GOP Primary Megathread!

[Razgovory]

I wonder what the vast majority of the Libertarian movement is.

[Jacob]

You're right. I think it's just that the selfish strain of American libertarianism seem more vociferous right now... actually, not even that, but that ideological selfishness is using the language of liberty to justify their positions. I don't want to get into a "no true libertarian scotsman" situation. Sufficeth to say, I have high respect for the principle of freedom as espoused, and often enacted, by the American people at their best.

Okay.  Maybe you were talking about the American Libertarian Party, which I agree seems mostly motivated by personal gain than principle.  That's a tiny, tiny sliver of the libertarian movement in the US, though.  I have never met one, myself.

I was mostly speaking from my impression, haphazardly gathered from the internet and various media sources. I will happily concede that my impression of American libertarianism may be vastly off-base

[Neil]

I think we've also established that Canadian Conservatism is different from US Conservatism.

US Conservatism is a unique thing for sure....

US Conservatism is neither united, nor statist, nor conservative.

[Jacob]

[CountDeMoney]

Yeah.

What I thought was interesting:

A new Washington Post/ABC News poll this week showed a majority of Republican-leaning Americans — 52 percent — said Santorum should stay in the campaign, while 43 percent said he should drop out.

I mean, he was still neck-and-neck with Romney in PA, I think Rick could've won it and a few more states as well.

[DGuller]

Maybe his daughter's health had something to do with it.

[Sheilbh]

Maybe his daughter's health had something to do with it.

Shit, I hadn't considered that.  It seems quite possible - it's odd timing otherwise and she was just hospitalised again

[derspiess]

Yeah.

What I thought was interesting:

A new Washington Post/ABC News poll this week showed a majority of Republican-leaning Americans — 52 percent — said Santorum should stay in the campaign, while 43 percent said he should drop out.

I mean, he was still neck-and-neck with Romney in PA, I think Rick could've won it and a few more states as well.

He was losing ground in PA and one recent poll had Romney way ahead.  Losing PA in spectacular fashion might've been more than he wanted to bear.  Plus he could've been running out of cash.  His daughter being sick could've been the straw that broke the camel's back.

[CountDeMoney]

Maybe his daughter's health had something to do with it.

Shit, I hadn't considered that.  It seems quite possible - it's odd timing otherwise and she was just hospitalised again

She's fine.  Well, maybe not fine but left the hospital last night.

[Jacob]

What's wrong with Santorum's daughter?

[CountDeMoney]

What's wrong with Santorum's daughter?

Has a genetic disorder, Trisomy 18;  came down with a bout of pneumonia over the weekend apparently.

[CountDeMoney]

Gotta love the Readers' Comments:

Praise to Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

Our children and family come first

God Bless Rick Santorum and his family and the majority of American Citizens.

We need his kind of people to stand up for the truth.

America was founded with the truth

Jesus Christ is the Way the Truth and the Life

Ah, yes.

[DGuller]

She's fine.  Well, maybe not fine but left the hospital last night.

Yes, but she's a Santorum baby.  Her going home from the hospital isn't as reliable a sign of good health as it normally is.

[CountDeMoney]

He was losing ground in PA and one recent poll had Romney way ahead.  Losing PA in spectacular fashion might've been more than he wanted to bear.  Plus he could've been running out of cash.  His daughter being sick could've been the straw that broke the camel's back.

Well, I still there there's a not insignificant number of Republicans that will be pissed they won't be able to vote for him in the coming primaries.  There's still a lot of important states left.  He should've hung in there, if only to continue the War On Teh Wimmin.

[fhdz]

In all seriousness, I think that while partisanship is as old as the hills there's a relatively new beast running around which involves an inability to compromise. I run into far more people today than I used to who seem to think "if this person/NGO/what-have-you does not agree with me on every single political issue, I cannot support them". The inability to look at something pragmatically has greatly worsened partisan rhetoric and voting patterns, IMO.

I agree with this, but don't think the "culture war" is to blame.  I think his has to do with a crisis mentality.  What we are seeing now is a pale comparison of the FDR era but, I think, has many of the same features:  many people just don't that there is room for error, and so not-quite-right = wrong for them.

Yeah, I think that's pretty much dead-on. What seems new about it is the quantity of vitriol (enhanced, I am sure, by social media) and what feels like an enormous drop in respect for the office of the President. Having grown up in the 70s and 80s and having a memory of the often grudging respect political opponents tended to give one another, even with the spectre of Nixon about, the way people talk about and have treated Clinton, Bush, and Obama has been deplorable.