Reality TV With Real Consequences Part 2

By Chuck Marshall

Huckabee and Santorum

Yesterday was Martin "who?" O'Malley and Rand "perfectly round eyebrows" Paul.   Today, I'd like to review the campaigns of Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum.   At this writing both Mike and Rick have bowed out of the race so this is a "retrospect" review of these reality TV stars.

Interestingly enough, after google searching both candidates it turns out they both have the exact same estimated net worth;  $5 Million.   They also both won the Iowa Caucus in past elections.  They both are born again "Evangelical" Christians.  They both dropped out of the 2016 Reality TV Show in the same week !  What a coincidence !  Creepy, right ?  It's  like the Kennedy-Lincoln similarities we've all read about.    




Mike  "Sunday School Teacher"  Huckabee


Governor Mike Huckabee- Republican (Arkansas) -  Mike is already famous due to his run for the Presidency in 2008, so a lot of people already knew him.  Not to mention  he also had a talk show on Fox for a while "Huckabee", which aired from 2008 to 2015.  So, Mike is famous and that  IS half the battle to becoming President.   I've always liked Mike Huckabee.  His "aw shucks" demeanor and his quick wit make him a crowd favorite.  He's likable !  Unfortunately for him, his last name sounds a lot like "Huckleberry Finn",  as in the bumpkin character of  the Mark Twain novel by the same name.   People naturally think of this when they hear his name and so he's immediately at a disadvantage in that he has to prove he's not a bumpkin.   In my mind Mike seems like a friendly, lovable Sunday school teacher not a President.  Also he's a little too far to the right on social issues.  I'm not saying I agree or disagree, I'm just saying it probably wouldn't play well in the general elections.

Final Verdict;  Mike couldn't stay on the reality TV show because his name puts him at a disadvantage and he seems too much like a Sunday School teacher.




Rick "yesterday's news" Santorum

I've already elaborated on Rick Santorum above since he's a near duplicate of Mike Huckabee.  BUT, just to add a couple of comments.  Rick is not as likable as Mike Huckabee but his name does sound more serious, so that's a plus and a minus for Rick.   Rick was relegated to the "Kiddie table" at the Reality TV debates so I sincerely don't have a fresh take on his positions.  He was always hard to the right, but I liked his sticking up for the common guy.  Rick is a big believer in educating young people according to their skills and that we need to stop making all young people feel like they have to go to a University in order to be worth anything.  I really like that he emphasizes that.  Rick had a real chance back in 2012, but he did eventually run out of steam.  He's kind of like "yesterday's news"this election season.

Rick couldn't stay on the Reality TV show because he was sent over to the Kiddie Table for TV debates which is really the "kiss of death".   Also, at the end of the day he lost in 2012, so I think most people see him as "yesterday's news".

Finally, I did want to bring up another candidate that I totally forgot about ( there were a lot !)




Governor George Pataki -Republican (New York)
"Forgot about Him"


Tommorrow?

Chris Christie and Carly Fiorina

Republican Herd

Dear loyal readers,

Many apologies for not adding to this blog in several weeks.  Sometimes I do get a little burned out on the politics of our country and its crushing monotony and unparalleled ability to bring new meaning to the word "inane".  So much mediocrity, avarice, and greed.  It can get depressing.  But now that the new election season is heating up (only one and a half years until the next election) things are getting humorous -if nothing else.   Case in point, there are now 10 official candidates for the Republican nomination and 5 "probably" running.    A lot of them are familiar names  from the last election;  Rick Santorum (who has a disabled daughter that he brings up in most of his speeches),  Rick Perry, governor of Texas who famously said "oops" because he didn't know one of the branches of government or something equally stupid.   I read somewhere that he has "improved dramatically" this time around so I guess he's able to add single digit numbers now and maybe knows things like that France is in Europe.  Then there's Perry's fellow Texan -Ted Cruz- who is light years ahead of Rick Perry in intelligence but he's also a slimy politician who plays games with all the small minded people to the right wing of the Republican party like... well, like Rick Perry. I've never seem someone on the national spotlight who so obviously manipulates the political process.  In our parallel "intelligent" universe Ted Cruz is running for mayor of New Orleans not a viable candidate for president of the United States.   Lindsey Graham of SC wants to be President so he can take us to war as far as I can tell but I really haven't heard much else from or about him, he just seems so boring to me.

There are some that are likeable --Mike Huckabee seems like a nice guy and he plays a great saxophone but I just can't picture it.   Marco Rubio who really does have a lot going for him but his lack of fiscal responsibility is concerning;  we need someone good at controlling spending IF NOTHING ELSE and Marco's personal  finances are not inspiring to that end.   Jeb Bush (who is still not officially running), I know well from his being governor of our fair state of Florida and I will say he was a very good and effective governor.  Boy do we miss him here !  Anyway, assuming he can polish his speaking skills and stay on track with his more moderate philosophy of governing, I plan on supporting Jeb.  By the way, he's nothing like his brother or father.    In My Humble Opinion......


Next blog;  Hillary and the Democrats.