At this time, there are thirteen Republicans and four Democrats running for the President of the United States (The New York Times 6/24/2015). While the sheer number of Republicans running for the Presidency might be criticized as an evidence of a disorganized party, the great number of choices actually provides a benefit for the Republican voter.
The previous Presidential election signaled a consensus for the Republican voter. The Presidential election always seems to be a choice of lesser of two evils, and there is always a sense of a lack of choice for the Republican voters, partially driven by a diverse political spectrum of Republican voters but also a lack of politically diverse Republicans running for the Presidency.
This year, the high number of Republican candidates running for the office of the President reflects the growing demand by the party base to provide diverse candidate choices and cover a wide range of political philosophies within the Republican Party. The diverse ideological makeup of the candidates provides a rare opportunity to have policy debates that can clarify the candidate's' policy position for voters instead of always getting stuck on electoral political dramas.
Unfortunately, many voters turn to televised debate as their main source of viewing a political debate, and those debates are usually hampered by poor line of questioning from bad debate moderators. If the Republican voters want to have an informed policy comparison among candidates, bypassing the mainstream television media and going straight to the policy platforms via candidate's' website is the best available option.
Comparing thirteen different policy platforms might initially be a chore for the average voter, but this might be the only time when Republican voters might have a real choice to pick from a diverse group of candidates. Instead of being swayed by popular media opinion, Republican voters ought to take charge in their electoral contemplation and make best of the current moment, when all candidates still have a fair chance at the Presidency.
Unfortunately, within a few months, the election season will be filled with petty electoral political drama instead of real issues.
