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Too soon?
Even thinking about the 2016 presidential election right now seems a bit like putting out Christmas decorations on the 4th of July -- it'll make sense eventually, but it seems kind of silly in the meantime.
And yet, ridiculous or not, the race is on. Indeed, 2016 efforts didn't start minutes after President Obama won re-election; it actually started months before, most notably during the national conventions, when potential candidates seemed inordinately interested in chatting with delegates from Iowa and New Hampshire.
The difference is, now it's become more explicit. A friend jokingly asked me over the weekend whether likely candidates have already scheduled trips to Iowa, but the answer isn't a joke -- Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) will be in the Hawkeye State this weekend, headlining a birthday fundraiser for Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (R).
A week after the 2012 election wrapped up -- ballots are still being counted in some states -- there are already published polls in Iowa and New Hampshire, and Chris Cillizza published a piece "handicapping the 2016 presidential field" literally one day after Obama's victory.
All of this seems wildly excessive -- maybe the political world can consider at least some governing before investing energy in who'll be president in 2017? -- but Benjy Sarlin makes a compelling case that this is actually a highly relevant stage in the process.
Nothing shakes up a party like a presidential defeat. After months, even years, of striving to project a unified front behind their nominee, Republican leaders are suddenly free to test out new messages and positions that previously would have been heretical. These early forays into uncharted territory could bolster their standing within the GOP, but could just as easily backfire if the party base rebels.
Given this, like it or not, the 2016 positioning and posturing will be hard to avoid in the coming months. And if you think this period is irrelevant, keep in mind that Mitt Romney's "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt" op-ed ran exactly four years ago next week.
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Hey Mario; it's never too late to start lying about your credit card problem, and how your family was persecuted in Cuba! How will he spin those facts? I guess he will spending a lot of time in Willard's spin room in Utah......
The permanent campaign isn't a joke. It is an essential artifact of our present media environment. Those 24/7 news cycle machines need something to chew on 24/7/365. The cable political networks require a political campaign to stay in business. With the devil Obama now firmly back in the White House, Fox News needs to find something to talk about.
FAUX NOISE always just makes up shyt anyway what is the difference? Oh, you have the wrong name in for your devil - that would be George W.! Remember those WMD's - yeah, no one else appears to remember them either.....
Apparently, Mario is a student of history; he looked at the last freshman senator, with no legislative accomplishments to his name, who ran for president.
Rubio has the "chutzpah", but, so far, the rhetorical skills are not evident.
Yes, but that last freshman senator has a bit more than "rhetorical skills" - he ended that war in Iraq, stabilized the economy, and provided health-care for those that can't afford it or have pre-existing conditions.....
Even Michael Steele said it . You can't put one Hispanic up in front and say "See we got one" now vote for us.
And hopefully PR will be the 51st state and no love lost between them and the Cubans.
"If it's not right for everybody, it's not right for anybody"
If your policies don't meet that simple concept, don't waste your time or money. And the deeper you are into government, the less your policies match that phrase.
Lets keep some perspective here. The media is geared up to cover campaigning and will do so; it's in the DNA. Wannabees will preen for the cameras and few may remember them in 3 years. Just look at the GOP field of "front runners" four years ago and where they are now.
Well, we just voted against one of them about 1 week ago......
Well, we just voted against one of them about 1 week ago......
I'm hoping that by 2016, Rubio's brand of unqualified, mean-spirited, deceitful politics will have been pushed back to the fringe where it belongs. (Yes, I can dream, can't I?)
Excellent. The sooner they start, the sooner they start piling up stuff that can be tucked away for future use.
Hablar Mario, hablar.
Campaigning already? Really?
Dear MSNBC and every other cable news outlet, I realize there is this INCREDIBLE void of actual things to report on leaving you folks to obsess over absolute minutia, but... can you PLEASE not start talking about the 2016 Presidential Elections or what mouth breeding bottom feeder has floated to the surface to announce their run? I am SO, SO, SO over the last four years of rhetoric and corrosion, and honestly, I had to turn you folks off this past year. In some circumstances, deprogram you from our television tuner to keep from accidentally surfing into the angry, volatile, overhyped mess that was. I don't want to live like this; you are doing us no service by reporting these things.
Don't give me yet another reason to completely disconnect my cable.
Rube, rube, Rubio!
That's ok. Our side has the Castro brothers.
'Chronicling Mario''s Mendacity' volume 1 of 207.
nomoremagicalthinking Wins the internets today.
Rubio Lie ? Ya think?
I think that the GOP should continue to feature Marco Rubio. Even though they have been thoroughly beat about the head with a 2 X 4 in regard to their breathtaking disdain for people of color, they insist that Rubio is the pathway to the Hispanic vote. Any Mexican American, Puerto Rican American, Central American will quickly enlighten you to the fact that Rubio is Cuban and does not represent the larger interests of "Hispanics". He couldn't even carry the Cuban youth vote in Florida. But crack on, by all means. The better for Democrats in 2014 and 2016.
If a brainless empty suit with a last name that ends in a vowel is the best the Republicans can come up with, they're in more than just a heap a trouble. Rubio is the definition of "legend in his own mind."
TC....gotta remind you that we just elected a "brainless empty suit with a last name that ends in a vowel" to 4 more years as our president.
How long has Rubio been a Senator? Has he accomplished half of what President Obama has?
No.
Until and unless today's Republican Party quits being the Party of Old White People, fronting an empty suit will probably be the best they'll ever get. Just makes it that much easier for this old white guy to vote for whoever the Democrats run against him.
As far as I'm concerned, it will always be too soon for Rubio.
Every bit as valuable as all the insightful commentary in 2008 from the people (who, come to think of it, are the same people as now) who, with great certainty, assured us that Sarah Palin was a certain candidate and treated her as the front runner for the 2012 nomination.
Gag me with a spoon! I am so sick of all this election stuff . Give us a break...please!
Like Romney: an empty suit
and he felated the tea partiers to win the primary against Charlie Christ. But for the bagger turnout in the primary Christ would still be a Republican and in his seat.
Watching Rubio, Ryan and Jindal hustle position reminds us of how weak the GOP bench really is. Real hyenas circling the GOP's near-dead carcass.
personally, i couldn't care less about where the repubs have to go searching for delegates, but if i were one i'd wonder somewhat about how representative the iowa republican party is. seems as if they've gone for wingnuts like pat robertson and mike huckabee over the last few years. i expect that rubio would be a natural for these folks. as for normal voters, not so much.
Just think, we could have Cuomo vs. Rubio, both empty suits with very high opinions of themselves.
Keep that prison cell (Rubio should already occupy) heated because sooner or later Rubio will be there. Republican crooks and millionaires are dominating the tea party GOPers...is that all they got? This is what happens when you put your party up for sale in order to win elections. Latinos are not so stupid as to not see through Rubio.
They run one damn ad here in Colorado before 2016 and I won't be held responsible for my actions!
Doug Stamate.......and how long was Obama a Senator? And, exactly, what did Obama accomplish as Illinois' senator to the U.S. Senate? How many times did he vote "Present"? Let's compare apples-to-apples, please.
First, the Republican Party is tremendously overestimating his appeal in the latino community...The Republicans just lost in the latino vote in Florida...Oye! Lost! Second, they are underestimating the intelligence of latinos...Latinos are fully capable of recognizing a Judas Goat! Adios, otra vez, mis amigos.......