I don't know how short a diary can be...but way this games out can be explained in a very few sentences...
The logic is inescapable; a certain proportion of GOP women voters will pull the lever for Hillary because she is a woman, and for no other reason relating to policy or qualifications.
That proportion may be high or low- but the available margin for the GOP is razor thin- a few points at most.
If this headline is correct (@ 35 points), it's pointless to even have an election.
"An Astounding Number Of Republican Women Would Support Hillary Clinton In 2016"
If that support is less astounding but still considerable, it also means certain defeat for the GOP.
As I see it, if (when) Hillary wins the nomination, the GOP must run a woman, or they cannot win.
So to me, the single most important/interesting storyline of the 2016 GOP nomination is: where will they find this woman?
And if you think of GOP women, there is one name that stands above all others.
As silly as this sounds, I believe she is the next nominee. The logic seems also inescapable; she has had 6 years to pick up her game, she has already run on
a ticket, all the attacks that could be made have been made, and she is 125% acceptable to the nominating base of the party.
To calm the remnants of the establishment, she merely needs to pick a non-controversial male establishment-type for VP early, and it's over.
Are there any establishment-type GOP women that have a chance otherwise? My mind draws a blank.... If I were a betting man, this is how I would bet it would unfold.