Slappy Statist Candidates for US President 2016

[Chef Ramsay]

Lindsey Graham 'definitely' considering 2016 bid

As you'll see, this guy is a neoconservative republican Senator from South Carolina and is the wingman of John McCain, another neocon Senator from Arizona. Both have been for the US funding and training so-called Syrian rebels that eventually aid ISIS in their pursuit of terrorism. Frankly, he/they are both big time interventionists in the vein of Bush et al that the world has come to hate America for. I doubt he's even serious about becoming President, only crowding the debate stages w/ more neocon interventionist rhetoric trying to reclaim the GOP to full blown war hawking and minimizing the likes of Rand Paul.

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Sunday said he was seriously considering a White House bid in 2016.

"I am definitely going to look at it," Graham said on Meet the Press.

Graham said he had established a "testing the waters" committee to probe his viability in a GOP primary. The revelation comes after Mitt Romney and Jeb Bush have in recent weeks aggresively maneuvered their way into the race.

http://www.theweek.com/speedreads/534329/sen-lindsey-graham-definitely-considering-2016-bid

He just started one of those preliminary presidential PACs to raise money and travel to test the waters. Saw it reported on Fox today.

BTW, this will be a running thread showing BTC interested Americans and foreigners what's going on and leading into the presidential primaries of both parties heading into 2016. This will skew on the republican side as there's a current democrat president and currently a nominee in waiting in the form of Hillary Clinton, but I'll showcase the left side to as it heats up.

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[Chef Ramsay]

Will Common Core sink Bush?
This guy is frmr President George W. Bush's brother, fyi.

Jeb Bush’s Common Core problems may just be getting started.

Karl Rove has already said the former Florida governor’s support for the set of nationalized education standards will be his biggest challenge in seeking the GOP presidential nomination. His likely rival, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), has predicted it will doom Bush in the primaries.

That starts in Iowa and South Carolina, where conservatives there say backlash against Common Core has become the hot-button issue among grassroots voters in their states.
"It's huge,” said Sam Clovis, an influential conservative activist in Iowa. “I think it's a disqualifier…we have pretty strong feelings out here about life and marriage, and Common Core is right up there as an issue that really energizes the base.”

Luke Byars, a South Carolina GOP strategist, called Common Core a “hornet’s nest” and “the defining issue” of the state-level elections in 2014 in the Palmetto State, predicting it will “boil over” into 2016.

More...http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/229828-will-common-core-sink-bush

There's also Mitt Romney trying for round 3 but more on that later.

[Chef Ramsay]

Rubio Gets Ready

Sen. Marco Rubio has begun taking concrete steps toward launching a presidential bid, asking his top advisors to prepare for a campaign, signing on a leading Republican fundraiser, and planning extensive travel to early-voting states in the coming weeks, ABC News has learned.

"He has told us to proceed as if he is running for president," a senior Rubio advisor tells ABC News.

Marco Rubio Insists Jeb Bush Won't Affect His 2016 Timetable
Leading the effort to raise the $50 million or more he’ll need to run in the Republican primaries will be Anna Rogers, currently the finance director for American Crossroads, the conservative group started by Karl Rove that raised more than $200 million to help elect Republicans over the past two elections.

Rogers will begin working at Rubio’s political action committee on February 1 and would become the finance director of Rubio’s presidential campaign.

Rubio, 43, will gather on Friday and Saturday at the Delano Hotel in Miami with 300 supporters and major donors to his Reclaim America PAC to discuss his political future.

Aides expect Rubio will make a final decision in the comings weeks, but his schedule for the next month already looks more like the schedule of a presidential candidate than a senator.

ABC News has learned Rubio plans to skip all votes in the Senate next week and instead take a campaign fundraising swing through California with events in Beverly Hills, Newport Beach, Rancho Sante Fe and Costa Mesa. He also plans fundraising stops in Texas and Chicago.

Rubio has also scheduled a book tour that will take him to all the early primary states. A senior aide to the Florida senator tells ABC News Rubio’s book tour will include stops in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Florida and Nevada. The first stop is tentatively scheduled for February 13 in Des Moines.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/exclusive-marco-rubio-moves-2016-presidential-bid/story?id=28415410

This neocon got elected to the US Senate from Florida back in the 2010 Tea Party wave. But actually where his allegiance lies is in a hawkish foreign policy rather than in the fiscal restraint of the federal government from top to bottom, like Rand Paul. The bottom line is, he's real close to Jeb Bush on policy and his financiers are nearly identical. Rubio outed himself as a fraud when he was elbow deep in the "Gang of 8's" move a few years ago to push for immigration reform (aka amnesty) w/o any pursuance of border tightening which pissed off conservatives from all stripes and proved the guy was just a chamber of commerce republican or worse, a water boy for them and their senior officials. Rubio is just filler material to place in the list of republicans running so they can saturate the debate stage and the media's reporting of the primary race of where the typical republican would stand on foreign policy along w/ Bush, Romney and the rest to make it look like Rand Paul is out of the GOP mainstream on this matter just like they did to his dad, Ron. More to come.

[Rishblitz]

I hate Rubio the most out all these.

[grendel25]

I hate Rubio the most out all these.

I don't know what to make of Rubio.  He seems pretty smart but I'll never forget that time he looked like a total blundering idiot on CNN.   I think it was right after the POTUS State of the Union address about a year or so ago and Rubio got picked to give the Republican response.  He was constantly nervously grabbing for this water bottle and made absolutely no sense.  It was like he just walked 10 miles in the desert and was then told to give an impromptu rebuttal to the President's speech.

I'm willing to listen to what he may say but for now he has a lot to prove.  He just doesn't seem like a POTUS.

[Possum577]

Why do you think they're "neoconservatives"?

I haven't heard them preaching the need to go to war to spread America's democracy...but I haven't read everything about them. Are you assessing their political stance fairly? Are they just conservatives?

I think Rubio could be a great candidate. We need to do away with the dynasty shit...if your family member has already held the position of President your family shouldn't be given the honor twice. No Hillary, No Jeb...we need someone new.

[Chef Ramsay]

Rubio has a voting record that suggests that he's fiscally conservative on some things but when it comes to foreign policy, civil rights at home (he's pro-everything from expanded NSA spying on civilian powers to spending big on the DHS) and siding w/ the banksters and the other entrenched lobbies he's about as fascistic or pro-big government as they come. He's all for the status quo on Cuba which is where he picked his latest fight w/ Rand and this is where he's got his name out again. If all we're going to get out of the GOP primary is another Bush neocon type that wouldn't hesitate to get aggressive w/ Russia or up the ante in the middle east, then we're just gonna keep draining whatever is left of the economy by spending even more money abroad all the while there's been a growing entitlement class here at home that has been suffering from a shit job market and inflation.

[Chef Ramsay]

John Bolton Is Still Thinking About Rescuing the GOP in 2016
Big time neocon and walrus look alike

John Bolton, the former American ambassador to the United Nations, may run for president. Yes, yes, he said that in 2011, and he ended up taking a pass, endorsing Mitt Romney, and sticking with his busy life of columns, Fox News appearances, and legal work in Washington. This year might be different.

"I did look at running in 2011," Bolton said in an interview before heading to Iowa for Saturdays' Citizens United-sponsored Iowa Freedom Summit. "Whatever bright idea I had 2011, I waited too long. This year, I think the summer is the outer limit for everybody, and I’m in a different position from the typical candidate in that I don't have some elective office to tend to."

Some people run for president to build a brand. Bolton, who has never won elective office, has an astoundingly durable brand already. He was just on TV this week, several times, denouncing the president for delivering the State of the Union from a "dream world." He's advised Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, who may run for president (and will be on the Freedom Summit rostrum) on foreign policy. Years removed from his job in the George W. Bush administration, he launched a PAC and Super PAC in 2013 and raised an aggregated $7.5 million for Republican hawks running for office, most of whom won. That was probably helped by the fitful presidential race speculation, and Bolton insists that he may run if other Republican contenders prove unserious about foreign policy. He wouldn't, for example, say that Mitt Romney's foreign policy views had been vindicated after 2012, and that he deserved another shot at the White House.

“I don’t see myself as fulfilling the function of S&P index for other candidates,” said Bolton. “I’m concerned overall with our foreign policy. It’s a question not of a couple of grafs in a stump speech, but of a much broader and focused debate on the big picture.”

A year ago, Bolton's 2016 ambitions seemed to grow out of the Rand Paul boomlet, when the inward-looking libertarian was being called a "frontrunner." With Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney getting serious about 2016, the foreign policy landscape has changed considerably.

“I don’t think the neo-isolationism represented by Rand Paul is anything like a significant factor in the GOP as a whole," said Bolton. "But if you don’t have a debate on it, candidates who advocate that line might be better than you expect, because they’re not exposed. If they have an attractive domestic policy, people might look past their foreign policy. I think defeating this virus is important.”

Would Bolton vote for Paul if he won the nomination? "Anybody who thinks Hillary Clinton’s foreign policy is better than Obama's is dreaming. I’d grit my teeth and vote for Paul.”

Bolton's prepared remarks for Saturday's summit largely focus on foreign policy. In them he warns of Ebola as a "potential biological WMD," explaining that "Russian defectors have said it was part of Moscow’s biological weapons program." When he talks about the economy, it's in the context that "a strong economy depends on [a] strong international presence."

But when pressed on why he might not want to be president, or if there was anything he disliked about the idea, Bolton insisted that he would focus on more than foreign policy. "If I run it’ll be a 360 degree candidacy," he said. "If the press—you’ll forgive me—can say 'He’s a one issue candidate,' they can dismiss me."

...

http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-01-24/john-bolton-still-thinking-about-a-rescuing-the-gop-in-2016

[Chef Ramsay]

Hillary Clinton ‘100%’ in for 2016, will launch bid in April: report

Even Hillary is finally ready for Hillary, it seems.

Hillary Clinton will “100%” run for President in 2016 and has already approved a budget for the campaign and moved ahead with key hires, according to a new report.

Clinton, who has been at the center of campaign speculation since she left the State Department in 2013, has filled most of the top spots for her imminent campaign and is likely to announce her 2016 bid in April, Politico reported Monday.

An April launch, according to Politico, which cited multiple people in close contact with Clinton’s team, would place the campaign’s start right after the end of the year’s first quarter, allowing her first fundraising report to be “a blockbuster.”

Clinton has hired people for all major positions, with one exception — communications director. Her team is still considering candidates for the job, Politico reported.

In addition, the imminent campaign has already begun to closely involve former President Bill Clinton, who was able to solicit a “heads-up” from President George H.W. Bush regarding former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s announcement last month that he would “actively explore” running for President himself.

Bill Clinton, who has come to be friends with George H.W. Bush through the relief work they’ve done together since both leaving office, reportedly considers Jeb Bush a serious threat to his wife’s prospective candidacy.

And while the team is looking to avoid the sense of inevitability that haunted Clinton’s 2008 failed bid, some inside her camp are already floating potential vice presidential candidates.

People close to her advisers told Politico that Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, as well as Julian Castro, the current Housing and Urban Development Secretary, are all netting serious consideration as running mates, even at this early stage.

The report comes almost eight years to the day from Clinton’s January 2007 announcement that she would run for President in 2008.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/hillary-clinton-100-2016-launch-bid-april-article-1.2091806

Bill Clinton is who Bush senior refers to as another son of sorts and that's part of the reason that Jeb Bush is being postured as someone that could cause problems for Hillary when that would be anything but the case and also why Bill was given the heads up. Anyone but a Bush will be a theme in the republican primary as most of them don't want another Clinton v. Bush dynasty election. Then after the primary, should Jeb win, the messaging will change that all republicans need to support Bush or they're voting for Hillary by default. At this point, we would've come full circle from the early nineties and it'll show what a one party system looks like. Only the likes of Rand Paul can defeat Hillary cause only he can dig into parts of her base and swing them over by his sincere stances on foreign policy, civil liberties and the drug war. If it does come down to Clinton v. Bush again, it will be about voting against the person certain people hate most but no matter who gets in, nothing will change in terms of foreign policy, bankers running the show and taking from the middle class, an even deteriorating job market, you name it.

[Rishblitz]

I hate Rubio the most out all these.

I don't know what to make of Rubio.  He seems pretty smart but I'll never forget that time he looked like a total blundering idiot on CNN.   I think it was right after the POTUS State of the Union address about a year or so ago and Rubio got picked to give the Republican response.  He was constantly nervously grabbing for this water bottle and made absolutely no sense.  It was like he just walked 10 miles in the desert and was then told to give an impromptu rebuttal to the President's speech.

I'm willing to listen to what he may say but for now he has a lot to prove.  He just doesn't seem like a POTUS.

He comes off to me just as very untrustworthy.

[Chef Ramsay]

Sources: Jeb Bush raising money in the mid- to high six figures — every day

According to some Republicans, the Bush committees together are raking in daily sums in the mid-to-high six figures, an intake that should guarantee an impressive showing once the first fundraising quarter concludes in March.

“Other candidates aren’t doing that,” said one unaffiliated Republican in Washington who had been recently briefed on the fundraising.

Still, Bush backers vigorously deny a report from earlier this month that they are planning to haul in $100 million in the first quarter, a near impossible goal.

Much of the news about Bush’s financial activities is emerging from supportive donors leaking tidbits to reporters. On the staff side, it’s no-comment, all the time.

“It’s the Jeb Bush culture,” said one Florida Republican who knows the likely candidate. “It’s consistent with how he ran previous campaigns. Consistent with how he governed. Focus is execution, getting things done and lack of turmoil. That’s the goal anyway. You always fall short from time to time.”

http://hotair.com/headlines/archives/2015/01/28/sources-jeb-bush-raising-money-in-the-mid-to-high-six-figures-every-day/

[Chef Ramsay]

David Kochel, Romney’s Iowa Strategist, Jumps to Bush

David Kochel, a Republican strategist based in Iowa who worked on both of Mitt Romney’s presidential campaigns, is joining Jeb Bush’s political action committee as a senior strategist and is in line to serve as Mr. Bush’s national campaign manager.

“David is one of the most talented state-based operatives in the nation and brings a different focus and different set of priorities to our effort to communicate Governor Bush’s focus on economic and social mobility,” said Sally Bradshaw, Mr. Bush’s longtime strategist.

The move to tap Mr. Kochel, who advised Mr. Romney for over six years, represents a shot across the bow of the 2012 Republican nominee, who is now considering a third bid for the White House.

Mr. Kochel offered only praise for Mr. Romney, while also promoting Mr. Bush’s strengths.

“I really believe Governor Bush is the right person for the right time,” he said. “He has a successful conservative record in Florida, and I’d put that record up against anybody else.”

More...http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/01/29/romneys-iowa-strategist-jumps-to-bush/?_r=0

[Chef Ramsay]

As Romney Weighs '16 Bid, His Past Donors Commit to Jeb Bush

Closing in on a decision about whether to again run for president, Mitt Romney is finding that several past major fundraisers and donors in key states have defected to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

The donors, in interviews with The Associated Press, said they see in Bush what they liked about Romney in 2012, namely what they believe it takes to serve successfully as president, but also something Romney could not muster in his two previous campaigns: what it takes, both in personality as a candidate and in a supporting staff, to win the White House for the GOP.

Also, the donors said, they took the former Massachusetts governor at his word when he said he would not run for president a third time.

"I've got great respect for Gov. Romney, and I busted my buns for him," said Chicago investor Craig Duchossois, whose wife contributed $250,000 to a pro-Romney super PAC while he collected tens of thousands more for Romney's last campaign. "But I have turned the page."

And beyond donors, Romney lost one of his most trusted political advisers on Thursday when veteran Iowa operative David Kochel formally joined Bush's team.

Having backed both of Romney's previous campaigns, Kochel is in line to play a senior role in Bush's 2016 campaign should he run, said Bush spokesman Kristy Campbell, who described Kochel as "one of the most respected political strategists in the country."

The defections to Bush do not, as of yet, appear so definitive as to keep Romney from the race.

There are many free agents among the major GOP donors, each with the ability to contribute personally and collect from others the hundreds of millions needed to run a modern presidential campaign. They include Woody Johnson, the owner of the New York Jets; Sheldon Adelson, the casino magnate; and hedge fund investors Paul Singer and Robert Mercer.

More...http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/romney-weighs-16-bid-past-donors-commit-jeb-28579699

[Lethn]

I'm glad to see that some of you are properly realising that voting for Republicans isn't likely to make a difference, there were a lot of loyalists here awhile back don't be fooled into the two party system.

[coinz19]

The big question here is will the next president continue to start wars abroad. Perhaps its time to focus on problems at home?

[Chef Ramsay]

Texas Gov. Rick Perry indicted on two felony charges

A grand jury has indicted Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a potential 2016 presidential candidate, saying he abused his power by trying to pressure a district attorney to resign.

The two felony counts against Perry, a Republican, stem from his threat to veto funding for a statewide public integrity unit run by Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg unless she stepped down, the special prosecutor in the case, Michael McCrum, said.

Perry attorney David L. Botsford called the indictment a "political abuse of the court system." He said the action "violated the separation of powers" and "sets a dangerous precedent by allowing a grand jury to punish the exercise of a lawful and constitutional authority afforded to the Texas governor."

CNN affiliate KVUE reported that Perry will have to report to the Travis County Jail in the capital of Austin to be booked, fingerprinted and have his photo made for a mugshot.

Perry can continue to serve as governor while under indictment, KVUE reported. His attorneys could seek to have the charges thrown out, a motion that would delay the case, at the very least.

The grand jury in Travis County indicted the governor on charges of coercion of a public servant and abuse of his official capacity.

The charges have serious political implications, both in Texas and beyond. Perry is entering his final few months in office after a historic 14-year run in Austin.

The Republican running to replace Perry is state Attorney General Greg Abbott, who will have to answer questions about the legal drama. Abbott is facing off against Democratic star Wendy Davis, whose campaign is already making hay of Friday's news.

Perry's presidential prospects could be damaged. It's an open secret he's laying groundwork for a second presidential campaign after his disastrous 2012 effort.

More...http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/15/politics/rick-perry-indictment/index.html

[Chef Ramsay]

Mitt Romney announces that he is NOT running in 2016

WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney said Friday that he would not seek the Republican nomination for president in 2016.

Mr. Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, shared his decision on a conference call with a small group of advisers.

In a second call to a larger group of supporters, Mr. Romney said, “After putting considerable thought into making another run for president, I’ve decided it is best to give other leaders in the Party the opportunity to become our next nominee.”

By not pursuing a third White House bid, Mr. Romney frees up scores of donors and operatives who had been awaiting his decision, and creates space for other potential center-right candidates such as Jeb Bush.

Mr. Romney, 67, had expressed renewed interest in another presidential run to a group of donors earlier this month, roiling the nascent Republican race. Many of his loyal contributors, staff members and supporters had been reluctant to come out for one of his potential rivals until they knew Mr. Romney’s plans.

More...http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/31/us/mitt-romney-2016-presidential-election.html?_r=0

[Chef Ramsay]

Marco Rubio wants to permanently Extend NSA Mass Surveillance

Sen. Marco Rubio wants Congress to permanently extend the authorities governing several of the National Security Agency's controversial spying programs, including its mass surveillance of domestic phone records.

The Florida Republican and likely 2016 presidential hopeful penned an op-ed on Tuesday condemning President Obama's counterterrorism policies and warning that the U.S. has not learned the "fundamental lessons of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001."

Rubio called on Congress to permanently reauthorize core provisions of the post-9/11 USA Patriot Act, which are due to sunset on June 1 of this year and provide the intelligence community with much of its surveillance power.

"This year, a new Republican majority in both houses of Congress will have to extend current authorities under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, and I urge my colleagues to consider a permanent extension of the counterterrorism tools our intelligence community relies on to keep the American people safe," Rubio wrote in a Fox News op-ed.

Rubio for years has positioned himself as a vocal defense hawk in Congress, and he has repeatedly defended the NSA's spy programs revealed to the public by former agency contractor Edward Snowden.

More...http://www.nationaljournal.com/tech/marco-rubio-wants-to-permanently-extend-nsa-mass-surveillance-20150127?AID=7236

Definitely seems to me that some of these guys running have a major purpose in trending the GOP back into a full blown fascistic party rather than let it slip into the hands of pro-freedom Rand Paul. It's like they plan on ganging up on the guy in the debates saying he's outside the party's mainstream when the mainstream of the country is on his side.

[RodeoX]

Thanks Chef, this is a nice summation of the candidates. God help us all. lol

[Lethn]

They're going to do to Rand Paul the same thing they did to Ron Paul, it's that simple, I hope someone like Rand Paul does get elected but I've given up on the idea, if someone like Ron Paul came along regardless of his personal views on some things I'd vote for him for sure.