G.a. Underwood:

Mr. Douglass, Thanks for your articles! I always enjoy your perspective and your honesty.

Just a few quick late-night thoughts.

I know these things:

1. The Republican party now covers such a wide spectrum of ideologies that no one candidate can possibly appeal to them all to the degree they’d like – the moderates, the fundies, the Tea-publicans, the ‘gun-lovin’ patriots’, etc.
2. Any Republican Presidential nominee will have to appear to be a moderate to be a serious contender.
3. No matter what the eventual Republican nominee claims, he (undoubtedly a ‘he’) will ultimately espouse and promote the values of his Koch benefactors.
4. The two parties’ division runs so very deep that many Republicans would vote for a nominee who meets only a small percentage of their beliefs, or say, their top two national concerns, before they’d ever even consider voting outside their party affiliation, if then.

(To quote Rod Serling, of Twilight Zone fame…) Imagine, if you will, a faceless rich white man man wearing a very nice suit, with a U.S. flag lapel button and a severe multiple personality disorder.

One of his personalities might be a guy who says he believes the federal government is too big and wants to privitize many of its functions for/to his rich backers. Another is a Christian fundamentalist who sees Satan in every modern advancement. There could be a war hawk fundamentalist who demonizes women and the poor. And one man who doesn’t outrightly attack women’s causes, but refuses to commit to slowing down the viciousness of their attacks. (Somebody’s got to medicate that chapped area – but preferably without apologies.) The possibilities are unlimited.

What if, in an unprecedented, calculated move, the Republicans are beginning the process of creating one nominate-able candidate from each of their personality types? And in campaigning, their attacks within the party are mild, almost friendly, so that the lines begin to blur a bit? (Repub voters: “Let’s see, #1 guy is a corporate whore who doesn’t attack women. #2 guy is anti-pollution, and wants to privitize just about everything profitable. #3 guy wants to privitize, says women are sluts and he’s pro-Citizens United..) A crowded field of candidates emerges with overlapping and SLIGHTLY differing views. But nothing radical.

Then, a week or so before the nomination, most throw their support to MR. CONGLOMERATE REPUBLICAN (whoever has the best numbers?) with just enough time to thoroughly confuse voters, the media, much of the country. Shock & Awe. Republicans of low education, income and foresight are confused, but delighted – they just know they’re “Republikins, like our Daddy was.” Mr. Conglomerate Republican!

Conglomerate Republican is a tough debater. He has multiple personalities to draw just the right opinions and responses from. (“As Guy #1 said before he decided to support ME…”, “I may have said that in July, but since meeting with Guy #2, I’ve come to understand/appreciate/value his views/input on this matter…”) A candidate for all Republicans!

Are you familiar with “The Transformers” old cartoons or movie? Imagine that.

Or maybe — the notion of a Republican President in this era of corporate ‘personhood’ with its many implications simply scares me beyond all reason. My own state (NC) has born witness to the harm…no, the utter devastation of government that Republicans can perpetrate in only two years. A mob of “do nothing” politicians developed hyperactivity, and eliminated any former legislative checks & balances and the social “safety net” (Thanks, NCGA!), and preservation of the environment (Thanks, Duke Energy!), and women’s rights (Thanks, Gov. McCrory!), and the minimization of education by seizing million$ in taxpayer funds for private religious schools (thanks, ‘non-profit’ schools), and has seen corporations begin writing the majority of our legislation — all since just 2014 — that will take years to repair. Maybe decades. Thanks, non-voters.

Should we wind up with a Republican President in 2016, make mine a Bloody Mary. Double vodka, please.

Molly Middle:

This is hilarious! I have to say, though, that I don’t think he is as bright and formidable as many seem to think he is. If he were that bright, would he really be a teabagging Republican?

Kimberly Searcy:

Ted Cruz doesn’t always sound like $695/hour lawyer…I don’t think he’s very smart. He might be able to regurgitate what he’s memorized and link sentences together but he’s not very bright to me. It’s obvious Ted Cruz will never be a U.S. President, but the fact he’s even being considered is frankly terrifying. This was a fun and informative read.

Pamela Veselinovic:

I wondered myself how this guy thinks he has a large enough fan club to run for POTUS. That does take imagination. He’s completely ignoring the obvious. Nobody will vote for him. He’s wasting his money. The tea party is too small to drive their loon into office. There are too many critics. He’s too conservative, even for conservatives. He’s embarrassing to watch. He’s a walking cartoon.

Never mind how far out we are from an election. Christ. We’re talking years here. Wasn’t one year long enough to sit through the endless TV ads? Now we’re getting closer to TWO years of ads, signs, conferences and debates?

Give me a break. He won’t win. Texas needs its money back if he plans on spending 2 years running for President. He already has a job, right?