Would really like you to weigh in here. Serious.
You tend to have a pragmatic and objective side. What say you ?
Only since you asked.
Here's how I'd rank the nominees on both sides:
Like/Would Definitely Vote For1.
Rubio - Clearly the smartest, most experienced candidate that knows what the fuck he's talking about. Latino and young vote would bump him into a win for the Rs.
2.
Fiorina - Also very smart. Everything people like about Trump is also true about Fiorina, except she actually knows how to discuss foreign, or hell, domestic policies without sounding like a bafoon. She probably is the most articulate and intelligent when it comes to this. Also she negates Hillary's entire campaign that simply being a woman is her top qualification.
3.
Kasich - You guys probably think he's a RINO, but I think he is one of the few Rs to consistently display common sense.
4.
Paul - The closest to a real libertarian. He was my for sure #1 early in the campaign, but I've faltered on him. Mainly because I don't believe he has any real chance, and also because he's compromised a lot, presumably to try to win the Republican primary. Double-edged sword I guess, but he's not navigating it well on either side.
Neutral/Might Vote For, But Probably Would Just Stay Home5.
Jeb! - For much of the same reason I don't like Hillary, I don't like Jeb. The Bush name is tainted to your average voter. Let alone played out. Need fresh blood, not a dynasty. And the idea that he was the smarter, stronger Bush has been wearing out momentously. He appears to be a pussy version of W.
6.
Chris Christie - Fascist authoritarian. Hates the "Libertarian thread" of the Republican party. Big against pot. Big on the Patriot Act. I don't care for it.
7.
Martin O'Malley - Yep, the Dem. No I don't like him, but I dislike about the same amount of things about him as Christie. He at least is articulate and just seems presidential. Note that I would have put Chafee and Webb either at the top of this section or the bottom of the previous section, around 5 & 6, but they both dropped out.
8.
Ted Cruz - Goober.
Dislike/Would definitely not be motivated to vote for and would probably Actively Vote against9.
Mike Huckabee - Religious nutjub, IMO. I know that doesn't play here, but that's my opinion on the man. The Kim Davis shit was a clown show.
10.
Hillary Clinton - For starters, the same reason I don't like Jeb! Add to that that she is the definition of nontransparent authoritarian government. The emails and Benghazi stuff is proof enough to me that she will lie and deceive for political gain. Fuck her.
11.
Ben Carson - I want to cheer for this guy. A black brain surgeon? Sounds like an automatic win for the Rs. I hesitate to call him stupid due to his profession, but if I didn't know that about him I would swear he was dumber than Palin. He says outlandishly crazy/stupid things with frequency. He's a neuroscientist. Great. He's not a political scientist. When you push specifically to get an "outsider" that isn't tainted by the political system, what you're really saying is you want someone completely unqualified to run the country to run the country. Like saying you want my grandmother who has never used a computer to be your IT person. Just, no.
STRONGLY dislike/Would actively vote against because they will destroy the country if elected12.
Bernie Sanders - Self described socialist, as if you didn't know. His economic plan will drive us so far into debt, we will become his utopian Cuba with the quickness. He can brainwash people that only the top 1% billionaires with yachts will be punished with his tax plan, but they are idiots if they think that math adds up. He will be taxing the upper middle class i.e. most everyone here upwards of 50% to pay for the shit he's dreamed up.
13.
Donald Trump - This guy is a complete and utter fucking idiot, and frankly, you are too if you don't immediately recognize it every time he opens his mouth. He says a whole lot of nothing about nothing every single time. But he's gonna make the economy classy and do it better than the other guy cause he's not ugly and super rich and wicked smart. Or something. I don't care if he was a successful business person, which arguably, he wasn't. Good for him that he turned a ton of money into a ton more money. That does not in any way, shape, or form qualify him for the presidency. Like I said about Fiorina, at least she clearly knows what she's talking about. Give her a question on Hezbollah and Hamas and she will answer intelligently. Trump would say he never cared for Greek food. He is a clown. Any international respect we had would be obliterated for good if we elect that imbecile. He is president Hector Camacho from Idiocracy. Words cannot explain how disastrous that would be for our country. And furthermore, I'm not convinced he isn't a Hillary plant sent specifically to make Republicans look like buffoons. He donated to the Clinton foundation, and there are nothing about any of his policies (the few he was able to articulate to begin with) that are "conservative". Not being PC is not the same as not being a belligerent asshole.
My $0.02.