Michigan

[Harlan Huckleby]

Turnout is low, Romney is holding a solid lead in the primary.

A Romney win will keep Republican party fractured for a long time.

[RashanGary]

I hope Romey wins. I'm not even a liberal but hard core conservatives are so obnoxious to me that I take pleasure in wathcing them lose and I don't think they can win with a Mormon.

Their voting base is about half know it alls who think they have all of the answers, a few single issue voters and a huge amount of EVANGELICAL Christians. The churches (as tolerant as they claim to be) will not allow Romey to be voted in. Many will not show up before they vote for a mormon.


I think the best case for the libs is Barack vs Romney. The people who will not vote for a black guy were never going to vote liberal anyway. Getting a black guy on the ticket will draw out every black person in this country to vote and the christians will stay home or vote for an odd candidate. The politically assertive liberals will still get out and the Democrats will win.


The republicans best shot is Huckabee but talk radio is taking down their strongest candidate. I think Huckabee McCain or McCain Huckabee would be damn near unstoppable against Hillary and a probable winner against Barack the magic negro

What's funny is to hear the Conservatives go on for years and years about how they are morally sound and how they are based in firm christian beliefs and now that the only christian candidate on their side is a little liberal, they are now preaching conservatism before christianity. I don't think they realize what they are getting into.

[Tyrone Bigguns]

I hope Romey wins. I'm not even a liberal but hard core conservatives are so obnoxious to me that I take pleasure in wathcing them lose and I don't think they can win with a Mormon.

Their voting base is about half know it alls who think they have all of the answers, a few single issue voters and a huge amount of EVANGELICAL Christians. The churches (as tolerant as they claim to be) will not allow Romey to be voted in. Many will not show up before they vote for a mormon.


I think the best case for the libs is Barack vs Romney. The people who will not vote for a black guy were never going to vote liberal anyway. Getting a black guy on the ticket will draw out every black person in this country to vote and the christians will stay home or vote for an odd candidate. The politically assertive liberals will still get out and the Democrats will win.


The republicans best shot is Huckabee but talk radio is taking down their strongest candidate. I think Huckabee McCain or McCain Huckabee would be damn near unstoppable against Hillary and a probable winner against Barack the magic negro

What's funny is to hear the Conservatives go on for years and years about how they are morally sound and how they are based in firm christian beliefs and now that the only christian candidate on their side is a little liberal, they are now preaching conservatism before christianity. I don't think they realize what they are getting into.

You are aware that evangelical leaders like Bob Jones 3 have endorsed romney?

Which is wierd as they have longed view mormonism as a cult. LOL

[LL2]

So who is leading in the votes after all these primaries so far? Is there a website that keeps track of this stuff?

[RashanGary]

You are aware that evangelical leaders like Bob Jones 3 have endorsed romney?

Which is wierd as they have longed view mormonism as a cult. LOL

I listen to Talk radio a couple days per week. Every day there are people calling up defending Huckabee (as the call goes on, you can kind sense they have these opinions from a church group or pastor that sort of solidified them or influenced them). Some of them argue against mormons. IMO you can hear the bigotry spew from their lips as they really believe they have the answers to life and the rest of the world does not.


Bottom line, I think christian voters (the hard core ones who are probably the same ones who will proactively vote if their church influences them to) will largely not vote for Romney. Huckabee was naturally surging and Fox, and talk radio are doing everything they can to hold him down. They are making a mistake. They think the Christians will vote for whatever conservative makes it, but I think they will realize after this that they are not leading teh christian voters around by the the ear, the christian voters are leading them by the ear. The Church is strong and not influenced by 5 hours of talk radio and biased news coverage. Many of them will stick to their guns and the republicans will have to realize they just have to pander to the christian vote from now on or they will lose.

[Harlan Huckleby]

So who is leading in the votes after all these primaries so far? Is there a website that keeps track of this stuff?

Romney is no doubt in front for delegate count on republican side. But it is too early for that to mean much. Romney is really down in national polls and favorability ratings. McCain has brighter outlook, but race is wide open.

[HarveyWallbangers]

I've always felt Nick was a dingbat, but I feel more strongly about it now.

[Joemailman]

Independents pretty much stayed home in Michigan, which doomed McCain. This brings into serious question whether McCain can win primaries where only registered Republicans can vote. Romney looks pretty strong right now. By the way Justin, from what I am hearing on MSNBC, Romney did as well among Evangelicals as Huckabee.

[digitaldean]

The GOP primary is so wide open right now.

I believe that no one will get the required number of delegates and the GOP will have a brokered convention (meaning anybody could get the nomination).

The Democratic side is surreal. Obama and Clinton can duke it out, but if Edwards goes with either one, it could make a difference in their chances.

All I want is someone who actually will DO something when elected.

I know, I know, too high of expectations.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Romney looks pretty strong right now.

I don't know about this. He has the highest unfavorability ratings of the 4 top republicans nationwide. New Hampshire and Michigan were strong states for him. Move on to S.C. where he has nothing. He's in the race, that's all you can say.

I think Romney would be the weakest Republican in the general election.

I think in the long run, the Republican's best matchup is McCain against Obama. (The matchup polls today don't mean shit, the public is gonna shift as they get to know the candidates.) The august Senator is a sharp debator, could really make Obama look green.

I think Hilliary beats any Republican, and Obama only has trouble with McCain.

[Freak Out]

I read a short transcript of a speech Huck did where he stated he wanted to change the constitution to bring it in line with Christian laws.

God bless America.

[Harlan Huckleby]

I read a short transcript of a speech Huck did where he stated he wanted to change the constitution to bring it in line with Christian laws.

you mean sort of like Mad's decency rules for the romper room? doesn't sound too bad.

[Harlan Huckleby]

January 15, 2008,
Republicans Brawl, Democrats Yawn
By David Brooks

Here are a few things that happened Tuesday night.
First, it was a good night for the Democrats and a bad night for the Republicans. The Democratic debate has been a love fest. The candidates have all (for very good reasons) decided to pull back from the mutual kamikaze tone of the past few days. Their discussion constituted a repudiation of the old Boss Daley of Chicago, who famously said that politics ain’t beanbag. Apparently politics is beanbag, because that’s all the Democrats threw at each other tonight. I’ve seen more conflict at a pacifists’ stir-fry.
Meanwhile, the Republican prospects in the fall just got even dimmer. I say this not only because a weak general election candidate won a primary, but because Mitt Romney’s win pretty much guarantees a bitter fight for the nomination. If you doubt that, here is what Rush Limbaugh said about McCain and Huckabee on his program today: “I’m here to tell you, if either of these two guys get the nomination, it’s going to destroy the Republican Party, it’s going to change it forever, be the end of it.” This week, Rush and his radio mimics have been on the rampage on the party’s modernizers, from Newt Gingrich on over.
This thing will only get uglier.
Second, Mitt Romney found, as Hillary would say, his voice. I remember watching him campaign at a financial company about 6 months ago. He talked about business and was fantastic. The next event was at a senior citizen center. He was ideological and dreadful. In Michigan, the full corporate Mitt was on display.
His campaign was a reminder of how far corporate Republicans are from free market Republicans. He proposed $20 billion in new federal spending on research. He insisted that Washington had to get fully engaged in restoring the United States automotive industry. “Detroit can only thrive if Washington is an engaged partner,” he said, “not a disinterested observer.” He vowed, “If I’m president of this country, I will roll up my sleeves in the first 100 days I’m in office, and I will personally bring together industry, labor, Congressional and state leaders and together we will develop a plan to rebuild America’s automotive leadership.”
This is how the British Tory party used to speak in the 1970s.
The third thing that happened tonight is that Hillary Clinton and John Edwards disgraced themselves in the minds of debate-watchers everywhere. At some point in each campaign, candidates are asked to name their greatest weakness. Only the lamest political hacks answer that question this way: Goshdarn it, I just care too much. I am too impatient for good things to happen.
Giving that answer is an insult to the art of politics. And yet Edwards and Clinton both gave that answer. They didn’t even give artfully disguised versions of that answer. They gave the straight, unsubtle kindergarten version of that answer. Obama, honestly, admitted that he’s bad at organizing his paperwork. Truly, here is a man willing to stand for change.

[Joemailman]

Romney looks pretty strong right now.

I don't know about this. He has the highest unfavorability ratings of the 4 top republicans nationwide. New Hampshire and Michigan were strong states for him. Move on to S.C. where he has nothing. He's in the race, that's all you can say.

I think Romney would be the weakest Republican in the general election.

I think in the long run, the Republican's best matchup is McCain against Obama. (The matchup polls today don't mean shit, the public is gonna shift as they get to know the candidates.) The august Senator is a sharp debator, could really make Obama look green.

I think Hilliary beats any Republican, and Obama only has trouble with McCain.

Were those unfavorability ratings among all voters, or just Republicans? There are primaries coming up where only registered Republicans can vote. I think he'll do well in those. Florida will be huge. Right now it is a close 4 man race. Florida has 57 delegates, and it is winner take all.

I agree that Romney would be the weakest Republican in the general election.

[Joemailman]

So who is leading in the votes after all these primaries so far? Is there a website that keeps track of this stuff?

Romney leads the delegate count with 42.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/republican_delegate_count.html