by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
Most of us have probably never heard of Brian Russell, Michael Petyo, Dennis Michael Lynch, Michael Kinlaw, Chris Hill, Mark Everson, John Dummett, Jr, Dale Christensen, Kenny Bowers, Michael Bickelmeyer, and Skip Andrews - and with any kind of luck at all will probably not hear of them again.
Those eleven white males are all announced candidates for the Republican Presidential nomination. All are conservative, and all are righteous in their convictions that they have the personal qualities and necessary backgrounds to lead our nation.
Today, with the announcement by former Texas governor Rick Perry, now sporting glasses as he attempts to morph into some sort of Lone Star intellectual, the number of candidates that most of us have heard of has risen to ten: Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, Lindsey Graham, Mike Huckabee, George Pataki, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Little Ricky Santorum, and Rick Perry.
There are also at least ten more out there with some degree of national name recognition who are threatening to run: Donald Trump, Bobby Jindal, Chris Christie, Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Rick Snyder, Peter King, John Kasich, Jim Gilmore, and Bob Ehrlich.
Thirty-one? Holy, moley, Batman!
Eliminating the eleven footnote-chasers, that still leaves twenty individuals - a full score - who seem to think they have an outside chance of grabbing the presidential nomination - or at least being given serious consideration as the vice-presidential running mate. All but one is white, and all but one is male - a fairly representative composite of the modern Republican party.
Now the game becomes how to present this crowded field to the nation. Twenty people on one stage would probably prove confusing, and no one would have much actual time to share their ideas with viewers and voters. So who would get the affirmation and political advantage of being asked to participate in the debates?
The Republican National Committee seems to be for ducking the issue and letting the organizations that sponsor the debates set the rules for who gets a coveted spot on stage. The movement seems to be in the direction of using numbers from national polls to sort the wheat from the chaff - but what if that process eliminates their only black - or their only female?
What if the Republican debate stage looks as manly and white as a tea-bagger's linen closet - while the Democrats are busy bidding farewell to the country's first black President and preparing to elect the country's first female President.
That is not an unlikely scenario.
For the Republicans it is a dilemma. For the Democrats it is a large, refreshing pitcher of dilemma-nade - really, really sweet dilemma-nade!
Citizen Journalist
Most of us have probably never heard of Brian Russell, Michael Petyo, Dennis Michael Lynch, Michael Kinlaw, Chris Hill, Mark Everson, John Dummett, Jr, Dale Christensen, Kenny Bowers, Michael Bickelmeyer, and Skip Andrews - and with any kind of luck at all will probably not hear of them again.
Those eleven white males are all announced candidates for the Republican Presidential nomination. All are conservative, and all are righteous in their convictions that they have the personal qualities and necessary backgrounds to lead our nation.
Today, with the announcement by former Texas governor Rick Perry, now sporting glasses as he attempts to morph into some sort of Lone Star intellectual, the number of candidates that most of us have heard of has risen to ten: Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, Lindsey Graham, Mike Huckabee, George Pataki, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Little Ricky Santorum, and Rick Perry.
There are also at least ten more out there with some degree of national name recognition who are threatening to run: Donald Trump, Bobby Jindal, Chris Christie, Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Rick Snyder, Peter King, John Kasich, Jim Gilmore, and Bob Ehrlich.
Thirty-one? Holy, moley, Batman!
Eliminating the eleven footnote-chasers, that still leaves twenty individuals - a full score - who seem to think they have an outside chance of grabbing the presidential nomination - or at least being given serious consideration as the vice-presidential running mate. All but one is white, and all but one is male - a fairly representative composite of the modern Republican party.
Now the game becomes how to present this crowded field to the nation. Twenty people on one stage would probably prove confusing, and no one would have much actual time to share their ideas with viewers and voters. So who would get the affirmation and political advantage of being asked to participate in the debates?
The Republican National Committee seems to be for ducking the issue and letting the organizations that sponsor the debates set the rules for who gets a coveted spot on stage. The movement seems to be in the direction of using numbers from national polls to sort the wheat from the chaff - but what if that process eliminates their only black - or their only female?
What if the Republican debate stage looks as manly and white as a tea-bagger's linen closet - while the Democrats are busy bidding farewell to the country's first black President and preparing to elect the country's first female President.
That is not an unlikely scenario.
For the Republicans it is a dilemma. For the Democrats it is a large, refreshing pitcher of dilemma-nade - really, really sweet dilemma-nade!
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