I just read them on the Controversies sections on the Wiki page. How much merit they have I can’t say, but you don’t want a whiff of anything negative for a VP candidate.
Miramon
4843
Surely all nationally known candidates have controversies. They could hardly be politicians without a) being smeared constantly by their opposition, and b) actually committing any number of minor offenses against propriety if not against law. It’s hard to imagine what Deval Patrick could have done that would be worse than Sarah Palin simply being Sarah Palin. Apparently McCain didn’t bother to vett her background at all…
But that doesn’t mean future ones shouldn’t (I don’t know if those issues listed on the Wiki page would derail any future political ambitions Patrick may have, although I’m not sure he has any, really.)
More Democratic doomcasting from Vox (Yglasis):
This is a party that has no viable plan for winning the House of Representatives, that’s been pushed to a historic low point in terms of state legislative seats, and that somehow lost the governor’s mansions in New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Illinois.
But the hearts of America’s young people — including, crucially, young women — are with the crotchety 74-year-old socialist from Vermont. This both tends to confirm Washington Democrats’ conviction that demographic headwinds are at their back and complicates their hazy sense that faith in demographics is a substitute for political strategy.
The problem is that the young progressives the party is counting on to deliver them to the promised land are, as Sanders has shown, really quite left-wing. They aren’t going to be bought off with a stray Snapchat gimmick or two. To retain their loyalty and enthusiasm, party leaders are going to need to offer some kind of theory about how Democrats intend to deliver change and get results
The party establishment’s immediate concern over the next month is going to be how to put down the Sanders insurgency. But while they work on that, they really ought to spare a moment or two to consider what Sanders got right and where they’ve fallen short.
Enidigm
4845
What does Rubio’s “ground game” look like compared to Cruz’s? I’m sure Cruz is going to really start investing now, but Rubio will have the resources of the mainline party.
Mostly I’ve read it’s weak. Here’s an example:
Donald continues to rack up the endorsements of the hasbeens and neverwuzes; hot on the heels of Palin, Scott Brown is scheduled to endorse him at a New Hampshire rally tonight.
Miramon
4848
At least he’s a sort of local neverwuz.
Scuzz
4849
So is Rubio sort of the GOP’s version of Obama this election. He is young, a very good speaker, good looking, a US Senator without really much experience, and seen as an option against what is perceived as worse choices?
Timex
4850
Scott Brown doesn’t make sense with Trump’s recent nonsense.
From the WaPo:
Brown is also a favorite of many establishment Republicans because of his centrist positions, including support for abortion rights and for a ban on assault weapons.
It seems like a totally random endorsement.
Timex
4851
Yeah, but then last night happened, and he did far better than anyone predicted… so maybe his ground game wasn’t as weak as folks thought.
Miramon
4852
Brown was always mixed up. A soi-disant teabagger running in New England must necessarily be out of step not only with the rest of the nation but with reality. He wanted to somehow be ultraconservative and liberal at the same time, but he wound up being unelectable. He only got the 2010 Senatorial vacancy because the unlikeable Martha Coakley decided she didn’t even have to bother to run against him.
Makes sense to me; Brown always saw himself more as a celebrity than a politician. Only natural he’d endorse the candidate with the highest Q score.
Graph illustrating how far right GOP candidates have become (didn’t think Rand Paul was that far right.)
size
Timex
4856
I didn’t realize Rand did free eye surgery for low income folks. That’s pretty cool.
Saw a documentary on Netflix a while back that had doctors going to North Korea to do free cataract surgery. Upon removing the bandages, one poor soul started to genuflect to a portrait of the (whoever was dictator at the time): “Oh great leader I will work even harder in the salt mines!”
Meh, Rand was no Ron. I didn’t notice any traction on the message of liberty this season. No disruption to the status quo, even as limited and awkward as it was during the Ron Paul days.
Welfare/Warfare 2016!
And yet Jeb(!), who finished behind Paul in Iowa is still in this thing.
Enidigm
4860
Jeb is still hoping that default is the best fault to have.
America has seen Trump the braggart winner. Now they can look forward to Trump the pissy sore loser:
Ted Cruz didn’t win Iowa, he illegally stole it. That is why all of the polls were so wrong any [sic] why he got more votes than anticipated. Bad!
