when the voters learn Jeb Bush's basic positions, he will lose support

[Galileo Galilei]

Not so fast. Going into the primaries, Giuliani had the endorsement of Pat Robertson, which only boosted his polling numbers. What brought Giuliani down was his idiotic focus on Florida (while completely ignoring the early momentum primary states), not to mention accusations of tax fraud & unethical expenditures while he was mayor.

Ghouliani focused on Florida later, after he pulled out of NH in December 2007. Ghouiliani was focusing on NH and spent $3 million on TV commercials there.

See:

Rudy cuts back NH ad buy
http://www.politico.com/blogs/jonathanmartin/1207/Rudy_cuts_back_NH_ad_buy.html

 

[TheTexan]

What is this "delusional optimism" you speak of? If Ron Paul were to run in 2016, he would easily win. That's how much progress has been made...

Can't tell if serious or not. If you're serious, that is a great example of delusional optimism

 

[philipped]

Rand has got to shape people's perceptions of what the issues are, what his positions are, what his opponents' positions are, etc.

War on Drugs/Criminal Justice Reform
American Empire/Scaling Back Militarily Overseas
NSA/Privacy/4th Amendment
Economic Freedom Zones/Taxes/Economy
Size of gov/Gov spending/State vs. Individual

Am I missing anything?

 

[Cleaner44]

since when do positions matter? people will just vote for whomever the idiot box tells them to vote for

This just in... the year is changing to 2015 and the public doesn't watch TV like they did in year past. The public also doesn't subscribe to newspapers anymore or use printed yellow pages either. It turns out that somebody invented a series of tubes that they call "the internet" and now people get their information from many diverse sources other than the MSM.

 

[idiom]

I am still expecting Romney, Bush, Cruz and Christie to make a hell of a lot of noise and then simultaneously drop and endorse Ryan.

That to me is the GOP game plan to defeat Rand, get all the loyalists excited and frothing, then dump them on a clean brand, a white knight, with no baggage, but decent name recognition.

Paul Ryan is incredibly electable, and has been quietly working on various initiatives that mirror most of Rands, albeit most being DOA.

 

[cajuncocoa]

This just in... the year is changing to 2015 and the public doesn't watch TV like they did in year past. The public also doesn't subscribe to newspapers anymore or use printed yellow pages either. It turns out that somebody invented a series of tubes that they call "the internet" and now people get their information from many diverse sources other than the MSM.

I don't know. Anecdotal though it may be, all of the GOP voters I was with on Christmas Eve still watch FOX News religiously (pun intended).

 

[Galileo Galilei]

I am still expecting Romney, Bush, Cruz and Christie to make a hell of a lot of noise and then simultaneously drop and endorse Ryan.

That to me is the GOP game plan to defeat Rand, get all the loyalists excited and frothing, then dump them on a clean brand, a white knight, with no baggage, but decent name recognition.

Paul Ryan is incredibly electable, and has been quietly working on various initiatives that mirror most of Rands, albeit most being DOA.

Paul Ryan lost his home state in 2012 by 7%, the same place Scott Walker won by 7% a few months earlier. Ryan is the new GOP chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. The odds of Ryan running are near zero. Expect John Kasich to fill your niche.

 

[angelatc]

This just in... the year is changing to 2015 and the public doesn't watch TV like they did in year past. The public also doesn't subscribe to newspapers anymore or use printed yellow pages either. It turns out that somebody invented a series of tubes that they call "the internet" and now people get their information from many diverse sources other than the MSM.

Hmmmm - where have i heard this before?

 

[Tywysog Cymru]

Most Romney voters were unaware of his positions. Jeb Bush will have the same advantage.

 

[Dianne]

Only Fox News seems to think Jeb Bush is the front runner, and Rupert Merdoch is a huge Hillary Clinton supporter so there ya go. Fox is promoting Jeb Bush to insure a Clinton win. Hey, that's what friends are for.

 

[Vanguard101]

Cruz is more likely to back Rand than Rand is to openly not support the establishment.

 

[r3volution 3.0]

War on Drugs/Criminal Justice Reform
American Empire/Scaling Back Militarily Overseas
NSA/Privacy/4th Amendment
Economic Freedom Zones/Taxes/Economy
Size of gov/Gov spending/State vs. Individual

Am I missing anything?

He's clearly articulated his positions, I'm not denying that.

But I was trying to make a more general point, about how candidates have to constantly battle the media's perception-shaping machine.

In other words, just because there are countless videos and articles out there clearly defining Rand's views doesn't mean that people will have an accurate perception of his views - because most people won't ever see anything Rand said/wrote except through the media's BS filter.

And, back to the OP, the same is true for Jeb. Few voters will research Jeb's positions on their own, most will get their understanding of him through the media. The difference, of course, is that the media will try to make people see Jeb favorably. The reality of his positions won't necessarily have any impact (it will only matter if Rand or someone else can shape public perceptions of them).

 

[CPUd]

War on Drugs/Criminal Justice Reform
American Empire/Scaling Back Militarily Overseas
NSA/Privacy/4th Amendment
Economic Freedom Zones/Taxes/Economy
Size of gov/Gov spending/State vs. Individual

Am I missing anything?

None of those matter in a GOP primary; it is more like:

gays
illegals
terrorists
communists
church
jobs

 

[Origanalist]

Most Romney voters were unaware of his positions. Jeb Bush will have the same advantage.

Romney had "positions"?

 

[CPUd]

Romney's position on anything was "not Obama", even when it was.

 

[GunnyFreedom]

Romney had "positions"?

Sure. His advisors laid out fresh ones for him every morning.

 

[Origanalist]

Sure. His advisors laid out fresh ones for him every morning.

Lol, I don't think I've ever seen anyone come down firmly on both sides of as many issues as mittens.

 

[GunnyFreedom]

Lol, I don't think I've ever seen anyone come down firmly on both sides of as many issues as mittens.

 

[Suzu]

Bush walks into the race with Texas and Florida pretty much cinched. Stopping him is literally going to take a miracle.

That miracle would have to be the RNC deciding they don't want to lose again.

 

[LawnWake]

What is this "delusional optimism" you speak of?

This is:

If Ron Paul were to run in 2016, he would easily win. That's how much progress has been made...