The New Hampshire primary is showing us a glimmer of what we're likely to face, come 2016.
First, let me say that I think that the Republicans will do this year what they've always done in years past; they will nominate "The Next in Line," and that's gonna be Mitt Romney. (They'll do that to their chagrin, since he will be beat by the twin attack that, first, the economy is improving, come November, and second, he's an "Attack and Pillage Capitalist" that we're all good and tired of suffering.)
But tonight's returns from New Hampshire bear watching because we're seeing what's coming down the road. The Rethugs are positioning their "Next In Line", up thru Florida, and I think we should be paying attention to that.
It seems to me that the Republicans are working out their time-honored and inimitable "Next In Line", just now. It's the cast of characters that we're going to have to face four years from now that they're working through, and the surviving campaigns in 2016 are going to be Jon Huntsman and Ron Paul (with tincture of Rick Santorum -- tho I think he's the Religious Right's last hurrah, this cycle).
We have four years to prepare for the shake-out of the fundamental earthquake that's happening, now, within the Republican Party that we, as Democrats, will be facing four years hence. We'll be doing it without an incumbent President, with all the advantages that implies. However, we'll have the advantage of a division of their house between the Republican Party's non-interventionist and small government throw-backs to yesteryear (Ron Paul), and their Big Government apologists for American hegemony (all the rest).
Four years from now, it's just going to be a review of this cycle on their side, but in higher relief, IMO.
. . .
It's kinda remarkable that Ron Paul is pulling down the numbers of voters that he is among Republicans, of all people, with his talking points of "failed drug war" and "non-intervention in foreign wars", though the fact he's able to sway actual voters with an appeal that resonates against your local zoning board and building code inspector implications -- talking like you'll be an empowered homeowner against "Interventionist Gov'ment" -- and I'm aware that this fact has caused some consternation among us "Progressive" folks, since we usually think that democracy at the local level makes us influential home-folk that can take care of this kind of bullshit on our own. But, I'm not ready to say anything about the fact that Ron Paul has struck a chord other than "Neither Ron Paul, nor his son, is a friend of ours."
Back to the point: we have four years to prepare a candidate for our Party to face the winner of the fundamental debate that's going on in the Republican Party right now -- and that won't be resolved this cycle, but may well be resolved come 2016 -- we're going to be facing a solidly financed and unified, resolved Party opponent next time.
Of course, our opponent in 2016 will be a Republican "Spokesmodel" candidate that has every hair perfectly coiffed and every phrase finely tuned by the best and most expensive linguistic-armed/electorally-mapped consultants. ...as it always was
...
As we prepare for 2016, let's not jump to names, personalities, or media darlings quite yet. Let's start by considering the policies and, maybe more to the point, "popular positioning" of our Ideal Candidate: "Populist," or "Responsible Technocrat". "Good Government" or "Equalizer", to put a bookend on it.
Four years from now, who knows what the Hot Button issues will be, or who may be a Standard Bearer for them. But, we can, now, start thinking about what that person should be thinking about, now.
I say, let's pick someone that will preserve our privacy, even with this intrusive data-gathering InterTube thingy; someone that will protect our rights to privacy and association under law rather than usurp them in the interest of fantasmal "security"; that will stand against the corruption of the Popular Will by monied interests; and will protect the socially-shared gains of individual security -- won by my "Greatest Generation" parents and WWI-inspired Grandparents -- things like Medicare and Social Security and unemployment insurance and protections against mortgage gouging and pension plan robbery, that we've come to depend upon our Government to secure by law.
Those are a few items my government has accomplished for my parents, but I now find are under assault by Republicans.
I'd like a candidate in 2016 to state clearly that he or she will be a bulwark with their Presidential veto against any attempt to lessen or degrade my rights and privileges regarding those things.
How about you?
Wed Dec 11, 2013 at 1:32 AM PT: UPDATE - Amazing that a call to discuss issues Progressives can win on in 2016, an imploration for communal analysis that should be the bedrock hard questions we, as off-year activists, should ask any and all "road testing" Democratic candidates about in our off-year meetings, should so quickly degenerate into a plather about pop personalities in the news.
* sigh *