NEWS AND OPINION:
A noteworthy phenomenon as 2016 looms on the horizon. Democrats often portray Republicans as pedigreed frat boys who are hopelessly out of touch with voters. It is a convenient and oft-repeated claim. But it doesn’t have much truth to it anymore. Many of the current GOP presidential hopefuls are not quite living up to the Democratic claim. Which could be a distinct advantage.
“One of the best things about the current Republican field is its delightful lack of associations with the Ivy League. Rand Paul went to Baylor and Duke. Scott Walker went to Marquette and didn’t even graduate,” points out Robert Tracinski, senior writer for The Federalist.
“Rick Perry went to Texas A & M, Marco Rubio to University of Florida and University of Miami, Chris Christie to University of Delaware and Seton Hall. Even Jeb Bush went, not to Yale like his father and brother, but to the University of Texas at Austin. Improbably, the Republican field’s only connection to the Ivies is Princeton and Harvard graduate Ted Cruz,” he adds.
BRUCE JENNER, EVOLVING REPUBLICAN
“I spoke with Bruce Jenner at a Hollywood ’Friends of Abe’ dinner. He is a solid Reagan Republican. Good on taxes. Leave him alone.”
And so said American for Tax Reform founder Grover Norquist in a tweet Monday following much hubbub over Mr. Jenner’s recent news that he is transitioning into a woman, and is a conservative Republican. Friends of Abe, incidentally, is a low-key but powerful Hollywood organization that counts conservative movie stars, performers and industry professionals among its membership.
SEE ALSO: Rafael Cruz, father of Ted Cruz, stars as 2016 campaign supersurrogate
Meanwhile, the Jenner story has morphed from a mere chaotic media sensation to a spectrum of arguments that is prompting complex introspection among political parties who both aspire to “big tent” thinking. Mr. Jenner has also caught criticism for his politics, summarized by this headline from Tea Party News Network reporter Colleen Conley: “Bruce Jenner admits he’s a Republican; Tolerant Left goes nuts.”
There are no quick conclusions about Mr. Jenner, 65, a sports and cultural icon who was married to three women and father of six children. Old “breakfast of champions” Wheaties boxes that bear his Olympic image are now fetching several hundred dollars on eBay, incidentally.
“We need to be having a conversation about this,” Ryan T. Anderson, a research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, told CNN on Monday.
Rush Limbaugh advised his audience, “Whatever good vibe he was going to get from coming out, he just destroyed. You ought to see what happened to him on Twitter. You ought to see the Twitterverse after Jenner announced that he’s a Republican. Love went to instant diabolical hate and rejection.”
But he has allies too. “Bruce Jenner is my friend. I may not fully understand what he is going through but he’s always been kind and good to me. I wish him well,” tweeted radio host Rusty Humphries.
“There is a home for you in Log Cabin Republicans,” Gregory T. Angelo advised Mr. Jenner; he is executive director of the organization, described as “the nation’s only group representing LGBT conservatives and their straight allies.”
SEE ALSO: Bruce Jenner stuns Diane Sawyer: ‘I’m a Republican and a Christian’
CARSON’S QUESTIONS
“Some people say non-politicians shouldn’t be elected because they lack ’experience.’ Which in your estimation is a more important quality for a President: Having a career in Washington politics or having solid values and character?
Do you think America and our party are in need of a revival?
Do you think I should run for President?”
Those are the questions Ben Carson wants his fans to answer as he prepares to reveal his presidential intentions at an event in Detroit on Monday. But he’s not revealing his exact plans just yet.
“Whatever I decide, the process of exploring a candidacy has been a tremendous experience,” says Mr. Carson in a new campaign message. “I don’t believe the ’same old, same old’ is going to cut it anymore. The American people are ready for a new kind of leadership.”
CARLY TAKES OVER NEW HAMPSHIRE
She essentially has the Granite State all to herself this week. When Carly Fiorina arrives in New Hampshire on Tuesday, she’ll be staying the entire week — appearing at 11 events in six counties, ranging from cozy living room chats to major business roundtables, sessions with local Republican officials and one national security summit. But this is her style. She only left Iowa 48 hours ago after finishing up a 15-city tour through the state, and is becoming a force to be reckoned with.
“Hillary Clinton must not be president of the United States — but not because she’s a woman. Hillary Clinton cannot be president of the United States because she is not trustworthy. And while she has held many titles, she hasn’t accomplished very much,” Ms. Fiorina told an audience at an Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition voter summit on Saturday.
Her crowded schedule makes sense, though. Ms. Fiorina is only days away from revealing her own presidential intentions, to be made public through an online announcement on Monday, followed by a press call. The following morning her new book “Rising to the Challenges: My Leadership Journey” will be published by Sentinel Books.
“There are all kinds of reasons why people fail to fulfill their potential,” she writes in the forthcoming memoir. “Perhaps they lack opportunity, perhaps they lack support, perhaps they lack tools or training or education. But everyone has potential. This I know. Our Founders knew it too. They had the radical insight that the right to fulfill your potential — to use your God-given gifts — is a right that comes from God and cannot be taken away by government.”
SAME-SEX COUPLES: JUST THE NUMBERS
“Approximately 0.3 percent of adults in the U.S. are married to a same-sex spouse, and another 0.5 percent identify as being in a same-sex domestic partnership. In examining the total population of 243 million U.S. adults, these survey estimates suggest nearly 2 million adults are part of a same-sex couple, of whom 780,000 are married,” says new Gallup research released as the Supreme Court prepares to address the issue.
“The Gallup data show that approximately 16 percent of adults who say they are married to a same-sex spouse, or more than 60,000 couples, live in one of the 13 states that do not legally permit same-sex couples to marry,” the research adds.
POLL DU JOUR
• 45 percent of U.S. voters trust President Obama to make good decisions; 4 percent of Republicans, 40 percent of independents and 87 percent of Democrats agree.
• 43 percent of voters overall trust Republicans in Congress to make good decisions; 91 percent of Republicans, 42 percent of independents and 6 percent of Democrats agree.
• 40 percent would vote for the Republican candidate if U.S. House elections were today; 90 percent of Republicans, 37 percent of independents and 3 percent of Democrats agree.
• 37 percent overall would vote for the Democratic candidate; 2 percent of Republicans, 29 percent of independents and 81 percent of Democrats agree.
• 40 percent overall would vote for the Republican candidate if the U.S. Senate election were today; 90 percent of Republicans, 39 percent of independents and 3 percent of Democrats agree.
• 39 percent overall would vote for the Democratic candidate; 2 percent of Republicans, 32 percent of independents and 82 percent of Democrats agree.
Source: A Quinnipiac University poll of 1,353 registered U.S. voters conducted April 16-21.
• Caterwaul and doggerel to jharper@washingtontimes.com.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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