Welcome to the first four matchups of the 2013 Daily Kos Republican March to Madness Tournament! The full details are below, but if you just want to start voting here are the matchups:
• #1 Marco Rubio vs. #16 John Boehner
• #8 George W. Bush vs #9 Reince Priebus
• #5 Grover Norquist vs #12 Jeb Bush
• #4 Dick Cheney vs. #13 John McCain
Now here's full scoop on the tournament. Earlier today, we posted the preliminary bracket. After receiving your feedback, we've now finalized the seeding and we're ready for some first round action! Normally, we won't post the full bracket, but since this we're just getting underway, this time will be an an exception:
Click to enlarge
Today, we're going to have four matchups from each of the four regions. Tomorrow, we'll complete the first round with the remaining four matchups from each region. We'll start with the GOP establishment region and later today we'll post matchups for each of the remaining three regions.
We can only include one poll per post, so to vote in each matchup, you'll have to follow the link to the diary for each matchup. You should vote however you want, but the basic rule of thumb that I'd suggest is this: vote for whomever you think makes for a better poster child of what's wrong with the GOP and conservatism today.
With that out of the way, let's take a look at the matchups:
- #1 Marco Rubio vs. #16 John Boehner: Florida Senator Marco Rubio's #1 seed could be one of the more controversial decisions of the tournament and the contrast with #16 seed House Speaker John Boehner couldn't be more clear. On paper, Boehner clearly has more clout than Rubio and as the leader of the House Republicans might seem to be a more logical choice as a top seed than Rubio, who is just in his third year in the Senate. But Rubio has done more to shift the GOP's center of gravity to the right than Boehner and while he doesn't have a legislative track record, many conservative activists see him as the future of the GOP—and see Boehner as nothing more than a tool of the past. Vote here.
- #8 George W. Bush vs #9 Reince Priebus: Arguably, George W. Bush deserves more than a #8 seed and Reince Priebus deserves less. Certainly, Bush has done far more damage to this country than Priebus has. But Bush has mostly kept his mouth shut for the past four years, while Priebus has continued to fight for his policies. Plus, the seeding sets up for a potentially intriguing third round matchup, as you'll see below. Vote here.
- #5 Grover Norquist vs #12 Jeb Bush: The single biggest reason for fiscal stalemate in Washington, D.C. is the GOP refusal to increase revenue, even though taxes are far lower now than they were during the Clinton boom. Nobody deserves more responsibility for that than #5 seed Grover Norquist. But #12 seed Jeb Bush could be a dark horse: not only does he bring his brother's ignominious legacy to the table, he has recently made veered sharply right on immigration policy as he gears up for a 2016 run. Vote here.
- #4 Dick Cheney vs. #13 John McCain: When you have Darth Vader vs. the guy who picked Sarah Palin, there's not much introduction needed. But here's an interesting thing to consider: If Cheney survives this round and wins the next, he very well could face his former boss George W. Bush, in an epic third-round matchup. Vote here.
The winners will be announced tomorrow. You'll have until at least 8:30 AM ET on Friday to cast your votes and you can of course see the current vote totals on the matchup pages. Who's your pick to win it all?