Author Topic: Newsmax 16 for '16: The Most Talked-About Potential GOP Presidential Candidates  (Read 1651 times)

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Offline mystery-ak

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Newsmax
16 for '16: The Most Talked-About Potential GOP Presidential Candidates
Thursday, January 2, 2014 05:37 PM

By: Bill Hoffmann

As 2014 kicks off, it is apparent that a crystal-clear frontrunner for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination has yet to emerge.

Not unlike 2010, the Republican stage is crowded with potential candidates boasting different degrees of conservatism, from tea party favorites like Ted Cruz to moderates like Peter King and liberal-leaning Republicans like Chris Christie.

The GOP again faces the daunting task of wading through a large field of prospects to pick a candidate to challenge the presumed Democratic choice of Hillary Clinton.

He or she must be a stronger choice than Mitt Romney, be ready to navigate the choppy waters of the liberal media, and appeal to a broad base of the Republican Party, which for now remains deeply splintered.

Here are 16 names (in alphabetical order) to keep an eye on as we edge closer to 2016:



Jeb Bush

Personal: Age: 60; former two-term governor of Florida; son of former President George H.W. Bush and brother of former President George W. Bush; married, three children.

Pros: Regarded as a successful and popular governor in a key battleground state; part of the Bush political dynasty; has high Latino support; speaks Spanish.

Cons: Has the electorate had enough of the Bush family? Even matriarch Barbara Bush seems to think so. Of course if he runs against Hillary Clinton, one could ask the same question about that surname.





Dr. Ben Carson

Personal: Age: 62; former director of pediatric neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins Hospital; married.

Pros: Rational, plain speaking; brilliant medical background; gained national attention with biting speech against Obamacare at the National Prayer Breakfast, with the president sitting on the dais.

Cons: Has never held political office and lacks political experience on any level; likely considered a one-trick-pony opposing Obamacare.




Chris Christie

Personal: Age: 51; governor of New Jersey, just elected in a landslide to a second term; former U.S. Attorney for New Jersey; married, four children.

Pros: High approval ratings; good grades for his fast response to the Hurricane Sandy disaster; GOP candidate most likely to appeal to Democrats; has a straightforward, no-nonsense style some find refreshing.

Cons: That no-nonsense style has also routinely rankled some, who feel he comes off as a manipulative bully; considered too liberal by many in the GOP; his weight has raised questions about his long-term health.





Ted Cruz

Personal: Age: 43; serving first term as U.S. senator from Texas; married, two children.

Pros: Beloved in the Bible Belt and regarded as one of the tea party's rising stars; extremely smart and articulate; staunch opposition to Obamacare and support for conservative ideals has endeared him to the GOP faithful; Cuban heritage aligns him with Hispanics.

Cons: Blamed for filibuster that spurred the government shutdown; intelligent, yes, but also can come off as arrogant; may be too conservative for some moderate Republicans, whom he rankled with his shutdown strategy; potential rival Rep. Peter King called him a "fraud."





Nikki Haley

Personal: Age: 41; governor of South Carolina; married, two children.

Pros: Like Bobby Jindal, would bring double diversity to the White House as an Indian-American and a plain-speaking southerner.

Cons: Little national recognition; was recently slapped with a fine and ethics warning for campaign donor violations





Mike Huckabee

Personal: Age: 58; former governor of Arkansas; ordained Baptist minister; married, three children.

Pros: Personable and glib; veteran TV and radio broadcaster with high visibility; former Southern Baptist pastor with strong religious support; strong on core conservative social principles.

Cons: Is already finding opposition among the conservative group Club For Growth for his fiscal policies while governor; failed to develop momentum for the nomination in 2008, despite winning some states.





Bobby Jindal

Personal: Age: 42; serving second term as governor of Louisiana; former U.S. representative; married, three children.

Pros: Would bring double diversity to the White House as an Indian-American and a southerner; has an impressive resume as a public servant, from, governor, to congressman, president of the state university system and assistant secretary in Health and Human Services (giving him an inside track on fixing Obamacare).

Cons: Has been considered a rising star in the party for several years, but has not developed much traction nationally; his biggest moment in the national spotlight — the 2009 GOP response to the State of the Union — was not well received.





John Kasich

Personal: Age: 61; governor of Ohio; former U.S. representative; married.

Pros: Impressive political chops: former U.S. congressman, Ohio senator; chairman of the House Committee on the Budget.

Cons: As was the case in 2000, when he considered a presidential run, Kasich has little national presence and is not even a blip on most polls; expanded Medicaid in Ohio over GOP opposition; got negative attention several years ago for calling a cop an "idiot" for giving him a traffic ticket.





Peter King

Personal: Age: 69; U.S. representative from New York; chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security; married, two children.

Pros: Outspoken and highly opinionated; strong in national security issues; scandal-free.

Cons: Too aligned with New York and the Northeast; made enemies in the GOP when he criticized slow GOP's response on Hurricane Sandy aid; called rival Ted Cruz a "fraud," and Rand Paul "a disgrace to his office."





Susana Martinez

Personal: Age: 54; governor of New Mexico; married, one child.

Pros: Made history as first elected female governor of New Mexico and the first female Hispanic governor in the U.S.

Cons: Has said she is not interested in a White House run; could face heat from women for her pro-life stance; does not have a national presence.





Rand Paul

Personal: Age: 50; U.S. senator from Kentucky; son of former Congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul; married, three children.

Pros: Plain-speaking conservative with a solid record of backing core Republican values, such as the Second Amendment, immigration, and lower taxes; can build on the following his father developed during his previous presidential runs.

Cons: Launched a controversial filibuster against proposed CIA head John Brennan that was panned by some conservatives; dogged by recent accusations of plagiarism.





Rick Perry

Personal: Age: 63; serving 14th year as governor of Texas; married, two children.

Pros: Longest serving Texas governor; can tout a strong record on creating jobs and keeping taxes low; his strong stance against abortion made national news.

Cons: Trails fellow Texan Ted Cruz in visibility; burned bridges with women when he slammed Democratic Sen. Wendy Davis for her filibuster; could be haunted by gaffes from his last presidential run.





Marco Rubio

Personal: Age 42; in first term as U.S. senator from Florida; former speaker of the Florida House; married, four children.

Pros: Charismatic, articulate and politically savvy; popular with Latinos; gained national attention as head of "Gang of Eight" pushing immigration reform.

Cons: Alienated some in the party on his signature immigration reform campaign; like Jindal, failed to take advantage of his opportunity on the national stage and became known for the infamous "water bottle" incident during the State-of-the-Union rebuttal speech.





Paul Ryan

Personal: Age: 43; U.S. representative from Wisconsin; chairman of the House Budget Committee; GOP vice presidential candidate on Mitt Romney ticket in 2012; married, three children

Pros: High approval ratings from GOP, a conservative hero who champions cutting spending, taxes, and entitlements; scored points as a bipartisan bridge-builder after cutting budget deal with Democratic Sen. Patty Murray.

Cons: Was part of the Mitt Romney presidential disaster; may be too conservative for American mainstream.





Rick Santorum

Personal: Age: 55; former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania; former U.S. representative; married, eight children (one deceased).

Pros: Squeaky-clean and scandal free; one of the GOP's most respected social conservatives with a strong record opposition abortion and gay marriage.

Cons: Had a reputation as a spender in congress; still fell short of the nomination in 2012, despite better-than-expected showing; might be considered too evangelical.




Scott Walker

Personal: Age: 46; governor of Wisconsin; married, two children.

Pros: Dynamic and articulate speaker who has gained traction in a recent book tour; showed off his substantial political skills in beating back a 2011 recall effort.

Cons: Needs to win re-election in 2014; while successful in his recall challenge, he took a beating from labor unions and teachers; needs to continue to establish a higher national profile.



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Offline olde north church

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There is one who will shine.  There are a few who shouldn't even consider it.  There are two who are there to serve as stalking horses.
Why?  Well, because I'm a bastard, that's why.

Offline EC

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Perry or Martinez are my preferred picks this far out.

Both governors with a good record of actually doing things. Both with very first hand experience on the illegals front and with certainly some hands on experience of foreign policy. Of course, that is more important to me than thee, but the USA is still, despite Obama's efforts, the 800 lb gorilla in the room as far as world policy goes.

I'd prefer Perry, personally, but Martinez has a crucial advantage if Hillary is the Dem nominee - her selection would totally negate the whole "war on women" and "first female president" aspects of the campaign.
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Offline xfreeper

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the only one on the list I could even consider is Cruz. Several may make good VP selection

Offline mountaineer

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Quote
burned bridges with women when he slammed Democratic Sen. Wendy Davis for her filibuster
It's nonsense to say Perry or Martinez  would face too much heat from women voters due to their pro-life stances. Not all women are pro-abortion. Newsmax should know that.
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Offline Bigun

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For whatever it's worth here is my order of preference;

1. Ted Cruz

2. Dr. Ben Carson

3. Scott Walker

4. Rand Paul

5. Rick Perry

6. Rick Santorum

7. Nikki Haley

8. Mike Huckabee

9. Bobby Jindal

10.  John Kasich

11. Susana Martinez

12. Marco Rubio

13. Paul Ryan

14. Jeb Bush

15. Chris Christie

16. Peter King
"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.

"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."
- J. R. R. Tolkien

Offline aligncare

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 :nometalk:

I like you guys too much to start shooting my mouth off now.

Offline Bigun

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:nometalk:

I like you guys too much to start shooting my mouth off now.

Coward!  :bolt:
"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.

"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."
- J. R. R. Tolkien

Offline jmyrlefuller

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This list looks like a Democrat wrote it.
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Offline aligncare

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Coward!  :bolt:

Okay. I'll take a chance.

I like Scott Walker's record in Wisconsin. (Gee, I hope I didn't ruffle any birdie feathers out on that limb)

Offline Bigun

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Okay. I'll take a chance.

I like Scott Walker's record in Wisconsin. (Gee, I hope I didn't ruffle any birdie feathers out on that limb)

LOL! So do I! But the media will tear him apart limb by limb!
"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.

"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."
- J. R. R. Tolkien

Offline Millee

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LOL! So do I! But the media will tear him apart limb by limb!

The media will tear apart any candidate the Republicans run.   :chairbang:

Offline Olivia

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This list looks like a Democrat wrote it.

Huh?  Please explain why...
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Offline R4 TrumPence

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For whatever it's worth here is my order of preference;

1. Ted Cruz

2. Dr. Ben Carson

3. Scott Walker

4. Rand Paul

5. Rick Perry

6. Rick Santorum

7. Nikki Haley

8. Mike Huckabee

9. Bobby Jindal

10.  John Kasich

11. Susana Martinez

12. Marco Rubio

13. Paul Ryan

14. Jeb Bush

15. Chris Christie

16. Peter King

I like your list. I might put Rand 2nd though  ^-^


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Offline aligncare

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Without ranking, I like Paul, Cruz, Walker, Christie.

Who could win general election? Christie, Paul.

Who do I prefer? Paul, Walker.

Who would win? The Democrat.

Offline Bigun

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Without ranking, I like Paul, Cruz, Walker, Christie.

Who could win general election? Christie, Paul.

Who do I prefer? Paul, Walker.

Who would win? The Democrat.

If the election were confined to New York only that is entirely true but, thank God,  it isn't!
« Last Edit: January 03, 2014, 07:41:33 pm by Bigun »
"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.

"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."
- J. R. R. Tolkien

Offline Bigun

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I like your list. I might put Rand 2nd though  ^-^

I wouldn't have much of a problem with that change either.

 :beer:
"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.

"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."
- J. R. R. Tolkien

Offline aligncare

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Of course, I was being a bit facetious, but after Obama's wins ... afraid I'm a tad fatalistic about the American electorate.

Offline Bigun

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The media will tear apart any candidate the Republicans run.   :chairbang:

That is definitely true but Walker's lack of a degree would make the storm even worse for him mostly because none of the handlers would have a clue as to how to respond to it.
"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.

"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."
- J. R. R. Tolkien

Offline jmyrlefuller

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Huh?  Please explain why...
Only one is cited as too liberal (Christie). In contrast, Peter King (who is lauded for supposedly being scandal-free) is said to be "too close to the northeast." The only knock on Jeb Bush they list is his name (and he has a LOT more). Paul Ryan, who hasn't had a conservative stand-up moment since before he was selected as VP, is panned as too conservative. Rand Paul's filibuster on Brennan hardly registers on most issues.

Come to think of it, it might not be a Democrat writing it... more like a Bush-era neocon.
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Offline Rapunzel

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I like your list. I might put Rand 2nd though  ^-^

and I'd move Santorum and Huckabee down just above Paul Ryan.
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Offline Rapunzel

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Frank Luntz was on Cavuto to review the best and worst political ads for 2013.  The ad that had the off the chart best ratings from Republicans AND Democrats combined was .............. Ted Cruz.
�The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be, Freemen, or Slaves.� G Washington July 2, 1776