Getbig.com: American Bodybuilding, Fitness and Figure
Getbig Main Boards => Politics and Political Issues Board => Topic started by: Benny B on April 11, 2011, 07:48:45 AM
-
GOP lawmakers sour on 2012 field
By: Jonathan Martin
April 11, 2011 04:31 AM EDT
(http://images.politico.com/global/news/110410_bach_trump_romney_ap_328.jpg)
Hill Republicans aren't ready to nominate Michele Bachmann, Donald Trump or Mitt Romney. | AP photos
A presidential primary favorite is emerging among the ranks of congressional Republicans: none of the above.
The dissatisfaction with the likely GOP field — long whispered among party activists, operatives and elected officials — is growing more audible in the House and Senate.
Interviews on both sides of the Capitol have revealed widespread concern about the lackluster quality of the current crop of candidates and little consensus on who Republican senators and House members would like to see in the race.
While the days when congressional insiders could determine a party nominee are long gone, their open grumbling lays bare a broadly held sentiment within the GOP.
“I don’t see anyone in the current field right now, and people say that to me, as well. I’m reflecting what I hear,” said California Rep. David Dreier, chairman of the House Rules Committee.
Dreier, who was first elected in 1980, said: “Everybody’s looking for a Ronald Reagan, and they don’t see one.” (See also: GOP 2012 debate moved to September)
The we-need-somebody-else chatter is reminiscent of fretting among Republicans four years ago that ultimately resulted in former Sen. Fred Thompson’s much-hyped but ill-fated candidacy and the unease Democrats felt eight years ago when their worries about Howard Dean’s general election prospects prompted much pining for then-New York Sen. Hillary Clinton.
The problem for Republicans now, though, is compounded by the lack of an agreed-upon figure to draft into the race — a fact illustrated by the varied answers members offered when asked who they’d like to see in the field. (See also: GOP 2012 theme: American 'decline')
There were politicians who are putting off decisions (Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels), politicians who’ve said they won’t run (former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie), individuals who aren’t even politicians (Gen. David Petraeus) and individuals who aren’t even named (two members cited a to-be-determined business executive or military leader).
The float of Petraeus, currently commander of the war in Afghanistan and rumored to be the next CIA chief, highlights the GOP’s quandary. He has repeatedly said he won’t be a candidate, even citing Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman’s famous formulation, but that hasn’t lessened the ardor among some of his Republican admirers. It’s an indication of the view among some party stalwarts that they’ll need someone better than a conventional pol to beat an incumbent president expected to raise a historic sum of money. (See also: David Petraeus, Joe Scarborough eyed for '12)
The notion of going outside the traditional party structure to win isn’t new, and Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts suggested he has as much in mind, when asked who he is eyeing.
“I talked to Gen. [Dwight] Eisenhower, and he’s thinking about it,” Roberts joked. “He thinks his age might be a factor but, if necessary, he’d come back and run.”
Turning more serious, Roberts, who has been in high-level politics for 45 years, said: “There’s another general who’s an obvious choice — Petraeus.”
Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk, a Naval reservist, added: “I’m a military guy, so we always like Petraeus, but he’s currently running the war.” (See also: Mark Kirk not sorry for Senate ‘end zone dance’)
Just as telling as the suggestion of an active-duty general and the president’s hand-picked war commander is the degree to which the worries about the field serve as a proxy for broader concerns among Republicans about their prospects for victory.
“We think we can beat the president, but we have to have somebody to beat him with,” said West Virginia Rep. Shelley Moore Capito. “And I think there’s no clear front-runner, and there’s some frustration out there, not that we haven’t nailed it down but that it’s sort of all over the board.”
Another, more subtle indicator of the congressional GOP’s heartburn over the looming presidential campaign can be detected in the quips about some of the prospective candidates who are soaking up media attention.
“Well, I thought everybody had rallied around [Rep.] Michele Bachmann — that was my sense,” deadpanned Dreier when asked about where his fellow House Republicans stand on the presidential race.
Another House Republican from a state with an early nominating contest expressed his frustration: “I’m not sure Donald Trump is the answer.”
For House Republicans facing the possibility of a difficult reelection, however, the colorful array of GOP prospects at this point is no laughing matter.
Pennsylvania Rep. Charlie Dent, who represents a traditional swing district in the Lehigh Valley that borders New Jersey, brought up the Christie talk and sketched out the sort of ticket mate who would best help him survive his reelection.
“A number of people where I live are excited about Chris Christie, but he’s not running,” said Dent. “My sense is that people back home want to see more options.”
Dent added that Christie, Daniels or former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney could potentially be competitive in his district — but that a hard-line conservative would find it “more challenging.”
“Those candidates who really project themselves as the most serious about the fiscal state of affairs in the country will be the most formidable in my district,” he said.
Christie’s pugnacious style and battles against public employees have caught the eyes of more than a few congressional Republicans, some of whom were still raving about the first-term New Jersey governor’s speech at a National Republican Congressional Committee dinner a week after it took place.
“Let me tell you, after Christie’s performance last week, I mean the buzz [was] all over this place,” Dreier recalled, retelling with gusto the governor’s line about how he negotiated with legislative Democrats by threatening to go back to the governor’s mansion, put his feet up and order a pizza.
“He’s the anti-Obama; a strong leader, prosecutor kind of personality, and I think that’s a great contrast to the president,” Capito said, adding that she doesn’t have a favorite in the race yet.
For all the ink and airtime they get beyond the Capitol, freshman Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, House Budget Committee chairman — who have both made clear they won’t run — didn’t come up in conversations with their GOP colleagues. In brief interviews, both dismissed the possibility.
But if not them, congressional Republicans are hoping somebody else will emerge.
“There’s a thought [in New Hampshire] that it hasn’t solidified yet, that there may be a candidate out there who hasn’t announced that they may be interested in speaking to,” freshman New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte said of her constituents.
North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr flatly predicted: “We’re going to see other folks.”
“If you don’t see fire that gets lit by the fall, you could see other candidates jump in even very late,” said Burr. “I hear Jeb Bush’s name mentioned; you hear a lot of other folks, but there’s also candidates out there that nobody’s talking about — business leaders, military leaders that may jump in.”
Shrugged Arkansas Sen. John Boozman: “Republicans have always been for who’s next in line, and there’s nobody in line.”