POTUS 2016: SHIT JUST GOT REAL
Apr. 14th, 2015 12:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
defrogEmergency commentary from Team Def Political Batshit Decorator Lucky Bensonhurst. Approach with caution.
So Hillary is running, which means the POTUS 2016 election is officially a race.
What that means for me, mainly, is that my Facebook newsfeed is going to get even more ugly, mean, spiteful and insane than it already is. I spent most of the 90s listening to all kinds of weird, angry hate-soaked GOP conspiracy fantasies about Hillary. Since then, they’ve only gotten weirder and angrier. And we have social media now, which makes them easier to spread. So yeah, it’s going to be one ugly election season, Jim.
Apart from that, I don’t have much to add. Hillary’s campaign has been vetted since 1992, and we’ve known for awhile now that the GOP’s strategy in dealing with her will mainly involve screaming “BENGHAZEMAILOBAMA!” from now until she dies. Hillary also knows this. So presumably she has a strategy to counter all of that.
Does she have a chance? Let's just say if no one else enters the race and the election was held this afternoon, she would kick Ted Cruz’s ass all the way back to Canada.
And while I was typing that, Marco Rubio climbed into ring, which means Hillary won’t really have to worry about Ted anyway. And using the same criteria as above, Hillary would toss Rubio right back out of the ring.
That said, unlike Ted, Rubio actually has a shot at the nomination. He gives great speech, and he’s probably the one candidate who can occupy whatever passes for middle ground between the Establishment GOP and the Tea Party – at least compared to everyone else right now.
Anyway, there will be much incredible asinine horseshit written about Hillary, Cruz and Rubio in the coming weeks, and indeed for the next year.
For those of you who desire clear-headed analysis, Five Thirty Eight is the place to go for now. Here’s a quick summary:
1. Cruz might as well quit now. At best he’s going to be the extremist buffoon of the race, at least until Ben Carson takes over. Or unless Michele Bachmann or Sarah Palin decide to make fools of themselves again.
2. Hillary’s chances are going to depend a lot on how well Obama is doing in the polls and the economy is doing in general by Game Day, as well as who her actual challengers turn out to be.
3. Rubio is going to be one of those serious challengers – provided he can make his case better than J.Bush or Scott Walker
Meanwhile, here’s an interesting factoid from Five Thirty Eight:
If you go by popularity ratings, there’s not really any particularly thrilling choice out there, including Hillary. That could change as we get closer to the election, but none of the possible contenders are really generating any enthusiasm outside of their base.
That means another close and competitive election. But I think it’s also a sign that people are tired of the same old candidates from the same old generation gap running for POTUS. Do we really want another Bush or Clinton in the White House again? I'm not 100% sure I do. The answer will depend on the alternatives, I suppose.
L. Bensonhurst
So Hillary is running, which means the POTUS 2016 election is officially a race.
What that means for me, mainly, is that my Facebook newsfeed is going to get even more ugly, mean, spiteful and insane than it already is. I spent most of the 90s listening to all kinds of weird, angry hate-soaked GOP conspiracy fantasies about Hillary. Since then, they’ve only gotten weirder and angrier. And we have social media now, which makes them easier to spread. So yeah, it’s going to be one ugly election season, Jim.
Apart from that, I don’t have much to add. Hillary’s campaign has been vetted since 1992, and we’ve known for awhile now that the GOP’s strategy in dealing with her will mainly involve screaming “BENGHAZEMAILOBAMA!” from now until she dies. Hillary also knows this. So presumably she has a strategy to counter all of that.
Does she have a chance? Let's just say if no one else enters the race and the election was held this afternoon, she would kick Ted Cruz’s ass all the way back to Canada.
And while I was typing that, Marco Rubio climbed into ring, which means Hillary won’t really have to worry about Ted anyway. And using the same criteria as above, Hillary would toss Rubio right back out of the ring.
That said, unlike Ted, Rubio actually has a shot at the nomination. He gives great speech, and he’s probably the one candidate who can occupy whatever passes for middle ground between the Establishment GOP and the Tea Party – at least compared to everyone else right now.
Anyway, there will be much incredible asinine horseshit written about Hillary, Cruz and Rubio in the coming weeks, and indeed for the next year.
For those of you who desire clear-headed analysis, Five Thirty Eight is the place to go for now. Here’s a quick summary:
1. Cruz might as well quit now. At best he’s going to be the extremist buffoon of the race, at least until Ben Carson takes over. Or unless Michele Bachmann or Sarah Palin decide to make fools of themselves again.
2. Hillary’s chances are going to depend a lot on how well Obama is doing in the polls and the economy is doing in general by Game Day, as well as who her actual challengers turn out to be.
3. Rubio is going to be one of those serious challengers – provided he can make his case better than J.Bush or Scott Walker
Meanwhile, here’s an interesting factoid from Five Thirty Eight:
If you go by popularity ratings, there’s not really any particularly thrilling choice out there, including Hillary. That could change as we get closer to the election, but none of the possible contenders are really generating any enthusiasm outside of their base.
That means another close and competitive election. But I think it’s also a sign that people are tired of the same old candidates from the same old generation gap running for POTUS. Do we really want another Bush or Clinton in the White House again? I'm not 100% sure I do. The answer will depend on the alternatives, I suppose.
L. Bensonhurst
