Posted on 08/18/2015 12:05:17 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
A Fox News poll released on August 16th, showed Donald Trump continuing to enjoy a dominant lead in the Republican race for the 2016 presidential nomination. Trump polled at 25 percent in the 17 candidate field, well ahead of retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson who was in second place with 12 percent support. Ted Cruz was in third place at 10 percent, with no other candidate in double digits.
Trump’s commanding lead is no longer surprising, given that he has been comfortably ahead in several recent national surveys, released from multiple different polling firms. What makes the Fox News poll so frightening for GOP strategists, however, is that Trump’s nearest competitors are not establishment favorites like Jeb Bush, Scott Walker and Marco Rubio. Instead, if Trump falters, Ben Carson or Ted Cruz appear to be next in line to ascend to the top of the GOP pack.
Pundits have long argued that Donald Trump will eventually fade as voters take a more sober look at the Republican options and cease their reckless flirtations with candidates on the fringe. However, that “conventional wisdom” is predicated on the notion that Republican voters both want to win in 2016, and that they recognize that choosing a more moderate candidate is their path to victory.
However, the Fox News survey suggests that GOP voters are disinterested in choosing one of the Republican establishment candidates with extensive experience governing. In fact, given their preference for political outsiders like Trump and Carson, Republican voters may even see elected experience as a liability. “If you’re part of the government, you’re part of the problem”, they reason. The notable exception to that adage is Texas Senator Ted Cruz, whose main accomplishment as senator has been as an obstructionist who keeps the U.S. Senate from getting things done.
Republican party leaders have spent the better part of the last two decades stirring up their base with anti-government rhetoric. That strategy has helped them win victories over Democrats, but not without consequences for establishment GOP politicians, who are now facing the wrath of the anti-government voters they helped cultivate. With GOP voters looking at Donald Trump, Ben Carson and Ted Cruz as their potential saviors, its pretty clear that the angry mobs are not just upset with Barack Obama.
They have grabbed their pitchforks and torches to go after the Republican establishment as well. Jeb Bush and Scott Walker may not have noticed yet, but Republican voters aren’t looking for somebody with executive experience as governor. Instead, they are looking for a candidate with little or no experience, because they have been conditioned to virtually reject the idea of governing at all.
Well you can’t fault him for calling Obamacare a smashing success, it DID succeed in smashing the health care system.
“Cruz belongs up there, and I understand why Trump is up there, but the support for Carson frankly I find baffling.”
I’ll take a stab at that for whatever it is worth. He is a brilliant neurosurgeon with huge accomplishments, some people think that means he will be brilliant at government, actually it probably means he is likely NOT to be. We need a generalist, not someone who is brilliant at one very difficult occupation which only a vanishingly small percentage of people could possibly succeed at if they gave their lives to trying. He is a brilliant surgeon who happens to be black, some people want to see a black Republican president and don’t think past that. He is very well spoken, makes a great appearance and impression and seems like someone you would be very happy to have living next door to you, all of which has little to do with being president. So far I am not aware of anything stupid that he has said, that in itself is worth several points in a race like this.
Lastly there are a lot of voters who don’t understand one thing I am talking about but they vote anyway.
Unpopular ideas?
That must be why he's polling so well, don't you think?
I don't know about stupid but he does seem to be somewhat clueless as to what average people go through. I saw him try to answer Wallace's question on how his flat tax plan would raise taxes on the majority of Americans and Carson's answer made little sense.
I like that!
(P.S. I’m a Gator fan, too :) ...in St. Augustine )
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