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Title: EXCLUSIVE: Democratic National Committeewoman says her party is 'clearing a path' for Hillary because 'the women in charge' want it that way
Source:
Daily Mail Online
URL Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art ... ary-women-charge-want-way.html
Published: Jul 24, 2016
Author: David Martosko, Us Political Editor For
Post Date: 2016-07-24 09:05:41 by cranky
Keywords: None
Views: 625
Comments: 2
The Democratic National Committee is 'clearing a path' for Hillary Clinton to be its presidential nominee because its upper power echelons are populated with women, according to a female committee member who was in Las Vegas for Tuesday's primary debate. Speaking on the condition that she isn't identified, she told Daily Mail Online that the party is in the tank for Clinton, and the women who run the organization decided it 'early on.' The committeewoman is supporting one of Hillary's rivals for the Democratic nomination, and said she spoke freely because she believes the former Secretary of State is benefiting from unfair favoritism inside the party. Clinton aims to be the first female to occupy the Oval Office, and 'the party's female leaders really want to make a woman the next president,' the committeewoman said, rattling off a list of the women who she said are the 'real power' in the organization. 'I haven't heard anyone say we should make Hillary undergo a trial by fire,' she added. 'To the contrary, the women in charge seem eager, more and more, to have her skate into the general [election].' 'I have nothing against women in politics,' she underscored. 'But it's not healthy for the party if we get behind a woman because she's a woman, and risk having her implode after she's nominated because she isn't tested enough now.' Scroll down for video 'WOMEN IN CHARGE': Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Waserman Schultz (center), along with vice chairs Donna Brazile (left) and Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake (right), are part of a female cabal dead set on putting a woman in the White House, according to a DNC committeewoman 'IMPARTIAL'? The DNC insists its primary process doesn't play favorites, but an abbreviated debate schedule appears ideal for former secretary of state Hillary Clinton's chances POWER PLAYERS: If top DNC women like convention chief executive Rev. Leah Daughtry (left), vice chair Maria Elena Durazo (center) and CEO Amy Dacey (right) want to give Hillary a leg up for the sake of political sisterhood, they're perfectly positioned to do it Five of the nine elected leaders of the DNC are women, including chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz – a Florida congresswoman – and a majority of the vice chairs. Before Wasserman Schultz assumed her post at the DNC, she eagerly campaigned for Clinton during the then-New York senator's 2008 presidential run. DNC national press secretary Holly Shulman told Daily Mail Online flatly: 'The DNC runs an impartial primary process, period.' In 2007 and 2008 the Democratic Party's presidential primary candidates endured a grueling schedule of 27 debates. Hillary Clinton was the only candidate to participate in all of them, and lost the nomination to then-Illinois senator Barack Obama. This time around, the DNC has sanctioned just six such events. Offering more might have the effect of giving an indecisive Vice President Joe Biden a broader opportunity to jump into the race, saddling Clinton with a formidable challenger. Shulman pointed out that in addition to the six sanctioned Democratic presidential debates, there will be four 'outside' forums where the entire field is expected to deliver remarks – individually, as opposed to head-to-head. Those include two in Iowa, and one each in New Hampshire and South Carolina. 'Our debate in Nevada and our upcoming debates and forums will showcase all of our candidates' visions to move America forward,' Shulman maintained. 'There’s a lot at stake. The last time a Republican left office our economy was losing 750,000 jobs a month, countless homes were being foreclosed and too many families were being devastated. 'These debates and forums are an opportunity for our candidates to introduce themselves and their vision to build on where we are now after 67 straight months of job growth.' The Democratic National Committee itself includes 448 members, 75 of whom are nominated by the chairwoman. State party committee chairs and vice-chairs are automatically members; Democrats in all 50 states and every U.S. territory elect 200 more. Clinton campaign spokesman Nick Merrill declined comment during a post-debate campaign swing in Las Vegas. MAKING HISTORY, OR FOCRING IT? The Clinton campaign leans heavily on Hillary's potential to be the first female US president VICTORY LAP: Clinton sampled lime-flavored ice cream in Las Vegas on Wednesday after her dominant performance in the first of just six Democratic presidential primary debates The committeewoman who spoke to Daily Mail Online said 'others in my position' – meaning other Democratic National Committee members – share her concerns and are talking about them behind the scenes. She participated in a conversation on the margins of the party's summer meeting in Minneapolis, she said, during which a 'consensus' was reached that Clinton should be given the kid-glove treatment. 'Is this a secret?' she asked. 'I mean, all the energy is around Hillary right now, and we're paring back the number of debates. That's going to give her a lot fewer opportunities to screw up.' Two of the organization's vice chairs took part in the conversation, she recalled, but she declined to identify them or their genders. During public portions of the Minneapolis meeting, Sanders and former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, both Clinton rivals, made their cases that Clinton's support could ultimately wane as rank-and-file liberals tire of the retread candidate. 'We do not need more establishment politics or establishment economics,' Sanders said during a speech, hinting that a Clinton nomination could lead to the sort of voter apathy that sank Democrats during the 2014 midterm congressional election. Enthusiasm and 'voter turnout was abysmal, embarrassingly low,' Sanders said, as millions of young, African-American, Hispanic and working-class voters 'gave up on politics as usual, and they stayed home.' HISTORY: DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz campaigned for Hillary Clinton in Florida in January 2008, three years before taking the reins at the Democratic Party's central committee READY FOR A CORONATION: Clinton's female fans are eager for her to claim her party's brass ring and get to the general election The female committeewoman said, though, that most of the party apparatus sees things differently. At least one powerful woman at the DNC disagrees. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a Hawaii congresswoman and one of the DNC's vice chairs, raised a stink last week by arguing that there should be more debates. She claimed that the national party disinvited her from attending Tuesday's debate in Las Vegas as punishment for falling out of line – an accusation that Wasserman Schultz bitterly disputed in television interviews. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an insurgent socialist who has been Clinton's only serious competition in national polls, would likely be the main beneficiary of a broader list of debates. He passed up a chance to hammer Hillary Tuesday night on her classified email scandal, though, by insisting that 'the American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn emails!' DISSENT: Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a Hawaii congresswoman who is one of five DNC vice chairs, complained last week about the truncated debate schedule and later claimed she was disinvited from the Las Vegas debate as punishment CRUSHED IT: Clinton delivered a hammer-blow performance on Tuesday night, outshining her four male challengers, but it's unclear what would happen if there were more than two dozen debates like in 2007-08 Sanders' campaign extended an invitation to Gabbard before the debate, saying she could have one of their seats in the debate hall at the Wynn Hotel and Casino. She declined, saying she didn't want the dustup to become a 'political conversation.' Wasserman Schultz has put her foot down and declared that Democratic presidential candidates will debate just six times before their nominating convention next year in Philadelphia. The post-debate analysis on Tuesday night was nearly uniform in its positive assessment of Clinton's performance, underscoring the likelihood of a cakewalk coronation unless she commits a serious unforced error or finds herself indicted by the Obama administration's Justice Department in connection with the email scandal. A whopping 20 people from America's two major political parties are candidates in the 2016 presidential election. The field includes two women, an African-American and two Latinos. All but one in that group – Hillary Clinton – are Republicans. At 15 candidates, the GOP field is without two early dropouts but still deeper than ever after one current and one former governor bowed out. A few Democrats are still assessing their chances at succeeding in a much smaller group of five that includes a former secretary of state and a current senator. DEMOCRATS IN THE RACE Lincoln Chafee Former Rhode Island governor Age on Election Day: 63 Religion: Episcopalian Base: Centrists Résumé: Former Rhode Island governor. Former U.S. senator. Former city councilman and mayor of Warwick, RI. Education: B.A. Brown University. Graduate, Montana State University horseshoeing school. Family: Married to Stephanie Chafee (1990) with three children. Like him, his father John Chafee was a Rhode Island governor and US senator, but also served as Secretary of the Navy. Lincoln was appointed to his Senate seat when his father died in office. Claim to fame: While Chafee was a Republican senator during the George W. Bush administration, he cast his party's only vote in 2002 against a resolution that authorized military action in Iraq. Hillary Clinton, also a senator then, voted in favor – giving him a point of comparison that he hopes to ride to victory. Achilles heel: Chafee's lack of any significant party loyalty has turned allies into foes throughout his political career, and Democrats aren't sure he's entirely with them now. He was elected to the Senate as a Republican in 2000 but left the party and declared himself a political independent after losing a re-election bid in 2006. As an independent, he was elected governor in 2010. Now he's running for president as a Democrat. Martin O'Malley Former Maryland governor Age on Election Day: 53 Religion: Catholic Base: Centrists Résumé:Former Maryland governor. Former city councilor and mayor of Baltimore, MD. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. Education: B.A. Catholic University of America. J.D. University of Maryland. Family: Married to Katie Curran (1990) and they have four children. Curran is a district court judge in Baltimore. Her father is Maryland's attorney general. O'Malley's mother is a receptionists in the Capitol Hill office of Democratic Sen. Barbara Mikulski. Claim to fame: O'Malley pushed for laws in Maryland legalizing same-sex marriage and giving illegal immigrants the right to pay reduced tuition rates at public universities. But he's best known for playing guitar and sung in a celtic band cammed 'O’Malley’s March.' Achilles heel: O’Malley may struggle in the Democratic primary since he endorsed Hillary Clinton eight years ago. If he prevails, he will have to run far enough to her left to be an easy target for the GOP. He showed political weakness when his hand-picked successor lost the 2014 governor's race to a Republican. But most troubling is his link with Baltimore, whose 2016 race riots have made it a nuclear subject for politicians of all stripes. Jim Webb Former Virginia senator Age on Election Day: 70 Religion: Christian (nondenominational) Base: War hawks and economic centrists Résumé:Former U.S. senator from Virginia. Former U.S. Secretary of the Navy under Ronamd Reagan. Former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs. Education: B.A. US Naval Academy (transferred from the University of Southern California). J.D. Georgetown University. Family: Married to Hong Le Webb (2005). Divorced from Jo Ann Krukar (1981-2004). Divorced from Barbara Samorajczyk (1968–1979). Claim to fame: Webb is the rare Democrat who can bring both robust defense credentials and a history of genuine bipartisanship to the race. He served in Republican president Ronald Reagan's defense directorate as Navy secretary, and earned both the Navy Star and the Purple Heart in combat. Webb is also seen as a quiet scholar who has written more than a half-dozen historical novels and a critically acclaimed history of Scots-Irish U.S. immigrants. Achilles heel: Webb has a reputation as a bit of a quitter. He resigned his Navy secretary post over a budget-cut dispute just 10 months after taking the job, and he declined to run for re-election to the U.S. Senate in 2006. He also attracted bad press for defending the use of the Confederate flag as a heritage symbol for American southerners. Amid a nationwide clamor to remove the flag from the South Carolina statehouse grounds, he wrote that Americans should 'respect the complicated history of the Civil War. ... Honorable Americans fought on both sides.' Hillary Clinton Former sec. of state Age on Election Day: 69 Religion: United Methodist Base: Liberals Résumé:Former secretary of state. Former U.S. senator from New York. Former U.S. first lady. Former Arkansas first lady. Former law school faculty, University of Arkansas Fayetteville. Education: B.A. Wellesley College. J.D. Yale Law School. Family: Married to Bill Clinton (1975), the 42nd President of the United States. Their daughter Chelsea is married to investment banker Marc Mezvinsky, whose mother was a 1990s one-term Pennsylvania congresswoman. Claim to fame: Clinton was the first US first lady with a postgraduate degree and presaged Obamacare with a failed attempt at health care reform in the 1990s. Achilles heel: A long series of financial and ethical scandals has dogged Clinton, including recent allegations that her husband and their family foundation benefited financially from decisions she made as secretary of state. Her performance surrounding the 2012 terror attack on a State Department facility in Benghazi, Libya, has been catnip for conservative Republicans. And her presidential campaign has been marked by an unwillingness to engage journalists, instead meeting with hand-picked groups of voters. Bernie Sanders* Vermont senator Age on Election Day: 75 Religion: Jewish Base: Far-left progressives Résumé:U.S. senator. Former U.S. congressman. Former mayor of Burlington, VT. Education: B.A. University of Chicago. Family: Married to Jane O’Meara Sanders (1988), a former president of Burlington College. He has one child from a previous relationship and is stepfather to three from Mrs. Sanders' previous marriage. His brother Larry is a Green Party politician in the UK and formerly served on the Oxfordshire County Council. Claim to fame: Sanders is an unusually blunt, and unapologetic pol, happily promoting progressivism without hedging. He is also the longest-serving 'independent' member of Congress – neither Democrat nor Republican. Achilles heel: Sanders describes himself as a 'democratic socialist.' At a time of huge GOP electoral gains, his far-left ideas don't poll well. He favors open borders, single-payer universal health insurance, and greater government control over media ownership. * Sanders is running as a Democrat but has no party affiliation in the Senate. DEMOCRATS IN THE HUNT Joe Biden, U.S. vice president Biden would be a natural candidate as the White House's sitting second-banana, but his reputation as a one-man gaffe factory could keep Democrats from taking him seriously. Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts senator Warren is a populist liberal who could give Hillary Clinton headaches by challenging her from the left, but she has said she has no plans to run and is happy in the U.S. Senate. REPUBLICANS IN THE RACE Jeb Bush Former Florida governor Age on Election Day: 63 Religion: Catholic Base: Moderates Résumé: Former Florida governor and secretary of state. Former co-chair of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. Education: B.A. University of Texas at Austin. Family: Married to Columba Bush (1974), with three adult children. Noelle Bush has made news with her struggle with drug addiction, and related arrests. George P. Bush was elected Texas land commissioner in 2014. Jeb's father George H.W. Bush was the 41st President of the United States, and his brother George W. Bush was number 43. Claim to fame: Jeb was an immensely popular governor with strong economic and jobs credentials. He is also one of just two GOP candidates who is fluent in Spanish. Achilles heel: Bush has angered conservatives with his permissive positions on illegal immigration (saying some border-crossing is 'an act of love) and common-core education standards. His last name could also be a liability with voters who fear establishing a family dynasty in the White House. Chris Christie New Jersey governor Age on Election Day: 54 Religion: Catholic Base: Establishment-minded conservatives Résumé: Governor of New Jersey. Former U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey. Former Morris County freeholder and lobbyist. Governor of New Jersey. Former U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey. Former Morris County freeholder. Former statehouse lobbyist. Education: B.A. University of Delaware, Newark, J.D. Seton Hall University. Family: Married to Mary Pat Foster (1986) with four children. Claim to fame: Pugnacious and unapologetic, Christie once told a heckler to 'sit down and shut up' and brings a brash style to everything he does. That includes the post-9/11 criminal prosecutions of terror suspects that made his reputation as a hard-charger. Achilles heel: Christie is often accused of embracing an ego-driven and needlessly abrasive style. His administration continues to operate under a 'Bridgegate' cloud: At least two aides have been indicted in an alleged scheme to shut down lanes leading to the George Washington Bridge as political retribution for a mayor who refused to endorse the governor's re-election. Carly Fiorina Former tech CEO Age on Election Day: 62 Religion: Episcopalian Base: Conservatives Résumé: Former CEO of Hewett-Packard. Former group president of Lucent Technologies. Former U.S. Senate candidate in California. Education: B.A. Stanford University. UCLA School of Law (did not finish). M.B.A. University of Maryland. M.Sci. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Family: Married to Frank Fiorina (1985), with one adult step-daughter and another who is deceased. She has two step-grandchildren. Divorced from Todd Bartlem (1977-1984). Claim to fame: Fiorina was the first woman to lead a Fortune 20 company, something that could provide ammunition against the Democratic Party's drive to make Hillary Clinton the first female president. She is also the only woman in the 2016 GOP field, making her the one Republican who can't be accused of sexism. Achilles heel: Fiorina's unceremonious firing by HP's board has led to questions about her management and leadership styles. And her only political experience has been a failed Senate bid in 2010 against Barbara Boxer. Lindsey Graham South Carolina senator Age on Election Day: 61 Religion: Southern Baptist Base: Otherwise moderate war hawks Résumé: U.S. senator. Retired Air Force Reserves colonel. Former congressman. Former South Carolina state representative. Education: B.A. University of South Carolina. J.D. University of South Carolina Law School. Family: Never married. Raised his sister Darline after their parents died while he was a college student and she was 13. Claim to fame: Graham is a hawk's hawk, arguing consistently for greater intervention in the Middle East, once arguing in favor of pre-emptive military strikes against Iran. His influence was credited for pushing President George W. Bush to institute the 2007 military 'surge' in Iraq. Achilles heel: Some of his critics have taken to call him 'Grahamnesty,' citing his participating in a 2013 'gang of eight' strategy to approve an Obama-favored immigration bill. He has also aroused the ire of conservative Republicans by supporting global warming legislation and voting for some of the president's judicial nominees. Bobby Jindal Louisiana governor Age on Election Day: 45 Religion: Catholic Base: Social conservatives Résumé: Governor of Louisiana. Former congressman. Former Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for Planning and Evaluation. Former Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals. Education: B. Sci. Brown University. M.Litt. New College at Oxford University Family: Married to Supriya Jolly (1997), with three children, each of whom has an Indian first name and an American middle name. Bobby Jindal's given name is Piyush. Claim to fame: Jindal's main source of national attention has been his strident opposition to federal-level 'Common Core' education standards, which included a federal lawsuit that a judge dismissed in late March. He is also outspoken on the religious-freedom issues involved in mainstreaming gay marriage into the lives of American Christians. Achilles heel: During his first term as governor, Jindal signed a science education law that requires schools to present alternatives to the theory of evolution, including religious creationism. His staunch defense of businesses that want to steer clear of providing services to same-sex couples at their weddings will win points among evangelicals but alienate others. George Pataki Former New York governor Age on Election Day: 71 Religion: Catholic Base: Centrists Résumé: Former governor of New York. Former New York state senator and state assemblyman. Former mayor of Peekskill, NY. Education: B.A. Yale University. J.D. Columbia Law School. Family: Married to Libby Rowland (1973), with four adult children. Claim to fame: Pataki was just the third Republican governor in New York's history, winning an improbable victory over three-term incumbent Mario Cuomo in 1994. He was known for being a rare tax-cutter in Albany and was also the sitting governor when the 9/11 terror attacks rocked New York CIty in 2001. Achilles heel: While Pataki's liberal-leaning social agenda plays well in the Empire State, it won't win him any fans among the GOP's conservative base. He supports abortion rights and gay rights, and has advocated strongly in favor of government intervention to stop global warming, which right-wingers believe is overblown as a global threat. Marco Rubio Florida senator Age on Election Day: 45 Religion: Catholic Base: Conservatives Résumé: US senator, former speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, former city commissioner of West Miami Education: B.A. University of Florida. J.D. University of Miami School of Law. Family: Married to Jeanette Dousdebes (1998), with two sons and two daughters. Jeanette is a former Miami Dolphins cheerleader who posed for the squad’s first swimsuit calendar. Claim to fame: Rubio's personal story as the son of Cuban emigres is a powerful narrative, and helped him win his Senate seat in 2010 against a well-funded governor whom he initially trailed by 20 points. Achilles heel: Rubio was part of a bipartisan 'gang of eight' senators who crafted an Obama-approved immigration reform bill in 2013 which never became law – a move that angered conservative Republicans. And he was criticized in 2011 for publicly telling a version of his parents' flight from Cuba that turned out to appear embellished. Donald Trump Real estate developer Age on Election Day: 70 Religion: Presbyterian Base: Conservatives Résumé: Chairman of The Trump Organization. Fixture on the Forbes 400 list of the world's richest people. Star of 'Celebrity Apprentice.' Education: B.Sci. Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania Family: Married to Melania Trump (2005). Divorced from Ivana Zelní ková (1977-92) and Marla Maples(1993–99). Five grown children. Trump's father Fred Trump amassed a $400 million fortune developing real estate. Claim to fame: Trump's niche in the 2016 campaign stems from his celebrity as a reality-show host and his enormous wealth – more than $10 billion, according to Trump. Because he can self-fund an entire presidential campaign, he is seen as less beholden to donors than other candidates. He has grabbed the attention of reporters and commentators by unapologetically staking out controversial positions and refusing to budge in the face of criticism. Achilles heel: Trump is a political neophyte who has toyed with running for president and for governor of New York, but shied away from taking the plunge until now. His billions also have the potential to alienate large swaths of the electorate. And his Republican rivals have labeled him an ego-driven celeb and an electoral sideshow because of his all-over-the-map policy history – much of which agrees with today's Democrats – and his past enthusiasm for anti-Obama 'birtherism.' Ben Carson Retired Physician Age on Election Day: 65 Religion: Seventh-day Adventist Base: Evangelicals Résumé: Famous pediatric neurosurgeon, youngest person to head a major Johns Hopkins Hospital division. Founder of the Carson Scholars Fund, which awards scholarships to children of good character. Education: B.A. Yale University. M.D. University of Michigan Medical School. Family: Married to Candy Carson (1975), with three adult sons. The Carsons live in Maryland with Ben's elderly mother Sonya, who was a seminal influence on his life and development. Claim to fame: Carson spoke at a National Prayer Breakfast in 2013, railing against political correctness and condemned Obamacare – with President Obama sitting just a few feet away. Achilles heel: Carson is inflexibly conservative, opposing gay marriage and once saying gay attachments formed in prison provided evidence that sexual orientation is a choice. Ted Cruz Texas senator Age on Election Day: 45 Religion: Southern Baptist Base: Tea partiers Résumé:U.S. senator. Former Texas solicitor general. Former U.S. Supreme Court clerk. Former associate deputy attorney general under President George W. Bush. Education: B.A. Princeton University. J.D. Harvard Law School. Family: Married to Heidi Nelson Cruz (2001), with two young daughters. His father is a preacher and he has two half-sisters. Claim to fame: Cruz spoke on the Senate floor for more than 21 hours in September 2013 to protest the inclusion of funding for Obamacare in a federal budget bill. (The bill moved forward as written.) He has called for the complete repeal of the medical insurance overhaul law, and also for a dismantling of the Internal Revenue Service. Cruz is also outspoken about border security. Achilles heel: Cruz's father Rafael, a Texas preacher, is a tea party firebrand who has said gay marriage is a government conspiracy and called President Barack Obama a Marxist who should 'go back to Kenya.' Cruz himself also has a reputation as a take-no-prisoners Christian evangelical, which might play well in South Carolina but won't win him points in the other early primary states and could cost him momentum if he should be the GOP's presidential nominee. Jim Gilmore Former Virginia governor Age on Election Day: 67 Religion: United Methodist Base: Conservatives Résumé: Former governor and attorney general of Virginia. Former chairman of the Republican National Committee. Former U.S. Army intelligence agent. President and CEO of the Free Congress Foundation. Board member of the National Rifle Association Education: B.A. University of Virginia. Family: Married to Roxane Gatling Gilmore (1977), with two adult children. Mrs. GIlmore is a survivor of Hodgkin's lymphoma Claim to fame: Gilmore presided over Virginia when the 9/11 terrorists struck in 1991, guiding the state through a difficult economic downturn after one of the hijacked airliners crashed into the Pentagon. He is nest known in Virginia for eliminating most of a much-maligned personal property tax on automobiles, working with a Democratic-controlled state legislature to get it passed and enacted. Achilles heel: Gilmore is the only GOP or Democratic candidate for president who has been the chairman of his political party, giving him a rap as an 'establishment' candidate. A social-conservative crusader, he is loathed by the left for championing the state law that established 24-hour waiting periods for abortions. Gilmore also has a reputation as an indecisive campaigner, having dropped out of the 2008 presidential race in July 2007. Mike Huckabee Former Arkansas governor Age on Election Day: 61 Religion: Southern Baptist Base: Evangelicals Résumé: Former governor and lieutenant governor of Arkansas. Former Fox News Channel host. Ordained minister and author. Education: B.A. Ouachita Baptist University. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (did not finish). Family: Married to Janet Huckabee (1974), with three adult children. Mrs. Huckabee is a survivor of spinal cancer. Claim to fame: 'Huck' is a political veteran and has run for president before, winning the Iowa Caucuses in 2008 and finishing second for the GOP nomination behind John McCain. He's known as an affable Christian and succeeded in building a huge following on his weekend television program, in which he frequently sat in on the electric bass with country & western groups and other 'wholesome' musical entertainers. Achilles heel: Huckabee may have a problem with female voters. He complained in 2014 about Obamacare's mandatory contraception coverage, saying Democrats want women to 'believe that they are helpless without Uncle Sugar.' He earned more scorn for hawking herbal supplements in early-2015 infomercials as a diabetes cure, something he has yet to disavow despite disagreement from medical experts. John Kasich Ohio governor Age on Election Day: 64 Religion: Anglican Base: Centrists Résumé: Governor of New York. Former chairman of the U.S. House Budget Committee. Former Ohio congressman. Former Ohio state senator. Education: B.A. The Ohio State University. Family: Married to Karen Waldbillig (1997). Divorced from Mary Lee Griffith (1975-1980). Claim to fame: Kasich was Ohio youngest-ever member of the state legislature at age 25. He's known for a compassionate and working-class sensibility that appeals to both ends of the political spectrum. In the 1990s when Newt Gingrich led a Republican revolution that took over Congress, Kasich became the chairman of the House Budget Committee – a position for a wonk's wonk who understands the nuanced intricacies of how government runs. Achilles heel: Some of Kasich's political positions rankle conservatives, including his choice to expand Ohio's Medicare system under the Obamacare law, and his support for the much-derided 'Common Core' education standards program. Rand Paul Kentucky senator Age on Election Day: 53 Religion: Presbyterian Base: Libertarians Résumé: US senator. Board-certified ophthalmologist. Former congressional campaign manager for his father Ron Paul. Education: Baylor University (did not finish). M.D. Duke University School of Medicine. Family: Married to Kelley Ashby (1990), with three sons. His father is a former Texas congressman who ran for president three times but never got close to grabbing the brass ring. Claim to fame: Paul embraces positions that are at odds with most in the GOP, including an anti-interventionist foreign policy, reduced military spending, criminal drug sentencing reform for African-Americans and strict limits on government electronic surveillance – including a clampdown on the National Security Agency. Achilles heel: Paul's politics are aligned with those of his father, whom mainstream GOPers saw as kooky. Both Pauls have advocated for a brand of libertarianism that forces government to stop domestic surveillance programs and limits foreign military interventions. Rick Santorum Former Penn. senator Age on Election Day: 58 Religion: Catholic Base: Evangelicals Résumé: Former US senator and former member of the House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Former lobbyist who represented World Wrestling Entertainment. Education: B.A. Penn State University. M.B.A. University of Pittsburgh. J.D. Penn State University Dickinson School of Law. Family: Married to Karen Santorum (1990), with seven living children. One baby was stillborn in 1996. Another, named Isabella, is a special needs child with a genetic disorder. Claim to fame: Santorum won the 2012 Republican Iowa Caucuses by a nose. He won by visiting all of Iowa's 99 states in a pickup truck belonging to his state campaign director, a consultant who now worls for Donald Trump. Achilles heel: As a young lobbyist, Santorum persuaded the federal government to exempt pro wrestling from regulations governing the use of anabolic steroids. And the stridently conservative politician has attracted strong opposition from gay rights groups. One gay columnist held a contest to redefine his name, buying the 'santorum.com' domain to advertise the winning entry – which is too vulgar to print. REPUBLICAN DROPOUTS Rick Perry, former Texas governor (withdrew Sept. 11, 2015) Scott Walker, Wisconsin governor (withdrew Sept. 21, 2015)
THE 2016 FIELD: WHO'S IN, WHO'S QUIT AND WHO'S STILL THINKING IT OVER
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#1. To: cranky (#0)
All I can think about is Rush's #24. Rush is like Babe Ruth. When he is at bat everyone is paying attention in too him. They know something big could happen. His enemies hate him and his fans love him. He is always entertaining.
Blacks voted for Obama because he was black. That's not racist. Women are voting for Hillary because she's a woman. And that's not sexist. However, voting against either is racist or sexist. And they say that with a straight face.
#2. To: cranky (#0)
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