# The Great Un-Fork Hillary Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 12, 2015, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-un-fork-hillary-thread/717458 "2015-04-12T00:17:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 23
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-un-fork-hillary-thread/717458/441 "2015-05-02T13:52:49Z")
The view many of you have of the Republicans is a caricature. Often true, but usually not. That assumption cost you in 2014 when all the Republicans turned out to be quite reasonable and non-threatening. This is NOT the 2012 field, with one reasonable guy and several marginal figures. ---
**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:** [May 2, 2015, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-un-fork-hillary-thread/717458/442 "2015-05-02T14:03:47Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > The view many of you have of the Republicans is a caricature. Often true, but usually not. That assumption cost you in 2014 when all the Republicans turned out to be quite reasonable and non-threatening. There’s no point in comparing presidential and non-presidential elections. 2008 told us nothing about 2010. 2010 told us nothing about 2012. 2012 told us nothing about 2014, and 2014 is not going to tell us anything about 2016. > [@](#): > > This is NOT the 2012 field, with one reasonable guy and several marginal figures. So far I’m not sure if there’s even “one reasonable guy”. Jeb openly cozied up to an author who has written multiple books that include the (supposedly) naturally inferior intelligence of black people as a central thesis. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-un-fork-hillary-thread/717458/443 "2015-05-02T16:16:38Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > all the Republicans turned out to be quite reasonable and non-threatening. Um … nope, just gonna let that one sit there. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-un-fork-hillary-thread/717458/444 "2015-05-02T22:38:07Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > The view many of you have of the Republicans is a caricature. Irony? Comedy gold? I’ll go with a healthy mix. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-un-fork-hillary-thread/717458/445 "2015-05-02T22:59:06Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > This is NOT the 2012 field, with one reasonable guy and several marginal figures. So, as I recall, the “reasonable guy” won the Republican nomination. I’m not sure I remember how he did in the general election. Can you enlighten me? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2015, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-un-fork-hillary-thread/717458/446 "2015-05-03T01:55:24Z")
And this year that guy isn’t running. Not with his binders full of women, not with his 47 percent, not with his Jeep factory moving to China, not with denying the one real accomplishment he had in his sole term as an elected official, just not. The field is set. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2015, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-un-fork-hillary-thread/717458/447 "2015-05-03T03:41:07Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > There’s no point in comparing presidential and non-presidential elections. 2008 told us nothing about 2010. 2010 told us nothing about 2012. 2012 told us nothing about 2014, and 2014 is not going to tell us anything about 2016. They are different in terms of turnout models. Assuming an unelectable GOP candidate in 2016 is based on well, nothing, because it hasn’t happened since 1964. This is a case where the liberal Doper community’s view of Republicans is not based on reality. ---
**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:** [May 3, 2015, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-un-fork-hillary-thread/717458/448 "2015-05-03T04:30:07Z")
Hey, did anyone else just catch a quick whiff of irony? ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2015, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-un-fork-hillary-thread/717458/449 "2015-05-03T05:12:56Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Rand attended a diverse school in Texas that was far from a rich kids’ school. > > While I’ll concede that the son of a doctor might not qualify as “working class”, it’s still more modest than your usual Presidential candidate. I have NO idea what you are smoking. I was a student with Randy Paul at Baylor and knew him in passing. I can GUARANTEE you it was hardly a diverse school in the early 80’s. LILY WHITE. Like the belly of a fish. I can think of two people on my hall in the dorm freshman year who had Confederate flags on the wall of their room and it was never questioned FFS. If you were an unrepentant gay person you risked expulsion. I know for a fact that was the case when I graduated in 1985. I’m not certain that has actually been changed but if it has it was in the last decade. The first black person admitted was in 1964. I hardly consider that progressive. The dreaded University of Texas at Austin admitted African Americans starting in 1950. And while it isn’t a “rich kids school” most of the kids I knew were from families that were much better off than average. As for the supposedly “modest” status of Dr. Paul and family, I also grew up in the same school district with Randy and his family and visited their home on a couple of occasions. Their house was in no way a mansion but it was in the nicest part of Lake Jackson and they were definitely considered “well off”. I find it hard to imagine he was ever subject to much in the way of hardship or struggle. The Pauls were in no way “working class” or anything like it. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2015, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-un-fork-hillary-thread/717458/450 "2015-05-03T05:58:38Z")
I wasn’t referring to Baylor, I was referring to high school. And let’s keep in mind that even with Baylor, that’s not exactly an elite school. He’d be the first President to not have attended an elite school since Reagan. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2015, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-un-fork-hillary-thread/717458/451 "2015-05-03T06:37:21Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > I wasn’t referring to Baylor, I was referring to high school. And let’s keep in mind that even with Baylor, that’s not exactly an elite school. He’d be the first President to not have attended an elite school since Reagan. Oh wrong again my little adaher. Brazoswood High School in Clute is one of two high schools in the Brazosport Independent School District; the other is Brazosport High School in Freeport. Brazoswood was much less diverse than Brazosport HS. when I started my freshman year. At the time it was very definitely considered a “rich kid’s school”, particularly compared to my alma mater. And it was much, much less diverse. Or possibly you were referring to his elementary school years. I went to Jane Long; no clue where Randy went. I remember A.P. Beutel, Elizabet Ney and Bess Brannan in Lake Jackson. I’m all ears to hear which one of them you were talking about. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2015, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-un-fork-hillary-thread/717458/452 "2015-05-03T08:18:53Z")
So the school went from a rich kid’s school to a school that serves a broader community? When did this happen? ---
**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:** [May 3, 2015, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-un-fork-hillary-thread/717458/453 "2015-05-03T11:06:11Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > They are different in terms of turnout models. Assuming an unelectable GOP candidate in 2016 is based on well, nothing, because it hasn’t happened since 1964. This is a case where the liberal Doper community’s view of Republicans is not based on reality. What does “unelectable” mean? I’m not sure if there was _anything_ McCain and Romney could have done to win – they might well have been unelectable. I don’t know if the Republican will be unelectable, but I think most of those running now would have an extremely difficult time in the general election. I think the Republican primary might well _make_ otherwise electable candidates “unelectable” (or close enough). We’ll see. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2015, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-un-fork-hillary-thread/717458/454 "2015-05-04T00:12:24Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > So the school went from a rich kid’s school to a school that serves a broader community? When did this happen? I have no clue what you mean in this post. Nothing I said reads like that to me. At the time I grew up there, Brazoswood was considered to be the “rich kid’s” high school in that school district. Most of the students were from the town of Lake Jackson, which was definitely more affluent and less diverse racially than the surrounding towns. I don’t know if that is still the case or not but from what I know about the current status of my former hometown of Freeport I suspect it hasn’t changed much. Do you have some factual information to suggest otherwise? ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-un-fork-hillary-thread/717458/455 "2015-05-05T14:32:27Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > I can’t wait for the next set of general election polls. Your wait is over. New [NBC News/Wall St. Journal general election poll](http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/MSNBC/Sections/A_Politics/SECTION_More_Politics/V215179%20NBC-WSJ%20APRIL%20Poll%20(2).pdf). Clinton 49, Bush 43 Clinton +6 Clinton 50, Walker 40 Clinton +10 Clinton 49, Rubio 43 Clinton +6 Clinton 47, Paul 44 Clinton +3 This prompts some questions… Is Clinton still in a free fall? Has Clinton hit bottom? Are the voters somehow unaware of Clinton’s free fall? Is this good news for the Republicans or great news? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-un-fork-hillary-thread/717458/456 "2015-05-05T14:38:28Z")
No Christie, no Jindal, no Cruz, no Carson, no Fiorina in that list. Those are the Future Leaders of America to root for now. Or Kasich. Yeah, maybe Kasich can win. Kasich, that’s the ticket. Scott? No, not even \*\*adaher \*\*will bite on that. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-un-fork-hillary-thread/717458/457 "2015-05-05T14:47:16Z")
Oh, btw, the guy who’s been pushing that fact-free book trying to expose the corruption of the Clinton Foundation, unencumbered by the thought process, fears being["Vince Fostered"](http://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/05/04/clinton-cash-author-peter-schweizer-and-dana-lo/203521) by the Clintons. You can stop holding your breath now, **adaher**. ---
**Author:** ![SirRay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-un-fork-hillary-thread/717458/458 "2015-05-05T16:02:29Z")
> [@Lance\_Turbo](#): > > Is this good news for the Republicans or great news? Don’t be silly, John McCain’s not on that list, so it can’t possibly be Great News. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-un-fork-hillary-thread/717458/459 "2015-05-05T16:51:11Z")
> [@Lance\_Turbo](#): > > Your wait is over. New [NBC News/Wall St. Journal general election poll](http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/MSNBC/Sections/A_Politics/SECTION_More_Politics/V215179%20NBC-WSJ%20APRIL%20Poll%20(2).pdf). > > Clinton 49, Bush 43 Clinton +6 > Clinton 50, Walker 40 Clinton +10 > Clinton 49, Rubio 43 Clinton +6 > Clinton 47, Paul 44 Clinton +3 > > This prompts some questions… > > Is Clinton still in a free fall? > Has Clinton hit bottom? > Are the voters somehow unaware of Clinton’s free fall? > Is this good news for the Republicans or great news? Now I can’t wait for the NEXT set of general election polls. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2015, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-un-fork-hillary-thread/717458/460 "2015-05-05T16:55:29Z")
…because you’re a glutton for punishment? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-un-fork-hillary-thread/717458.md?page=22) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-un-fork-hillary-thread/717458.md?page=24)