# Democrats: If the next president had to be a Republican... **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 24, 2016, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-if-the-next-president-had-to-be-a-republican/749997 "2016-03-24T00:25:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2016, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-if-the-next-president-had-to-be-a-republican/749997/1 "2016-03-24T00:25:28Z")
…who would you select? Assume both houses stay Republican ---
**Author:** ![oft\_wears\_hats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7993a0/32.png) [@oft\_wears\_hats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oft_wears_hats)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2016, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-if-the-next-president-had-to-be-a-republican/749997/2 "2016-03-24T00:29:04Z")
Do we have to select from the three remaining candidates, or anyone who would run under the Republican ticket? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2016, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-if-the-next-president-had-to-be-a-republican/749997/3 "2016-03-24T00:29:48Z")
Romney. Odious fellow, but less batshit than anyone who ran this cycle. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2016, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-if-the-next-president-had-to-be-a-republican/749997/4 "2016-03-24T00:34:11Z")
Out of those running? Kasich by a mile. If not out of those running, what’s the candidate pool? ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2016, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-if-the-next-president-had-to-be-a-republican/749997/5 "2016-03-24T00:40:23Z")
Of Cruz vs Trump? Trump. I don’t think Trump has the level of ideological intensity that Cruz does. Also Trump will not be able to build coalitions since both parties hate him. I know Cruz has a lot of detractors, but I think Trump’s ego will get in his way if he is president and prevent him from getting much done. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2016, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-if-the-next-president-had-to-be-a-republican/749997/6 "2016-03-24T00:46:48Z")
Jon Huntsman, because he accepts the scientific consensus on global warming and evolution. He is extremely conservative, but he does not embrace crackpottery. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2016, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-if-the-next-president-had-to-be-a-republican/749997/7 "2016-03-24T00:55:53Z")
Sorry, I meant of the current candidates plus anyone who could reasonably be propped up in a contested convention. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2016, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-if-the-next-president-had-to-be-a-republican/749997/8 "2016-03-24T00:57:25Z")
Theodore Roosevelt! He could still be propped up…kinda…you’d have to be very careful. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2016, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-if-the-next-president-had-to-be-a-republican/749997/9 "2016-03-24T00:58:24Z")
Of the living ones, 41. OK, so I’m not a Democrat, I’m an independent…but my views tend to coincide much more with them than the Heads-in-the-Sand (or another less socially-acceptable place) Party. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2016, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-if-the-next-president-had-to-be-a-republican/749997/10 "2016-03-24T01:00:02Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > Of the living ones, 41. And I thought Sanders had an age problem! ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2016, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-if-the-next-president-had-to-be-a-republican/749997/11 "2016-03-24T02:22:47Z")
Oddly, I think Trump would do the least damage, with Kasich a close second. Cruz would be a disaster. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2016, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-if-the-next-president-had-to-be-a-republican/749997/12 "2016-03-24T02:32:48Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Oddly, I think Trump would do the least damage, with Kasich a close second. Cruz would be a disaster. Not so odd – Trump would do the least damage because he would be ineffectual. He knows next to nothing about how the system works, and Congresscritters of both parties would line up to block him, and the courts would soon be telling us that executive orders have definite constitutional limits. It would be like having King George the III in his late-life mad stage for POTUS except that George III got respect. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2016, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-if-the-next-president-had-to-be-a-republican/749997/13 "2016-03-24T02:33:22Z")
Of the three still in…Kasich. Cruz would be way at the bottom of my list. Trump would be bad but Cruz would be a disaster. ---
**Author:** ![DerekMichaels00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f14d63/32.png) [@DerekMichaels00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DerekMichaels00)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2016, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-if-the-next-president-had-to-be-a-republican/749997/14 "2016-03-24T02:34:43Z")
Assuming you mean ones that are still in the race: Kasich, because he isn’t an isolationist like Donald Trump, who would gut NATO, ruin our influence to our allies by making them pay for our protecting them, nor would he be “neutral” against the Palestinians. If not him, Cruz, and then Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2016, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-if-the-next-president-had-to-be-a-republican/749997/15 "2016-03-24T02:48:29Z")
Can I pick Susan Collins? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2016, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-if-the-next-president-had-to-be-a-republican/749997/16 "2016-03-24T02:49:00Z")
Since you can’t hold me to this or anything, my instinct is Nikki Haley. I actually was surprised she wasn’t making a run for the White House. She seemed quite willing to push some centrist ideas, while governing in a rather Republican state. Of course, there’s probably something horrible about her that I don’t know about. There always seems to be. Kinda like Christie for a bit, too. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2016, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-if-the-next-president-had-to-be-a-republican/749997/17 "2016-03-24T03:16:00Z")
Lindsey Graham – appearing on _The Daily Show_ right now – might not have been the worst choice. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2016, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-if-the-next-president-had-to-be-a-republican/749997/18 "2016-03-24T03:30:13Z")
And if diplomatic negotiations with foreign powers could only be predicated on pool-bets . . . ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2016, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-if-the-next-president-had-to-be-a-republican/749997/19 "2016-03-24T04:26:13Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Oddly, I think Trump would do the least damage, with Kasich a close second. Cruz would be a disaster. > [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Not so odd – Trump would do the least damage because he would be ineffectual. He knows next to nothing about how the system works, and Congresscritters of both parties would line up to block him, and the courts would soon be telling us that executive orders have definite constitutional limits. It would be like having King George the III in his late-life mad stage for POTUS except that George III got respect. To be honest we don’t know. I could paint a scenario where Trump morphs into a 2nd term Arnold Schwartznegger and is accused of being a RINO. It’s also possible that a thin skinned vulgarian with a chip on his shoulder is absolutely the worst person to be in charge of the nuclear codes. On foreign policy, his inclinations are non-interventionist, but his knowledge is so superficial that he could be rolled. I have serious doubts about his ability to build a team of anything other than yes men. As a business person, Trump was terrible at execution, running numerous viable properties into the ground. He was terrific at self-promotion. So he would have sufficient political capital to do mischief, without any sense of shame or investment in the GOP to rein him in. Given how bad the worst case scenario is, Trump is the candidate that should be avoided. On average I’d say Cruz is worse. But to avoid the worst outcomes Cruz would be preferable to Trump. Weighted probabilities. It is mind boggling that the GOP electorate are choosing the absolute 2 last choices of the political insiders. The party has decided: their base is composed of morons. ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2016, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-if-the-next-president-had-to-be-a-republican/749997/20 "2016-03-24T04:46:38Z")
I’m going with only candidates who are running. My choice would be Donald Trump or John Kasich. Hell no to Ted Cruz. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-if-the-next-president-had-to-be-a-republican/749997.md?page=2)