2016 GOP Presidential Bracketology: Winner! Winner! Chick-Fil-A Dinner

On November 6, 2012 we held a Presidential election and the next day a new direction was set forth. No I'm not talking about a Pres O second term, I'm talking about how our Media switched to the 2016 Presidential election in a blink.

For the past 6 Presidential election cycles, as soon as the last vote was counted and conspired against, the Media has trampled each other to be the first to guess who has the "It Factor" four years down the road, mainly because many voters do not care about the Mid-term election no matter how hard the Media attempts to push it.

So here we are, some 14 months after the 2012 election that saw the "beatable" Pres O win by a 4% popular vote margin and all we've heard about since has been the next Democratic challenger is Hillary Clinton.

So engulfed in that notion the Media is that the RNC has only focused on her and nothing or anyone else. Which, in some minds is a smart path to follow, because who could possibly challenge and beat Hillary Clinton in a Democratic primary?

Yet on the other side of the political pillow, it seems no one can decide who shall be the chosen one GOPer but all names mentioned have some sort of "It Factor" to appeal to different demographics. It doesn't take Albert Einstein to comprehend the fact that 2016 is the GOP's to lose, well as long as they don't let the Circus return that was 2012.

Face it, the GOP should've won 2012 but the cast of characters (has been & never were) that were presented had zero viability and, unfortunately for him, Willard Romney was chosen only because he was the last man standing.

So somewhere in the dark basement of every major media hub, there are people putting draft boards together in NFL-esque style. And if they say they aren’t, they’re lying!
Heck, just Google "2016 GOP Candidates" and you'll get 2,860,000 in 0.26 seconds.

Here, let me give you at least one website to peruse: http://2016.republican-candidates.org

Media darlings like Chris Christie, Randall Paul, Ted Cruz, Paul Ryan, and Marco Rubio are all names that have been in the news and their appeal differs week to week. Well actually I should say interview to interview.

Yes I too have been placing post-it notes in places I didn't even know existed concerning 2016 and then it happened, like a flash of lightening, Glenn Beck and The Fix tossed the dry erase board aside in a caffeine driven rage and turned to March Madness bracketology to determine the GOP's only hope.

OK, maybe it wasn't that dramatic (Beck is Mormon and not allowed to drink caffeine), but it gave character to a mind-numbing process. Yet, this is Beck's list so it must be worth noting, right?

Who made Beck's “32 Hopefuls” bracket? Well, it's close to 95% of every list of possible candidates written so far, but let’s look:

Sen. Kelly Ayotte, of New Hampshire - Haley Barbour, former Mississippi governor - John Bolton, former ambassador to the United Nations - Jeb Bush, former Florida governor - Herman Cain, radio host and former CEO - Ben Carson, author and neurosurgeon - Chris Christie, New Jersey governor - Sen. Ted Cruz, of Texas - Mitch Daniels, former Indiana governor - Newt Gingrich, former House speaker - Nikki Haley, South Carolina governor - Mike Huckabee, former Arkansas governor - Bobby Jindal, Louisiana governor - John Kasich, Ohio governor - Rep. Peter King, of New York - Susana Martinez, New Mexico governor - Sarah Palin, former Alaska governor - Sen. Randal Paul, of Kentucky - Former Rep. Ron Paul, of Texas - Tim Pawlenty, former Minnesota governor - Mike Pence, Indiana governor - Rick Perry, Texas governor - Sen. Rob Portman, of Ohio - Condoleezza Rice, former secretary of state - Sen. Marco Rubio, of Florida - Rep. Paul Ryan, of Wisconsin - Brian Sandoval, Nevada governor - Rick Santorum, former Pennsylvania senator - Sen. Tim Scott, of South Carolina - Sen. John Thune, of South Dakota - Scott Walker, Wisconsin governor - Former Rep. Allen West, of Florida

On Palin, On Santorum, On Cain and Pawlenty they called out in cozy studio lair. Bring in Christie, Cruz, Ryan and Paul no less with Newt, Herman and Ricky the fearless to spare.

In the end, Beck finished his bracket with: Randal Paul, Ted Cruz, Allen West and Scott Walker.

Too me, of the four on Beck's list only Scott Walker is viable as he's actually doing something!

Don't give me it's Harry Reid and the Democratic Senate holding back Cruz and Paul, that's bunk. Just look at their congressional record in their time in office. There's nothing there, an open cavernous dark pit of wasted time.

Since 2010, Rand Paul has introduced 40 Sponsored bills and Zero has passed as well as 75 Co-Sponsored bills to which only 2 have passed (http://www.opencongress.org/people/bills/412492_Rand_Paul).

I'll give Ted Cruz some leeway as he's only been in office for a year now (http://www.opencongress.org/people/voting_history/412573_Ted_Cruz).

Oh sure, words, words they are full of as we've seen week in and out as they are drawn to a camera and microphone as a junkie to needle and spoon.
And I still do not understand the appeal of Allen West.

However, The Fix went a step further (or maybe that’s a step backward) and broke it down to just 16 GOP Hopefuls vs. 16 DEM Hopefuls

Once again, the GOP names don’t stray from the norm, but at least they made a true game of it. If you want to play along, here’s the link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2013/03/20/the-fixs-sweet-2016-bracket-competition/

But the question at hand; Is the Media doing a disservice to the political process and educating the voting populace by glazing over 2014 Mid-Term elections for the bittersweet ratings grab of 2016?

Just like 2012, the 2016 Presidential election is the GOPs to lose and the current crop of “hopefuls” have given a brighter edge, but who does one follow; An accomplished Governor or a has-been politician looking for book sales or a celebrity looking for a new Media contract?

As for Hillary, if she runs and loses again, who will her flock blame for yet another loss?

Hey why you looking at me? Don't go "fat shaming" me because I am not a fan of Hillary.

That’s it, Slap the Tap, and pour an ice cold Big Boss Angry Angel Ale and enjoy the Winter Vortex. Damn you Al Gore!

Cheers!

Orgasms of the Celebrity Pop Cultures Freedom of Speech (I'd rather listen to my pet rock)

We value our freedoms in the United States and one can say we even abuse them for the better good of one’s personal gain. Take the Freedom of Speech, it’s probably the most over abused Constitutional Right used by the majority of people, whether it being belligerent at a sporting event to heat of argument to sarcasm to historical sentiment. How those words are interpreted by others is the consequence, especially when talking about Social issues and politics.

Thank you to Social Media and the Political partisan talking machine for being the "X" factor by pushing the use of (certain) offensive language to convey any political message on Social issues to the edge of obscene ignorance bliss.

One could write chapter after chapter of the month by month fast decline of MSNBC as their so-called "journalists" have made inflammatory comments as of late from Bashir's defecation to Harris-Perry racial adoption jokes.

Even though he worked at MSNBC for about a millisecond, we have to face the fact that Alec Baldwin isn't a journalist, but a celebrity that makes news by being a dipshit d-bag. Honestly, I think people have become desensitized by anything Baldwin says and just enjoy watching him making an ass of himself.

Yet, we love our celebrities, well any celebrity if you include the pseudo celebrity, you know the D listers and reality stars because they'll say anything just to get some attention after the cameras left them 8 minutes into their 15 minutes of fame.

Nowadays, it’s seems a standard has been set that any celebrity during any interview is asked their political view of this or that.

Yes, I agree Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson has every Constitutional right to say how he feels about his religious beliefs; after all he is a self proclaimed bible thumper per the GQ article. And yes, A&E runs a business and they had/have every contractual right to suspend/fire anyone under their employment.

If I, in my personal time, did anything that could harm my employer, be it financial or what have you, they has every right to suspend/fire me as well.

Media and the people only focused on Robertson's words on gays, no one cared about Robertson's other words on Jim Crowe Laws or how in 1972 he beat a bar owner half to death along with the bar owner's wife then ran to neighboring state of Arkansas to hide only to have his wife pay off the couple so their wouldn't press charges.

That payoff was half of Phil's life savings and he never once attempted to apologize to them for his actions.

Yep, he's a good man

No, this is not a Duck Dynasty bashing blog, as I feel each entity had their right to do as they pleased.

I, however find our society so split on Social Issues that there's an cross epidemic of John Kerry Syndrome sweeping our nation, meaning people love their Freedom of Speech until they dislike the words and especially when it comes to celebrity/pseudo celebrity genre.

Does anyone recall the country group the Dixie Chicks? They were extremely popular in the late 90's early 00's until one day they spoke their mind about the Iraq War and felt the wrath of many Americans and labeled unpatriotic.

Let's recap: So one day on tour in England, lead singer Natalie Maines stated "Just so you know, we're on the good side with y'all. We do not want this war, this violence, and we're ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas," before playing their song Traveling Soldier.

However, FOX News only reported a portion of the statement with "Just so you know, we're ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas." (Here's the original column from their website: http://www.foxnews.com/story/2003/03/14/chicks-critical-remarks-about-bush-create-controversy/)

Were they not allowed to speak their mind?

Where were all the people "Standing with...” them?

I'll bet my paycheck had they stated the same about President Obama their fan base would've grown tremendously. And there's massive proof to prove I'm correct.

Ted Nugent comes to mind quickly. Back in 1994, Nugent was quoted calling Hillary Clinton a "two bit whore" and "toxic cunt" with very little backlash or protest.

There is no difference between the words of Martin Bashir towards Sarah Palin and that of Ted Nugent towards Hillary Clinton. Too many the answer is no because it's all in presentation, because Hillary has been hated for over 30 years, Palin a mere 6 years.

Then again I belief Nugent is upset that his biggest commercial success was the 1990 song "Can You Take Me High Enough" as part of the Damn Yankees ensemble.

How about Victoria Jackson, Jon Lovitz and Rob Schneide? All former Saturday Night Live cast members that have had little to zero success after leaving the show; all recently have spoken out against President Obama and/or being cast aside for being Conservatives in Hollywood only to have people post in Social Media that they are now fans.

And the people who now say they are fans yet couldn't name anything they have done in the past 20 years. Please, if it weren't for Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider would have nothing, and Lovitz is probably looking for a guest gig with Dennis Miller.

Now don't get me wrong about Rob Schneider because if you've ever heard him in an interview, the man is a cornucopia of political knowledge that could shame half the "experts" on any of the Cable News channels.

Yet the problem is that journalists feel the need to add political questions to a celebrity interview as they feel they hold the pulse of the nation with their words.

For every Matt Damon interview with a political answer people are quick to jump on him as "a liberal making money off what he's against, violence and guns." Ok but what about Vince Vaughn

Vaughn recently came out saying he's part of the Conservative minority in Liberal Hollywood and instantly two frames of thought came out from the public; 1. He's not a liberal? And 2. I'm now a huge fan.

When Vince Vaughn spoke his political view of President Obama, many people stated on social media that they are now fans of his. The man has always been a conservative in personal life even though 98% of Vince Vaughn's movie catalog he plays mostly liberal minded, immature, debauchery type characters his entire career.

There's no difference between Vaughn and Damon, it's all in perception of the viewer.

Here’s a hint, I don’t give a rats rear about a celebrity’s political affiliation or product endorsement, however I do care about the product they put out and it must be worth my dollar to buy it.

I know many people that disliked the band 3 Doors Down until they played at the 2012 RNC convention. The next day, those very same people downloaded to their IPods the entire 3 Doors Down music catalog and are now huge fans.

On the flip, I also know many former Pearl Jam fans that tired of lead singer Eddie Vedder's constant political long winded dribble during concerts that deleted every downloadable Pearl Jam tune they had.

I'm not a fan of celebrity political endorsements and I still remember attending a John Kerry Presidential campaign stop in Wheeling, WV with my then Liberal mother and upon hearing that Ben Affleck was there shooting campaign footage for a John Kerry documentary as endorsement; well I rolled my eyes and moved to the back of the crowd.

Yes I admit I went to a John Kerry campaign stop, but I've also been to Tea Party rallies as well, so don't judge me.

It's all about what one hears that will drive one to their beliefs.

After the Phil Robertson controversy, like a landslide, people in droves posted "I Stand with Phil" and created Facebook pages dedicated to boycott any business that suspended their endorsement of he and Duck Dynasty.

I wonder how many people that decided to boycott Cracker Barrel actually stepped foot in one of their restaurants prior to their endorsement suspension?

Eventually Cracker Barrel caved and used Social Media to win back their patronage, if it existed at all.

Country Star Toby Keith decided not to allow handguns, even for those with legal concealed weapons permits in gun loving Virginia, into his restaurant. Is it not his decision as a business owner to decide whom he is allowed to serve?

Apparently some felt differently, decided to protest his restaurant and last I heard, Keith did not back down.

Where’s Hannity on that decision? Isn’t Hannity one of his biggest fans?

Contrary to Social belief, Toby Keith is not a Republican, even though many believe he is for the songs he writes.

Per Toby Keith, “If you're an average Joe, you never heard about me or that the one-eyed soldier that I write about - my dad - were Democrats and that his father was a Democrat. There's never been a Republican in my family tree. You never heard that. People assume you're a right-wing nut Republican….You just scratch your head and think, ‘You can't fight them all, just let them think what they want to think.' "

To be correct, Toby Keith isn’t a Democrat as he left the Democratic Party and has been a registered Independent for some time now. How you like him now?

We hold are love of celebrity to a higher standard and love or loathe them when they speak their political view, yet truly don't know if they are Right or Left until they display that donation check. It’s absolutely nauseating enough to make one want to watch Barney with a Nerf Gun to their head.

That’s it, Slap the Tap, I’m heading to the pub for some Jailhouse Misdemeanor Ale. Pay your political tab

Cheers!