-Contra which helped doom him.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

His son's Senatorial victory will be the launchpad for Ron Paul's successful 2012 presidential campaign.

LOL.  How Delusionstan, Libertas?

[Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey]

His son's Senatorial victory will be the launchpad for Ron Paul's successful 2012 presidential campaign.

Remember, though, that by January 2013, he will be 77 1/2 years old which would put him in his 80's even after just one term and over halfway to 90 if he served 8 years.  So, I doubt people will want another old geezer leading them.

I like Ron Paul, but BushOklahoma is right, Ron Paul will be as old as Reagan was when Reagan left office. If any Paul ran, it'd probably be Rand (which in itself is unrealistic, considering Rand Paul would have to start planning his run as soon as he took office).

[Lincoln Republican]

Romney.

He has the stature, intelligence, experience, and ability to be a great President.

[auburntiger]

Mitch Daniels as president and John Thune as vice president...not to sound like a broken record and I apologize if I digress a little.

The GOP needs to do something unpredictable and fresh, while having the clear message of fiscal responsibility while not focusing too much on social issues. Daniels needs to be on top to highlight his record as a successful 2-term governor, while Thune is a good pick to get out the base...and comes across much more intelligent than Sarah Palin. Also, both these guys unseated Democratic incumbents when they got elected in 2004, so they are electable enough to convince voters of their respective states to vote out the incumbent Democrat (high profile one I may add in SD). Both also have been/will be reelected in landslide numbers. I just hope Daniels decides he wants it.

This is my hope of course, but I think Republicans will see that this pick will be the best chance they have to unseat Obama. Why won't the others work?

Palin is...well Palin, and we must avoid picking her. I don't think she will run because she likes what she's doing now...campaigning for other people and doing book signings...plus I think she knows she can't win.

Romney will be a tough sell for the base to turnout (mormonism shouldn't be an issue as I know plenty of evangelicals who would hold their nose and vote for him bc of his supposedly good economic record, my dad being one of those). Also, he's old news.

Pawlenty comes off all right and maybe would be a good VP pick to help in Minnesota. But he seems rather boring.

Huckabee will only be supported by the evangelical base. His soft stance on crime will hurt him among some of the Christians. I will not support him.

Bobby Jindal, Gary Johnson, Haley Barbour, Santorum?? really??, Ron Paul, Eric Cantor, George Pataki... will not run in 2012. Of those, Jindal, Cantor would only stand a chance of getting the nomination in 2016 or so. Bob McDonell will also be a good candidate for 2016.

Newt...ole Newt...has been. Very smart though. He'd only accept the presidential slot. And he is a sure loss.

I think Bob Corker (R-TN) would be a good candidate (I know I said don't focus on the south, but he'd be a good part of a ticket).





All that said, the GOP needs fresh faces and should nominate Daniels/Thune. Not saying they will win, but they should win back Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio and Florida, and hold onto all the McCain 2008 states, to look like a Kerry-style loss at least.

[Speaker Perez]

Governor Bobby Jindal, thats who Obama should worry about. He has a 70% approval rating in Louisiana, he received praise for his preparation of Hurricane Gustav and he is the only top official doing anything about the gulf Oil spill, which can come in handy during a general election. he's young and not white, a good image for the republican party which is perceived as the party of rich old  white guys and Sarah Palin.

[sentinel]

I think its easier to say who the nominee will not be, or the worst choices for the Republicans...

Unless Obama's approvals are enormous the nominee will not be:


Former Gov. Sarah Palin - ZERO cognitive intelligence. Squat. Nada. The Republicans should hope that she doesn't get the nomination.

Former Gov. Mike Huckabee - I'm up in the air about this one.

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich - Stepped down as Speaker after ethics violations? Other candidates will own him on that.    
    
Gov. Haley Barbour - Appearance wise, I think the media plays a much bigger role than it used to. He's a chubster. I don't know much about him otherwise.

Former Sen. Rick Santorum - Not getting the nomination.
   
Rep. Ron Paul - See below.
Former Gov. Gary Johnson - He's not getting the nomination. His values aren't Republican enough.

Rep. Eric Cantor - Comes off as highly partisan, he always seems like a snob to me. Don't think he'll get it. I really believe that Obama would look so much more..."cool as a cucumber" sitting next to him...and for appearances sake, he has a baby face.

[sentinel]

Governor Bobby Jindal, thats who Obama should worry about. He has a 70% approval rating in Louisiana, he received praise for his preparation of Hurricane Gustav and he is the only top official doing anything about the gulf Oil spill, which can come in handy during a general election. he's young and not white, a good image for the republican party which is perceived as the party of rich old  white guys and Sarah Palin.

Jindal's 70% approval rating means nothing nationally.

[Mr. Morden]

Bobby Jindal, Gary Johnson, Haley Barbour, Santorum?? really??, Ron Paul, Eric Cantor, George Pataki... will not run in 2012.

Barbour, Johnson, Pataki, and Santorum are all far more likely to run than Huckabee.  None of them will win the nomination, but they all have a good chance of running.  Heck, Santorum is practically already running.  He's visiting an early primary state just about every other week.  The only person who's been more active in early primary state visits is Pawlenty.

Huckabee, OTOH, is doing absolutely nothing to indicate that he's interested in another run.  Ever since the Clemmons case back in November or December or whenever it was, he's kept an extraordinarily low profile, outside of his TV show.  He's only visited Iowa once since then, and that was to support his pal Vander Plaats.  He's made no other visits to early primary states.  He's done next to nothing in terms of endorsing and campaigning for candidates.  He skipped both CPAC and the SRLC.  He still has his PAC, but it barely raises enough money to keep itself out of bankruptcy.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Romney fits in well with the Republican tradition of giving the nomination to the guy who's "next in line."

Plus, he does have a should-have-chosen-that-guy allure to him. 2008 would have been kinder to the GOP with Romney on top of the ticket, that's for sure.

[Free Palestine]

Ron Paul Ron Paul Ron Paul

[paul718]

Though he would prefer someone else, I think Gingrich will win the nomination.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Though he would prefer someone else, I think Gingrich will win the nomination.

Can I ask why?  Your response wasn't what I expected.....that's why I ask.

[President Mitt]

Romney

[Devilman88]

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich

[Yelnoc]

Mitch Daniels.  He's quiet now but if he throws in his hat, which I believe he will, he has the potential to defeat Romney and co. and would do better in the general election against Obama then anyone else; something I think the Republican voters will realize.  He is a fiscal conservative which will solidify the base around him and his socially mdoerate stances should allow him to pick up independents.

[auburntiger]

Mitch Daniels.  He's quiet now but if he throws in his hat, which I believe he will, he has the potential to defeat Romney and co. and would do better in the general election against Obama then anyone else; something I think the Republican voters will realize.  He is a fiscal conservative which will solidify the base around him and his socially mdoerate stances should allow him to pick up independents.

I'm glad someone else agrees.

[Tender Branson]

Early prediction:

In early 2012, Mitch Daniels will win IA and NH and then everybody else on the GOP side will drop dead.

[paul718]

Though he would prefer someone else, I think Gingrich will win the nomination.

Can I ask why?  Your response wasn't what I expected.....that's why I ask.

Because I think the health care debate will hurt Romney too much.  Huckabee and Palin won't run.  I don't believe Daniels will run (though I'd like him to).  Jeb won't.  I think Newt knows this is his last shot to make a run.  He gets more face time than anyone.  He has personal issues, but his appeal covers most wings of the GOP base.