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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Locked up in a tight one

Locked up in a tight one

by DougJ|  July 19, 201111:04 am| 76 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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A PPP poll shows Bachmann leading the field, albeit by only one point (via):

Michele Bachmann’s momentum continues to build and she’s taken first place by the smallest of margins on PPP’s newest national Presidential poll. 21% of Republican primary voters say she’s their top choice to 20% for Mitt Romney, 12% for Rick Perry, 11% for Herman Cain, 9% for Ron Paul, 7% for Newt Gingrich, 5% for Tim Pawlenty, and 3% for Jon Huntsman.

Do you think there’s any chance that when Perry gets in, Romney will drop to third and the GOP establishment will look for someone new to back?

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76Comments

  1. 1.

    DJAnyReason

    July 19, 2011 at 11:06 am

    When Perry gets in, he is the GOP establishment candidate.

  2. 2.

    David Fud

    July 19, 2011 at 11:07 am

    When all of the other pretend-teabaggers, pizza vendors, and goldbugs drop out, Bachmann will be the last standing outsider candidate and will win the nod.

    Looking forward to it. There will be some serious crazy on parade.

  3. 3.

    Yevgraf

    July 19, 2011 at 11:09 am

    This is going to be Teh AWESOME!

    http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2011/07/michele-bachmann-migraines-presidential-race-/1?csp=34news

    GOP presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann suffers from migraines that have landed her in the hospital, according to a report in The Daily Caller.
    …
    The story, quoting unnamed “witnesses,” says Bachmann’s migraines are stress-induced and occur about once a week and can “incapacitate” the Minnesota congresswoman. Bachmann campaign spokeswoman Alice Stewart says that characterization is “incorrect.”

  4. 4.

    beltane

    July 19, 2011 at 11:10 am

    If they ran a genuine sh*t-flinging baboon straight out of the zoo, he would be mopping the floor with the rest of the field. It will take a true simian to appeal to the true Teabaggers out there.

  5. 5.

    NonyNony

    July 19, 2011 at 11:10 am

    @David Fud

    If Perry gets in then he gets to be both the establishment candidate and the outsider candidate. He can actually appeal to both wings of the party in a way that most of the other candidates seem to be incapable of doing. That’s why he’s the one that everyone is hoping will get in.

    He’s like Bush the Lesser in that respect – he gets to look like an outsider while being the ultimate insider. Nice gig if you can get it. Of course if the rumors about his personal life turn out to be more than rumors everything changes.

  6. 6.

    Jose Padilla

    July 19, 2011 at 11:11 am

    Perry will split the crazies with Bachman, making a Romney nomination more likely. Perry then becomes the vice-presidential nominee, giving the Romney ticket the crazy it needs.

  7. 7.

    Napoleon

    July 19, 2011 at 11:14 am

    Of course if the rumors about his personal life turn out to be more than rumors everything changes.

    Please tell!

  8. 8.

    MattF

    July 19, 2011 at 11:14 am

    Perry’s not so great, IMO. The Republican establishment wants another GWB, and based on his CV Perry comes closer than anyone else. But I don’t buy it– Bush (and Cheney, and Rove, and the whole crew) are gone, baby, gone– and what’s left spells big trouble for Republicans in 2012.

  9. 9.

    Bobby Thomson

    July 19, 2011 at 11:16 am

    He’s like Bush the Lesser in that every respect.

    FTFY

    Unfortunately, a majority of Americans elected that jackass in 2004.

    When you get down to it, people are really fucking stupid. The best you can hope for is to manipulate them into supporting their own best interests.

  10. 10.

    Dave

    July 19, 2011 at 11:17 am

    Napoleon – if it’s the rumor I have read about, there is a rumor that Perry had an affair with a male staffer back in 2004

  11. 11.

    GregB

    July 19, 2011 at 11:17 am

    Pawlentum!

  12. 12.

    Poopyman

    July 19, 2011 at 11:18 am

    @Yevgraf:
    Is that when the voices come to her?

    @DougJ — And this is for your previous post, too:

    So who’s left in the “GOP”? I mean, for polling purposes, who identifies as Republican, and what percentage of voters does that include? I suspect that too many people (including all of MSM) take it for granted that there are roughly equal numbers of voters identifying as GOP and Democratic. And I’m pretty sure that a fair number of folks have fled “GOP” for the safe haven of “Independent”. Gotta be some numbers around here somewhere on that.

    Anyway, my point is that Bachmann is going to be the nominee of the smoking ruin of a once–respected party.

  13. 13.

    The Dangerman

    July 19, 2011 at 11:20 am

    The dynamics should change in about 2 weeks; the Republicans will pass some form of debt ceiling increase, causing Hockey Mom to jump in. I still don’t see Perry running (has he announced?).

  14. 14.

    kd bart

    July 19, 2011 at 11:20 am

    #3-Sounds like good news for McCain.

  15. 15.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    July 19, 2011 at 11:21 am

    here is a rumor that Perry had an affair with a male staffer back in 2004

    Didn’t his wife move out of the governor’s mansion for a while? And weren’t there rumors that Rove was stoking those rumors (speculate…. irresponsible not to… doesn’t matter if it’s true or not… out there… magic dolphins…. only a fool or a Frenchman would ask…) because of old grudges between the Bush camp and Perry?

  16. 16.

    Lockewasright

    July 19, 2011 at 11:21 am

    The teahadists will support Bachmann and, when the establishment GOP raises the debt ceiling, they will get riled up and active. They will push Bachmann over the top winning her the nomination and sealing their party’s doom. It’ll be a real heartbreaker to watch.

  17. 17.

    Violet

    July 19, 2011 at 11:22 am

    Perry looks and sounds a LOT like George W. Bush. He didn’t used to look and sound like him, but he sure does now. It’s almost shocking. For those that aren’t familiar with him (like, most people around the country), it’s going to be a rude shock when he shows up on the national stage. He’s already got the Texas Governor baggage. I don’t think the country is going to vote for a Texas Governor who looks and sounds like W.

  18. 18.

    carbon dated

    July 19, 2011 at 11:23 am

    I need to know which candidate allsmitey God favours.

  19. 19.

    Bobby Thomson

    July 19, 2011 at 11:23 am

    Of course if the rumors about his personal life turn out to be more than rumors everything changes.

    Never seemed to hurt Junior.

  20. 20.

    Violet

    July 19, 2011 at 11:23 am

    @The Dangerman:
    Perry is just about to announce. All but. “God has called him” and some such

  21. 21.

    NonyNony

    July 19, 2011 at 11:24 am

    @Napolean

    He’s a Republican, so what do you think “rumors about his personal life might mean”?

    Scratch that – it could mean a lot of things. We’re not talking wetsuit and sex toy land here. Or anything to do with drunk driving and hookers.

    There have been rumors for a while that he’s in the closet and that’s why he hasn’t announced for the Presidency. Getting through the Republican primary with those kinds of rumors in your background would be hard and it would potentially destroy whatever political career he has left. Even if the rumors aren’t true you can just imagine the kind of shit his fellow Republican primary opponents would pull on him (remember McCain’s adopted daughter and the push-polling whisper campaign that went on around that – same kind of shit).

  22. 22.

    hilts

    July 19, 2011 at 11:25 am

    “As president, when she’s in crisis management mode, is she going to have the physical ability to withstand the most difficult challenges facing America?” the former aide asks.
    TheDC agreed to provide the sources anonymity because they were providing information only a select group of people could know, at great professional risk. Two sources independently provided detailed accounts of Bachmann’s condition. A third source confirmed that Bachmann frequently suffers from debilitating headache episodes.

    h/t http://dailycaller.com/2011/07/18/stress-related-condition-incapacitates-bachmann-heavy-pill-use-alleged

  23. 23.

    Lolis

    July 19, 2011 at 11:25 am

    @Jose Padilla:

    I live in Texas. Few people here see Perry as someone willing to accept a VP slot. He would overpower the presidential candidate physically and probably with star power too.

    I think Bachmann has about a 5% chance of being the nominee or on the ticket. She will implode in the primary, probably sooner rather than later.

  24. 24.

    Villago Delenda Est

    July 19, 2011 at 11:26 am

    Apparently, Bachmann is unable to do anything at all for several hours at least once a week, due to these migraine attacks.

    In the unlikely event that Bachmann is elected to the presidency, the 25th Amendment may get a very serious workout if these reports are accurate.

  25. 25.

    Bruce S

    July 19, 2011 at 11:27 am

    I actually have a more visceral contempt for Perry than any of these repugnant critters. I can see him – even more than the rest – pulling the switch on the ‘lectric chair with one hand, while holding a Bible in the other. There was this bit from yesterday’s Times, offered by the compulsively blah columnist Ruben Navarette that – surprisingly – captured Perry’s essence in a few lines:

    Several years ago, when I was on the editorial board of the Dallas Morning News, Governor Perry came by for an interview. I had read a story in The New York Times about a foundry with a dreadful safety record and many employee deaths. Concerned about government regulators, the company would only do business in two places: developing countries and Texas. I asked the governor if he was bothered by this fact. He wasn’t, to put it mildly.

    “Well,” Mr. Perry said in his trademark drawl. “I don’t take direction from The New York Times.” Then he changed the subject and proceeded to make the case for why many other companies had moved to Texas. He also adjusted his chair so that, for the rest of the meeting, he had his back to me.

    Perry strikes me as the worst kind of human – “W” without those vast reservoirs of charm, compassion, self-awareness and intellectual curiosity.

  26. 26.

    Lolis

    July 19, 2011 at 11:27 am

    @carbon dated:

    They all claim god called them to lead. I guess god is on Team Obama, cause they all suck.

  27. 27.

    Han's Big Snark Solo

    July 19, 2011 at 11:29 am

    rumor that Perry had an affair with a male staffer back in 2004

    Per the Huffington Post Team Perry is already attempting to push back on the “Rick Perry is gayer than short-shorts” rumor.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/20/rick-perry-gay-rumors-_n_880969.html

    There is a reason a lot of the Republican big money in Texas is neither encouraging or supporting Rick Perry. And that reason has little to do with the fact that Perry is actually dumber than Dubya ever was.

  28. 28.

    Triassic Sands

    July 19, 2011 at 11:31 am

    In 2008, I was moved by the first victory of an African-American candidate (or any minority for that matter) in a presidential race . It’s difficult to say how I would have felt in the unlikely event that a black Republican had won, since I consider virtually all Republicans to be lunatics who represent existential threats to the well-being of this country. Therefore, I doubt I would have felt anywhere near the same elation had a Republican broken the race/ethnicity barrier.

    However, there won’t be any ambivalence this year in the unlikely event that Bachmann gets the nomination and then goes on to beat Obama in the general election. For one thing, the concept of a African-American Republican winning was purely hypothetical — there was no conceivable winning black Republican candidate. I would have been sadly pleased that a milestone had been reached, but I would have been consumed with worry over what he would do to the country.

    In the last election, I teared up at the idea that an African-American could win the presidency in my lifetime, but there will be no such sentiment should the Minnesota Loon break the sex/gender barrier. As a general proposition, it’s long past time for the United States to elect a woman as president, but in any actual election the candidate herself is what matters most (of course, the same is true for a minority candidate) — and Michele Bachmann is the wrong candidate in any year. (I won’t say she’s the wrong candidate in any century, since she might have been just right back in the 13th or 14th century.)

    It is sad, but I have so little confidence in my fellow citizens that I can’t entirely dismiss the idea of a bizarre lunatic winning a presidential election. Should Bachmann win the nomination I know that liberal/progressive women’s organizations won’t throw their support behind Bachmann, because they’re all keenly aware of the threat she poses to the well-being of women (and men as well). But I’m not so sure about individual female voters, who are much less well-versed in the issues of the day. Might there be a groundswell of support for the first ever (major party) female candidate for president? I cringe at the idea.

  29. 29.

    Bulworth

    July 19, 2011 at 11:31 am

    21% of Republican primary voters say she’s their top choice to 20% for Mitt Romney, 12% for Rick Perry, 11% for Herman Cain, 9% for Ron Paul, 7% for Newt Gingrich, 5% for Tim Pawlenty, and 3% for Jon Huntsman.

    Don’t forget Santorum!

  30. 30.

    Davis X. Machina

    July 19, 2011 at 11:33 am

    the Republicans will pass some form of debt ceiling increase, causing Hockey Mom to jump in…

    And not even the most sensitive seismographs at the Lamont-Doherty Observatory will be able to detect a tremor.

    Palin is now officially the answer to a bar-trivia contest question. A non-factor.

  31. 31.

    Alex S.

    July 19, 2011 at 11:33 am

    @ Yefgraf at 3:

    Interesting. Maybe she suffers from epilepsy. It would explain a lot.

  32. 32.

    Davis X. Machina

    July 19, 2011 at 11:34 am

    @Triassic Sands: My wife has ordered me to tell you that women aren’t that stupid.

  33. 33.

    shortstop

    July 19, 2011 at 11:38 am

    allsmitey God

    the compulsively blah columnist Ruben Navarette

    Just givin’ some love to this tasty wordsmithin’.

  34. 34.

    Bruce S

    July 19, 2011 at 11:40 am

    “rumor that Perry had an affair with a male staffer back in 2004”

    That might be the only thing I’ve ever seen or heard from Perry’s direction that I’m fine with.

  35. 35.

    The Moar You Know

    July 19, 2011 at 11:41 am

    Perry wins the nom and likely the general in a walk. He’s a god-babbling raging asshole with all of the charm and good manners of John McCain and all the sanity and Jesus-hollerin’ of Bachmann. Irresistible bait for the TeaTards. Long enough record in the art of governmental tax-cutting and deficit spending for Money to feel like they could trust him.

    He doesn’t have Palin’s tits, but she’s not in it to win it anyhow.

  36. 36.

    The Dangerman

    July 19, 2011 at 11:41 am

    @Davis X. Machina:

    And not even the most sensitive seismographs at the Lamont Observatory will be able to detect a tremor.

    Not so sure; we just had a shitstorm of media over the fact that she rode a bus. She is still the Tea Partiers Gal.

  37. 37.

    Yevgraf

    July 19, 2011 at 11:41 am

    Interesting. Maybe she suffers from epilepsy. It would explain a lot.

    I’m going to assume that this may be an elaborate cover for Teh Crazy, because she appears to be drenched in it.

  38. 38.

    Tom Hilton

    July 19, 2011 at 11:42 am

    Given that most of Romney’s donors have already maxed out (6 months before the first primary), I would be inclined to bet against him winning the nomination. On the other hand, if the establishment does abandon him, who else is there to back? Pawlenty? Huntsman?

    They’re sticking with Romney.

  39. 39.

    Lolis

    July 19, 2011 at 11:42 am

    @Triassic Sands:

    Women hated Palin more than men and still do. I don’t think your worry is based in reality.

  40. 40.

    Zifnab

    July 19, 2011 at 11:43 am

    I’m not sure if Rick Perry is a serious contender for the Presidential nod. Perry doesn’t have a lot of support in Iowa or New Hampshire and hasn’t seemed overly intent on building it up. His 50 Governor Pray-a-thon reeks of Christian-baiting cynicism. And he has generally served as a rubber stamp for the GOP Legislature, without racking up any serious policy achievements during his rather extended term. Everything out of Perry’s mouth is feel-good Texas first political rhetoric.

    He looks more like he’s running for Vice President at this point.

  41. 41.

    Alex

    July 19, 2011 at 11:43 am

    Last I heard, Perry was waiting until after he has a stadium full of people pray for the United States (note: only Christains allowed) before entering the race.

    http://theresponseusa.com/

  42. 42.

    Lolis

    July 19, 2011 at 11:43 am

    @Alex S.:

    No need to insult people with epilepsy.

  43. 43.

    Paul W.

    July 19, 2011 at 11:45 am

    “Do you think there’s any chance that when Perry gets in, Romney will drop to third and the GOP establishment will look for someone new to back?”

    I think this is exactly what will happen. No one in the GOP base ACTUALLY wants Romney, just the monied folks. And we already know they’ve lost control (look at the debt ceiling brinkmanship).

  44. 44.

    Southern Beale

    July 19, 2011 at 11:47 am

    Anyone wonder why Michele Bachmann was bringing up the Pigford case again this week? I have a theory ….

  45. 45.

    The Moar You Know

    July 19, 2011 at 11:47 am

    Bruce S: Gotta say I’m a little surprised to read such a thing coming from Ruben. He is a diehard conservative, my nightmare come to life of what could happen to the Latino voting demographic if the GOP ever stops using them as a whipping boy for what’s wrong with the nation, and he does not say bad things about fellow conservatives. Perry must have pissed him off but good.

  46. 46.

    stuckinred

    July 19, 2011 at 11:48 am

    From CNN

    From Clinton to Palin to Bachmann: Why some Dems now support GOP women

  47. 47.

    Brachiator

    July 19, 2011 at 11:49 am

    @DougJ:

    Do you think there’s any chance that when Perry gets in, Romney will drop to third and the GOP establishment will look for someone new to back?

    Early polling don’t mean squat. I look for Romney to self-destruct as he usually does.

    As I have noted before, I would not be surprised to see the GOP turn to Jeb Bush for salvation.

    @Triassic Sands:

    But I’m not so sure about individual female voters, who are much less well-versed in the issues of the day.

    WTF? Do you want to walk this nonsense back?

  48. 48.

    Villago Delenda Est

    July 19, 2011 at 11:53 am

    Look, Hillary fans, Obama wasn’t the problem.

    It was Hillary’s shitty choices in top campaign staffers, notably the utter incompetent Mark Penn.

  49. 49.

    The Moar You Know

    July 19, 2011 at 11:53 am

    Yevgraf: Or maybe she has debilitating migraines, same as I get on occasion, and it doesn’t explain shit.

    She is insane. Migraines don’t cause insanity, save for a fleeting urge to scoop your own brain out with a spoon. You can trust me on this.

  50. 50.

    mirele

    July 19, 2011 at 11:54 am

    There’ve been rumors about Perry’s sexuality since he became governor when Bush the Lesser became president. I have no idea whether those rumors are truth.

    However, Perry’s trying for the same whackadoodle crowd that Michele Bachmann (and to an extent Sarah Palin) is wooing. You know, not merely religious, but *crazy* religious. If proper scrutiny is put upon the crowd at Perry’s Prayvaganza (TM Margaret Atwood) on August 6, he may knock himself right into the fringe with Bachmann. Because conservative people like my father aren’t going to vote for a religious nutbar for president. However, Dad might vote for a Jon Huntsman type, someone who has lots of business experience and could be seen as a more centrist candidate (even though Huntsman has two strikes against him–Mormon and worked in the O adminstration).

  51. 51.

    Alex S.

    July 19, 2011 at 11:54 am

    @ Lolis, 42:

    I didn’t insult them. In contrast to Sarah Palin, Bachmann actually does work. And she used to be a tax lawyer and you don’t get to be one just like that. She also seems able to lead a campaign (so far). But sometimes, she just says something so out-of-this-world that you question her sanity. It could also explain her vivid religiosity.

  52. 52.

    Davis X. Machina

    July 19, 2011 at 11:56 am

    @mirele: I saw a pair of Huntsman ’12 stickers on a very-nicely-thank-you SUV in the parking lot of an upscale MA mall last week.

    Should have taken out my camera, and took a snapshot, because I can’t get anyone to believe me. Might as well claim to have seen Nessie.

  53. 53.

    WereBear

    July 19, 2011 at 12:00 pm

    I am agog that the Party of “Keep ‘Em Barefoot and Pregnant” wants to push a woman to the head of the line.

    Where’s the “women submit to their husband’s” logic in that? Do we want Marcusssss as our First Dude and defacto President? What does Phyllis Schlafly have to say about that?

  54. 54.

    DougJ

    July 19, 2011 at 12:01 pm

    So who’s left in the “GOP”? I mean, for polling purposes, who identifies as Republican, and what percentage of voters does that include?

    I think it’s about 30% of voters by registration.

  55. 55.

    Poopyman

    July 19, 2011 at 12:08 pm

    @DougJ:

    Right. Pretty close to the famed Crazification Factor, too. Funny how that fact is rarely brought up when poll numbers are discussed by our talking heads.

  56. 56.

    Maine Independent

    July 19, 2011 at 12:12 pm

    As to Bachmann’s reported migraine headaches, a brain tumor would explain both the pain, and the craziness.

  57. 57.

    cha cha cha

    July 19, 2011 at 12:27 pm

    i believe the references to epilepsy refer to temporal lobe epilepsy, which can result in visions/hallucinations (that, in turn, may be interpreted by the person suffering from them as being sent from God).

  58. 58.

    Bruce S

    July 19, 2011 at 12:29 pm

    The headaches expose is being shopped right now because her popularity out in the sticks gives the GOP establishment an…uh…incapacitating headache. That was “The Caller” not HuffPo.

    Too bad Bachmann is in the process of getting knee-capped by “her own” side. I think she might have made it to the nomination by leveraging within the primaries the crazy folks that the economic elite has come to rely on as their useful idiot Brown Shirts.

    Would have been fun. What makes Bachmann scary to them – even more than to us, since she’d get creamed in the general – is that I don’t believe the woman has a cynical bone in her body. She really and truly IS completely nuts.

  59. 59.

    WereBear

    July 19, 2011 at 12:30 pm

    Bachmann could have terrible headaches because she is living the life she thinks god told her to, but she’s married to a closeted gay man, I’m sure some of her children avoid her because they aren’t perfect, and she hasn’t gotten to do something she truly enjoys since she reached adulthood, and she can’t change any of it without going straight to hell.

    Just an informed guess.

  60. 60.

    Redshift

    July 19, 2011 at 12:33 pm

    stuckinred:

    From Clinton to Palin to Bachmann: Why some Dems now support GOP women

    As far as I can see, the only thing that article shows is that there are some high-level PUMAs (and charter members of the “Some Democrats” party) who still have contacts in the media. Notice the striking lack of any mention of supporters, or indeed, any mention of any advocacy their “advocacy group” is doing, other than complaining about sexism to CNN.

  61. 61.

    master c

    July 19, 2011 at 12:49 pm

    My friends in Austin say he is totally closet case

  62. 62.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    July 19, 2011 at 12:51 pm

    As far as I can see, the only thing that article shows is that there are some high-level PUMAs (and charter members of the “Some Democrats” party)

    The main source in that article is a Wall Street trader who says “McCain sent Carly Fiorina to my home”. Something tells me that home isn’t an underwater split-level with a rough-running, ten year old minivan in the driveway. You think she left the party because Obama didn’t “fight” to repeal the top-tier Bush tax cuts? I don’t think so.

  63. 63.

    Chris

    July 19, 2011 at 12:52 pm

    “Well,” Mr. Perry said in his trademark drawl. “I don’t take direction from The New York Times.”

    That really is all it takes in this country.

    “Sir, you just picked up a baby and bit it on the head. Twice. On camera.” “Well, I’m sticking it to those fucking hippies in San Francisco and New York.” “Ohhhhh! Carry on.”

    Then he changed the subject and proceeded to make the case for why many other companies had moved to Texas.

    Answer: because in Texas, they can get away with a horrific safety record, and the government whose theoretical job is to “serve and protect” in the public will shrug it off and change the subject to how people who ask questions about that suck and are liberal.

  64. 64.

    Bruce S

    July 19, 2011 at 1:00 pm

    master c – July 19, 2011 | 12:49 pm · Link

    My friends in Austin say he is totally closet case

    That’s a big improvement of Perry’s image IMHO. I have some doubts about this though, because I went to that PrayerMania website and saw how badly he ties the knot in his tie.

  65. 65.

    TG Chicago

    July 19, 2011 at 1:05 pm

    Just remember:

    Despite the fact that Huntsman and Pawlenty are both polling below Gingrich…

    Despite the fact that the two of them *combined* are polling below Ron Paul…

    Despite the fact that neither of them can even get a *quarter* of the support Bachmann does…

    …Huntsman and Pawlenty are the only serious contenders for Romney to consider. George Will said so!

  66. 66.

    Tom Hilton

    July 19, 2011 at 1:16 pm

    @Villago delenda est: Well, Obama was part of the problem, in that he was an appealing candidate running an extremely disciplined campaign with a solid strategy and an innovative funding model. It wasn’t just Mark Penn’s (and others’) incompetence; it was also David Plouffe’s (and others’) competence.

    Of course, your broader point (that there’s no reason for any Clinton supporter to be pissed off at Obama) remains true.

  67. 67.

    catclub

    July 19, 2011 at 1:51 pm

    Hank @ 27 “Per the Huffington Post Team Perry is already attempting to push back on the “Rick Perry is gayer than short-shorts” rumor.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…..80969.html

    There is a reason a lot of the Republican big money in Texas is neither encouraging or supporting Rick Perry. And that reason has little to do with the fact that Perry is actually dumber than Dubya ever was.”

    What I remember reading was that Perry and Rove hate each other. Given Rove’s closet issues, this could become quite a battle with _interesting_ undercurrents.

  68. 68.

    gocart mozart

    July 19, 2011 at 1:54 pm

    Don’t forget Santorum!

    Santorum is coming up the rear.

  69. 69.

    Triassic Sands

    July 19, 2011 at 1:56 pm

    Are women that stupid and do I want to walk my comment back?

    Michele Bachmann holds elective office, so no.

    I don’t think of American female voters as dumber than American male voters (since more of them vote Democratic, I generally think of them as smarter than American men), but American voters have a long and proud tradition of electing absolute idiots (see 2000 presidential election, followed by 2004 presidential election and every Tea Bagger in the current House and Senate.

    Also, I remember the PUMAs.

    Further, I have spoken to a number of women who are my neighbors. Their displeasure with Obama has nothing to do with anything that I see as either his fault or his failings. Some supported Clinton in ’08, voted for Obama, and don’t plan on supporting him again in ’12, which would leave them with what other choice in that election? Again, this is not an argument that women are in any way less astute than male voters, because in most cases these women’s husbands voted for McCain in ’08 and won’t vote for Obama in ’12 no matter what.

    I don’t think Bachmann will win either the nomination or the election, but I don’t put either in the category of the impossible.

    After eight years of absolute disaster at the hands of Republicans, American voters returned the Republicans to the majority in the House in 2010. Only very, very stupid or very poorly informed people would do that (in my opinion).

    And finally, the extent of concern is influenced by the amount of damage any individual candidate can do if elected. If a candidate has a relatively small chance of being elected, but poses a catastrophic threat, then a measure of concern is warranted.

    I consider every Republican a serious threat to the future of this country, especially if both the House and Senate are in Republican hands. But the Republican candidate who worries me least is Huntsman (though he has virtually zero chance of getting the nomination) and the one who worries me the most is Bachmann and she is currently running at or near the head of the Republican field.

    Since Democratic presidential candidates rely on getting a majority of the female vote, anything that cuts into that poses a problem.

  70. 70.

    Tonal Crow

    July 19, 2011 at 2:02 pm

    Bachmann/Palin Overdrive: Why settle for just “crazy”?

  71. 71.

    sneezy

    July 19, 2011 at 2:04 pm

    @ Jose Padilla, #6:

    Perry will split the crazies with Bachman, making a Romney nomination more likely. Perry then becomes the vice-presidential nominee, giving the Romney ticket the crazy it needs.

    I agree with this more than with the view that Perry would become the establishment candidate. I think he’s a little too nuts for the Wall St. boyz to really trust him. Romney is one of them, Perry is not.

  72. 72.

    Paul in KY

    July 19, 2011 at 2:19 pm

    I will say that the average voter seems to have no idea what a figurehead position Texas governor is. I wish some smarter people than I would figure out some pithy way to explain it so people know Rick Perry does just about nothing all damn day.

    VP Gore couldn’t seem to do it.

  73. 73.

    Irony Abounds

    July 19, 2011 at 2:40 pm

    I have a dislike for both parties. I think both sell out to their Galtian overlords on a regular basis. However, there is no clearer sign that Republicans are clearly far more insane and just batshit crazy than Dems than the fact that Bachman is an upper tier Republican presidential candidate while Dennis Kucinich was never more than a mere curiosity as a Democratic presidential candidate.

  74. 74.

    shortstop

    July 19, 2011 at 2:47 pm

    Triassic: Yours of 1:56 is all over the map.

    Let me try breaking it down this way. Say Alan Keyes is the pre-Obama GOP nominee, the first African American to be a presidential candidate. Would you then say this? “I know that liberal/progressive African American organizations won’t throw their support behind Keyes, because they’re all keenly aware of the threat he poses to the well-being of black people and other racial minorities (and white people as well). But I’m not so sure about individual black voters, who are much less well-versed in the issues of the day.”

  75. 75.

    Mike Kay (Democrat of the Century)

    July 19, 2011 at 3:42 pm

    I told you Bachmann would take offf.

    Now the next step happens–the establishment and the corporate media will begin attacking her in hopes of bringing her down.

  76. 76.

    jonas

    July 19, 2011 at 5:36 pm

    Why is it that everyone in the GOP these days seems to either be a closeted homosexual, or married to a closeted homosexual? At this point it would be simpler to talk about the leading Republican figures who are NOT currently being dogged by rumors that they play on the down-low.

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