Are you serious? Predictions for 2012?! Yes! It's Entertaining!

A recent poll showed that the country is moving to the right, despite the fact, or maybe even because of the fact that we just elected a far left president. Certainly the push towards bigger government, higher taxes, and increased government intervention into EVERYTHING has spawned right wingers like a virtual conservative ideological baby boom. Conservatives and the Republican Party are now looking at the 2010 election with mouths watering. Some estimate that as many as 70 congressional democrats could be on the chopping block. Ouch.

With that in mind, I recently got an email asking about 2012. Granted in politics, three years can be a life time (the last seven months have certainly dragged by). But really over the next probably 12 to 18 months you are going to see a field of Republican leaders emerge.

This far out, these are my best guesses of who might be in it and what I think their chances are… just because it’s fun to do.

Some familiar faces:
- Mitt Romney. He’s never left the public eye with frequent appearances on talk shows, radio, and even a tour around the country. He’s got plenty of money and a solid understanding of economics, which, if things continue to circle the bottom of the toilet, may still be a major issue in 2012. He also carries a lot of baggage with the MA healthcare system sucking wind, but, I think he would be a solid candidate.
- Sarah Palin. First let me say, I like Sarah Palin. She is a very likeable person. In hindsight I think she was thrust onto the national stage too early. She needs more exposure, which she is getting VERY cheap right now, winning some body blows against the healthcare mess by posting messages on FB. Ouch. She energizes the base and I think will be a huge asset in raising funds for conservatives if she chooses to. That being said, I don’t think she would make a very good Presidential candidate yet, if ever. I do think she would be a great person to replace Michael Steele as head of the GOP, since she could really bring in the funds from the base and people trust her to back conservative principles.
- Mike Huckabee. The former governor is somebody else that I really like. I like listening to him, he is an excellent speaker and did very well in most of the large debates last time around. We’ll see if he has honed his international policy portfolio at all, which last time really hurt him.

Some newer faces:
- Tim Pawlenty: The current governor of Minnesota is poking his face out into the national scene more and more. He was rumored a possible VP candidate last time around and holds some fairly decent conservative credentials. He has also been a sane voice in state that was once run by a former professional wrestler and recently elected an SNL character to the Senate. I like Minnesota, but there is just a lot of crazy up there.
- Rick Perry: The current governor of Texas may be in a prime spot if the economy is still in the tank, considering he is leading a state with a thriving economy, a growing business environment, and a stable housing market. He has also recently been making some international house calls to Israel, promising a close relationship between the loan star state and our only real ally in the Middle East. He is actively recruiting foreign businesses from allied nations to come set up shop in Texas, rather than driving businesses away with ever increasing taxes. What a novel concept! At the same time he has said some really stupid things in the last six months, which may fly well in TX and win him another term as governor, but don’t sound too good on the national stage. He’ll need to taper his TX rhetoric a bit to win the country.
- Piyush Jindal: I know you probably said, “who?” Piyush is actually Bobby Jindal’s real first name. At 37, the LA governor is young. Very young. But if anybody could pull it off, I would be betting on him. Educated as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, Jindal is nothing short of brilliant. Even though he underwhelmed at his first major national speech, he is a gifted public speaker and very good off the cuff. Throw that on top of the fact that he was very easily elected governor of LA, without a typical run-off election. He enjoys an approval rating in a historically liberal state 11% above the current liberal president and he is doing amazing things to turn Louisiana around. He has already pledged to run for re-election in 2011 which I think is a great move. I really think he would be a better candidate in 2016 or even 2020. After all, he’s so young, he has plenty of time and he is on track to build up a great record. Whenever he runs, I think you are looking at the first President of east Indian immigrants.

And the wild card:
- There are a few politically entrenched people out there that have the ability to jump into the race and make an impact. People you might not think of until they actually announced and then you’d go, “oh yeah, sure!” Some random names come to mind, like Newt Gingrich and even Rick Santorum, but I think either of those would be long shots.

In any case, I think there is a great possibility that someone with some national exposure, though not widely considered could still come to the front and be a major force. Maybe even some Hollywood type like a Kelsey Grammer or Gary Sinise, should they decide to put their careers on hold to put their hat into the political ring. In any of these cases they would need to start hinting at their intentions with speeches and appearances just to get themselves as at least an option in people’s minds.

In any case, for political junkies like me the next two elections are going to be very interesting. Of course, in the meantime we’ll be enduring some very interesting… if not trying times. We should probably consider the “fasten seatbelt sign” radiantly illuminated.