The Daily Signal has put out an online survey asking folks who would be their “ideal” Republican presidential candidate in 2016.
It wasn’t until I looked carefully at the bottom of the survey form that I realized it is a sincere question.
It gives poll takers a chance to subscribe to Heritage Foundation material. So, there you have it. The poll comes from one of the nation’s premier conservative think tanks. So, the poll is meant to be taken seriously by those who answer the question.
But regular readers of this blog know my own political leaningsĀ place me far from the Heritage Foundation. I lean left. So, when I saw the question, I thought it could be laced with trickery.
I’ll declare here (maybe I’ve done so already; I don’t remember) that I’ve voted Democratic in every presidential election since 1972. I wavered once, teetering between voting for President Ford or Gov. Jimmy Carter in 1976; I ended up voting for Carter and I’ve come close to regretting it in the years since.
I’ve gotten a bit more hardened in my presidential choices over time. I do split my ticket generously, however, and I’ve been proud of the many votes I’ve cast for Republican candidates.
Who would be my favorite GOP candidate in 2016 be? Oh, man. How do I answer that one?
Maybe it would be the most extreme candidate running. Who would that? Ted “The Cruz Missile” Cruz? Marco Rubio? Rand Paul? Mike Huckabee (who’s not really running — yet)?
The more extreme the right-wing candidate the better it appears that a centrist Democrat — such as, oh, Hillary Clinton — would win the election.
I’m acutely aware that the Heritage Foundation is now being run by former U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint, one of the TEA party godfathers. I’m guessing DeMint personally might favor one of the extremists running for president.
So, think about this one: I agree — potentially — with the guy who runs the Heritage Foundation.
We might want the same candidate to run as the Republican nominee for president next year.
I suspect, though, that our reasons differ wildly.