2016 GOP goombahs ranking and polling

Mahablog:

According to a CNN/ORC poll taken February 12-15, the Republican field currently ranks in this order, top to bottom: Mike Huckabee (seriously?), Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Rand Paul, Ben Carson, Chris Christie or None (tie), Marco Rubio, and Someone Else. Then there’s a four-way tie among Ted Cruz, Rick Perry, Rick Santorum and Unsure. Then comes John Kasich, and finally scraping the bottom at 1 percent each are Bobby Jindal, Lindsey Graham and Carly Fiorina. Note that Bush and Christie were numbers one and two a month ago.  

Christie got roasted by the NYT a couple of days ago.

He does not return phone calls. He does not ask for support. He arrives late for meetings. And he acts as if he has all the time in the world.

The complaints have piled up for weeks, dismaying many longtime supporters of Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey and sending others into the arms of his rivals for the presidential nomination, according to interviews with more than two dozen Republican donors and strategists.

As a half-dozen other candidates aggressively raise money and chase endorsements in Iowa and New Hampshire, friends and detractors alike say Christie’s view of his status and pre-eminence within the Republican field is increasingly at odds with the picture outside his inner circle.

[...]

Some supporters critical of the governor’s campaign blame what they call “the Christie bubble,” a tight-knit group of advisers who have known him for years and have worked for him through most of his tenure in Trenton. Virtually impenetrable to newcomers, this small group is seen as effective at home but also now as shielding him too closely from the realities of a competitive national campaign. Even after the George Washington Bridge lane closings and the resulting scandal, and amid a continuing federal investigation, Christie has not broadly expanded (the number of his closest advisers).

Big Boy is still running third in Erick Erickson's primary, though.  Via Jon Tilove...

According to the RedState Presidential Power Rankings, Cruz now ranks seven among the top ten potential Republican presidential candidates.

Saving you the click-over to the guy who made history by coining the term "Abortion Barbie", the rest of his top 10 go like this, from the top: Jeb, Walker, then Fat Bastard, Rand, Rubio (LOL), Huckabee, Poop Cruz in seventh, and then Piyush Jindal (LMAO), Carson, and in tenth, Oops Perry.

Wanna see some of the polling they aggregated?

• Christopher Newport University (Virginia) (1/30/15-2/10/15) – Bush 21, Walker 16, Huckabee 10, Christie 10, Carson 9, Paul 9, Rubio 6, Ryan (Woo hoo!) 5, Cruz 3, Kasich 3, Jindal 2, Perry 1
• NBC News/Marist (South Carolina) (February) – Lindsay Graham 17 (LOL), Bush 15, Walker 12, Huckabee 10, Carson 10, Paul 7, Christie 6, Rubio 4, Perry 4, Santorum 3, Cruz 1
• NBC News/Marist (Iowa) (February) – Huckabee 17, Bush 16, Walker 15, Christie 9, Paul 7, Rubio 6, Carson 6, Santorum 5, Perry 4, Cruz 2
• NBC News/Marist (New Hampshire) (February) – Bush 18, Walker 15, Paul 14, Christie 13, Huckabee 7, Carson 7, Cruz 6, Rubio 6, Perry 1, Santorum 1

Bush, Walker, Huckabee.  Looks like a trend somebody predicted a week ago.

Update (2/23): In the most recent TexTrib poll, Scott Walker is statistically tied with Ted Cruz at the lead.

"Don't Know" is third.  We know you don't know, RPT.  We know.

Sunday Funnies

Houston 2015 elections: Of conflicts, and conflicts of interest

-- Sly makes it official.  Still the betting favorite, IMHO.

-- Via Charles, the grumbling about Harris County Democratic Chairman Lane Lewis juggling party politics and a city council bid has gone public.

There's enough at both those links to absorb, but what slipped mostly under the radar was this complaint in Project Q last month from AL1 entrant Jenifer Rene Pool.  Actually Wayne mentioned it in cautious tones when it broke, and TransGriot seemed a little irritated about it, but other than that, nothing else written about it since.  A lot whispered below the level of my impaired hearing, I'm sure...

Repeating myself, I'll support Lewis in AL1 and suggest that every other Democrat would be wise to run elsewhere, lest a repeat of AL3 in 2013 -- a runoff between Mike Kubosh and Roy Morales after the Dems canceled each other out -- occurs again.

As to whether he should hurry up and quit his chairmanship, that would be perilous at this time for the local Democrats.  Lewis' chief of staff, Diana Patino, just left this week to go to work for Sen. John Whitmire.  The ugly self-inflicted wounds from 2014's debacle barely have scabs, and with the lingering resentments over Battleground Texas' promises/effort/coordination with the county party, less disarray and not more is what is needed now.

So I think Lewis should stay where he is and make the call himself when to hand off to someone else, an heir not being readily apparent to me at the moment.  Much jockeying regarding that is undoubtedly happening outside my view.

Update: Texpate doesn't agree, and wants him to quit as a condition of supporting his council bid.  This is too harsh a demand, in my opinion.

-- Frankly I am delighted to see Jew Don Boney run for city controller against Carroll Robinson.  They have squared off before, and it wasn't pretty.  No matter his own bumpy history, I will be pleased to support former councilman Boney's campaign -- unless I vet the potential candidates for a better one -- because Robinson is not only shady himself but also aligned with the absolute worst political mafia in Houston politics.  I'm looking at you again, Hector Carreno, you slug.  And Reps. Miles and Thompson, you should know better.

But this "lesser of two evils" option once again might let the Republican slip into office.

-- This fellow seems like a qualified individual, but he's playing that "give me money while I decide which seat I want to run for" game.  He also drew hosannas from some of the most conservative Democrats I know, which makes me instantly suspicious.  I'll give Mr. McCasland the benefit of the doubt for now, as his early years suggest he has empathy for the poorest among us.  All of the Bill White connections -- his and those speaking in his favor -- rub me the wrong way, though.  White, for his part, is already (allegedly) supporting Adrian Garcia for mayor.  Big fat red X.

The best source for following what's going in Houston politics is Teddy Schleifer's Twitter feed.

Update: Mimi Swartz's take in Texas Monthly is a good place to catch up if you didn't get on in the beginning, with a couple of tasty morsels like this.

And what about Houston’s large and well-organized LGBT population? “(Chris) Bell has the money gays, Turner has the activist gays,” one observer told me.  [...]

Then there are the white power brokers, those guys who used to call the shots. They remember nostalgically the one-call-away days of mayors Lanier and White, particularly the latter, whose Harvard degree, financial acumen, and sophistication seemed so neatly matched with their vision of a modern city on the rise. Torn now between a questionably loyal (Bill) King and a foot-dragging (Stephen) Costello, the bigwigs are turning from disappointment to despair. Their inability to come up with a world-beater of their own is striking.

Put another way, this race has the potential to evolve into something akin to Bonfire on the Bayou, with the city’s diverse factions warring with one another and within their own ranks.

[...]

... (Annise) Parker’s endorsement might be of questionable value. One day she is said to be leaning toward longtime ally Turner, another day toward Councilman Costello, whose practical, just-show-me-the-numbers approach to city government is closest to her own.