Scott Walker has a stellar record of accomplishments to run on, while Cruz has mere words. However, having written that, Cruz has my emotional vote - I love him - but I think Walker is a more practical choice.
I also think Carson is fantastic and would not hesitate to support him, but the fact that he is not a politician and has never held office will give people pause, but not me - we need someone like that.
Palin is DOA. She has been destroyed by the media and she can't recapture what she had...she is not going to run since she can't raise any money.
My fear is that Walker, Cruz, Carson, etc. split the conservative vote which allows Romney/Bush, etc to squeeze by.
I could get behind Walker- And I really like Carson EXCEPT for his squishy understanding of the Second Amendment, and so far, that’s a dealbreaker. You have a valid point about the average success of Senators, (I Checked- there were six including Obama from the beginning of the twentieth century to present, with ten total before that. So that’s sixteen out of 44 total. The ones in the 20TH century were:
Warren G. Harding
Senator, 1915-1921
President, 1921-1923
Harry S. Truman
Senator, 1935-1945
President, 1945-1953
John F. Kennedy
Senator, 1953-1960
President, 1961-1963
Lyndon B. Johnson
Senator, 1949-1961
President, 1963-1969
Richard M. Nixon
Senator, 1950-1953
President, 1969-1974
Barack Obama
Senator, 2005-2008
President, 2009- present
And you’re right about Palin’s chances- almost zero, but you never know.
And your fear is all too likely, the party of stupid will in all probably run a Christy, Bush, Romney, or some total non-conservative, defaulting to the Warren Witch. Conservatives will again sit it out. The GOPe never learns, never.
I got to wondering later about how many had previously been Governors, and I found this interesting summary-
17 Presidents previously served as state Governors; 9 of 17 were Governors immediately before election as President.
16 Presidents previously served as U.S. Senators; only 3 immediately before election as President.