# 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:** 35
**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:** [February 13, 2015, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/682 "2015-02-13T19:19:07Z")
More on Kasich, for those considering him: [The 2014 race for Governor of Ohio - Politics & Elections - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=725200) ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2015, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/683 "2015-02-13T20:18:03Z")
Kasich is at 50/1 to win the Presidency on Ladbrokes. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2015, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/684 "2015-02-13T22:35:29Z")
Here’s a major strike against Jeb: [He is the only Bush who was a card-carrying member of PNAC.](http://www.salon.com/2015/02/13/jebs_quiet_wingnutty_past_why_he_has_to_distance_himself_from_himself/) ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2015, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/685 "2015-02-13T23:42:32Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Here’s a major strike against Jeb: [He is the only Bush who was a card-carrying member of PNAC.](http://www.salon.com/2015/02/13/jebs_quiet_wingnutty_past_why_he_has_to_distance_himself_from_himself/) And what’s wrong with that? Europe isn’t spending much on defence, Russia’s being ornery, and China’s building up its military. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2015, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/686 "2015-02-14T00:04:12Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > And what’s wrong with that? Europe isn’t spending much on defence, Russia’s being ornery, and China’s building up its military. :rolleyes: What’s wrong with it is that PNAC’s neoconservative thinking is the kind of thinking that got us into Iraq. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2015, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/687 "2015-02-14T01:43:55Z")
There will be only one candidate in the race who actually contributed to getting us into Iraq.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2015, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/688 "2015-02-14T18:41:43Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Kasich is at 50/1 to win the Presidency on Ladbrokes. Given that we’ve got somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 proto-candidates, 50-1 means they’re giving him about 40% of the chance of an ‘average’ GOP candidate. That seems a bit on the short-odds side. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2015, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/689 "2015-02-14T18:52:12Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > [Rand Paul never graduated from college.](http://www.salon.com/2015/02/13/rand_paul_caught_lying_about_his_college_record/) Well, now that’s two GOP candidates with an in with the ‘some college’ demographic. I’m less curious about why he lied about it, than (a) why he didn’t just finish his degree (got the same question about Scott Walker, who’s been open about the fact that he attended but didn’t graduate from Marquette), and (b) how the hell did he get into Duke Medical School without an undergrad degree? Given the intense competition to get into med school, (b) is the part that blows my mind. No matter how much weight they put on the MCATs, you’d think they wouldn’t waste a space on someone who didn’t have the self-discipline to complete his undergrad degree. Wouldn’t any med school admissions person regard such an applicant as a bad risk? ---
**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:** [February 15, 2015, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/690 "2015-02-15T01:55:29Z")
Yeah, I’m surprised too. I thought you **had** to have a college degree to go to med school. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2015, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/691 "2015-02-15T04:06:57Z")
It’s an interesting question, but probably shouldn’t have much effect on his candidacy. What’s important is the last schooling you had, at least to the extent it even is important. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2015, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/692 "2015-02-15T04:20:44Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > It’s an interesting question, but probably shouldn’t have much effect on his candidacy. What’s important is the last schooling you had, at least to the extent it even is important. Given he already has a history of dishonesty and he keeps lying about having a degree I’d say it’s pretty important to his credibility as a candidate. [QUOTE=Michael Arrington] Let’s talk about economics because maybe you can actually explain this to me. I have an econ degree which means I know just enough not to understand any of what our government is [inaudible [/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Rand Paul] Mine’s in biology and English so this is going to be a great conversation. [/QUOTE] Later that day: [QUOTE=Rand Paul] This is just me. I have a biology degree, okay? But with Bitcoin my concern always was whether or not something has real value. So I could imagine a kind of coin that was exchangeable. This gets back to the whole idea, does money have to be exchangeable for something to be of value? [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2015, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/693 "2015-02-15T04:28:15Z")
Well yeah, if he’s been dishonest that’s a problem. Although that tends to come with politicians, so it’s only a problem if you think there’s an honest one you intend to support. For Clinton supporters, harping on this would be hypocrisy of the highest order. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2015, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/694 "2015-02-15T04:41:17Z")
Pretend it was Obama, and try again. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2015, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/695 "2015-02-15T13:42:30Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > For Clinton supporters, harping on this would be hypocrisy of the highest order. :dubious: And how so? ---
**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:** [February 15, 2015, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/696 "2015-02-15T16:03:22Z")
Don’t go to the UK, a British commentator warns GOP presidential wannabes: [http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/13/opinions/stanley-gop-visit-britain/?iid=ob\_article\_footer\_expansion&iref=obnetwork](http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/13/opinions/stanley-gop-visit-britain/?iid=ob_article_footer_expansion&iref=obnetwork) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/697 "2015-02-16T03:37:27Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > And what’s wrong with that? Europe isn’t spending much on defence, Russia’s being ornery, and China’s building up its military. [Pretty much everything.](http://www.salon.com/2015/02/15/we_can_stop_the_neo_cons_heres_what_a_truly_progressive_foreign_policy_would_look_like/) ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/698 "2015-02-16T21:09:43Z")
This may be the end of Walkers Presidential aspirations. [Another scandal.](http://www.newstalk1130.com/onair/the-jay-weber-show-14669/scott-walker-once-ate-two-cookies-13251558/?cmp=obinsite). ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/699 "2015-02-16T21:17:01Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > I’m less curious about why he lied about it, than (a) why he didn’t just finish his degree (got the same question about Scott Walker, who’s been open about the fact that he attended but didn’t graduate from Marquette), and (b) how the hell did he get into Duke Medical School without an undergrad degree? Duke University did not require an undergraduate degree to get into med school at that time. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/700 "2015-02-17T03:39:11Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Duke University did not require an undergraduate degree to get into med school at that time. > > Regards, > Shodan :eek: Don’t believe it, **Sho!** Such slanderous calumnies can only be the work of Tarheel scum! ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/701 "2015-02-17T06:01:56Z")
Duke University was honored to have anyone from such an esteemed institution as Baylor. As would befit a provincial, third-tier community college like Duke. Awe-struck, they probably did not think to mention such a minor matter. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444.md?page=34) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444.md?page=36)