Slappy Statist Candidates for US President 2016

[Chef Ramsay]

Rand Paul skips hearing on State funding, hits Clinton on Benghazi

...
Funding for the State Department, including requests for funds "that will allow us to improve the safety and security of U.S. citizens, government employees and facilities overseas," according to Heather Higginbottom, deputy secretary of state for management and resources, who testified on Wednesday.

Instead of attending his committee hearing, the 2016 Republican presidential candidate spent his time blasting Clinton as "oblivious" to and denying requests for additional security at the Benghazi consulate. The compound was later attacked by terrorists who killed several diplomats there, including U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stephens.

"The Benghazi thing is going to be very difficult for (Clinton) to dig out of that hole because people want their president to be someone who will defend American missions, diplomatic missions around the world," Paul, who was in Washington Wednesday, told WVLK radio that morning.


More...http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/22/politics/rand-paul-benghazi-committee-hearing/

[Chef Ramsay]

The Ted Cruz Blimp, Coming to a Sky Near You!

A group of zealous supporters of Sen. Ted Cruz’ (R-TX) 2016 presidential run is planning to launch a ‘Ted Cruz Air Force’ (TCAF) in the coming months prior to the Republican primaries that begin in less than a year.
...
TCAF says its most prominent air feature will be the “Ted Cruz Blimp,” but it also plans on recruiting “antique aircraft, towed aerial banners, light sport aircraft … [and] parachutes.”

Member of TCAF Jerry Collette says he’s going to do everything he can to help Cruz win the GOP nomination.

“I support Ted Cruz because, like Ron Paul before him, Ted Cruz stands on principle, even if people on both sides of the aisle oppose him for doing so,” said Collette.

According to Collette, he’ll be joined by several members of the team who launched and operated a blimp for former Rep. Ron Paul during the 2008 GOP primaries.
...

http://thenewrevere.com/2015/04/the-ted-cruz-blimp-coming-to-a-sky-near-you/

[Chef Ramsay]

Walker Responds to Cruz: 'I'm Going to Stand With the American Worker'

Potential 2016 GOP presidential candidate and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker appeared on "Fox and Friends Weekend" to weigh in on the Clinton Foundation controversy and to respond to pointed comments from Ted Cruz about Walker's immigration policy.
...
Walker also weighed in on his recent head-butting with Ted Cruz over immigration and amnesty.

In a recent Washington Examiner interview, Cruz promoted legal immigration and criticized Walker for suggesting that he supported limiting legal immigration if it has a negative impact on the wages of American workers.

"When we talk about what should be the policy on legal immigration, it should be driven by the economic impact. And number one on the list of priorities should be: What is the impact on American workers and American wages?" Walker said.

"If unemployment is high and labor participation is low, why would we want to open the door and flood the market with more workers at a time when our own people here are looking for work?"

Walker said that we are a country of immigrants, but we are also a country of laws. He asserted that we should be looking out for the American worker in everything we do.

"From immigration to tax policy to welfare reform and everything, I’m going to stand with the American worker."
...

http://insider.foxnews.com/2015/04/25/gov-scott-walker-responds-ted-cruz-im-going-stand-american-worker

[Chef Ramsay]

Next Wave of GOP Presidential Candidates: Carson, Fiorina, Huckabee

The next wave of what is expected to be a very crowded 2016 GOP presidential candidate pool is set to crash next week as Dr. Ben Carson, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee are all expected to officially jump into the race.

Carson, a political commentator and retired neurosurgeon, is expected to make his presidential bid official on Monday, May 4, in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan.


Carson recently took a jab at Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential candidate, for the new revelations from the book Clinton Cash, which is exposing new information about foreign donors to her foundation.


“It is my strong belief that not only should they definitely give back the money and cease accepting foreign donations, but should also make every effort to find missing documents that would shed light if in fact they are innocent,” Carson said.


Also on Monday, May 4, Fiorina is expected to launch her official campaign via Twitter–as Breitbart News has previously reported–followed by a conference call with national reporters, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Like Carson, Fiorina has been outspoken against Clinton.


“Because I am a woman, there are many things she can’t say,” Fiorina said. “She can’t play the gender card. She can’t talk about being the first woman president. She can’t talk about the war on women.”


Huckabee, a former Fox News host, is set to announce his run for president the day after Fiorina and Carson. He will make his official announcement from Hope, Arkansas, on Tuesday May 5.

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/04/27/next-wave-of-gop-presidential-candidates-carson-fiorina-huckabee/

[Chef Ramsay]

Webb joins Democrats questioning Obama trade plans

A former senator who is likely to challenge Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination is questioning President Obama’s plans on key trade issues.

Former Virginia Senator Jim Webb today said congress has a right to see the details of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership that would impact U.S. trade with a dozen countries before the House and Senate vote on a separate proposal that gives the president authority to negotiate trade deals that cannot be altered by congress.

“I don’t think it’s right for the administration to be trying to move ‘fast track’ ahead of showing this agreement to the congress for its scrutiny,” Webb said.

Webb made his comments during a news conference in Des Moines after he met with Democrats who serve in tbe Iowa House and Senate. Webb told reporters he’s all for a “pivot to Asia” to strengthen relations with places like Vietnam, South Korea, Japan and Singapore.

“That part of the world is vitally important to the United States, but with respect to the TPP agreement itself, I believe the administration needs to show the agreement to the congress,” Webb said.

President Obama is facing growing opposition from his fellow Democrats to the Asian trade deal and Obama, in turn, has warned China will fill the void in the region if the U.S. doesn’t seal with this deal.

More...http://www.radioiowa.com/2015/04/27/webb-joins-democrats-questioning-obama-trade-plans-audio/
Webb held events in central Iowa on Sunday and Monday. Webb told reporters he doesn’t have “a specific date” set for announcing whether he’ll run for president.

[Chef Ramsay]

Articles and headlines like this one never cease to amaze me. They get a quote from one fan girl, and the media decides that Carly matters, and is picking up speed. Even though she's at less than 1% in most of the polls.

Carly Fiorina 'picking up speed' in Iowa, GOP activists say

So far, all the GOP presidential contenders who have tested the waters in Iowa have found the temperature toasty.
Republican Carly Fiorina is the latest long shot to get a hero's welcome from conservative activists here.


Last Wednesday, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO attracted the second-biggest crowd that Urbandale's Westside Conservative Club has seen in two presidential election cycles — this one and the previous one.


Nearly 300 came to the Clinton County GOP's spring dinner Thursday night for Fiorina's keynote speech. At the spaghetti dinner Friday night for the Johnson County GOP, more tables had to be brought out to handle a bigger-than-anticipated audience of 260.


About 110 Iowans showed up Saturday morning for a Webster County Republican Women event.


"Everyone I spoke to left inspired by what Ms. Fiorina had to say," Karen Glaser, co-chair of the Webster County GOP, told The Des Moines Register. "I feel that she is picking up speed, and the more people that hear her, the better it will get."


What's clear is that Fiorina, a 60-year-old California native who has barely clocked 1 percent in recent polling, is now on Iowa activists' radar. Where did this wellspring of admiration and affection come from?

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2015/04/28/carly-fiorina-picking-speed-iowa-gop-activists-say/26543889/

[Chef Ramsay]

Presidential contenders use Baltimore riots to intro political talking points

The Baltimore riots, spurred by the death of Freddie Gray in police custody, have allowed those vying for the presidency to hone their messages on policing methods, race relations and family values. Not all politicians benefit from the exposure, though.

Republicans and Democrats alike jumped at the opportunity to get publicity from the national media, which has flocked to Maryland after unrest broke out into looting and riots Monday night. Their attempts to address the situation have had varying levels of success.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), the first to jump into the presidential arena, issued a statement that focused on the need for law and order and condemning the violence in Baltimore.

"Every case deserves justice, and the facts surrounding Freddie Gray's death should be thoroughly and impartially investigated. But rioting and mayhem are not the answer,” he wrote. "While we continue to pray for a peaceful conclusion to the events in Baltimore ‒ and pray for the families of those injured ‒ I hope we all remember that our nation's law enforcement consists of thousands of heroic officers who deeply respect the dignity of each person they serve to protect. Targeting law enforcement for violence is wrong, and it cannot be allowed to persist.”

Real estate tycoon Donald Trump, who is exploring a bid for the Republican nomination, blamed President Barack Obama for the violence in a tweet, which drew irate responses on social media, according to the New York Daily News.

Another potential Republican candidate, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, commented on the Baltimore unrest, which he called “heartbreaking”from Puerto Rico, the New York Daily News reported.

“Look, when you have a situation where nursing homes that are under construction to deal with frail elders are burned to the ground ‒ there has to be a commitment to the rule of law and to law enforcement,” Bush said. “And at the same time it needs to be balanced with the fact that if there is this case, it ought to be investigated as quickly as possible so that people know that the system works for them."

Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton, who declared her candidacy on April 12, made comments about the Baltimore riots at a New York fundraiser on Tuesday.

"Baltimore is burning," she told campaign donors, according to New York Magazine. "The tragic death of another young African-American man, the injuries to police officers, the burning of peoples' homes and small businesses. We have to restore order and security. But then we have to take a hard look as to what we need to do to reform our system."

Former Gov. Martin O’Malley (D-Maryland) is expected to run for president. He is reportedly planning to announce his candidacy in Baltimore, where he served as the city’s mayor for two terms. O'Malley cut a trip to Europe short to return to his hometown, tweeting, “I’m saddened that the City I love is in such pain this night. All of us share a profound feeling of grief for Freddie Gray & his family,” and “We must come together as one City to transform this moment of loss & pain into a safer & more just future for all of Baltimore’s people.”

http://rt.com/usa/254341-presidential-candidates-react-baltimore-riots/

[Chef Ramsay]

Bernie Sanders to Announce Presidential Run

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a blunt self-described socialist who has become a favorite of progressive activists for his denunciations of big banks and the financial elite, will jump into the 2016 presidential campaign on Thursday, according to two people familiar with his plans.

One ally — who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss Sanders’s timetable — said the 73-year-old senator is expected to make his intentions known this week and hold a rally in Vermont next month. He plans to run as a Democrat, according to his associates.

Sanders presents a notable left-leaning challenge to Hillary Rodham Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, who announced her second campaign for the White House on April 12.

Former Rhode Island governor and ex-Republican Lincoln Chafee announced his pursuit of the Democratic nod this month, but his campaign has so far generated little interest from rank-and-file party members. Others on the Democratic radar — former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley and former Virginia senator Jim Webb — have not formally decided on running.

Sanders shares many of the same political stances as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a darling of liberals who has repeatedly said she is not running for president. That means Sanders may end up serving as the most prominent voice for the left wing of the party — particularly voters who are suspicious of Clinton and her close ties to Wall Street.

Sanders’s backers said they hope he can serve as a proxy for Warren’s disappointed drafters, helping to animate small-dollar Democratic donors with his brash persona and speeches condemning the “billionaire class.”

More...http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/sen-bernie-sanders-to-launch-presidential-bid-on-thursday/2015/04/28/2b2802b8-edf0-11e4-a55f-38924fca94f9_story.html

[Chef Ramsay]

Bernie Sanders ("independent" US Senator from Vermont that's a self-avowed socialist) Makes More In 24 Hrs. Than Rand, Cruz, or Rubio, From Small Donations.

In the first 24 hours of his presidential campaign, Sen. Bernie Sanders has raised more money than Republican candidates Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, and Ted Cruz did during their first day in the race.

Sen. Sanders raised $1.5 million from a network of small donors during his first day as an official presidential candidate.

The Washington Post reported:

The donations came from a broad base of supporters — some 35,000 donors who gave an average of $43.54 a piece, according to the Sanders campaign. The campaign also said it signed up more than 100,000 supporters through its website, building what it calls a “mass movement.”
Clinton has not released any details about her fundraising totals, online or otherwise. But the Sanders haul outpaces the three major Republican candidates who already have announced. In the first 24 hours since launching their campaigns, Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) raised $1.25 million and Sens. Rand Paul (Ky.) and Ted Cruz (Texas) raised about $1 million each, according to their campaigns.

More...http://www.politicususa.com/2015/05/01/24-hours-bernie-sanders-raised-money-rand-paul-marco-rubio-ted-cruz.html

[Chef Ramsay]

Why Bernie Sanders is the Democratic Ron Paul — and why he isn’t

A former third-party candidate announced his long-shot presidential bid for a major party nomination and, despite trailing in the polls and not having the support of the party establishment, his supporters are hopeful that his candidacy will change the status quo.

That statement could be about Ron Paul 2008 and 2012 and/or Bernie Sanders 2016. And in many ways, Sanders is something of a Democratic version of Paul.

Here's what they have in common, and what they don't:

More...http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/05/01/why-bernie-sanders-is-the-democratic-ron-paul-and-why-he-isnt/

[Chef Ramsay]

Hustler’s (Porn) Larry Flynt Endorses Hillary Clinton For President

In an interview with Bloomberg Politics, the renowned pornographer said he’ll throw his support behind the former secretary of state in the 2016 election.

“I’m endorsing Hillary Clinton for president, but I don’t think she needs my endorsement,” Flynt told Bloomberg reporter John Heilemann.

Flynt said that with Clinton as president, the makeup of the Supreme Court could be shifted left for the first time in decades.

“We’ve had a right-leaning court for half a century,” Flynt said. “But if Hillary gets in, chances are she’s going to have an opportunity to appoint two, maybe three justices… and we could shift the balance there.”

Flynt has long been a supporter of Democratic political candidates, particularly former President Bill Clinton. During the height of Clinton’s impeachment hearings in the late 90s, Flynt’s Hustler magazine offered readers a $1 million reward for information about any sexual indiscretions of Republican members of Congress. The contest ensnared Republican Speaker-elect Bob Livingston, a vocal supporter of impeachment who was forced to resign his House seat. Clinton eventually beat his impeachment proceedings a short time later.

More...http://www.breitbart.com/big-hollywood/2015/05/01/hustlers-larry-flynt-endorses-hillary-clinton-for-president/

[Chef Ramsay]

Santorum on Bruce Jenner: ‘If He Says He’s Woman, Then He’s a Woman’

Speaking to BuzzFeed’s Rosie Gray from the South Carolina Republican Party’s convention this weekend, Santorum had this to say about Jenner’s transition:

“If he says he’s a woman, then he’s a woman. My responsibility as a human being is to love and accept everybody. Not to criticize people for who they are. I can criticize, and I do, for what people do, for their behavior. But as far as for who they are, you have to respect everybody, and these are obviously complex issues for businesses, for society, and I think we have to look at it in a way that is compassionate and respectful of everybody.”

The potential 2016 Republican presidential candidate added that “these are tough issues” and, answering another question about what public restrooms Jenner should be able to use, said that he does not “think the federal government should get into the whole issue of bathrooms.”

Santorum has long been a prominent foe of the LGBT community, so it is more than a little surprising to hear him express so much unconditional support for Jenner. Is it Jenner’s embrace of the Republican Party that has Santorum feeling so friendly? Or could it be Jenner’s declaration that being transgender does not make him gay?

More...http://www.mediaite.com/online/santorum-on-bruce-jenner-if-he-says-hes-woman-then-hes-a-woman/

[Chef Ramsay]

Anyone notice how Bernie Sanders is being Marginalized like Rand and Ron Paul?

"I don't suppose many people think Bernie Sanders will be the next President...."


I just think it's an interesting observation that the media is also treating Sanders as just someone that will force Hillary to be more liberal. Similar to how Ron was a "good candidate but didn't have a shot" that was only in the race to expand libertarian ideas and whatnot. Kind of points to proof that those in charge of the Democrat and Republican parties might not be too different after all. Plus it's just interesting to see it on the other side.

http://video.foxnews.com/v/4209035939001/sanders-white-house-bid-targets-immoral-economic-system/?playlist_id=928378949001#sp=show-clips

[Chef Ramsay]

Former HP CEO Fiorina enters 2016 race, takes shot at Clinton

(Reuters) - Former Hewlett-Packard Co (HPQ.N) Chief Executive Carly Fiorina on Monday announced she is running for president, and took a shot at Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, who she said represents a political class that Americans are "disgusted" with.

Once one of the most powerful women in American business, Fiorina registers near the bottom of polls of the dozen or so Republican hopefuls and has never held public office.

She is positioning herself as an outsider with real-life experience earned through years in the corporate world.

Fiorina, 60, said the former first lady and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, belong to an out-of-touch political elite.

"She reminds people that there is a huge disconnect between that political class and the hopes and concerns of hard-working Americans everywhere," she told reporters on a conference call.

"I see that disconnect everywhere I go. I see people just disgusted, honestly, with the way the playing field is tilted against them, the disconnect between what they're thinking about and what they perceive people in Washington are thinking about," Fiorina said.

A breast cancer survivor who lost a stepdaughter to drug addiction, Fiorina is a multimillionaire who has known adversity.

She was forced to resign from HP in 2005 as the tech company struggled to digest a $19 billion merger with then-rival computer maker Compaq.
Related Coverage

› Former tech CEO Fiorina suffers online glitch in campaign launch

Around the time of her ouster from HP she was derisively dubbed the “anti-Steve Jobs” by one respected tech news website, though the Compaq merger was eventually seen as a success.

Fiorina is at the bottom of a Reuters/Ipsos online poll of actual and possible Republican White House candidates, with less than 1 percent support.

She has gotten a warm reception at events in the early voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire but she suffered an

embarrassment on the first day of her campaign when a critic took over a website with her name in it to highlight job losses at HP.

Visitors to the carlyfiorina.org site saw the message, "Carly Fiorina failed to register this domain. So I'm using it to tell you how many people she laid off at Hewlett-Packard."

The site showed "sad-face" emoticons to symbolize what it said were 30,000 job losses at the company. Fiorina's real campaign web site, www.carlyforpresident.com, featured a video from her about the presidential bid and other messages.

In 2010, Fiorina lost the election for a U.S. Senate seat in California to Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer, failing to benefit from a wave of pro-Republican sentiment nationally.

More...http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/04/us-usa-election-fiorina-idUSKBN0NP0W420150504

[Chef Ramsay]

Fiorina: first call as President will be to Netanyahu

"She was very helpful to the NSA when she was head of Hewlitt," said Robert L. Deitz, a former NSA general counsel and former senior councillor to the director of the CIA. Deitz supports Fiorina's presidential bid.
...
Carly Fiorina: Clinton can't play 'gender card' against female opponent
...
Similar to many advisers in the Bush White House, Fiorina is a vocal proponent of a robust American presence around the globe, a hawkish worldview that lines up closely with Rubio, Graham and Arizona Sen. John McCain.

Like them, she has been blisteringly critical of President Barack Obama's handling of nuclear negotiations with Iran and of Russia's aggression toward Ukraine.

"We need to have the strongest military on the face of the planet and everyone needs to know it," (don't we already?) Fiorina told CNN. "America needs to face outward into the world, and I don't think it is helpful to our interests or to the stability of the world when people focus on turning inward."

Last week, Fiorina said that the second phone call she would make as president would be to the Supreme Leader of Iran -- after calling Netanyahu and before phoning Democratic leaders -- to inform him that "there's a new situation in town." Then she would impose "as punishing a set of financial sanctions as we are capable of imposing unilaterally."

When it comes to cybersecurity and information technology, the topics on which she advised the NSA, state and the CIA, Fiorina has little sympathy for fugitive whistleblower Edward Snowden, who leaked classified NSA plans to the media in 2013.

"I think Edward Snowden has been terribly destructive," she told CNN...
...

http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/04/politics/carly-fiorina-foreign-policy/index.html

[Chef Ramsay]

Mike Huckabee becomes 8th candidate in presidential race and appeals to southern Christians – but not Web surfers – as his campaign site goes dark and flickers throughout announcement

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee launched a second bid for the Republican presidential nomination on Tuesday eight years after winning eight states in the 2008 primaries on a platform of embracing evangelical Christians.

His tech team, however, had a bad morning.

The ordained Baptist minister-turned-politician re-introduced himself in his hometown of Hope, Arkansas – the same small town where former President Bill Clinton was also born – along with a slogan of 'Hope to Higher Ground.'

His campaign website went offline just before Tuesday's launch event began, however, and only flickered to life a few times as his wife Janet introduced him.

Viewers could see a hint of an Eisenhower-era throwback slogan – 'I Like Mike' – then nothing.

Huckabee's campaign spokesman did not respond to a request for comment. A half-hour after he left the stage, the website was still functioning only intermittently.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3068354/In-Arkansas-Huckabee-poised-launch-2nd-White-House-bid.html

[Chef Ramsay]

Sanders, majority of Dems favor socialism

With more than 50 percent of Democrats viewing socialism favorably, 2016 Independent presidential candidate Sen. Bernie might be taking away some of rival Hillary Clinton’s steam from her progressive voter base. Even though socialists have historically done abysmally at America’s national elections, the Reason-Rupe poll revealed several months ago that America’s political climate is changing, as socialism continues to be presented in the schools and media in a favorable light.

However, Sanders’ own party is not as inclined to jump on the socialist bandwagon, as only 33 percent of Independents have a favorable opinion of socialism, with just 26 percent of Tea Partiers giving it a thumbs-up. Surprising to many, only 55 percent of Americans view capitalism favorably, compared to a slightly lower 53 percent of Democrats.

With more Americans embracing the failed political and economic system of socialism, Sanders’ platform is anticipated to gain a higher resonance with voters, come 2016.

Wearing socialism on his sleeve

http://www.onenewsnow.com/politics-govt/2015/05/03/2016-candidate-sanders-majority-of-dems-favor-socialism

[RodeoX]

Why must we choose our leaders from among the dumbest Americans? Seriously, none of these candidates should be allowed to run for assistant dog catcher.

[Okurkabinladin]

Chef, all of candidates of the two major parties will work for more centralization and more state. Idealism is misplaced here, every president these days is under immense pressure by both lobbyists paying his campaign and ever increasing administrative apparatus. One person wont stop it, if (s)he really tried.

[tvbcof]

Chef, all of candidates of the two major parties will work for more centralization and more state. Idealism is misplaced here, every president these days is under immense pressure by both lobbyists paying his campaign and ever increasing administrative apparatus. One person wont stop it, if (s)he really tried.

True that I believe (ever more strongly as time goes by...)

Our best hope, which is a long-shot, would be candidate who betrays 'his people' in something like the way FDR did.  My current (and meaningless) thoughts on this historic event is that it was the more or less the right thing at the right time back in the day because the so-called robber baron classes had made life for most fairly unpleasant and run economic and monetary things into the ground besides.  FDR may or may not have helped on the economic front a huge amount, and he set us on a course which in some ways guided us to some of the most unhappy aspects of our current political existence, but I'm not sure that any other action(s) would have ended up much better in period(s) between then and now.

I've sort of come to the conclusion that 'the right leadership at the right time' is more than anything just a roll of the dice.  Deng Xiaoping in China was another of these and something the Chinese really needed after a string of bad luck.  Here again, some of the maladies that China suffers today can be traced directly to him I am sure, but there is no such thing as 'perfect.'  The best results would be to apply appropriate corrections to a major shift provoked by the likes of FDR or Deng Xiaoping but unfortunately humans in general don't work that way in addition to the thorny issue that 'appropriate' means different things to different people.

After Obama I am pretty convinced that what a candidate says about anything has zero value in assessing their future actions.  I was jaded and cynical about politicians before Obama, but now it's even more of a simply stated realism to me that their policy statements have zero value.  Beyond that I am extra cautious about those on the political left (where I formerly sat) such that I would actually take someone like Hillary's statements about her plans to be the opposite of what she is likely to do.  Bush was just a flat out fucking liar when he said he was going to focus on domestic issues an not foreign ones.  The Left wing consider themselves more intellectually elite and take more pride in their prowess at deceptive marketing so they simply need to be analyzed with one more degree of freedom but it's not all that much more difficult to do.

If Paul wins (unlikely) AND actually spends any time as prez (even more unlikely), and if he effects anything remotely resembling the policies that the Libertarians hope for it will be pure shit-house luck more than a validation of the expectations of those who appreciate his supposed policy prescriptions (most of which I happen to favor at this point in the life of our nation and in my own personal political evolution.)