In a recent Suffolk University poll of Iowa Republican
likely caucusgoers the following GOP contenders received 1% or less: former
Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, South
Carolina U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, former New York Gov. George Pataki and
former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore. My focus group believes they should all drop
out now because they are hurting the party.
Today Donald Trump is ahead in the
polls in Iowa with 17% Wisconsin governor is in second place at 12%. I can’t
predict how this will look a month or two from today. Ten GOP candidates are
within 8 points of each other in this poll so as some of them drop out voters
will migrate to those remaining.
Maybe the time has come for “winnowing”
the field from 17 down to the three or four who will be the standard bearers
for the party going forward to New Hampshire.
The process is now clearly broken
because anyone who has an ego, is looking for a FOX commentator job, has
written a book they want to sell, or simply need to feel good about themselves
can run for president.
That’s a huge problem because this asks caucusgoers to spend
much too much time sorting out this massive scrum of candidates. Most people
have a very tiny amount of interest and time to study political campaigns. When
they are required to “know” each individual candidate the process breaks down
if there are more than, say 3 or 4 running.
A much better road to the White House is for the political
parties to be the center of voter attention. People should know what the
Democrats and Republican parties stand for. What their platforms are. Then the
parties not billionaires or FOX should be in the lead during campaigns.
We seem to have forgotten that we are not a monarchy or a
dictatorship. The man or woman in the White House has relatively little power.
The Congress, interest groups, the Supreme Court, governors in the 50 states
all diminishes the power of the individual who’s elected.
The presidential campaigns have become a personality
contest. That’s not very helpful to good government.
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