The 2012 Speculatron Weekly Roundup

This week, a black cloud settled over the 2012 campaign when a bunch of polls came back and the results showed that no one was all that happy about the state of the GOP field. There were some obvious reasons for this, such as "there really isn't a 'GOP field' yet" and "most of the voters don't even really know that much about the people who might one day be a part of that field" and "basically Donald Trump is the only person we hear about, and that can't really be happening, right?" Of course, the media kind of freaked out, because they had been covering the campaign season as if had already been agreed upon that it was awesome and shiny and exciting.

My feeling is that there will be time enough for prospective GOP voters to learn more about the candidates and get enthusiastic about them once they actually get in the race and start competing with one another. That is basically what the "winter of 2011" is for, and it is only the "spring of 2011." So, everyone should really just be patient.

Or not! Here's a guy who disagrees with me and suggests that enthusiasm may have already peaked and has nowhere to go but down. That's fair. It could happen. I mean, we could get way into the royal wedding and decide to revert to a monarchy. Or bring back the Articles of Confederation. Or the Golden Calf?

According to the Terminator franchise, this was the week that Skynet is supposed to have become self-aware, so for all we know, we'll be choosing our candidates from a slate of murderous genocide-bots, who all advocate the "individual mandate" that "all humans should die, painfully." Just imagine how poorly the field will poll then! (The terminators will all still out-poll Rick Santorum.)

At any rate, don't get sad, get even. This is your 2012 Speculatron Roundup for the week of April 22, 2011.

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Michele Bachmann

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Michele Bachmann almost made an important contribution to the political discourse this week when she agreed to accept the same documentation that relevant authorities across the nation have accepted is the legitimate documentation necessary to prove that a person was born in the state of Hawaii. I say "almost" because she apparently went on Fox & Friends and straight up forgot that she'd settled the matter an hour before. (In her defense, Fox And Friends does exist inside a cloud of free-floating stupidity.) But in actual seriousness, Bachmann sent shivers down Ezra Klein's spine this week when she said "scariest thing I've ever heard on television" (and no, it wasn't "NBC announces OUTSOURCED has been renewed"):

In short, her plan is that we don't raise the debt ceiling, but we use the revenue still coming in to pay off creditors first and whatever we think most important second. That way, we "don't violate our credit rating" and "prioritize our spending." Makes perfect sense. At least, it makes perfect sense unless you, like me, had spent the previous few days talking to economists, investors and economic policymakers about what could happen if we start playing games with the debt ceiling. Their answers were across-the-board apocalyptic. If the U.S. government is so incapable of solving its political problems that it can't come to an agreement on the debt ceiling, they said, that's basically the end of the United States as the world's reserve currency. We won't be considered safe enough to serve as the investment of last resort. We would lose the most important advantage our economy has in the global financial system -- and we'd probably lose it forever.

This has long been a topic that the GOP has needed to keep Bachmann very far away from, to no avail.

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Michele Bachmann almost made an important contribution to the political discourse this week when she agreed to accept the same documentation that relevant authorities across the nation have accepted is the legitimate documentation necessary to prove that a person was born in the state of Hawaii. I say "almost" because she apparently went on Fox & Friends and straight up forgot that she'd settled the matter an hour before. (In her defense, Fox And Friends does exist inside a cloud of free-floating stupidity.)

But in actual seriousness, Bachmann sent shivers down Ezra Klein's spine this week when she said "scariest thing I've ever heard on television" (and no, it wasn't "NBC announces OUTSOURCED has been renewed"):

In short, her plan is that we don't raise the debt ceiling, but we use the revenue still coming in to pay off creditors first and whatever we think most important second. That way, we "don't violate our credit rating" and "prioritize our spending." Makes perfect sense.

At least, it makes perfect sense unless you, like me, had spent the previous few days talking to economists, investors and economic policymakers about what could happen if we start playing games with the debt ceiling. Their answers were across-the-board apocalyptic. If the U.S. government is so incapable of solving its political problems that it can't come to an agreement on the debt ceiling, they said, that's basically the end of the United States as the world's reserve currency. We won't be considered safe enough to serve as the investment of last resort. We would lose the most important advantage our economy has in the global financial system -- and we'd probably lose it forever.

This has long been a topic that the GOP has needed to keep Bachmann very far away from, to no avail.

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Brady68 said on 24 Sunday 2011 am30 10:16 am: R0mney wins if we are going strictly off hair_style

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Comments

[davyj0nes]

02:18 PM on 05/05/2011

looking at ron and rand paul, its striking to see how the father looks like a nice enough man, but the son looks absolutely creepy. I get a dark vibe every time i look at rand paul.

[Norwegianbear]

01:14 AM on 05/01/2011

I'm not concerned about peaking enthusiasm because the tea party is not about enthusiasm. It's about tried and true American values. Any candidate that will speak them from the heart will instantly generate a groundswell There is however no hurry to pick a republican candidate. The election is far away. It is however satisfying to see someone like Trump getting under Obama's skin, and it seems really thin.

[nohbutterflies]

12:53 PM on 04/30/2011

I would like to say briefly since it is The 2012 Speculatron Weekly Roundup

Barack Obama Hillary Clinton 2012

[John Roman]

08:55 AM on 04/26/2011

“They (repugs) would have an easier time picking their new king if one of them would honestly just say: "I'm a racist, I'm a war-hawk and a homophobe. I'd like to turn back the clock and have poor kids working in sweatshops and unions just a memory. I'd like to assemble all congregati­ons into one powerful Church of America that would bring back stocks and pillorys and public humiliatio­n and destroy religious freedom. I'd also like to rewrite history and censor all books so nothing contradict­ed the great white male church leaders like evolution and civil rights. I'd also like to friggin' plunder the planet for profits that we can pour into an imperialis­t empire building army...."”

[David Silvey]

04:41 PM on 04/25/2011

Everyone knows that "Birther" business is just a silly ruse but it is a serious distraction to divert attention from the "Elephant in the room".
When there is nothing worth talking about, all we hear is absurdies. This whole thing is called "provoking" and "inciting" discussion. It has been used to keep school prayer, book banning and other religious pronouncements in public venues. It is meant to make tempers flair.
It is a common tactic used by religious extremist. It cannot be countered with reason or civil discussion. Provocation is the goal.

[JerryC101]

11:46 AM on 04/25/2011

Top of comments are 2 hrs ago, skips to 9, skips to 14; where are the rest? Last night there were a lot that are now just gone. ???

[USNDC]

09:45 AM on 04/25/2011

Candidate Obama ... our nation's first potential black President ... went largley unchallenged on many aspects of his background ... and his personal beliefs.

President Obama ... our nation's first black President ... will not enjoy the same courtesy in 2012.

He will be challenged ... he will be attacked ... he will be defined ... and he will fold.

If he does not have a complicit main stream media to hide behind ... or a non-record to hide behind ... or a tele-prompter to hide behind ... he will melt under the harsh scrutiny.

Did you see his facial expression when the Texas reporter dared to ask him a pointed question ?

He will not be able to withstand 2012 ... he has a glass jaw.

The HP Community should be concerned about Barack Obama ... not the Republicans at this point.

[David Silvey]

04:49 PM on 04/25/2011

Not unless Jesus runs against him ..Oh wait, he can't run: he isn't a citizen.

[John Roman]

08:54 AM on 04/26/2011

Woohoo!!

[negogato]

12:44 PM on 04/30/2011

He was attacked. He was certainly challenged.
He was defined, maligned and lied about by paid professionals. And he did not fold, Jim.

The dispirited and overconfident Republican Party lost the election. It was an election with a historic turn out of voters.

The man who won is a Christian and was born in the USA. That this is even a question disproves every word of your post.

[NoboyukiMasaki]

09:37 AM on 04/25/2011

Welcome to the Republican Circus!

Which clown is going to take center stage?

[negogato]

12:45 PM on 04/30/2011

That is tough. They all worship the sacred tax cut.

[stlouisgrisby]

09:32 AM on 04/25/2011

the president tried to warn the TEATHUGS/RETUGS that they wher gona have wrok with him LIKE HIM OR NOT for the good of AMERICA now do you understand why?

[NoboyukiMasaki]

09:27 AM on 04/25/2011

FROTHY!!!

[indjoe]

02:57 AM on 04/25/2011

none of the above please this GOP like a broken arm or a leg
not something you want too have once let alone twice.

[wuzupwidat]

09:47 PM on 04/24/2011

If Michele Bachmann wants my vote, she better start showing a little more cleavage.

[raggedsoldier]

09:54 PM on 04/24/2011

I suspect that, among fundamentalist conservatives, Donald Trump's might cause greater arousal.

[nohbutterflies]

12:48 PM on 04/30/2011

oh no you didn't !

[viking1969]

12:07 AM on 04/25/2011

Trump gonna pay for the implants?

[4Middleclass]

07:39 PM on 04/24/2011

Republicans are just so un-cool. They are like that person that no one wants to be around.

[realitytrumpsbull]

07:34 PM on 04/24/2011

Maybe the reason that the field is so thin is that these days, it's like, 'this candidate is brought to you by....(SPONSOR)', rather than having a more grass-roots Presidential candidate selection process. I think, at minimum, in this stage of the 2012 campaign, there should be 100-200 candidate-hopefuls. 2-4 people from each state, who pass a knowledge test, and a criminal background test, and a citizenship eligibility test, and who are willing to 'sign the papers', get lined up to begin the initial round of debates. And, every month or two, have rounds of debates in the individual states, to deciderer who'll be the best choice to be the next deciders. Then, when it's down to one per state, eliminations over, then go with the nationals. Coast to coast, coast vs. coast. Top 10. Final four. And then, comes the vote.  But, right now, corporations and other entities can basically 'buy' a candidate.  Politics is a rich man's game...

[JDINTX]

09:16 PM on 04/24/2011

Sounds a lot like American Idol.

[Ted LPD]

07:15 PM on 04/24/2011

Tea Baggers created a situation! Folks like Trump filled the void. Bachman filled the void. Palin is left in the cold. Romney and Tim have to sound democrat to shift the party base but it is a tall tree. Oh no, you can’t do that for a party built on 'conservativism' – separate and stratified class society. We don’t have much as Democrats but we have as an ideology morality and a value system based on pragmatism. That is why I remain a Democrat.

[Norwegianbear]

01:04 AM on 05/01/2011

Just curious. What is the morality of mortgaging your kids and grand kids future so you can have what you want now? Maybe you've missed it. The federal government is spending over $1.5 trillion more than they take in and they are borrowing to make up the shortfall.

[Ted LPD]

07:02 AM on 05/01/2011

The mortgage was taken more than 8 years ago when we went into Iraq without paying for it, passed a prescription drug without paying for it; gave tax cuts without paying for them. These created a situation we now find ourselves. To dig our way out requires carefulness and thinking. Do you want to tell me we shouldn’t help the people of Alabama? I think that by whining today, Conservatives turned a blind eye when it was Bush. This is more hypocrisy from the conservative than fixing a real problem.