Bachmann bid for GOP leadership gets cool reaction

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

she should NOT be in the leadership

Yes, we need more Lincoln Chafees.

Not surprisingly, you don’t know the difference between being a troll and having the right ideology.  Bachmann, like Santorum, is a troll, and it costs her votes.  I may agree with Bachmann/Santorum on 95% of the issues, but I HATE their style.  Ronald Reagan, on the other hand, won over many who did not agree with his policies simply due to the fact that he had class and was a gentleman.   Thatcher did the same.

Santorum may have lost anyway in 2006, after all he is to the right of the PA populous, but he would NOT have lost by 20 points.  Even I would not have voted for him because I did not agree with his statements and style, even though I agreed with 95% of his votes.

In the 1980’s, a-holes were limited to the Ted Kennedy types who made inflammatory comments like, “[The Reagan Administration] can blow up [the Space Shuttle] Challenger and not be held accountable for it…”  Now, 90% of the a-holes are on the GOP side.

You can’t be successful if you treat the national stage as if it were the Atlas Forum.  I’m simply looking for an economic-social conservative who is both articulate and has class, style, and grace.  Sadly, Pence and Thune are ones that come closest to that definition, though they leave a lot to be desired.

We need to find a social-conservative with Russ Feingold’s demeanor.  I could listen to that guy talk for hours, even though I don’t agree with a lot of his policies.  He is real (unlike Kerry/Gore), intelligent, articulate (unlike Bush43), knowledgeable (unlike Palin), gracious (unlike Bachmann and Santorum), and is not full of lip-biting bs (a la BClinton).

The GOP should pray Russ isn't the Dem nominee in 2016.  Given a level political climate, he would be nearly impossible to beat. 

[Iosif]

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LOL good one.

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

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LOL good one.

I don't know what rock you've been living under or even if you're old enough to have been living under your rock for long enough to voice an opinion, but Thatcher/Reagan/Feingold are pretty much made from the same demeanor mold:  They are unpretentious, being fully comfortable in their own skin.  They are focused and given to a cause higher than self-promotion.  They are gracious integrators of people and do NOT ask the other side to “sit in the back of the bus.”  They are the giants who upon leaving office cause people to remark, “Sadly, it will be a long time before such stature is seen again.”

[Brittain33]

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LOL good one.

I don't know what rock you've been living under or even if you're old enough to have been living under your rock for long enough to voice an opinion, but Thatcher/Reagan/Feingold are pretty much made from the same demeanor mold:  They are unpretentious, being fully comfortable in their own skin.  They are focused and given to a cause higher than self-promotion.  They are gracious integrators of people and do NOT ask the other side to “sit in the back of the bus.”  They are the giants who upon leaving office cause people to remark, “Sadly, it will be a long time before such stature is seen again.”

Thatcher was quite harsh and callous in her rhetoric about the people she considered her enemies, whether it was the miners or the poor. Very unlike Reagan. Completely comfortable in her own skin, but it was a suit of armor. She was successful in part because that was sufficient to get a plurality of the vote in the UK in the economic and social conditions at the time.

Her political style with elected officials and voters alike was the opposite of "integrating" people she disagreed with... she was always "my way or the highway." Absolutely, 100%. Are you familiar with how she treated her first Cabinet?

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

yeah, but the UK PM has to sit in parliament day in and day out and constantly beat back the opposition.  The US President is much more insulated from the constant rhetoric, whereas the UK is much more a sink-or-swim in a sea of rhetoric.

[Mjh]

The GOP should pray Russ isn't the Dem nominee in 2016.  Given a level political climate, he would be nearly impossible to beat. 

Just to be sure. You are refering to the three-term incumbent who failed to win re-election against an almost unknown Republican with no prior experience?

[Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese]

Ah I'll do something very unusual and agree with Jmfcst on this one. He makes a lot of good points here. A lot of times a politician's character and behaviour is esential to how well they're able to sell their ideas to voters. If a politician acts rude, behaves badly, or acts ignorant, voters aren't going to be as accepting to them as they would be to a person with the exact same views but who acts in a better manner. There are several politicians, historic and current ones, who don't refelect my views at all but who I still like and who I still loves to listen to. The comparasion with the forum is actually very good too. Take Al for example, his political views are way off compared to mine, but he's still very intelligent, witty, respectful, and likable, so I still listen to him and what he has to say and trust his judgement. The same goes for Inks who's way to the right of me, especially on social issues. Now compare Al to Change08, and Inks to East Coast Republican, similar views, but if you were to vote for one of them admit that you'd be a lot more likly to vote for Al than Change, and a lot more likly to vote for Inks than ECR.

                   

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

The GOP should pray Russ isn't the Dem nominee in 2016.  Given a level political climate, he would be nearly impossible to beat.  

Just to be sure. You are refering to the three-term incumbent who failed to win re-election against an almost unknown Republican with no prior experience?

yes, I am.  Feingold's policies are simply wrong and his non self-promotional style doesn't work well in wave years.  If Feingold could find a way to transfer his interview capabilities to his debate performances (basically he needs to grow a pair), he'd be an instant presidential contender.

Someday, Americans are going to yearn for a straight-shooter who doesn't live by empty slogans, regardless of their policies.  And if Feingold is in the right spot at the right time, he could win.

Who else is as much of a threat to the GOP in 2016 than Feingold?  Hillary?  age and probable foreign policy set backs in the next two years are going to ruin Hillary's chances.  Dean?  the guy is a wacko.  Bayh?  he burned his bridges.  And there aint a lot of Dem governors left in office to choose from.

[Brittain33]

For the record, I think jmf is right; I wasn't citing Thatcher as a model that Bachmann could follow, but was just backing up Iosif on the characterization of Thatcher.