Your 2016 Presidential Candidate Speculation Thread

Yes. I should note that many of these guys run to give them leverage when their agents negotiate FOX and ABC "This Week" contracts.

oh i think walker really, really wants the brass ring

and so do Bush and Rubio. But Fiorini and Santorum? Their contracts are up.

huckabee is the most obvious example

it'd almost (/almost/) be funny if by some bizarre twist rand paul actually ended up with the nomination. he'd probably be at least as freaked out as any of us. no way he actually expects to be president.

I don't think Rand Paul is running for the 2016 presidency, but I definitely think he's running for the 2020 or 2024 presidency. His hat's in the ring now as a "different" kind of Republican, and now he'll have 4-8 years to balance that with ingratiating himself with the GOP establishment.

Randy's playing some long game yeah

He's made a big show of reaching out to nontraditional Republican constituencies, and unlike his dad, he doesn't seem like an old crackpot. I imagine his hope is that, within the next 4-12 years, the GOP/general polity shifts closer to his "soft" libertarianism, and he shifts a little to the traditionally conservative side while still giving off the "optimist with new ideas" vibe.

"optimist with new ideas and clothes two sizes too big for him" vibe.

I think intheblanks is right about the hope of a continuing libertarian shift, but I think it's a losing game for Rand Paul. People can pull off "newcomer with new ideas" sometimes when coming from a governorship - they're relatively "new" nationally and they've had some space to say "We tried this innovative program in my state, and accomplished X and Y." Within the next 4 to 12 years, Senator Rand Paul will have racked up a ton of votes on a ton of little bills and will seem a lot more like a boring old politician, by then in his 60s, hair graying. Obviously this isn't universal - McCain somehow managed to make "maverick" stick on himself - but you really can't be the youthful force of big zesty ideas forever.

agreed thats prob what rands thinking, tho of course libertarianism is intrinsically a niche brand

new ideas including climate change denial and ill-fitting clothes xps

he doesn't seem like an old crackpot.

give it time

i don't think the increased frequency of IRL climate catastrophes will be good for "govt should do as little as possible."

(except for maybe a full-on End Days evangelical)

both pauls are complete dipshits and the fact that a notable amount of ppl my age (mid/late 20s) think that they're like, even halfway decent politicians - bc oh wow rand paul is anti-spying and ron is cool with teh drug legalization - is horrifying to me

on a similar note a week or so ago (maybe 2) glenn greenwald was repeatedly RTing rand paul anti-NSA quotes - like at least a half-dozen! - and i thought "uhhhh glenn...he doesn't really regard u as human, his dad is cool with u but otherwise a dipshit so maybe could u not do that"

greenwald is fundamentally a libertarian dipshit himself reason why everyone hates him

that and he writes like a lawyer

@Doctor Casino

Yeah, you may well be right. Paul's best hope is probably a win for Hillary, a disappointing Clinton presidency, then he roles in in 2020 with his record of "GOP brand sucks"/moderated drug policy/bucking the establishment on NSA, while still having solid conservative positions to win over GOP folks.

Yeah, and Obama is a mass murderer but Sotomayor was a good SCOTUS appointment. So, your point?

xxxp

Yeah, you may well be right. Paul's best hope is probably a win for Hillary, a disappointing Clinton presidency, then he roles in in 2020 with his record of "GOP brand sucks"/moderated drug policy/bucking the establishment on NSA, while still having solid conservative positions to win over GOP folks.

― intheblanks,

whoa there champ

Just to be clear, not the country's best hope, just feel like that's Rand Paul's road to the presidency. The climate change denial part is of keeping mostly orthodox GOP views.

that is, people can be praised for one stand in isolation from others, depending on the context. xxp

Yeah, and Obama is a mass murderer but Sotomayor was a good SCOTUS appointment. So, your point?

― the increasing costive borborygmi (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, June 2, 2015 3:35 PM (52 seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

just a lot of ppl dont understand why they/other ppl hate glenn greenwald and i am explaining their feelings to them

Yeah, you may well be right. Paul's best hope is probably a win for Hillary, a disappointing Clinton presidency, then he roles in in 2020 with his record of "GOP brand sucks"/moderated drug policy/bucking the establishment on NSA, while still having solid conservative positions to win over GOP folks.

― intheblanks,

whoa there champ

― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, June 2, 2015 12:36 PM (24 seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

haha, fair point. "Clinton's disappointing presidency" is a bit of a pointless speculation/reach, but I think that the other stuff is still probably Paul's strategy for 2020 or 2024.

there are good things about him too tho like he lives in the jungle with a dog pack

i suppose it was an enemy-of-my-enemy approach in glenn's mind - and was specifically referring to rand paul not being down with gay people afaict

One of the better ambivalent R. Paul posts: http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a35380/rand-paul-patriot-act/

never 4get:

http://www.out.com/sites/out.com/files/GlennGreenwald1.jpg

http://static01.nyt.com/images/2014/08/04/business/04CARRjp1/04CARRjp1-articleLarge.jpg

thats only like 15% of their dogs

flip-flops and dogs and Brazilian hot dog – the glamorous life.

insert "needs a man's touch" joek

I was grossed out when the NYT profile said the house stank of dog tbh

whatd u expect he lives in a sweaty ass jungle with 45 dogs

sweaty ass is all I can expect

likely pref to the smog of cologne in a Miami disco

no discos in Miami since Tony Romero diddled Michele Pfeiffer.

tsk tsk get the name right or say hello to my little etc

was gonna say

in a Miami disco nobody can hear you snort

Huckabuck keeps the chuckles comin!

GG's praise for the pauls is super-misguided but he is not a libertarian, 'fundamentally' or otherwise

Paul says plenty of stuff I agree with (primarily foreign policy-related) but I have no illusions that he's a dangerous, disingenuous idealogue asshole so it's p much the stopped clock phenomenon at work

i haven't seen GG "praising" so much as pointing out anomalies in the MSN Two Polarized Parties binary, similar to when he identifies the issues on which Obama, Peter King and Mitch McConnell are in lockstep.

MSM, that is

huckabee is the fucking worst

there's stiff competition for that title

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzy0FgCYdGM

GG's praise for the pauls is super-misguided but he is not a libertarian, 'fundamentally' or otherwise

― (The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Tuesday, June 2, 2015 5:41 PM (5 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

greenwald has some documented libertarian skeletons in his closet and its a pretty clear thread in his poltiical philosophy on the occasions you can see anything resembling a philosophy through the constant calling everyone in the world venal dishonest hitlers