In 2012 we went with a “Survivor” theme for the GOP presidential primary, based on the long running “reality” TV series.
In 2016 we will freshen things up a bit with a suggestion from President Obama. Obama likens GOP race to ‘Hunger Games’ :
President Obama paid no tribute to the 2016 Republican presidential race Thursday, likening the extremely crowded GOP field to a real-life “Hunger Games” competition.
“We’ve got some healthy competition in the Democratic Party. But I’ve lost count how many Republicans are running for this job,” Obama said at the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse.
“They’ll have enough for an actual ‘Hunger Games,’” Obama added to raucous applause, referring to the book and movie series of the same name. “That is an interesting bunch.”
The fiction series by bestselling author Suzanne Collins and adapted into Hollywood flicks with star Jennifer Lawrence portrays young adults fighting to the death for mass entertainment.
Obama’s remarks Thursday in Wisconsin during a speech on economic issues poked fun at the GOP field, which includes 14 candidates and is expected to grow to 16.
POLITICO Tiger Beat on The Potomac reports that the goggle-eyed homunculus hired by Koch Industries to run their Midwest subsidiary formerly known as the state of Wisconsin, Scott Walker to announce White House run on July 13:
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker will officially announce his bid for the White House on July 13 in the Milwaukee suburb of Waukesha.
Walker, whose announcement has long been expected, will also file his paperwork with the Federal Election Commission this morning, two aides told POLITICO’s Mike Allen in Thursday’s Playbook.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court will rule in three cases in the summer of 2015 that will determine whether the John Doe Investigations into illegal campaign coordination between conservative political organizations and Scott Walker and other candidates during recall elections can be revived or must be ended. That could make for some interesting timing (the Court normally concludes business by the end of June).
In case you missed it this week, Rep. Peter King won’t run for GOP presidential nomination:
Rep. Peter King has decided not to seek the Republican presidential nomination, he said in an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Wednesday.
The New York lawmaker who’s known for his focus on national security — and for criticizing his own party’s hard-liners in Congress — said he’s decided he can’t raise enough money or run effectively given his job in Congress.
“It’s just not in the cards. I don’t want to be taking up other people’s time,” King said. “I don’t want to have 19, 20 candidates, whatever it’s going to be.”
* * *
King said in an interview with CNN last year that he was considering a presidential campaign specifically to keep Cruz and Paul from winning the GOP’s nomination.
“I’m looking at this because I see people like Rand Paul and Ted Cruz, and to me, I don’t want the Republican Party going in that direction,” he said then.
That only leaves former FAUX News host and Ohio Governor John Kasich as the late straggler. John Kasich to announce presidential bid July 21. Steve Benen reports that Kasich tries an unconventional route to GOP nomination:
[I]t seems Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) is playing with the same fire.
Ohio Governor John Kasich, the latest Republican to say he’s interested in running for his party’s nomination for president, attracted a crowd of about 200 people in Des Moines [last week].
During a forum at the Greater Des Moines Partnership, Kasich distinguished himself from the rest of the field. He criticized the pro-ethanol renewable fuel standard, and called for a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.
As the Iowa Public Radio report noted, Kasich added that the idea of deporting undocumented immigrants is “inhumane.”
Less than a week earlier, Politico reported on an appearance the Ohio governor made at a Koch brothers event, where he was pressed to explain his support for Medicaid expansion.
“I don’t know about you, lady,” he responded, his voice rising. “But when I get to the pearly gates, I’m going to have an answer for what I’ve done for the poor.”
By some accounts, “about 20” members of the audience walked out of the room in disgust.
These anecdotes offer some hint of the kind of national campaign Kasich will run after launching his presidential bid on July 21. The Ohio Republican, for all intents and purposes, will apparently give “compassionate conservatism” a try.
He does know that this is I.O.W.A. (Idiots Out Wandering Around) who elect the nativist and racist Rep. Steve King to Congress, right? Good luck with that.
CBS started again summer “Big Brother” where every Thurday night,somebody gets Voted out the house.
Which Rep candidate for President be “Voted” of the house each Thursday???