The 2016 Goat Rodeo

The 2016 Goat Rodeo!

We’ve noted several times now that obvious anagram Reince Priebus had only one job—of picking debate rules—and punted the whole shebang to his paymasters at Fox News.

This abdication of his job makes Roger Aisles more or less as the official king maker of the GOP 2016 Goat Rodeo as he now gets to openly choose which candidates will participate. In some ways Roger doing this in the sunlight is refreshing honesty, as he usually scuttles about in the dark corners, his mandibles twitching as he selects the winner. But I digress.

From the email thingie that Tiger Beat on the Potomac (thanks Charilie!) sends out:

“THE DEBATE STAGE: Fox News isn’t divulging which national polls it will use to determine who makes the top 10 cut for the Aug. 6 GOP debate. But based on the 5 most recent national polls here’s who would – and wouldn’t – make the cut for the debate if it were held today. Candidates in italics are on the bubble, all within 2 percentage points of each other.

“THE CURRENT DEBATE ROSTER (IN ORDER):

1. JEB BUSH
2. DONALD TRUMP
3. SCOTT WALKER
4. MARCO RUBIO
5. BEN CARSON
6. MIKE HUCKABEE
7. RAND PAUL
8. TED CRUZ
9. RICK PERRY (tied)
10. CHRIS CHRISTIE (tied)

“CANDIDATES WHO FALL SHORT: RICK SANTORUM, CARLY FIORINA, JOHN KASICH, BOBBY JINDAL, LINDSEY GRAHAM, GEORGE PATAKI, JIM GILMORE.”

OK, no great surprises there.

But what is interesting is that some local papers in New Hampshire decided to host a non-Fox debate and invited the entire damn Republican 2016 Goat Rodeo to participate:

Outfoxed: Voters Forum to be first for GOP

And it goes on to give us the background story (which we already know) and they list the confirmed participants in what I can only describe as being the kids’ table debate:

• CHRIS CHRISTIE
• TED CRUZ
• BEN CARSON
• JOHN KASICH
• LINDSEY GRAHAM
• CARLY FIORINA
• BOBBY JINDAL
• GEORGE PATAKI

Note that Gov. Sammiches, Chris Christie is participating in both debates (nothing in the rules says he cannot). He is going in big, so to speak.