# The Race for the GOP Nomination - Post-Thanksgiving Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 28, 2015, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-for-the-gop-nomination-post-thanksgiving-thread/738819 "2015-11-28T12:40:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 28
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-for-the-gop-nomination-post-thanksgiving-thread/738819/541 "2016-02-02T17:10:50Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > Carson got 9%. :eek: Seriously, how is that even **possible?!** ---
**Author:** ![irae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f0a364/32.png) [@irae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irae)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-for-the-gop-nomination-post-thanksgiving-thread/738819/542 "2016-02-02T17:23:52Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > the moderate Republicans will either stay home, vote for Hillary, or waste a vote on a third party. Grandpa, what was a moderate Republican? ---
**Author:** ![irae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f0a364/32.png) [@irae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irae)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-for-the-gop-nomination-post-thanksgiving-thread/738819/543 "2016-02-02T17:26:00Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > If the FBI comes out with a recommendation to indict… Don’t hold your breath. On second thought, do! ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-for-the-gop-nomination-post-thanksgiving-thread/738819/544 "2016-02-02T17:26:14Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I’m not so sure he wins the establishment race in NH. Even clearing the establishment lane may not be enough, Trump and Cruz are going to be chirping “Gang of Eight” and “Amnesty” with every breath they take. If he gets double-teamed by Cruz and Trump in NH, his momentum will be short-lived. It’s easy to overstate the importance of Iowa on the GOP side, we do it every 4 years. In NH the establishment candidates total 40% already. Many of them probably like Rubio and are likely to vote for him tactically to stop Trump and Cruz. I think a strong second place is likely and first a serious possibility. Nationally he still has his work cut out and the establishment candidates only total 20% but I suspect these poll numbers are fairly soft and many of the other voters will gravitate towards Rubio as he starts picking up endorsements and ramps up his advertising. Remember, he is fairly conservative and started his national political career as a Tea Party favorite. Incidentally Rubio is now at 56% on [Predictwise](http://predictwise.com/politics/2016-president-republican-nomination) and has basically switched places with Trump. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-for-the-gop-nomination-post-thanksgiving-thread/738819/545 "2016-02-02T17:47:50Z")
> [@Lantern](#): > > Remember, [Rubio] is fairly conservative and started his national political career as a Tea Party favorite. Fairly conservative is underselling it. He committed a sin by (sort of) supporting immigration reform. Besides that small foray, he’s one of the most conservative members of the Senate. ---
**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:** [February 2, 2016, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-for-the-gop-nomination-post-thanksgiving-thread/738819/546 "2016-02-02T18:03:50Z")
> [@irae](#): > > Grandpa, what was a moderate Republican? Great herds of them used to roam the Northeast, sonny. They were driven to extinction by their related species, the right wing Republicans, starting in the 1980s. Failing to adopt to political climate change, their numbers quickly diminished and the last known specimen, Arlen Specter, left his habitat shortly before dying. ---
**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 2, 2016, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-for-the-gop-nomination-post-thanksgiving-thread/738819/547 "2016-02-02T18:04:41Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-for-the-gop-nomination-post-thanksgiving-thread/738819/548 "2016-02-02T18:11:08Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Great herds of them used to roam the Northeast, sonny. They were driven to extinction by their related species, the right wing Republicans, starting in the 1980s. Failing to adopt to political climate change, their numbers quickly diminished and the last known specimen, Arlen Specter, left his habitat shortly before dying. Funny you should mention that given how many Republican governors there are in that region now. It’s true that there are few national moderate Republicans, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-for-the-gop-nomination-post-thanksgiving-thread/738819/549 "2016-02-02T18:30:07Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > It can’t be ruled out, and as long as it can’t be ruled out, the party elite needs an alternative in the race. At this point, Hillary’s much vaunted FBI indictment is considerably less likely then your boy Marco’s gay porn video coming out. ---
**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:** [February 2, 2016, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-for-the-gop-nomination-post-thanksgiving-thread/738819/550 "2016-02-02T18:34:03Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Funny you should mention that given how many Republican governors there are in that region now. > > It’s true that there are few national moderate Republicans, of course. Are you trying to pass off Snyder, Walker, and Kasich as moderate? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-for-the-gop-nomination-post-thanksgiving-thread/738819/551 "2016-02-02T18:43:48Z")
Wrong region. There are GOP governors in Massachusetts, Maine, and New Jersey. Maryland too, although that’s traditionally more south. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-for-the-gop-nomination-post-thanksgiving-thread/738819/552 "2016-02-02T19:52:57Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Wrong region. There are GOP governors in Massachusetts, Maine, and New Jersey. Maryland too, although that’s traditionally more south. Maryland is by any reasonable definition a Northeastern state. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-for-the-gop-nomination-post-thanksgiving-thread/738819/553 "2016-02-02T19:57:42Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Maryland is by any reasonable definition a Northeastern state. No way. ---
**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:** [February 2, 2016, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-for-the-gop-nomination-post-thanksgiving-thread/738819/554 "2016-02-02T20:05:02Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Wrong region. There are GOP governors in Massachusetts, Maine, and New Jersey. Maryland too, although that’s traditionally more south. Oh and the Maine and New Jersey governors are SO moderate. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-for-the-gop-nomination-post-thanksgiving-thread/738819/555 "2016-02-02T20:06:55Z")
If they aren’t, you’re in deeper trouble than you thought. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-for-the-gop-nomination-post-thanksgiving-thread/738819/556 "2016-02-02T20:32:19Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > No way. A state with the bulk of its population in either the Baltimore area or the suburbs of Washington, DC can’t reasonably be construed as southern, even if it has a few counties that might qualify as such. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-for-the-gop-nomination-post-thanksgiving-thread/738819/557 "2016-02-02T22:03:40Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > A state with the bulk of its population in either the Baltimore area or the suburbs of Washington, DC can’t reasonably be construed as southern, even if it has a few counties that might qualify as such. Agree. It is certainly not a northeastern state. It is an eastern seaboard state. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-for-the-gop-nomination-post-thanksgiving-thread/738819/558 "2016-02-02T22:06:06Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > A state with the bulk of its population in either the Baltimore area or the suburbs of Washington, DC can’t reasonably be construed as southern, even if it has a few counties that might qualify as such. The traditional boundary between North and South is the Mason-Dixon Line. ---
**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:** [February 2, 2016, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-for-the-gop-nomination-post-thanksgiving-thread/738819/559 "2016-02-02T22:08:35Z")
Maryland lost its claim to southernness by joining the Big Ten. I’d say based on its political leanings and ignoring the Mason-Dixon line, it’s marginally northern. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-for-the-gop-nomination-post-thanksgiving-thread/738819/560 "2016-02-02T22:10:54Z")
Virginia is not really Southern anymore, either. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-for-the-gop-nomination-post-thanksgiving-thread/738819.md?page=27) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-for-the-gop-nomination-post-thanksgiving-thread/738819.md?page=29)