Quote:
Originally Posted by Derwood
So, does anyone else feel this shift going on? Are there other signs that the narrative is moving more to the center?
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There has always been factions in the Republican Party (just as there are factions in the Democratic Party). The most extreme factions in the party don't control the agenda.
In 2008 McCain was the party nominee, he was a moderate and proved that he was willing to compromise and work with Democrats as a result McCain did not have the support of those who are most conservative in the party. Romney is going to have the same problem, his only hope is that if he can get the nomination, he is just as plastic as Obama is and they can split the votes of the superficial and may actually beat Obama. In a Romney/Obama race neither will have highly motivated bases. Obama needs someone who he can paint as extreme, he can't do that with Romney.
I doubt Trump will even run - does anyone think he is willing to release his tax returns? That will be a bigger thing to Trump than releasing his birth certificate or his school records is to Obama.
I stated many times that I doubt Palin will run.
Bachman may run but will not be a serious contender.
Beck has always been immaterial. His rise was directly related to the frequency of the attacks he got from the liberal media. He simply ran out of shock value material.
The Tea Party will be a big factor in 2012 unless there are some serious steps taken to reduce the deficit in the next few months. The Tea Party is truly concerned about taxation, debt and spending. If those issues go away, the Tea Party goes away.
Based on what we know now I would say Pawlenty is the man to beat for the Republican Party nomination and he could beat Obama.
I still want to see "Hil-Rod" go against Obama. If she had played up her Hil-Rod persona more, I would have crossed over and voted for her in the 2008 primary. I didn't even hear about the Hil-rod thing until this week, talk about a missed opportunity.
Hil-Rod currently seems tired, I doubt she will run, but i hope she does. The primaries would be much more interesting if she does. Otherwise it will be a snooze fest on both sides.