# Is the GOP actually screwed up enough to get behind Tucker Carlson? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 3, 2020, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-gop-actually-screwed-up-enough-to-get-behind-tucker-carlson/914150 "2020-07-03T05:42:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2020, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-gop-actually-screwed-up-enough-to-get-behind-tucker-carlson/914150/1 "2020-07-03T05:42:43Z")
Apparently the idea is being tested by a few Republican strategists: [https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/tucker-carlson-in-2024-republicans-see-a-frontrunner/ar-BB16gXUX?ocid=msedgntp](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/tucker-carlson-in-2024-republicans-see-a-frontrunner/ar-BB16gXUX?ocid=msedgntp) “Equally thoughtless, self serving and flighty worked last time, so let’s take it up a notch!” ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2020, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-gop-actually-screwed-up-enough-to-get-behind-tucker-carlson/914150/2 "2020-07-03T05:53:19Z")
No way. Office-holders and journalists/pundits are two entirely different species. I can’t think of a single incident where an influential journalist, from either end of the political spectrum, sought or won political office. If that were possible, Rush Limbaugh would be President For Life by now. ---
**Author:** ![slash2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@slash2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slash2k)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2020, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-gop-actually-screwed-up-enough-to-get-behind-tucker-carlson/914150/3 "2020-07-03T06:04:42Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > I can’t think of a single incident where an influential journalist, from either end of the political spectrum, sought or won political office. Well, Pat Buchanan tried, running for president three times (1992 and 1996 in the Republican primaries, 2000 heading up the Reform Party ticket in the general election), but never won. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2020, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-gop-actually-screwed-up-enough-to-get-behind-tucker-carlson/914150/4 "2020-07-03T06:10:55Z")
Good point, but I’m not sure he qualifies as “influential.” You wanna maybe nominate Pat Paulsen? ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2020, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-gop-actually-screwed-up-enough-to-get-behind-tucker-carlson/914150/5 "2020-07-03T08:58:44Z")
I’d say Buchanan was fairly influential. Nixon speechwriter and on the McLaughlin group and CNN’s Crossfire as well as a newspaper column and books. His 1992 Republican convention speech is probably the best known moment from either convention, up until then no one had gone after a candidate’s wife. I’m going to put Carlson in the Oprah category and forget about it for now. Let’s get through this year and this election. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2020, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-gop-actually-screwed-up-enough-to-get-behind-tucker-carlson/914150/6 "2020-07-03T09:00:53Z")
I guess the last four years have taught us that the Republicans would never go _that_ far in the pursuit of power. I apologize for being so silly. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2020, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-gop-actually-screwed-up-enough-to-get-behind-tucker-carlson/914150/7 "2020-07-03T09:56:36Z")
In the UK there’s the notable case of [Martin Bell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Bell), but in that instance Bell was running **against** a slimy morally-bankrupt conservative, not **as** one. ---
**Author:** ![Kimera757](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimera757/32/3765_2.png) [@Kimera757](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimera757)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2020, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-gop-actually-screwed-up-enough-to-get-behind-tucker-carlson/914150/8 "2020-07-03T10:53:51Z")
Boris Johnson was a journalist. I will leave it up to you whether he counts as successful, however. ---
**Author:** ![ThisIsTheEnd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisistheend/32/4713_2.png) [@ThisIsTheEnd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisIsTheEnd)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2020, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-gop-actually-screwed-up-enough-to-get-behind-tucker-carlson/914150/9 "2020-07-03T11:40:39Z")
Are you shittin’ me? Guy used to wear a bow tie. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2020, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-gop-actually-screwed-up-enough-to-get-behind-tucker-carlson/914150/10 "2020-07-03T13:45:40Z")
> [@Kimera757](#): > > Boris Johnson was a journalist. I will leave it up to you whether he counts as successful, however. Boris was a propagandist. He was never a journalist in any meaningful sense. But then I suppose the same applies to Carlson. ---
**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:** [July 3, 2020, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-gop-actually-screwed-up-enough-to-get-behind-tucker-carlson/914150/11 "2020-07-03T14:07:17Z")
Does Al Franken count as a journalist? Probably not. Do any of these “many Republicans” specify what position he’s being considered for? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2020, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-gop-actually-screwed-up-enough-to-get-behind-tucker-carlson/914150/12 "2020-07-03T14:14:18Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Do any of these “many Republicans” specify what position he’s being considered for? I believe I used the terms “a few Republicans”, and “Republican Primary”, and the link I provided throws in the word “President”. ---
**Author:** ![Kimera757](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimera757/32/3765_2.png) [@Kimera757](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimera757)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2020, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-gop-actually-screwed-up-enough-to-get-behind-tucker-carlson/914150/13 "2020-07-03T15:56:26Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Boris was a propagandist. He was never a journalist in any meaningful sense. But then I suppose the same applies to Carlson. Yes. I don’t think unbiased journalists run for office. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2020, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-gop-actually-screwed-up-enough-to-get-behind-tucker-carlson/914150/14 "2020-07-03T16:26:00Z")
The editor of our local paper (he was a reporter/editor for 20+ years) eventually ran for state rep (won) and then county commissioner (won) and then state senator (lost). As a journalist, he was pretty unbiased. It does happen. My point: “running for office” doesn’t just mean running for president. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2020, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-gop-actually-screwed-up-enough-to-get-behind-tucker-carlson/914150/15 "2020-07-03T17:06:00Z")
A fantasy that works til the rubber hits the road. It’s easy to imagine a pompous host in charge of a tv show as a leader, before they are one. He would get in trouble right away because of his mouth and his arrogance. You can’t launder it out. He works best as a gadfly, because there is less responsiblity to reality. He is not in the reality community. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2020, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-gop-actually-screwed-up-enough-to-get-behind-tucker-carlson/914150/16 "2020-07-03T18:05:41Z")
Wasn’t Oprah’s name thrown around by a few for the Democrats? Sometimes people throw out silly ideas. I’ll believe it when I see his name on the ballot. (Of course I said that multiple times about Trump and have been wrong every time…) ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2020, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-gop-actually-screwed-up-enough-to-get-behind-tucker-carlson/914150/17 "2020-07-03T21:22:39Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > It’s easy to imagine a pompous host in charge of a tv show as a leader That’s never happened, has it? ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2020, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-gop-actually-screwed-up-enough-to-get-behind-tucker-carlson/914150/18 "2020-07-03T21:25:47Z")
Well my answer would be “How’s that workin out?” These stories are very aspirational about a future of the R party, but in the real world don’t you think folks are sick of the BS? 2024 will be too soon. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2020, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-gop-actually-screwed-up-enough-to-get-behind-tucker-carlson/914150/19 "2020-07-04T01:15:32Z")
I find this worrisome. OP asks: "Is the GOP actually screwed up enough . . . " Yes, I think it is. Tucker Carlson’s name for Prez has been kicked around for several months that I’ve seen. I think the GOP could go there. (Forget Hannity. Too clownish.) ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2020, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-gop-actually-screwed-up-enough-to-get-behind-tucker-carlson/914150/20 "2020-07-04T01:31:00Z")
Take a look at who’s currently in the White House, and then ask yourself that again. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-gop-actually-screwed-up-enough-to-get-behind-tucker-carlson/914150.md?page=2)