# The 2016 Republican candidates **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 9, 2015, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444 "2015-01-09T22:38:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 20
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/381 "2015-01-26T18:22:19Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > On this one, guys, I’m going to have to come down on **adaher** ’s side. > > On the Sunday after the 2006 midterms, the front page of the WaPo Outlook section, that great font of DC conventional wisdom, was a big “Hillary v. Obama” splash. > > I remember it irritated the hell out of me at the time, because the Dems had just retaken control of Congress for the first time in a dozen years, which was kind of a big fucking deal, and they decided to skip right past it to the coming Presidential campaign. > > But the relevance of it here is that the most Washington-insidery publication then in existence (since _Politico_ either didn’t yet exist, or hadn’t become what it is) was treating a contest between the two for the nomination as a foregone conclusion (they were right, but it didn’t exactly surprise anybody), and was treating them more or less as equals. Obama was, in political circles, a “big name”, but I don’t think it’s reasonable at all to call him (as far as national Presidential politics are concerned) a “big name” and a “celebrity candidate” before he started his campaign, considering that half the country had no idea who he was. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/382 "2015-01-26T18:26:50Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > …She can join Rich Lowry in the Starbursts Club. I don’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/383 "2015-01-26T18:46:46Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > He knows how to run a business. …right into the ground, on more than one occasion. > [@](#): > > You can’t trash his background the way you would a Bush or a Romney. No, you trash his background as a guy who wants to do away the same social safety net that he took advantage of as a child. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/384 "2015-01-26T18:58:59Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I don’t get it. Rich Lowry wrote a [nice little review of the 2008 Vice-Presidential debate between Biden and Palin for National Review](http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/171291/projecting-through-screen/rich-lowry). It was a little bit fanboyish. Okay, a lot fanboyish. With mentions of the starbursts that Lowry felt listening to Snookie of the Northwoods. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/385 "2015-01-26T19:02:38Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Rich Lowry wrote a [nice little review of the 2008 Vice-Presidential debate between Biden and Palin for National Review](http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/171291/projecting-through-screen/rich-lowry). It was a little bit fanboyish. Okay, a lot fanboyish. With mentions of the starbursts that Lowry felt listening to Snookie of the Northwoods. Bingo. Clift’s piece reminded me of that - a triumph of infatuation over reporting. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/386 "2015-01-26T19:53:37Z")
Here’s a link to the Iowa Republican’s [after-action report](http://theiowarepublican.com/2015/walking-away-with-it-walker-shines-at-iowa-freedom-summit/) on the Freedumb Summit. Short version: their two commentators thought Scott Walker was the big winner. Place and show, in their opinion, went to Ted Cruz and…Carly Fiorina. (Yeah, I’m as gobsmacked as you are about that last one.) The part that I liked best was this: > [@](#): > > I believe Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker stole the show. Out of all the speakers, Walker’s stood out the most and helped his presidential aspirations the most. > > Walker was smart to lay out his amazing list of accomplishments: Voter ID, defunding Planned Parenthood, rejecting Obamacare Underlining mine. Clearly they have, um, _interesting_ ideas of what would constitute an ‘accomplishment.’ Sounds more like the sort of thing a terrorist should call the radio station and claim credit for. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/387 "2015-01-27T02:36:26Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Rich Lowry wrote a [nice little review of the 2008 Vice-Presidential debate between Biden and Palin for National Review](http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/171291/projecting-through-screen/rich-lowry). It was a little bit fanboyish. Okay, a lot fanboyish. With mentions of the starbursts that Lowry felt listening to Snookie of the Northwoods. Ah, thanks. And I agree, Trump’s business record - including several flops and bankruptcies - would not easily withstand Presidential-level press scrutiny. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/388 "2015-01-27T03:18:30Z")
Plus … his hair. C’mon, really. I know you’ve had Presidents who wore wigs, but a comb-over, looking like a cat asleep on his head? No. Just … no. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/389 "2015-01-27T03:45:46Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Plus … his hair. > > C’mon, really. I know you’ve had Presidents who wore wigs, but a comb-over, looking like a cat asleep on his head? > > No. Just … no. I’m hoping yes. Picture all those outdoor rallies with big gusts of wind. How many times has that ass-clown pretended he is going to run? It’s just a tired act to keep his name in the press so he can promote his shitty tv show or his shitty casino. And the press falls for it every time. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/390 "2015-01-27T09:01:34Z")
Ben Carson reveals that if you force a Christian to bake a wedding cake for a same sex couple, they just might put poison in it: > [@](#): > > “What I have a problem with is when people try to force people to act against their beliefs because they say, 'They’re discriminating against me,’” he told reporters, according to The Hill. “So they can go right down the street and buy a cake, but no, let’s bring a suit against this person because I want them to make my cake even though they don’t believe in it.” > > He then added, "[That] is really not all that smart because they might put poison in that cake.” [http://huff.to/15LmKvj](http://huff.to/15LmKvj) ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/391 "2015-01-27T12:42:16Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > He knows how to run a business. Actually, no. Sometimes he wins, sometimes he loses. He has had some pretty notable failures. Even if he was a great businessman, what relevance is that? Running a business is nothing like running a country, just as managing your family budget is nothing like the managing the federal budget. Who was the last successful businessman to become president? We’ve had some try, like Romney and Perot. We’ve had some failures run and win, like Lincoln and Truman. Seems to me that business experience is completely unrelated to presidential qualifications. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/392 "2015-01-27T15:32:36Z")
I think it’s more that voters actually dislike the successful businessmen more than the failed businessmen. GWB tried his hand at a variety of things and failed. THe end result was that he was the candidate voters would prefer to have a beer with. Romney was a success, and he was out of touch. Fiorina is arguably a failure, and the crowd in Iowa related to her in a way that they never did with Romney. And this is a Republican group that should be celebrating business success. It’s just hard to judge whether businessmen make good government executives when a large number of voters see the successful ones as fat cats and the failures as people more like them. I will note that whenever there’s a crisis, it does seem like Presidents love to call on successful businessmen for advice. Anyway, the best chance we have for an insanely rich and successful businessman to be President is Mark Warner. No Republican is going to pull off that feat. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/393 "2015-01-27T16:18:20Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Ben Carson reveals that if you force a Christian to bake a wedding cake for a same sex couple, they just might put poison in it: > > [http://huff.to/15LmKvj](http://huff.to/15LmKvj) Ah yes. Nothing says “love your neighbor” like poison. ---
**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:** [January 27, 2015, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/394 "2015-01-27T16:38:38Z")
Whether Romney was a successful businessman depends on how you define success. Certainly, he prospered from his business ventures, but we don’t want a President that makes himself prosper; we want a President who makes the nation prosper. How did Romney’s companies fare under his leadership? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/395 "2015-01-27T17:56:32Z")
Here’s Jon Stewart on the Freedom Summit. Good stuff: [http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/k42ti0/democalypse-2016---fox-news-correspondent-auditions](http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/k42ti0/democalypse-2016---fox-news-correspondent-auditions) ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/396 "2015-01-27T18:35:08Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Whether Romney was a successful businessman depends on how you define success. Certainly, he prospered from his business ventures, but we don’t want a President that makes himself prosper; we want a President who makes the nation prosper. How did Romney’s companies fare under his leadership? More often than not, they became more profitable. The problem is that making a failing business profitable often involves reducing costs. Which doesn’t translate well when you’re running for elected office. Trump likes firing people too. But in both cases, sure, they had failures too. How many successful businessmen haven’t failed? That’s how they became successful businessmen! It’s true that running business and the government aren’t the same. They have different goals. But some things are the same. There should be a focus on the customer. Money should be spent efficiently. Organizations should have clear structure and people should be accountable up and down the chain for decisions they make. Things that don’t work well should be eliminated. These precepts are true whether one is running a for profit or non profit or government agency. ---
**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:** [January 29, 2015, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/397 "2015-01-29T14:37:10Z")
> [@](#): > > But some things are the same. There should be a focus on the customer. That’s one of the things that is different. Companies focus on the shareholder, not the customer. To the extent that they do focus on the customer, it’s only because they’ve decided that that’s what will be best for the shareholder. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/398 "2015-01-29T15:34:51Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > That’s one of the things that is different. Companies focus on the shareholder, not the customer. To the extent that they do focus on the customer, it’s only because they’ve decided that that’s what will be best for the shareholder. Well, in this context, the shareholder is the voter and the customer is the taxpayer. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/399 "2015-01-30T03:47:31Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > That’s one of the things that is different. Companies focus on the shareholder, not the customer. To the extent that they do focus on the customer, it’s only because they’ve decided that that’s what will be best for the shareholder. A business that doesn’t focus on making customers happy won’t stay in business once they encounter competition that does. The government, on the other hand, focuses on itself. That’s pretty much what government unions are, the government looking out for its own interests, in opposition to the public. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/400 "2015-01-30T04:06:10Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > The government, on the other hand, focuses on itself. That’s pretty much what government unions are, the government looking out for its own interests, in opposition to the public. Yes, that’s exactly what government unions are, except in every conceivable way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444.md?page=19) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444.md?page=21)