FROM CONGRESSMAN TO KINGMAKER?
|| By FITSNEWS || More than 2,000 activists showed up for last weekend’s “SC Freedom Summit” GOP presidential forum in Greenville, S.C. – a huge crowd that has bolstered the status of organizer Jeff Duncan as a key “kingmaker” in early-voting South Carolina.
The third term congressman – no stranger to bucking “Republican” leaders – welcomed multiple big name 2016 presidential hopefuls to the Palmetto State on Saturday for his “Presidential-palooza.” Among those who attended? Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, U.S. senator Ted Cruz of Texas, billionaire real estate mogul Donald Trump, U.S. senator Marco Rubio of Florida, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal, former Texas governor Rick Perry and former U.S. senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania.
National press took notice of the throngs … and the man who organized the event.
According to Patricia Murphy of The Daily Beast, Duncan “is quietly emerging as an unlikely yet crucial figure in the process to pick the Republican nominee for 2016.”
She’s correct …
Along with rehabilitated governor Nikki Haley (whose 2012 endorsement was more millstone than momentum-builder), Duncan’s imprimatur will matter in the lead-up to 2016 – especially if he branches out and selects a candidate who isn’t exclusively regarded for social conservative issues.
“If he goes with one of the early frontrunners it could really broaden his brand,” one GOP operative told FITS.
The only early frontrunner we could see Duncan rallying behind is Walker … as Jeb Bush is likely too far to the left for his taste. Also Bush did not attend Duncan’s event – nor did U.S. senator Rand Paul of Kentucky or former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee (although Paul was Duncan’s guest at a well-attended “Faith and Freedom” barbecue event back in 2013).
So … which candidate do we think is most likely to get Duncan’s support?
Obviously it’s very early in the process … in fact our guess is that many of the names referenced in this story are likely to be out of the race by the time Duncan gets around to making his choice.
As things stand now, though, we wouldn’t be surprised to see Duncan support a candidate like Cruz … whose ideological matrix (and South Carolina viability) were discussed in this column.
Or course we could also see him backing Rubio – the subcommittee chairman for the Western Hemisphere in the U.S. Senate (i.e. Duncan’s counterpart). Rubio was the guest of honor at Duncan’s 2014 “Faith and Freedom” barbecue.
(Pic: Dan Harvell)
44 comments
They should have went with Jeff Dunham, he would be the best man to find the funniest puppet for the Koch brothers’ bidding.
If Newt were running again the right wingnuts would elect him to win the SC Republican primary just like the last time.
All this is bullshit because the hard right has the South Carolina Republican party by the balls and the Great State of South Carolina has no real bearing on national politics since the last presidential election.
The old saying that South Carolina is too small to be a nation and too big to be an insane asylum rings truer every day when it comes to shit like the right wingnut orgasm at the Peace Center in Greenville,SC this weekend.
It probably took three 15 gallon wet-vacs just to clen up all the jism spewed on the floor!!!!
Please make my day and tell me that at some point the ‘normals’ in this state, however few, will rise up and put these nutjobs in their place and claim this state back in the name of sanity.
The closest you will find to political “normalcy” in the Great State of South Carolina will be the political string pullers of Chamber of Commerce (CoC) and national/international corporate types.
Guess I prefer their behind the scene running of things than to be ruled by the right wingnuts.
But then again, I’ve got my UN issued blue beret and F/N rifle squirrelled away and am waiting for the signal to muster and board a black helicopter to assist in quashing the uprising and place all the rebels in FEMA concentration camps where the only water they will be allowed to drink is chlorinated & flourinated!!!!!
If by some miracle the normal, sane people squeezed in a win for rational politicians to change this state for the better, the wastes of oxygen would be sure to correct it in the next election cycle with GrandTango style politicians.
Liberals @$$ kicked in Israel, the UK and Nov. 4…
Volvo to SC
Cops being shot down in the streets.
Democrat Baltimore D.A. F*#ked up
Clinton Foundation Corruption
Michelle imploding, calling all whites racist
Obama grovels before U.N.
Economy just keeps spiralling down
Hillary is an obnoxious, idiot…
People HATE Obamacare….
ISIS stronger
Whites being attacked by black gangs.
It all adds up to you being AN IGNORANT F*#K…
SUCKS to be YOU…LMAO…
No response to you is all you warrant.
Please finish cleaning the urinals.
Thanks (; …
That is the response I EXPECTED…LMAO…
Poor buddy, he’s so slow he thinks we’re all laughing WITH him. Bless his heart. LMAO!!!
Proof that SC is the cum bucket of stupidity.
GrandTango as always in your stupid comments which are completely false. You always fail to mention that you are an ASSHOLE!!!! Where you a water boy when Duncan played football at Clemson under Danny Ford?
Clinging to ignorance much???
If ever there was an event in which VW bugs should have been substituted for Limos, that was it.
http://s3.amazonaws.com/rapgenius/filepicker%2FFZLKRu3aTQujSPegOvqg_clown_car.jpg
I LOVE IT..!! Now nothing can spoil the rest of my day!
Did you mean Volvo’s?
If clowns pile out of them . . .
The real question is who will the welfare queen/tea party darling trey gowdy endorse?
trey has already been endorsed by Aqua Net
There re two things that must be defeated in 2016. The Dims and the establishment “Republicans”. Like I keep saying, The group that was in Greenville Sat. plus Rand and Huckabee should gather in a room, lock the door and cut a deck of cards. High card runs for POTUS, second for VP. Everyone gets behind them and no one else. All the money, time , effort, and hard feelings could be channeled to one candidate. Conservatives could actually win. As it is we are divided between half a dozen good candidates that all believe roughly the same thing. We kill ourselves while the establishment sits back and watches.
I wonder if the old white people who attend these things will ever figure out the Republican party is trying to screw their children by killing the programs, that allowed a majority of them not to live in poverty after retirement.
Without Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, 50% of the people in SC over the age of 65 (and probably 35% to 40% of the people at this gathering) would be living in poverty and have no health insurance.
I don’t know, it might be harder for the GOP to keep them in line when they party can’t say N*****, N*****, N*****.
As a proud independent (the fastest growing bloc in America) I don’t see a one I really care about voting for but you elephant types knock yourselves out
Oh, BTW—————-fuck Hillary too!!!!!!! ———I’m probably gonna vote Libertarian or Constitution (maybe even Green) during the general election just for giggles & grins………………..That’s what I’ve done for the last few prez elections
I really do wish they had a spot for “none of the above”
By not voting for one or the other you are voting for the worst candidate. All you “independents” can say what you want but when was the last independent elected POTUS ????? The only time I ever thought about voting for one of the splinter parties was Graham and Hutto.I voted for Ravenel. McCain would have been less offensive than Obummer but not by much. One is always not as bad as the other. When in doubt vote Republican.
“I voted for Ravenel.” You can now change your name to Dumbass Pachyderm
That’s pure bullshit. I vote as I choose because I have a reason to.
As an independant I have voted for a republican when that individual reflected what I wanted in a represenative.
I sure as hell ain’t gonna push the straight ticket button (electronic voting machines in Spartanburg County) for any damn party and I’ve voted in every general election since 1972
Your problem is you are locked into one political persuasion and are as good as being brainwashed.
Actually I actively supported McCain(financially and physically) when he was running against Bush in the SC 2000 primary (I carried a McCain sign under threat of arrest on Riedville Road traffic island here in Spartanburg).
I really believe that if he had been elected in 2000 we would have not had the middle east quagmire we have now.
I’ve not just talked the talk I’ve walked the walk – OK???
I would have voted for McCain in 2008 but when he chose bat-shit crazy Palin there was no way I could vote for him.
Something tells me you are one of the ones who holds their nose and votes for a republican no matter what. if you do indeed do that it demonstrates the inability to adapt (and more importantly THINK FOR YOURSELF!!!).
it is likely that wild African elephants will be extinct in less than 50 years. Your beloved Republican party’s time (in its present form) will come as well.
Probably as good a way as any to decide who is going to lose to Jeb or Hillary.
Rocky, it ain’t gonna be Jeb.
“National press took notice of the throngs …” I read and heard several reports mentioning the “throngs” were mostly old white people.
yep, one foot in the grave and the other on a banna peel
But one thing is for certain these old farts vote at every chance they get and they are damn near 100% Republican thus that is why they are courted so damn much and can be counted to bring out the vote in Republican primaries..
Gotta give them that.
Hmmm…little different crowd than the black folks looting and burning our cities down?
Interesting.
Yea, a lot more of these folks in Duncan’s crowd.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/america-unmasked-the-images-that-reveal-the-ku-klux-klan-is-alive-and-kicking-in-2009-1625732.html
By choosing Gingrich last time, the irrelevance of SC in even the selection of the GOP nominee has been uncovered, it apparently may take one more cycle before everyone else catches on to this. And then SC will be fly over material.
Yep!!!!!
But you won’t be able to convince the hard core right because they are deillusional
2,000 people because they cant get tickets to any of the “First In The South” stuff so they attend Mutt and Jeffs event for free.
Hey, Look!
In the upper left balcony.
It’s Statler & Waldorf !!!
What complete and utter nonsense! Duncan is a total lightweight and mental midget! For goodness sakes he can’t tell the truth about how he “played football at Clemson under Danny Ford”. He was a bench warmer, never got dressed for a game and was a “member of the scout team for a year???? Now I ask you is that playing football at Clemson???
Give it up farkel. Get your facts straight- you look like an idiot.
doc you are FULL OF SHIT. The facts are your pal Duncan was on the scout team for a year, and he claims that this is “playing football”? Hell he never dressed for a game , never assigned a game jersey. This sounds like an embellishment on his part to make his resume look better. Duncan’s business experience is running an auction house selling reposesed properties and working at some hick town bank. Now that is real quality experience, knowledge and understanding of world trade and economics. So doc pal you give it up.
doc I think your pal Duncan should get his facts straight – he looks like the idiot.
Where are you doc?????? Looks like you and your pal Duncan are looking like the idiots. Only affirms that my facts are correct. Sorry doc!!!!!
yes that is Playing Football at Clempson very similar stuff to graduate as well