The Ticket to Beat HRC in 2016

Now that the mid-terms are practically a thing of the past, I'll take a crack at handicapping the big race two years out.

Candidates:
Democrat: Hillary R. Clinton-NY & Mark Dayton-MN
GOP: John Kasich-OH & Susana Martinez-NM

Assumptions: Same electoral vote allocation as 2012
Benchmark: Romney & Ryan's 206 electoral votes

Potential Outcome: Kasich & Martinez flip OH (1, WI (10), NM (5), CO (9), and FL (29) for a winning total of: 277

NOTE(1): The GOP must hold onto NC in 2016

NOTE(2): Rand Paul will implode during primary season doing his party a huge favor


Distribution of Electoral Votes

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Umm, but in the other right-wing thread, you said HRC was a lock:

"Finally, the GOP all but assured that HRC will be a one-term president akin to Jimmy Carter. It's written in the stars."

Let's list all the potential outcomes - we should be up to page 43 in no time!

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I'm confident that party operatives from both sides started number crunching the moment the keys races were called last night. I will NEVER support the GOP but give the group credit for one thing. The group knows how to position itself so that the match is always on the the party's racket, so to speak. How?...by setting feelings aside and doing what it takes to win elections and remaining brand-loyal at all costs.

I still believe that Rand Paul's goose is cooked for violating the GOP's most sacred commandment. That is, thou shall never speak ill of the party.

ETA: I agree with that "He's [Kasich]low on charisma and devoid of fresh ideas--basically, he'd be a Republican John Kerry." But, he's got Fox News credentials and can potentially carry his home state of OH, unlike Romney & Ryan. To me, Susana Martinez is the GOP's not-so-secret weapon. To the party's credit, the GOP also invested in relatively young governors so that even if HRC gets the nod in 2016, the party will have a deep bench of legitimate contenders to the White House in 2020 all of whom will brandish governor credentials. No ageism intended, but the current crop of Democratic governors are very senior.

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Updated On: 11/5/14 at 03:25 PM

I'm never sure about anything in politics, but I can't see Rand Paul getting very far either.

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"And something about Martinez makes me feel like she has the potential to be Palin 2.0."

I meant to respond to that specifically. Martinez is a former Democrat-turned-Republican tough-as-nails district attorney who went against her own boss to root out corruption in her state. She's neither a quitter nor empty suit ala Mrs. Palin. I don't believe however that she's a good fit at the top of the ticket. But, turn her loose in neighboring CO and the all-important FL and it gets interesting. She's the kind of Republican that a lot of voters would like to have a "cerveza" with.

Check out the snippet...
I'll Be Damned...We're Republicans!

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In the area of foreign policy we have been drifting along and reacting to world events which, if we have seen them coming, we certainly have been reticent to do anything. The problem with Rand Paul is that he has never seemed engaged with foreign policy. We have come to a place where most people now recognize that foreign policy and economic policy go hand in hand.

In spite of the attention that he and Cruz get on the far right, I don't think main stream Republicans want someone like that.

Romney got the nomination because he was the most acceptable person for most of the party. The polls show that he is still the most popular choice. I believe the reasons are obvious. He does have a grasp of foreign policy and he is not a loose canon. Liberals may not like him but most of my family and friends who voted for Obama have more respect for him today than when he ran for office.

In experience and temperament, Hillary is far better suited to deal with foreign policy than most of the Republican candidates or Obama. I have no idea who will come to the front in two years. Cruz seems to think that most Republicans want two years of hearings about what Obama has been doing. He is very mistaken. If that becomes the Senate Republicans focus, the right wing is doomed and Hillary wins in a walk.

I don't know about anybody else, but I'm over javero.

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