The Daniels Verdict
Troy Senik, Ed. ·
Jan 25 at 9:50am
Two independent events that deserve to be considered in the context of one another:
1. A new Rasmussen Reports poll shows 1/3 of Republican voters would like to see a new candidate enter the GOP presidential race.
2. Last night, Indiana Governor (and Friend of Ricochet) Mitch Daniels -- one the names most often mentioned as a potential late entrant -- delivered the GOP response to President Obama's State of the Union address.
Here's the question: are you more or less inclined to think that Governor Daniels would be a suitable alternative based on what you saw last night?
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Comments :
Nov '10
Re: The Daniels Verdict
Those who see Daniels as the Calvin Coolidge of our time must have forgotten that Daniels has said he would support a European-style VAT tax. No Calvin Coolidge in that. No limited government in that. No conservatism in that.
Sep '11
Re: The Daniels Verdict
Imagine "substance" and "charisma" as axes on one of those quadrant maps.
Daniels is way over on the right side of the page in substance.
He's also at the bottom of the box on the lower right, as much charisma as a pale, two dimensional avatar reading smart but sleep-inducing run-on sentences off a teleprompter.
Marco Rubio, Chris Christie and Paul Ryan both make it into the far right of the upper quadrant. So of the four, the guy with the longest leadership resume is falling off the page dull, besides lacking both financial and family support.
Aug '10
Re: The Daniels Verdict
It depends entirely if the VAT in question is a replacement of the income tax or an addition to the income tax. If implemented correctly, it can theoretically be a very conservative idea. The problem is that the odds of implementing it correctly are freakishly low.
Feb '11
Re: The Daniels Verdict
Pseudodionysius
Release The Palin rhymes sort of with Release The Kraaken. · 2 hours ago
Jul '11
Re: The Daniels Verdict
Gus,
Thanks for your reply. You offer good reasons why Palin is a solid and credentialed conservative (though I'm skeptical about her resignation from office mid-term, and about her starting a reality show thereafter). But, however unfortunately, that's not enough to win the presidency. I wanted to see evidence that she can actually appeal to the moderates and independents whose votes are necessary to win. For instance, what's her overall favorability rating? How does she do with independents? Is there evidence whether she helped or hurt John McCain in 2008? How does she fare in polls against Obama? Like it or not, if we want to win, this stuff matters. Not everyone is as solidly conservative as we are. For all I know there's data that supports Palin's appeal to swing voters. But I've just never seen it.
May '10
Re: The Daniels Verdict
If y'all would make me Ruler of the World for a moment, I'll annoint and appoint Mitch Daniels to be President. But if he has to go through the electoral process, he doesn't stand an ice projectile's chance in the locus of eternal damnation. (Is that okay for CoC?) He clearly doesn't have the "want to" to be President. Even as a fan, he nearly put me to sleep.
Aug '10
Re: The Daniels Verdict
If you're the ruler of the world, you don't really need a president.
Dec '10
Re: The Daniels Verdict
Hang On
Pseudodionysius
Release The Palin rhymes sort of with Release The Kraaken. · 2 hours ago
36 minutes ago
From Pole to Pole!! A Ripping Yarn!!
Jun '10
Re: The Daniels Verdict
A.J. I understand and agree with you up to a point. At about 3% total contribution only extremely high earners have come close to paying enough to cover their eventual take on medicare. Not quite so on Social Security however. At 12% of 100M maximum for 45 years with compounded growth doubling the total every 10 years or so on average, SS is actually a bad deal for all but very low wage earners. Especially so since one never owns the principal and thus cannot leave it to one's family after passing. But that is beside the point. Bottom line...none of this is fair, life is not fair.
Mar '11
Re: The Daniels Verdict
A.J. Chianese: Gus,
Thanks for your reply. You offer good reasons why Palin is a solid and credentialed conservative (though I'm skeptical about her resignation from office mid-term, and about her starting a reality show thereafter). But, however unfortunately, that's not enough to win the presidency. I wanted to see evidence that she can actually appeal to the moderates and independents whose votes are necessary to win. For instance, what's her overall favorability rating? How does she do with independents? Is there evidence whether she helped or hurt John McCain in 2008? How does she fare in polls against Obama? Like it or not, if we want to win, this stuff matters. Not everyone is as solidly conservative as we are. For all I know there's data that supports Palin's appeal to swing voters. But I've just never seen it. · 56 minutes ago
McCain surged ahead in the polls after he added Palin and fell behind when he "suspended" his campaign.
As for moderates, we need a candidate that will draw them, not shamelessly appeal to them.
Polls? She polls behind Obama, but that's what a campaign is for, right?
Jul '11
Re: The Daniels Verdict
cdor - It's not clear to me that "Life is not fair, therefore the young need to make up 100% of the shortfall of promises made to the old" is a valid inference. I suppose I can see something like splitting it.
Overall, I think the general approach of Paul Ryan and the Republicans is probably right: for those in or close to retirement, we can continue to pay out benefits as promised (though only if doing so won't harm the country more overall; I don't believe keeping the promise is a categorical imperative), but for those further away and thereby still able to plan, we're going to adjust, partly by means testing transfers of wealth that shouldn't be going to any but the poor and sick in the first place.
Jul '11
Re: The Daniels Verdict
Gus Marvinson
McCain surged ahead in the polls after he added Palin and fell behind when he "suspended" his campaign.
As for moderates, we need a candidate that will draw them, not shamelessly appeal to them.
Polls? She polls behind Obama, but that's what a campaign is for, right? · 44 minutes ago
Gus, even if I buy that McCain surged after Palin was selected as the nominee for VP and that her selection caused that surge (which I'll do for the sake of this argument), that doesn't demonstrate that a turn against her - once the public got to know her better - didn't hurt him.
I'm with you that we need a candidate who can win moderates over, not pander to them, since the latter will lead to deeply unconservative positions. All that said, I'm just not at all convinced that Palin is capable of doing this. I actually think that Chris Christie (blue state governor), Mitch Daniels (swing state governor, reelected), and perhaps Paul Ryan, Jeb Bush, and Marco Rubio (all elected officials from swing or blue states) could, more so than Palin.
Edited on Jan 25 at 3:15pmMar '11
Re: The Daniels Verdict
As a wistful Illini that wonders how Indiana can be governed so well while my own state slides into the abyss, I have long been a fan of Governor Daniels. Ever since he made his Reagan Dinner speech at last year's CPAC I have wanted him to be president and accomplish for the nation what he has already achieved in Indiana. As George Will describes him, "he has the quite charisma of competence."
I am openly rooting for a brokered GOP convention in which Daniels can be conscripted to be our nominee against his wife's will.
Edited on Jan 25 at 3:27pmOct '10
Re: The Daniels Verdict
What a thought. But on the other hand, looking at what we've got, why not? Imagine how it would galvanize the base. It would be a machine, a fire-breathing dragon. Palin would dampen the fears a lot of Tea Partiers have with Newt or they'd [the fears/objections] be swept away in the euphoria.
She could be the corrective Newt needs to curb his waywardness and tangents. Keep him on the straight and narrow. Would two articulate champions of conservatism making the case be enough to persuade independents?
Wow, talk about bold, R., what made you come up with that. Was it Palin saying she vote for Newt if she were in SC?
What wouldn't you give to see the collective face of the MSM when they announced. The election would be a bloodbath, but sitting in the pot with Romney waiting for the water to boil is just too excruciating to contemplate. Could be a fortune-favors-the-bold moment.
Usually just typing an outrageous post like this is therapy enough and I just chuck it, but the level of frustration is peaking, so here ya go.
Aug '10
Re: The Daniels Verdict
I'm inclined to see him jump in. Though, with the caveat that it'd be sooner rather than later (i.e. drafted at a brokered convention). He needs to be involved in the debates so that voters have a chance to stack him up against the other candidates. That will allow people to determine if substance is better than style in their candidate. Or, perhaps he does have the style which will emerge. Otherwise, he has no chance if there is any at all with a late start.
I had never heard of him until he was mentioned in the Ricochet podcasts and on the site. I've enjoyed him on the podcast, and what he had written at Ricochet (which I hope picks up once his term is over!). I still want to know more.
Will last night's rebuttal be his "Have Faith In Massachusetts" moment? Who knows. It'll be an incredibly hard road if it is.
Edited on Jan 25 at 7:52pmDec '10
Re: The Daniels Verdict
Very nice RINO alternative. He doesn't have Romney's negatives. (Mormon & Romneycare)
Just one thing. I'M NOT VOTING FOR HIM!!!!!!!!!
Jul '11
Re: The Daniels Verdict
James Gawron: Very nice RINO alternative. He doesn't have Romney's negatives. (Mormon & Romneycare)
Just one thing. I'M NOT VOTING FOR HIM!!!!!!!!! · 8 hours ago
The idea that Mitch Daniels is a RINO is, to be blunt, preposterous. RINO is a word that is thrown around far too freely, with few if any attempts to justify it (similar to the contention that Sarah Palin is electable). It reminds me of communists branding fellow communists as insufficiently committed to the revolution in order to gain power, or of some Muslims calling others takfir (infidels). Mitch Daniels has turned around Indiana's finances, passed a law to prevent the state from funding Planned Parenthood, and is about to preside over his state's passage of a right-to-work law. If Mitch Daniels is a RINO then either "RINO" is a good thing, or the word is meaningless.