US Election 2016

[David]

The US election is still the better part of 18 months away, but candidates are already throwing their hats in the ring.

Here's a handy guide from the New York Times showing the current (and potential) candidates.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/us/elections/2016-presidential-candidates.html

There's little interest on the Democrat side: Hillary Clinton is pretty much 99% guaranteed of getting the nomination (unfortunately, because there are undoubtedly better candidates on the ticket ��Hillary is a bit of a war hawk and somewhere to the right of Genghis Khan).

Watching the Republicans battle it out will be a lot more fun, however. It's amusing to see which grotesques get wheeled out by the Republican Party, and also see them get picked off one by one. I trust and hope that Crikey will be sending Guy Rundle over to cover their primaries, because he usually does a sterling job of it.

Here are the candidates so far:

Democrats
Hillary Clinton
Bernie Sanders � Clinton's highest-profile competitor and main opponent on the left. Describes himself as a socialist, and previously ran as an independent.
Martin O'Malley � Progressive Catholic. Apparently the character of the Mayor from The Wire was based on him.
Lincoln Chafee � former Republican who left the party over the Iraq War.

Republicans
Jeb Bush ��George W.'s younger brother, because all they need is another Bush in the White House.
Ted Cruz � Main Tea Party candidate (i.e. small government, guns, climate change skepticism etc.). Not as far out on the libertarian fringe as Rand Paul � he supports blowing up other countries � but still an opponent of NSA surveillance.
Rand Paul � Ron Paul's son. Far from a conventional Republican, he's a libertarian who supports same-sex marriage, drug decriminalisation and an end to interventionist foreign policy, and he's also a staunch defender of Edward Snowden and Julian Assange (but before you get too excited, also calls for an end to or massive reduction of taxes, social welfare and gun regulation). I kind of like him in a would-never-actually-vote-for-him kind of way.
Marco Rubio ��Another Tea Party candidate of Cuban background. Only significant difference from Cruz is that he seems to support NSA surveillance.
Ben Carson � The Republican Party's only African-American candidate. Creationist, anti-gay... what more could you want?
Carly Fiorina � The only female Republican candidate. Seems a relative moderate, particularly when it comes to immigration and drug use.
Mike Huckabee ��Far-right Christian fundamentalist nutjob who's run for president at least a couple of times now. Plays well to the Bible Belt, but that's about it.
Rick Santorum � Another crazy fundamentalist and warmonger, also ran in 2012 and got pretty close to the finish line.
George Pataki � Perhaps the most moderate of the bunch. Pro-choice Republican who also gives some support to gay rights and environmental issues.
Lindsey Graham � Anti-Tea Party candidate. Big supporter of the Iraq War and pre-emptive strikes on Iran (!). Can't find much more about him.
Rick Perry � Another 2012 also-ran. Former governor of Texas and most definitely in the wingnut category. Not the sharpest tool in the shed either.
Donald Trump � You may have heard of him. I suspect he's just in there for a bit of comic relief.

[Deja Vu]

Trump will be entertaining to say the least!

[Wokko]

[Dave The Man]

They are more Corrupt then our Govermetn

[stui magpie]

So, remind me here, the democrats are the (more) left wing ones?

[watt price tully]

[stui magpie]

[David]

Yeah. The Democrats are probably about on par with the Labor Party here (which is to say, mostly right of centre). The Republicans on the other hand are way out to the right of even Abbott's Liberals, although I could easily imagine George Brandis or Cory Bernardi as talking heads on Fox News.

[watt price tully]

[stui magpie]

[swoop42]

So when are you going to provide the actual list of Republicans running for President David?

That can't be correct.

Time for a oval orifice in the White House.

Go Hillary!

[watt price tully]

[pietillidie]

Anyone who inspired The Wire can't be that bad! Just another one of those shows the Beloved One watched which gradually roped me in whilst I sat naively in the lounge room corner trying to focus on my work!

[stui magpie]

[David]

^ Is that Donald Trump?