The GOP power-brokers. Surely they opposed McCain from the

[saltpoint]

start. Surely they never wanted him anywhere near the nomination.

I doubt if they miscalculated the outcome of the Republican primary, meaning they must have stood back and let this happen, since the GOP field in the first place was a miserable pack of thieves, thugs, corruptos, and room-temperature IQ dolts.

Did they think that Romney would prevail because he's rich? The Mormon issue might be inconsequential to someone with millions of dollars, but to a lot of the GOP's fundie nutbag base, it is a deal breaker. Romney did reasonably well, but lost big leads in Iowa and New Hampshire. His wealth would have been a good thing to the power-brokers but he couldn't demonstrate electability, even among Republicans. GOP power-brokers are rich, not stupid. Romney couldn't have been their ideal candidate from the git-go.

Huckabee? I imagine they hold him in contempt. He's folksy, sort of, and attractive to fundies, sort of, and likely malleable on the issues power-brokers want their nominees to be malleable on. But he ain't one of them. Never was. Never will be. He did better than Romney in the primaries, sort of, but couldn't overtake a hapless fool like McCain.

Giuliani was the closest thing to a star they had, and very frankly a 10th grade government class in any given high school could have run a better campaign than Giuliani. It was a spectacular example of how to alienate voters. A failure of great proportion. Rudy held the lead for the GOP for almost every single day of 2007. By the time late fall came around, it had become very clear that he was going to get his ass handed to him in Iowa, so they pulled out of Iowa. Next came New Hampshire and South Carolina -- also abandoned. Giuliani's fixers decided to make Florida their battleground. Problem was, he didn't win, and that was the official end of his campaign, even though everyone knew he was done for at about the point in the primary campaign when actual voters cast votes.

Joe Biden helped destroy Giuliani with his "a noun, a verb, and 9/11" remark.

So who were they for -- the power-brokers? They don't give up easily. Not when power is at stake. Influence, control, million-dollar accounts. Did they let a pack of 12 or 13 GOP "hopefuls" kick McCain around until he was barely viable, thus throwing the election?

I'm just not seeing them defeated so easily as to assume that they think McCain is a strong contender.

[shraby]

1. Their modus operandi is to lose this

election and let the Dems get things working properly again then in 4 years pull their same old shit and get the White House back again and fill their pockets even more..they've about maxed the taxpayers out for this round.

[liberalmuse]

2. You got it!

Stay tuned for 'Pigs At The Trough: Part III', in about 8 years.

[depakid]

5. Sorry- they want the Supreme Court

An intractible far right majority has been their goal for 50 years- and they're not about to abandon it now.

[saltpoint]

7. Hi, depakid. Agree that the Far Right is trained on control generally

and judicial appointments especially, but if McCain goes down in flames, they lose a generation of picks.

I like that outcome, but am still confused as to why they exerted so little influence on the Republican primary.

[depakid]

8. "why they exerted so little influence on the Republican primary. "

It was a pretty scattered field- so there really wasn't anyone they could coalesce behind. Huck was great, except that he was an economic populist. Douk!

Romney was a so called moderate from Massachusetts. And a Mormon. Ack!

Guliani was- well, Guliani.

McCain ended up there by default- though as we've seen, he's become quite pliable in his declining years.

:hi:

[saltpoint]

9. Good points all, but in particular I love your line,

"Giuliani was -- well, Giuliani."




:thumbsup: :hi:

[TrogL]

10. Yep

Here's the skinny http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=114x41812

[DFLforever]

3. The money people wanted Romney

But he made the crucial mistake of attacking other candidates harshly, like Huck in Iowa, before he had established a positive image of himself.(At least this is what I hear Repubs saying). But I've read the Bushies want him badly now for VP.

Huckabee was unacceptable because he's an old-fashioned southern populist.
A Christian socialist to the freepers. He was deliberately destroyed by the party influentials right out of the gate.

Minus the 911 mythology, Giuliani turned out to be nobody.

I think some of the GOP influentials had pretty high hopes for McCain. They had 2000 McCain in mind and he's always supported war. But they're bitterly disappointed with him at this point - his ineptness and incompetence, and now his undisguised meanness - he's destroyed his own image. I think he's also been defeated by his age.


I believe they thought any of their candidates would have a very good chance against HRC. They have tons of scandal to use against the Clintons and she started out disliked by half the country.

They're having a much harder time with Obama. He should be easy to beat because he's part black but they're having the same types of problem HRC had - although they'll be nastier in applying their solutions.


I don't think the GOP has given up on victory. They appear to be putting all their resources into the Presidential race, knowing they have no chance to retake Congress.

But I think big money is prepared to adapt to a Pres. Obama. They don't have a lot of choice. There's so much turmoil and distress in the economy, it's kind of like 1932 all over again.

[AndyTiedye]

4. "The Money People" Are Not All That United

What is running the show is a particular cabal of oil and weapons people, who also own virtually all of our TV and radio networks.

[saltpoint]

6. Yes. They are in a less-choice place instead of a more-choice place,

and may have to get used to a President Obama, very possibly for 8 years.

Which is fine with me!