Paris Attacks Don’t Clarify Race for GOP Establishment

Amy Walter: “While Bush is no longer the frontrunner in that camp, there’s also no evidence that Marco Rubio has overtaken him as the de-facto leader. The events that unfolded this weekend in Paris won’t make the establishment figure any more obvious. Neither Rubio nor Bush can claim expertise in the area of foreign policy (though Rubio can point to his tenure on Senate Foreign Relations Committee). And, neither is proposing solutions or options that are much different from the other. GOP voters remain wary of Bush and electing a ‘legacy’ candidate and Rubio remains virtually unknown and undefined. So, if voters are indeed looking for a ‘safer’ more traditional choice as a GOP nominee, there’s no obvious candidate for them to flock toward.”

“Meanwhile, Trump is simply doubling down on the rhetoric that has helped him attract his loyal following with calls to ‘bomb the sh$%’ out of ISIS and to potentially close down U.S. mosques that are seen as incubators of violent rhetoric.”