As we have finished up the last of the pre-Iowa caucus debates which will begin to determine who will face President Obama on the GOP side in the Fall 2012 Presidential election, a disturbing thought has entered my head… is the GOP trying to lose in 2012 to set up regaining the White House in 2016 with a huge majorities in both houses of Congress? It’s possible, especially when you consider how weak the GOP field is this time around. Outside of Mitt Romney, it has largely been the C and D-list GOPers who have been vying for the nomination. Rick Santorum was last seen getting tossed out of the Senate by an alledged pro-life Democrat. Michelle Bachmann spends more time demanding apologies from late-night band leaders than campaigning. Rick Perry is making George W. Bush look smart. Herman Cain was the leading guy for 10 seconds before sexual misconduct allegations ended his run. Ron Paul is… well, Ron Paul. John Huntsman could probably beat Obama… if the guy could get just any love from the GOP and Tea Party folks. And Newt? He’s got more baggage on him than an airport claim area, and it keeps growing.
Look at who sat out the 2012 GOP Primary. Sarah Palin, Chris Christie, Mitch Daniels, Rudy Guliani, and Mike Huckabee all decided to take a pass in this year’s primary-all better candidates than most of the current 2012 choices. And there are other Governors who were just elected on the GOP side who are very green, but who could make a run in 2016. Perhaps the GOP wants a Tea Party candidate who would fail against Obama to break the strong will of the Tea Party to a point in 2016 where the Tea Party might be more willing to accept a moderated selection.
Meanwhile, if Obama goes on to win re-election next year, the list of Democratic candidates in 2016 will be thin. Vice President Biden has indicated he would take a run at President, but he will be older than Reagan when Reagan ran in 1980. Hillary has indicated she is through running for President. And there aren’t too many other experienced Democrats who could be a worthy successor to President Obama. Devall Patrick of Massachusetts is a possibility, but Democrats from Massachusetts haven’t done well since Kennedy. Martin O’ Malley might have the resources to make a run, but would a liberal from Maryland who needs 75% of Democrats in the Legislature to get anything done in Maryland work on the National Level? Perhaps Andrew Cuomo of New York may be the ideal choice to run on top of the Democrat ticket in 2016, but they may have to deal with an Occupy group that will force the Democrats to be more liberal than they would.
At this point, the GOP seems content to let Obama win re-election so they can strengthen their position for 2016. With an aging Democratic leadership in Congress, the Republicans knew the list of likely Presidential options will be so thin that they can focus on taking down just a few people to easily win in 2016. Is it too difficult to imagine such a scenario?
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