In the most recent edition of Bloggingheads I did with Michael Brendan Doughtery of the American Conservative, we spent a fair amount of time discussing the Republican presidential hopefuls and their prospects, particularly with conservative religious voters. While there’s been a lot of talk about how a viable frontrunner has yet to emerge (mirroring the talk at this time in 2007), Michael suggested that Rep. Ron Paul is polling pretty well — despite his views, as Julie has documented here, being at odds with the Republican Party establishment. Michael compared a possible Paul candidacy to Barry Goldwater’s in 1964, adding that out of Goldwater’s ashes rose Ronald Reagan. Who would be the Ronald Reagan, in this scenario? Michael posits Rand Paul.
We also discussed anti-choice politics, how the press covers candidates’ religious views (using the “Taliban Dan” ad as a case study), and the Jim Wallis controversy. Watch:
