The first GOP candidate to declare for the 2016 presidential nomination was Ted Cruz in early 2015. It was no surprise; everyone knew that this ambitious member of the TEA Party had only one goal when he was elected as the junior Senator from Texas. He would do anything to live in the White House, and he has.

It was also no surprise when a third Bush placed his name in contention. Most of the media which covers politics immediately made him the front runner. He had recognition, and millions of dollars in support from major corporations and wealthy Americans. We believed he was a moderate voice who would have broad appeal to GOP and Independent voters. The only detriment to his ambitions was his last name. The legacy of George W. Bush becomes more tarnished as the years pass.

What no one expected became our national embarrassment; Donald Trump not only entered the race, he became the party leader, and remains so today. Bush began to slide in the polls, and today is nearly obscure. Why is he disliked by GOP voters?

Bush appeared to rely on a successful tenure in Florida as its governor for his appeal. The problem is that when he began to speak, he revealed his true self. How could we have known that his older brother was the smarter Bush? When he openly supported his brother’s failed presidency and stated that he would implement the same policies which destroyed the reputation of our nation and its economy, his campaign was finished.

A Gallup poll revealing the favorability of candidates among GOP and GOP-leaning Independent voters gives Bush a -1. To demonstrate how sad this fact is, John Kasich, who is virtually an unknown, was given a favorability rating of +5.

I don’t want to be harsh in my evaluation, but the facts are there. He is disliked by his own party. But the truth is that only one passenger in the clown car has excited GOP voters and that’s the driver, Donald Trump. Cruz, Rubio, Carson, Christie, Fiorina, and the rest are the most boring attack dogs ever offered to GOP voters. They have no message, no charisma, and no qualifications to make them stand out from the others.

Trump is a standout; not in a good way, but his blustery and egocentric rhetoric has made him successful. For intelligent voters it remains difficult to believe that an openly racist, bigoted, and misogynistic man could represent the GOP. As he continues to rise in the polls, the political world remains bewildered, although some profess to have answers. They do not, but only because the media once again fails to tell the truth.

Trump’s success is a direct response to an extremely weak and unqualified group of candidates, some of whom are guilty of breaking our government. All three of the TEA Party candidates have been a destructive force in Washington.

Cruz will likely win in Iowa, but only for a single reason; he is a religious extremist. Trump has not pandered to evangelists in the ‘Hawkeye State.’ But remember, in 2008 Mike Huckabee won the Iowa Caucuses, and in 2012 Rick Santorum was victorious. Today Huckabee is polling at two-percent, and Santorum at one-percent. For GOP candidates, Iowa has proven to be insignificant.

Four events in February will reveal far more information about the race for the nomination. Media ‘experts’ will claim that they were correct throughout the campaign season, but they will be telling a falsehood.

I refuse to predict victory for any candidate at this time; this has been the most confusing and historical campaign season in our nation’s history, but not in a good way. (Please re-blog.)

Op-Ed

By James Turnage

Source

Photo Courtesy of DonkeyHotey

Read ‘James Turnage’ on the free Amazon Kindle App