This article is most likely a waste of time. According to the most recent polls Rand Paul is in 10^th place with 2.5 percent in the race for the GOP presidential nomination. However, I promise to tell the truth, and his bending, if not breaking of the rules is demonstrative of an ambitious man who has no character, and should never have been in consideration for the ultimate political office.

Paul convinced the GOP Party in Kentucky to change their primary to a caucus. Why? So the Senator could keep at least one lucrative job in Washington and enjoy a privileged life which requires little or no effort.

Rand Paul is another TEA Party darling. He is running for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016. He is also making efforts to seek reelection for his Kentucky Senate seat. He doesn’t want to lose his ‘cushy’ Washington job, which gives him a life of luxury. Politicians don’t understand what the word ‘work’ means.

The problem is that Kentucky’s laws deny a candidate to run for two offices in the same election with limited exception. Paul convinced the Kentucky Republican Party to change the rules just for him.

I don’t believe that he needs to worry about the rule. It is highly likely that he will not be in contention for the presidency when the caucus takes place. His ranking in the polls makes him a very long shot to win the nomination. To put his position in perspective, Trump stands at 32 percent, Carson 23, Rubio 11, and Cruz eight percent.

Twelve realistic presidential wannabees remain in the GOP race. Eight of them should drop out now, their chances are very slim. Although Bush, Christie, and Walker were once considered challengers for the nomination, their hopes are dashed or fading. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker dropped out a while ago, and both Bush and Christie continue to see their numbers drop.

A large part of the reluctance of some candidates, who are polling poorly, to withdraw, is their inability to believe that Donald Trump could win the nomination. Although he was a welcome guest and speaker at CPAC and other conservative events, they accepted his arrogance and theatrics because they were aimed at President Obama and Hillary Clinton. They don’t find him as entertaining now that his targets are members of the GOP.

But the other 11 hopefuls must be honest. It’s obvious that the two front runners, Trump and Carson lack the experience and qualities to make them eligible for our nation’s highest office, but the others must admit that they are lacking as well. One term in the federal government does not make one qualified to live in the White House.

For years President Obama’s critics on the right cited his lack of experience as the primary reason he should not have become our nation’s president. He served in the Senate from 2005 until he won the presidency in 2008. Neither Marco Rubio nor Ted Cruz will have completed one full term in the Senate. Rand Paul will have served his six years at the end of 2016. Although the TEA Party continues to want everything their way, they cannot be given that privilege.

The other wannabees are even less qualified. Bush, Kasich, and Christie were all governors, and we know how well former Republican governors fare in Washington. I’ll never understand why Fiorina believed she was eligible for consideration. Lindsey Graham is campaigning on a single issue; he wants America in another war. Both Huckabee and Santorum are religious extremists who have no chance of winning the nomination.

If any of these sad offerings by the GOP win their party’s nomination it is an embarrassing statement about America and our political system

Op-Ed

By James Turnage

Source

Photo Courtesy of John Pemble

Author’s Page http://www.amazon.com/By-James-turnage/e/B00LOCJ2Z2