Just When You Thought the Republican Field Wasn't Interesting Enough

Palin/Trump 2016

Oddly enough, I heard someone explain why Bernie Sanders might be considering a run. (Even though their theory was that he didn't expect to win.) If you do well enough, and your party wins, you could find yourself landing a nice, high-profile, Secretary of 'whatever' appointment.

It's obvious that there will be a whole herd of Republicans running in the primary. The theory could certainly hold for them as well.

Agreed. Trump is just a pathetic attention whore, so it's obvious why he's running.

Palin seems to have lost a lot of influence over the last election cycle and not only has she been getting a lot less attention paid to her in the media, but the last we heard from her was her family's drunken brawl in Alaska. So, I think her run is likely a desperate grasp at the straws of relevance.

Trump seems mainly interested in the attention. Sometimes, I almost wish Sarah would be given a real job, with actual responsibilities. Secretary of the Interior, or something like that. (A Secretarial post that we rarely hear anything about.) Then she'll either stink so badly that we'll finally be done with her, or be pleasantly surprised that she's not a total waste.

Notice that I said 'sometimes'.

Synonym said:

Trump seems mainly interested in the attention. Sometimes, I almost wish Sarah would be given a real job, with actual responsibilities. Secretary of the Interior, or something like that. (A Secretarial post that we rarely hear anything about.)

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The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is the United States federal executive department of the U.S. government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land and natural resources, and the administration of programs relating to American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, territorial affairs, and insular areas of the United States.

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http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_the_Interior

That would be a great job for her. All that federal land going to waste – I'm sure she could find something valuable to do with it. Perhaps in conjunction with Exxon. Or maybe opening up more opportunities for wolf hunting from helicopters.

And who could be a better friend to Native Americans than Ms. Palin?

Come on rugcat, you know it wouldn't happen in this lifetime.

Take it as it was meant--as a joke.

Synonym said:

Trump seems mainly interested in the attention. Sometimes, I almost wish Sarah would be given a real job, with actual responsibilities.

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Joke or not, aside, you do need to realize that Sarah Palin has never had what any even semi-normal person would consider "a real job". Ever. As in NEVER.

I live in Alaska, and have done so for 24 years now. I was here when she first surfaced and ran for minor local elective office in her home town of Wasilla. I was here for her weirdly successful run for Governor, when she came out of the ozone to run against a horridly unpopular incumbent Gov, Frank Murkowski, and a bland and nearly comatose ex-legislator named Binkley, and won the three-way primary. This state being so heavily Republican now, it was a no-brainer that she'd win the election. I was here when she resigned the governorship, because it was just too boring and too much damn work and she couldn't accept that multi-million dollar book deal while still holding the office. I was here when John McCain had his psychotic episode and named her to be his VP running mate. I was here when she imploded at that task about two weeks later.

After being a homecoming queen in high school, Sarah Palin spent something like nine years, through several colleges, pursuing a degree in sports journalism, a field in which she never worked. Nor was there ever any other employment field in which she ever worked.

The goofy smile and batty eyes and beehive hairdo always seemed to be sufficient, it seems. Just not quite sufficient to become a real Presidential contender. All she wants, and has ever wanted, was to be in front of a camera, and she's finding that harder and harder to accomplish. She's too old now for porn videos, but I don't think that would have been beyond her capabilities in earlier years.

caw

Synonym said:

Come on rugcat, you know it wouldn't happen in this lifetime.

Take it as it was meant--as a joke.

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Well, yes, i know.

But it's true that the Dept of the Interior doesn't get much notice, although it's a crucial agency for those of us who are eco minded.

And it's not impossible in the slightest. Ms. Palin's image is that outdoorsy woman of the land. If the next president is a hard core conservative, it's not that much of a stretch that she'd could be appointed.

You're probably not old enough to remember Reagan's choice for the job, James Watt.

James Watt said:

My responsibility is to follow the Scriptures which call upon us to occupy the land until Jesus returns.

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The Washington Post (24 May 1981)

Ms. Palin, I believe, would have no quarrel with that statement.

Eh, I suppose you're right. It could happen, but even a hard-core conservative would like to retain some credibility. Which would be difficult, if that ever occurred.

I voted for Regan. But I sure as hell don't remember James Watt. Which goes to show that even the crazies have trouble leaving an indelible mark on their office, in IMHO.

Synonym said:

Eh, I suppose you're right. It could happen, but even a hard-core conservative would like to retain some credibility. Which would be difficult, if that ever occurred.

I voted for Regan. But I sure as hell don't remember James Watt. Which goes to show that even the crazies have trouble leaving an indelible mark on their office, in IMHO.

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Many of us have tried to wipe James Watt from our memory bank. That may be why you don't recall him. He was one of the weirdest of Reagan's appointees.

The GOP has a fairly strong bench this time so we can ignore Trump and Palin, and others like Santorum and Fiorina. But sometimes it is fun to have a few wacky candidates- remember Dennis Kucinich and Herman Cain?

The Democrats have Clinton and...and...well, they have Clinton. But who could possibly be her running mate? There are few who register yet on the national level. Who?

Synonym said:

Eh, I suppose you're right. It could happen, but even a hard-core conservative would like to retain some credibility. Which would be difficult, if that ever occurred.

I voted for Regan. But I sure as hell don't remember James Watt. Which goes to show that even the crazies have trouble leaving an indelible mark on their office, in IMHO.

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I think it depends on what type of conservative we're talking about

Take Bobby Jindal (Please/rimshot)

Admittedly he has not a snowflakes chance in hell to be president, but he's trying to get there.

He just kicked off his toe-in-the-water probe at The Response, the prayer/spiritual/political event in Louisiana, the same event Rick Perry used to launch his campaign last time around.

The event is sponsored by The American Family Association. The directer of the AFA is Bran Fischer -- remember him - the guy who says hitler employed gay soldiers because straight soldiers weren't cruel and bestial enough?

Another Jindal is sharing the stage with is Cindy Jacobs, a self proclaimed prophet who claims to have raised children from the dead. She also says this:

As we’ve been reporting, self-proclaimed prophet Cindy Jacobs has dedicated her show God Knows to discussing how lands are cursed by sins like abortion, adultery and homosexuality, calling on Christians to literally take control over the weather and reverse the curse. In the fourth part of the series, Jacobs claims that lands are cursed with violence because they were previously inhabited by Native Americans who “did blood sacrifice” and “were cannibals and they ate people.” - See more at: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/conte...ative-american-cannibals#sthash.W215z6di.dpuf

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Luckily, the prayer sessions at The Response have been able to lift the curse that those native Americans had put on the land.

Now it's easy to dismiss these people as delusional, but there they are, hand in hand with Jindal. This is his base. I don't for a moment think he believes this stuff, but he's more than willing to embrace it for political gain.

God only knows what he would do as president.

clintl said:

If I were being forced to place a bet right now, I'd guess one of these three: Martin O'Malley, Tim Kaine, or Mark Warner. But there's a good chance it will be someone we're not even thinking of right now.

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Maybe. But would they really be running for Vice President?

Gregg said:

The Democrats have Clinton and...and...well, they have Clinton. But who could possibly be her running mate? There are few who register yet on the national level. Who?

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Bill?

AncientEagle said:

Many of us have tried to wipe James Watt from our memory bank. That may be why you don't recall him. He was one of the weirdest of Reagan's appointees.

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He believed (among other things) that we only have to worry about preserving our natural resources until the Lord returns.

This was far from being the stupidest thing he ever said.

He'd probably be considered a moderate today

Gregg said:

The GOP has a fairly strong bench this time so we can ignore Trump and Palin, and others like Santorum and Fiorina. But sometimes it is fun to have a few wacky candidates- remember Dennis Kucinich and Herman Cain?

The Democrats have Clinton and...and...well, they have Clinton. But who could possibly be her running mate? There are few who register yet on the national level. Who?

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Obscurity doesn't stop people from appointing someone as a running mate. Sarah Palin aside, who ever heard of George H.W. Bush before Reagan chose him, or Dan Quayle before Bush mark 1 named him?

And it's not uncommon for the early front runners for president to fall by the wayside before (or early on) in the primaries too. A strong field of candidates can be detrimental sometimes, if they do an excellent job of discrediting one another before the main event.

rugcat said:

The event is sponsored by The American Family Association. The directer of the AFA is Bran Fischer -- remember him - the guy who says hitler employed gay soldiers because straight soldiers weren't cruel and bestial enough?

Another Jindal is sharing the stage with is Cindy Jacobs, a self proclaimed prophet who claims to have raised children from the dead.

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No, honestly I haven't heard of either since they are spouting crackpot notions that I find both disgusting, and frankly, unbalanced. People have a right to espouse any stupid theory that tickles their fancy, as long as it does not lead to infringing on the legal and civil rights of others. This sort of thing will appeal to those that are unable to find roots for their own odd notions in the general population and also, act as an indicator to the rest of us. I suppose you could say that it flushes them out of the brush so they're visible, and we're able to see them for what they are/aren't.

There were a lot of people uncomfortable with another candidate in our recent past. They distrusted his association with Ayers, found Alinsky too out-there, and had a few "WTF" moments with some of Reverend Wright's sermons. It works both ways, when it comes to who people might choose to associate themselves with, or go to seeking support. The message of the candidate has to overcome those associations in the end.

Gregg said:

The GOP has a fairly strong bench this time so we can ignore Trump and Palin, and others like Santorum and Fiorina. But sometimes it is fun to have a few wacky candidates- remember Dennis Kucinich and Herman Cain?

The Democrats have Clinton and...and...well, they have Clinton. But who could possibly be her running mate? There are few who register yet on the national level. Who?

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Well there you go. One person's wacky is another's, 'hey, maybe he's got a good idea'. I never thought Herman had a snowball's chance, but I did find his tax reform idea interesting. Anyone, besides an IRS employee, has got to be wondering whether we shouldn't drown that can of worms and start fresh.

Joe Biden has recently begun making comments that indicate he's testing the water. I'm sure that there will be a few others since Hillary has not formally declared that she's running yet.

As for a large group of candidates being either good, or bad? I say it's a good thing. Sure, they'll drag each other through the mud and sling a lot of slime. Sure, many will fall to the wayside--some more quickly than others. It's a brutal process that I'd never put myself, or my family, through. In the end, the person with the least baggage, (hopefully) the best message, and the strongest constitution will rise to the top. Which is good, since the office they're all contending for is certainly no cake walk.

blacbird said:

Joke or not, aside, you do need to realize that Sarah Palin has never had what any even semi-normal person would consider "a real job". Ever. As in NEVER.

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I won't hold that against her.

After all, neither have I.

"A real job" sounds like a pain in the ass.

blacbird said:

She's too old now for porn videos, but I don't think that would have been beyond her capabilities in earlier years.

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You don't give the fetish porn community enough credit.

clintl said:

Here come Sarah Palin and Donald Trump to the rescue! ... The clown car may roll again!

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The best part of all this is CUE THE COMEDIANS!!!!!