Graham floats Rubio-Kasich ticket

[Lando Lincoln]

My God.

[Sanguine]

My God.

????

[Lando Lincoln]

????

Just my contribution to a repeat of an oft-reiterated stream of comments.  We've got big oil, pharmacies, GOPe, he is, he isn't, beholden to banks, conservative/not, and other non-quantifiable, unitless or tangible commentary.  Instead of looking at the merits or negatives of a Rubio/Kasich ticket, we slide into the usual tripe and belly aching snark.  We draw magnificent conclusions from a donor list viewed in a vacuum.  In my view - and that is all it is - most of these comments are tripe.  They are not difficult to sort through - again, in my view (which counts for squat on a really good day).  I am just so damned weary of it.

How about a Florida/Ohio ticket with Hispanic and policy-wonk appeal?  Not as inane as it might sound.

[Free Vulcan]

Just my contribution to a repeat of an oft-reiterated stream of comments.  We've got big oil, pharmacies, GOPe, he is, he isn't, beholden to banks, conservative/not, and other non-quantifiable, unitless or tangible commentary.  Instead of looking at the merits or negatives of a Rubio/Kasich ticket, we slide into the usual tripe and belly aching snark.  We draw magnificent conclusions from a donor list viewed in a vacuum.  In my view - and that is all it is - most of these comments are tripe.  They are not difficult to sort through - again, in my view (which counts for squat on a really good day).  I am just so damned weary of it.

How about a Florida/Ohio ticket with Hispanic and policy-wonk appeal?  Not as inane as it might sound.

If Kasich had more mojo, then it'd make more sense. But he doesn't. He's playing the spoiler due to the fact that this is a 3-man race, and he's using his support as leverage. It's self-serving and opportunistic, and if he keeps playing it then he's going to get nothing if he knocks out Rubio, who's his only shot at VP.

[Jazzhead]

How about a Florida/Ohio ticket with Hispanic and policy-wonk appeal?  Not as inane as it might sound.

Of course.  But sanity's not at work in this election. 

[musiclady]

If Kasich had more mojo, then it'd make more sense. But he doesn't. He's playing the spoiler due to the fact that this is a 3-man race, and he's using his support as leverage. It's self-serving and opportunistic, and if he keeps playing it then he's going to get nothing if he knocks out Rubio, who's his only shot at VP.

I don't believe Kasich is either self-serving or opportunistic.  I think he believes he is the most qualified to be President (and there are reasonable arguments to defend that position).

Obviously I have some issues with Kasich, but relative to Trump, he's a knight in shining armor.

[Jazzhead]

I don't believe Kasich is either self-serving or opportunistic.  I think he believes he is the most qualified to be President (and there are reasonable arguments to defend that position).

Obviously I have some issues with Kasich, but relative to Trump, he's a knight in shining armor.

[sneakypete]

In other words, anyone we don't support couldn't possibly have any ideological reasons for supporting anything.  All our political opponents are corrupt by definition. 

No,I am saying there are reasons why some politicians always seem to cave/never win on big issues,and those reasons are most likely related to something embarrassing,illegal,or both being held over his or her head. In Graham's case I'm betting it is related to him being a homosexual.

I seriously doubt that Newt Gingrich is a homosexual,but you will never convince me the Dims didn't find some dirt on him or a close family member that made him switch overnight from a very conservative Republican with enormous political power,into someone that couldn't or wouldn't even be able to stay in Congress. He was one of the most powerful men in this country one day,and for all practical purposes he couldn't even BUY tv time,never mind appear on any of the talk shows. Rather than fight back,he let them remove him from office for something so minor it was laughable,and remained out of sight for years. When he does start to make a return to public life,it's like his whole political philosophy has changed. When all of that happens it is never a coincidence. There are reasons behind it.

In American politics there has been no more personal secrets dangerous to a politician than sexual issues. Most politicians from the North could get away with extra-marital affairs being made public,but not in the prudish south. No politician anywhere could hope to hold office if it were revealed he was a homosexual or child molester. Or if it was even hinted at in the media,never mind proven. Barney Franks is the obvious exception,but he was from a very liberal area in the northeast.

I would personally have no trouble at all voting for a candidate with conservative beliefs when it come to running or managing government,but was a "out" homosexual because there would be no chance at all of him being blackmailed to influence his votes. I damn sure don't want one that is in the closet and vulnerable,though.

As for issues like child molesting,there is no forgiving,period. Out of office and off to prison.

[Free Vulcan]

I don't believe Kasich is either self-serving or opportunistic.  I think he believes he is the most qualified to be President (and there are reasonable arguments to defend that position).

Obviously I have some issues with Kasich, but relative to Trump, he's a knight in shining armor.

The problem is though that he's going to hand it to Trump if he doesn't let the Establishment wing of the party coalesce around Rubio. If Kasich can't win Ohio he's just undercutting Rubio, because if Kasich gets second place he may well knock Rubio out if Cruz gets third.

[musiclady]

The problem is though that he's going to hand it to Trump if he doesn't let the Establishment win of the party coalesce around Rubio. If Kasich can't win Ohio he's just undercutting Rubio because if Kasich gets second place he may well knock Rubio out if Cruz gets third.

I'd like to see Kasich beat Trump here in Ohio.  I don't know what the recent numbers are, but he won with 70% of the vote in his last election, and he has done well for Ohio.

If Kasich does win Ohio, it will force a brokered convention, will it not?  Trump won't have enough votes to win on the first ballot at the convention, and then maybe we'll get a non-Democrat to be our nominee.

[Free Vulcan]

I'd like to see Kasich beat Trump here in Ohio.  I don't know what the recent numbers are, but he won with 70% of the vote in his last election, and he has done well for Ohio.

If Kasich does win Ohio, it will force a brokered convention, will it not?  Trump won't have enough votes to win on the first ballot at the convention, and then maybe we'll get a non-Democrat to be our nominee.

It will indeed. Ohio is WTA with 66 delegates. It will put Trump in a big squeeze then. IF he can win Ohio, then he's useful to the goal of stopping Trump, if not he could well knock Rubio out and yet I don't think he has the mojo to come out on top either.

It is a very risky gamble he's taking. Oh the intrigue.

[musiclady]

It will indeed. Ohio is WTA with 66 delegates. It will put Trump in a big squeeze then. IF he can win Ohio, then he's useful to the goal of stopping Trump, if not he could well knock Rubio out and yet I don't think he has the mojo to come out on top either.

It is a very risky gamble he's taking. Oh the intrigue.

Intrigue, for sure!

I'll tell you this, though.  If a vote for Kasich (not my first or second choice) could put Trump in a big squeeze, I will gladly do it, and then my vote will actually mean something.  (It never has before.  By the time I've voted in the primary in the past, the decision has already been made).

I think maybe Kasich's mojo is increasing, but we shall see!

[MACVSOG68]

No,I am saying there are reasons why some politicians always seem to cave/never win on big issues,and those reasons are most likely related to something embarrassing,illegal,or both being held over his or her head. In Graham's case I'm betting it is related to him being a homosexual.

Well I've given you a little bit of his history for the past 40 years.  If he's being blackmailed then it's more likely to be the military, the 2d Amendment Americans, and Republicans who truly want border security than it is the Democrats.  Those groups are where his support comes from and who he has supported over the years.  Make of it what you will.

[Mod1]

With regard to the senator's "sexual orientation," please refrain from making definitive statements and allegations without proof. If there's proof, of course, feel free to offer it.

[ArneFufkin]

Gratuitous attack???     Defending a vet should get me at least a two week time out...

I didn't look this up but I think Graham is a bird Colonel in USAF reserve. 

I love watching him operate in the Senate Armed Services committees.   He's a pretty fair lawyer and without a doubt a patriot who asks the right questions of Obama's SecDefs and Generals.

The animus toward him is misdirected in my view.

[sneakypete]

I'd like to see Kasich beat Trump here in Ohio.  I don't know what the recent numbers are, but he won with 70% of the vote in his last election, and he has done well for Ohio.

If Kasich does win Ohio, it will force a brokered convention, will it not?  Trump won't have enough votes to win on the first ballot at the convention, and then maybe we'll get a non-Democrat to be our nominee.

Trump is going to have more trouble maintaining such huge leads as the race narrows,and voters that supported other politicians that dropped out start to switch their loyalities.

I honestly don't see many Trump supporters switching their loyalty at this late date,though.  They are just too fired up. Many of them might not even vote if he isn't in the general election. I get  a sense that a solid core of his supporters are even interested in voting this time because he is running and telling them what they want to hear.

I have no idea what is going to happen in the Dim general election. IMO the DNC leadership do not trust Bubbette! any more than we do,but if they want the black vote and the whymen? vote they need to at least pretend they support her

On the other hand the radical lesbian vote is dying out even if they are still making a lot of noise,and Bernie is really pulling in a lot of college age know-noting voters,and they are the future of the Dim Party as the radical left dies out.

The Dim Party may be in trouble if Bubbette! gets the and Sanders isn't picked or refuses the VP seat because the Socialist are just now discovering they have some clout and they will get serious early behind a candidate next cycle.

[Sanguine]

I didn't look this up but I think Graham is a bird Colonel in USAF reserve. 

I love watching him operate in the Senate Armed Services committees.   He's a pretty fair lawyer and without a doubt a patriot who asks the right questions of Obama's SecDefs and Generals.

The animus toward him is misdirected in my view.

The animus is because of the many, many things he has done during his long stay in the Senate.  We can appreciate his service, and still recognize that his faults outweigh his positives.

[sneakypete]

With regard to the senator's "sexual orientation," please refrain from making definitive statements and allegations without proof. If there's proof, of course, feel free to offer it.

Why? This isn't a court of law,it is a political discussion board,and anything that might tend to make a politician susceptible to blackmail should be open to discussion,and it's not like I am the only one that thinks he is homosexual. He even denied it in public a few months ago,and he and I haven't been talking.

Would you keep us from talking about Bubba Bill and his little "intern problem" as well as sexual assault charges because we have no court conviction or guilty plea to prove it?

The is the future of America we are talking about,and we need to know what motivates our professional political class that makes them do some of the things they do that defy logic.

Why should any of them be exempt from speculation if there seems to be even the mildest suspicion they are being blackmailed or bribed to throw votes?

[sneakypete]

I didn't look this up but I think Graham is a bird Colonel in USAF reserve. 

I love watching him operate in the Senate Armed Services committees.   He's a pretty fair lawyer and without a doubt a patriot who asks the right questions of Obama's SecDefs and Generals.

The animus toward him is misdirected in my view.

He is a Dim in Republican clothing when it comes to border and immigration issues. Since those issues are currently MUCH more dangerous to the future of America than all the missiles and soldiers that China and Russia have,I'd say it is a pretty big issue.

[sneakypete]

The animus is because of the many, many things he has done during his long stay in the Senate.  We can appreciate his service, and still recognize that his faults outweigh his positives.

AMEN!

[ArneFufkin]

He is a Dim in Republican clothing when it comes to border and immigration issues. Since those issues are currently MUCH more dangerous to the future of America than all the missiles and soldiers that China and Russia have,I'd say it is a pretty big issue.

I have no way of knowing any more what to make of this world view.

It was a huge Border Wedgie "win" back in the day when W's proposal regarding illegal immigration and border security was vilified and defeated to the delight of the media howler monkeys like Ingraham, Levin, Malkin, Coulter and Savage.   

What's better now?  How are things going?  How we doin'?  Is everyone happy?

If this is winning -  I'd rather lose.

[sneakypete]

I have no way of knowing any more what to make of this world view.

It was a huge Border Wedgie "win" back in the day when W's proposal regarding illegal immigration and border security was vilified and defeated to the delight of the media howler monkeys like Ingraham, Levin, Malkin, Coulter and Savage.   

What's better now?  How are things going?  How we doin'?  Is everyone happy?

If this is winning -  I'd rather lose.

IMO,nothing is going better now,we have damn near lost it all,and people are telling up to ignore it.

The Dims want to move more 3rd worlders into America so they can own their votes,and the alleged Republicans want to move more 3 worlders into America for the cheap labor and higher dividends.

The professional criminal class we call politicians and their owners are as happy as clams,but you can count me amongst the unhappy campers.

[MACVSOG68]

He is a Dim in Republican clothing when it comes to border and immigration issues. Since those issues are currently MUCH more dangerous to the future of America than all the missiles and soldiers that China and Russia have,I'd say it is a pretty big issue.

So what exactly is Graham's position on the border and immigration issues that has you so concerned?  He seems to have the same goals as most Americans.  Or is over half the Country afraid of being outed?

[ArneFufkin]

IMO,nothing is going better now,we have damn near lost it all,and people are telling up to ignore it.

You can count me amongst the unhappy campers.

I'm with you Pete but Graham is not the villain.

He's sanctimonious and smug and annoying but his ideology and votes are generally spot on. 

I care more about national security and Constitutional fidelity than social issues these days and Graham has usually been on the right side of those issues throughout his career.

[sneakypete]

So what exactly is Graham's position on the border and immigration issues that has you so concerned?  He seems to have the same goals as most Americans.  Or is over half the Country afraid of being outed?

Graham sides with the Dims.

What else do you really need to know?